The Season I Loved You Without You - Chapter 54

CHAPTER 54

Eun-jae was fast asleep and didn’t wake up when they stopped at the villa complex she had told them about. Jin-young looked silently as if asking what to do but Go-yeo suggested waiting for a moment. There was a message from Ji-yeon on her phone. It seemed she contacted her probably because of the article today, which had made her almost forget, but once again, her head throbbed, and she rubbed her temples.

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them at the cautious knock on the backseat window. It was Yoon Ga-eul, with innocent eyes she hadn’t seen in a long time. When she opened the car door, he looked surprised but also pleased to see her.

“Oh, boss. Uh, I mean…”

Seeing Ga-eul stumble over his words, not knowing what to say, she watched him quietly. He seemed flustered but also seemed happy as he spoke.

“Oh, um, did you come to see me…?”

It was a bit disappointing that she couldn’t see his flushed face in the dim evening. It must have been red up to his neck. So, she decided to tease him a bit.

“Yeah.”

Even with her monotone and indifferent reply, he was taken aback. It seemed like his eyes, colliding with the air, were quickly being engulfed by overwhelming emotions. Joy, excitement, exhilaration. Positive emotions that exist in this world. So, she thought she shouldn’t have joked around.

“…Really?”

She had to purse her lips for no reason. She wanted to explain the situation, but Eun-jae got out of the backseat, and the door opened.

“Oh? Did you come, Brother?”

Ga-eul looked even more surprised when he saw Eun-jae.

“Oh! I came to pick up my stuff. I coincidentally met the boss in Seoul today.”

“Oh, I see.”

Ga-eul felt so embarrassed he thought he might die soon. It wasn’t that he was ashamed enough to die, but could a person die from embarrassment with their face burning up?

If it was his own place, maybe he wouldn’t have felt this embarrassed. But this was his family’s home. Thinking that she had come here thinking that she came to see him was overly self-centered.

Thinking about her all day, when he saw a familiar car in front of his house, he thought it was a dream. But he checked the license plate several times, and when he saw her get out of the car, he felt a thrill throughout his body, to the point where he couldn’t even speak properly.

Not knowing what to say, Ga-eul hesitated, so Eun-jae greeted Go-yeo quietly instead.

“Thank you so much today, boss!”

Go-yeo handed the shopping bag she was holding to Eun-jae. Eun-jae took it, looking at her with surprise as if asking what it was.

“A gift from an adult. Go see.”

Eun-jae thanked her profusely and went home, while Jin-young got in the car and waited for Go-yeo. Go-yeo had been worried about Ga-eul’s silence since earlier. She had teased him with unnecessary words.

Seeing his expression, feeling embarrassed and sorry, she let out a small sigh. It would be better not to say such things, but she didn’t want to keep seeing his gloomy expression.

“I didn’t come to see you, but I did think about you.”

‘Like you’re spring coming.’

“…Ah.”

He looked surprised again, his expression at a loss.

“I kept thinking about you. I’m so glad to see you like this today. It still feels like a dream.”

While Go-yeo was familiar with his straightforward manner, she was flustered by his suddenness and didn’t know how to respond. Seeing Go-yeo brushing her hair back for no reason, Ga-eul smiled gently.

“Next time, please come to the house in Seoul. I want to show you around. I’ve decorated it quite nicely with the things the boss gave me.”

Ga-eul skillfully seized the moment when Go-yeo seemed relaxed. Of course, he didn’t intentionally do it knowing she would be flustered. But it seemed to work on Go-yeo.

“…Sure.”

Even after Go-yeo left, Ga-eul stood there quietly. And he still covered his mouth with trembling hands.

“The boss thinks about me…”

Bute closed his mouth again, afraid those words might disappear without a trace. He just wanted to remember this moment and these feelings for a long time. He wanted to keep remembering them so vividly that they wouldn’t fade away even as time passed. He wanted to remember that his spring days were like this.

How would the boss’ spring be remembered? He was curious. But when spring passed and summer came, and then autumn, would she think of Yoon Ga-eul? He allowed himself a small hope.

* * *

In the early days, the boutique was like a broken vending machine, just pouring money into it, but now it had somewhat established itself. Sales were still not great, but they weren’t bad either. After paying the employees’ salaries, there was still some money left for reinvestment. It was a thought that had been occurring to her more often lately, but it was time for new attempts.

During the regular meeting, she thought about how to prepare for the next season, receiving design feedback based on the sales status so far from the designers.

“Should I open another boutique targeting people in their 20s? It would have H. Collection’s identity but with a dynamic feel. What do you think?”

Everyone was surprised by Go-yeo’s sudden suggestion except for Ji-yeon. She had already given her a heads-up, and she had already agreed that it was a good idea.

Since the brand identity pursued elegance and sophistication, the suggestion itself felt like hot ice cream, but since creativity was like that, the designers didn’t make a big deal out of it. They decided to discuss it further later, and the meeting ended.

As the designers left and Hee-kyung came in to tidy up the desk, Go-yeo glanced briefly at Ji-yeon. She had been more worried than usual because her complexion didn’t look good, which had been bothering her since earlier.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Ji-yeon murmured, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Oh, do I look like it? Maybe it’s because spring is almost over, my body feels chilly.”

“Vice President, should I get some cold medicine? I bought various types last time.”

Hee-kyung asked with concern.

“Should I? Maybe catching it early would be better?”

Go-yeo quietly sipped her coffee, scrutinizing Ji-yeon’s face. While Hee-kyung went to get the medicine, she subtly asked Ji-yeon.

“Are you using contraception?”

“Yes.”

Ji-yeon responded with a nervous laugh as if she was asking an obvious question. She didn’t have any plans for a second child for the time being, and as they had just gotten married, they were diligent about contraception.

“You had your period?”

“Of course…”

She answered before widening her eyes. Then, as she checked her phone and the app, her mouth fell open slightly. Huh? No way. She was startled and almost dropped her phone. Her period was two weeks late.

Oh my. Ji-yeon’s muttering expression seemed nothing but perplexed. Go-yeo was about to say something more but shook her head and just delivered the necessary message.

“Take a test and go to the hospital.”

“Oh. Uh. Yeah. I should.”

Go-yeo looked around the empty conference room, got up, and looked out the window. Forsythias were in full bloom on the corner of the street wall. She smiled softly at the very spring-like feeling.

Ji-yeon caught a cold every early autumn. She seemed unaware of it, but those around her would say, ‘Ah, autumn’s here,’ when they heard Ji-yeon cough. So when she said she felt like she was catching a cold today, it was to check before taking medicine.

If Ji-yeon was pregnant, it would be a sincere occasion to congratulate her, but negative memories from the past surfaced, making her hesitate. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

It wasn’t even reasonable to think about miscarriage anymore, but it kept popping up like this. It wasn’t about reflecting on the past with Ji-hyuk and everything being over now, but it was because her body remembered.

So she felt suffocated, and even her body felt heavy, as she had been sitting quietly in her home office for hours. It was already time for the store staff to leave, so she left the boutique. It was a time when the streetlights were on, and darkness had fallen.

Since she had let Jin-young leave first, she was alone on her way to the parking lot. As she casually turned her head, she saw a man standing in front of the darkened building on the opposite side. The man who was approaching looked familiar.

“Boss.”

“…What’s going on?”

His expression seemed dark, so her words came a little late.

“Um, I just came. Why, what’s up?”

She realized he was drunk from the strange tone and disheveled appearance. Moreover, as he approached closer, he smelled of alcohol. He was quite good at drinking, so being this drunk meant he had drunk quite a bit.

‘Did you drink as much as you did the last time you were at Ji-yeon’s house, and it’s early evening already?’

“Did you get drunk?”

“Yeah, I did. A bit of alcohol.”

Ga-eul, with glazed eyes, said so while laughing. Go-yeo saw that Ga-eul was smiling but also crying. She thought she had seen various expressions on his face, but today’s quiet face was new. He was carrying a great sadness large enough to infect his emotions.

She opened the front seat door and jerked it open, and Ga-eul let out a small gasp and sat down obediently.

“…I’m coming without drinking.”

She glanced at Ga-eul’s muttering and chuckled softly.

‘Is there an assumption that you don’t drink?’

Ga-eul’s current state aside, Go-yeo felt a sense of relief when he suddenly appeared. Perhaps unconsciously, she had been thinking of Ga-eul with a desire for something to look forward to. Ga-eul was such a presence.

Go-yeo realized only then that she hardly ever let anyone sit in the passenger seat and drive. On the way to his rooftop apartment, Ga-eul dozed off intermittently, blinking to stay awake. She couldn’t understand why he was struggling so hard to stay awake when he could just sleep.

As they entered the neighborhood, unable to resist the drowsiness, Ga-eul leaned against the window and fell asleep. Having visited a few times before, this neighborhood felt familiar. When driving on flat ground or up a slope, she reduced speed to prevent the car from shaking.

Fortunately, there was an empty spot in front of the building, so she parked and turned off the engine. Still, Ga-eul didn’t stir.

“We’re here.”

She considered waking him up but decided to wait as he seemed deeply asleep. Frowning slightly at the naturally flowing thought, she clicked her tongue softly. She didn’t usually back down, but she tended to in front of these siblings.

“… “

Inside the now quiet car, only his steady and measured breaths could be heard. His bangs covered his forehead; it seemed like they had grown quite long since she first saw him. Initially, he had short hair, claiming he had just finished his military service.

Leaning back against the seat, she looked at his face. Flawless skin, long eye tails, a tall and well-shaped nose, full and red lips. It was a masculine yet elegant and delicate face.

Even though she saw this face every day, it felt strangely new after not seeing it for a few days. Feeling like she was staring at a sleeping person too intently, she cleared her throat and adjusted her posture.

She turned on the car lights and took out a book from her bag. It was a newly bought book from the bookstore where she had met Eun-jae. It was a thriller mystery novel, perfect for passing the time, although she didn’t usually read much. It turned out to be interesting for a randomly picked book.

“Uh…”

He was peacefully sleeping, his breaths steady, when suddenly it became erratic. A furrowed brow, a whimper escaping tightly clenched lips. He seemed in pain. Go-yeo, as if someone had once done the same to her, reached out her hand to lightly touch his rigid one. The contact was met with a chilling coolness.

She wanted to share warmth with him. When Ga-eul’s expression softened, Go-yeo gently shook his hand. His fluttering eyelids opened, and their eyes met. He seemed startled, as if not fully awake, scanning his surroundings before letting out a startled gasp.

“Ah…”

After a slow beat, as if everything had just come rushing back to him, a sigh escaped his lips.

“You could have just woken me up. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s quite late. You should go.”

As she attempted to withdraw her still-held hand, Ga-eul moved a bit faster. Her hand, once again firmly held, regained its warmth.

“Go see the congo. The congo leaves the boss gave me have grown a lot.”

His voice sounded urgent, with a slight tremor at the end. It seemed a somewhat ridiculous reason, as hurried as he was. But it was the only thing that came to mind. Though she had replied yes when asked to visit the house recently, she didn’t seem particularly curious. So, the congo was the best excuse he could muster. The plant she had given him, urging him to take care of it, with its green leaves and red stems.

“Alright.”

Despite the difficult request, the response was rather casual. Ga-eul smiled broadly and held Go-yeo’s hand even tighter.