Chapter 10.9

It had been the same three years ago. That feeling hadn’t changed.

Yooheon knew very well that the shape of his love was far from normal. Even the way his emotions clung to her scent and burrowed into his nose was not normal.

Knowing that, he tried even harder to hold onto it. If he didn’t, he feared he wouldn’t be able to make her scent his own. He feared he’d end up living again in a world full of stench.

It had always felt like a world with nowhere for his heart to rest. Wherever he went, the stench followed. It was as if his body was decaying, proving he had no right to exist in this world.

The woman who reached out to become his refuge from such a world was so small and delicate, yet Yooheon truly felt protected when he was in Seo-hwa’s embrace.

–Even if you don’t do those things, I’ll stay by your side, Oppa.

–…….

–Don’t be anxious anymore.

Every time Yooheon realized that the woman he thought he held in his arms was actually leading him from outside his embrace, he was seized by a strange feeling.

Up until now, Yooheon had always felt the need to prove his worth in order to breathe. The idea that he had to be useful to someone was hammered into his mind, and at some point, it began to strangle him.

He had worked tirelessly to reach this point, so he could always give Seo-hwa whatever she needed. If it meant catching Seo-hwa’s attention, who cared for pitiful souls, he would have harmed himself thousands of times.

He had resolved to continue living that way.

He planned to never let his guard down and to keep striving for life, so that Seo-hwa would never think of him as someone unnecessary.

Even if he did something unsettling in the process, as long as Seo-hwa didn’t know, it was fine. As long as the world Seo-hwa saw was clean.

But now, standing before a woman who said there was no need for all that, who promised to love him even if he didn’t do those things, Yooheon felt as if he’d been struck on the head.

Even though she knew what he had done behind her back, Seo-hwa gently stroked the back of his hand, and he felt a surge of emotion he couldn’t explain.

“I’ll try anyway.”

Could he live just trusting in this warmth, without desperately searching for ways to tie Seo-hwa to his side?

Would Seo-hwa stay with him, even if he wasn’t a useful person?

The question that had always filled Yooheon’s mind finally found its period.

“I’ll try not to act on my own anymore…….”

“…….”

“Teach me. Stay by my side for life.”

Yooheon tickled Seo-hwa’s slender fingers and laughed softly. It was a boyish smile. For the first time, Seo-hwa glimpsed his immaturity in his expression.

“Love me. Always.”

With a voice that drifted in softly along with the scent of flowers, Seo-hwa parted her lips and swallowed dryly.

The scene in her vision was so beautiful it left her dazed. Colorful petals fluttered in the air, and Yooheon smiled with his eyes amid them.

Under a cloudless, clear sky, only the gentle sound of waves came in regular intervals. All the anxious thoughts that had cluttered her mind always crumbled like sandcastles before Yooheon.

Yooheon was so different from her, but also so similar. Perhaps that was why, the more she loved him, the more Seo-hwa felt comforted herself. When Yooheon, who had always acted recklessly, finally said he would try to change, a thrilling joy surged in her heart.

“I wanted to be the one to propose……”

Seo-hwa, cheeks shyly reddened, mumbled as she hid behind the bouquet.

“You proposed first. You said you’d make me happy.”

“N-no, not that. I wanted to do it properly in front of you.”

“How were you planning to do it?”

Yooheon smiled gently and narrowed the distance between them.

“Not with gifts like this.”

Seo-hwa glanced at the watch on Yooheon’s wrist as she continued.

“I wanted to give you something you truly liked, but I still haven’t found it……”

“So that’s why you’ve been asking me lately if there’s anything I need?”

“……Yes.”

Watching Yooheon still wearing the watch she had given him at a summer party long ago, Seo-hwa realized that she had never given him a proper gift. Every time she saw Yooheon cherishing the watch she had tossed away without a second thought, as if it were a precious treasure, she resolved to work even harder.

She wanted to use the money she earned to give him a gift much more splendid than the watch on his wrist. A gift meant only for Yooheon. And with that gift, she planned to propose to him.

He had always been the one to come to her, so this time, she wanted to be the one to step boldly toward him first. But she never imagined that Yooheon would give her a ring and a bouquet first.

The bouquet, larger than her face, resembled Yooheon. Difficult to hold in her arms, but so fragrant and beautiful that it left her entranced.

“Then give it to me tonight.”

“I haven’t prepared it yet…….”

“What’s there to prepare? All you have to do is lie in bed.”

“……Huh?”

“You said you’d give me something I like.”

“…….”

“Looks like you will have to move your hips a lot tonight.”

The heavy conversation floated up lightly again. Seo-hwa couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. It wasn’t just empty talk—she truly felt that Seo Yooheon would be happier with a night together than with any other gift.

“By the way, why did you buy something so big? I’ve never seen a bouquet this large.”

“You like big things, don’t you?”

As Seo-hwa struggled to adjust the crinkling bouquet in her arms, Yooheon raised the corners of his mouth slyly. Tilting her head, Seo-hwa realized the implication a beat late and her face turned bright red.

“Are you going to keep teasing me?”

“…….”

“……It’s you I like, not big things.”

Seo-hwa, her cheeks tinged pink, bit the corner of her lip and muttered softly.

Surprised by her unexpected confession, Yooheon paused, and Seo-hwa, embarrassed by her own words, buried her face in the bouquet.

“It feels like it’s too much for me, but still…….”

“…….”

“The scent is so nice. It’s so pretty……”

Peeking out from behind the bouquet, where blue and red hues mixed together in a riot of color, Seo-hwa murmured. Her slightly exposed cheek was as red as the flowers.

As Yooheon admired Seo-hwa, as if bewitched, a bright smile slowly spread across his lips.

“Seo-hwa, you look just like that right now.”

So beautiful, so sweet.

Yooheon mimicked Seo-hwa’s tone, whispering playfully. He closed the distance between them, gently tidying her messy hair strand by strand.

As Seo-hwa quietly let him fix her hair, the background behind her gradually entered Yooheon’s view.

This beach, where Yooheon had been born and raised, was the place where the stench was strongest. Even when no one was nearby, every time the dark blue sea swelled, such a suffocating stench would flow that it was hard to breathe.

The crashing sound of the waves always felt like his mother’s shouts, demanding the worth of his existence, and the salty sea smell resembled the odor that lingered as her body decayed.

The wide-open sea always seemed to curse him, and just standing before it would torment him with overwhelming fear. That was why, after leaving the village, he had rarely set foot here again.

But after many years had passed, the beach he returned to was so different from the place in his memories.

“Strange, isn’t it?”

How could the world change so much? Just because you were beside him.

“It’s just beautiful.”

The stench that had always followed him wherever he went no longer chased after him. The sea that had always seemed ready to swallow him no longer called out to him.

It had been such a frightening place.

But now, what unfolded before his eyes was just a sparkling, beautiful sea, holding gentle waves. Sunset-colored waves rolled in, breathing out a refreshing scent.

Mesmerized by the scenery before him, Yooheon took a step forward.

He gently lifted Seo-hwa’s chin, buried among the flowers, meeting her gaze. Looking down at her eyes, which shimmered prettily, he slowly lowered his head.

He showered kisses on every blushing spot. His lips started at her eyes, moved past her cheeks, and settled on her red lips.

The bouquet fell to the ground with a soft thud, and Seo-hwa’s head gradually tilted back. Her wandering hands finally wrapped around Yooheon’s neck.

The whole world was filled with the scent of flowers.

It was a sweet and warm fragrance, flowing either from their joined lips or drifting up from the scattered flowers at their feet.