The Season I Loved You Without You - Chapter 56

CHAPTER 56

Amid a drowsy feeling, as she shifted her body, the mattress creaked. Go-yeo looked around the unfamiliar space and realized, ‘Ah, I slept here.’ Light filtered through thin curtains, illuminating the entire room at a glance. He wasn’t visible, but there were notes and food on the table.

[Boss, there’s a group meeting today, so I have to leave first. I’ll be back soon, so please don’t leave. I’ll bring you home! 

p.s. I made coffee and toast for breakfast. Have it and rest well.]

It was the first time she had seen his handwriting. Neat and honest, with consistent spacing and no visible signs of wavering. Picking it up with a smile, she got up from the bed and went straight to the shower.

“I should’ve gotten an apartment after all.”

The water pressure was low, and there was nothing that suited her taste from shampoo to cleansing foam. The only satisfying aspect was that it was clean. Yet, that didn’t stop her from smiling.

Next to her neatly arranged clothes were his newly folded ones. It was a clean oversized T-shirt and shorts. With a towel draped over her body, she picked up his clothes with her fingertips. She didn’t like this style either, but it was uncomfortable to wear outdoor clothes, so she put on a T-shirt.

Sitting on the bed, she drank coffee and looked around the quiet space. It was still a small house. She took a few sips of the coffee that didn’t suit her taste and looked at the books on the small bookshelf on the desk. Mostly math and education textbooks. And among them, there was one familiar book. She took it out.

“Boria, the Devil’s Flower.”

She lay on the mattress reading the book. Although it was a book she often read, it was even more pleasing now that Yoon Ga-eul had it, being a non-mainstream book.

Go-yeo thought the sunlight streaming in was dazzling. Perhaps because it wasn’t blackout curtains, it couldn’t completely block the sun. It would be nice to have blackout curtains. Enjoying the warm scent of sunlight, she fell asleep again.

* * *

Before leaving the house, Yoon Ga-eul stared at Go-yeo lying on the bed for a while, repeatedly looking back. It felt unreal, and it seemed like she wouldn’t be there when he returned from school. It was uncertain whether she would wake up late as usual on the uncomfortable bed. Although she didn’t say anything, the mattress that made spring noises inside must have been uncomfortable.

If it weren’t for the group meeting, he wouldn’t have gone, but if he missed this meeting, it would be detrimental to all group members.

“Hah…”

The discussion about the assignment lasted longer than expected. Anxiously checking his phone, there were still no messages. But if it were her, it wouldn’t be strange to just go.

As soon as the meeting ended, he got up and left the library, bumping into Anna on the way out.

“Oh, Ga-eul. Did you have classes today?”

“No. Because of the assignment.”

Anna was about to say something with a smile when he urgently turned his back and ran away. Anna’s friend, Yoo-young, who was next to her, spoke casually.

“Isn’t that Yoon Ga-eul, who returned to the second year? He was always handsome, but seems like his vibe has changed for real?”

Anna frowned at Yoo-young’s words, then smiled again.

“Is that so? I didn’t notice, but Ga-eul is just Ga-eul. But who’s saying that?”

“His classmates.”

Anna smirked.

“They probably don’t know him well. Ga-eul has always been like that. Since childhood.”

“Right. You’ve known him since you were kids, right?”

Anna proudly confirmed.

“Yeah. Our fathers were friends.”

“Oh. So you’re practically childhood friends? Hey! Is there something going on between you two?”

“…No. Nothing like that.”

Yoo-young sensed something in Anna’s hesitant response. Anna hesitated to speak several times before finally trailing off.

“It’s a secret, but…”

She whispered, wondering if it would indeed remain a secret. Anna mentioned going to the cathedral with Ga-eul in the past, watching opera together during vacation, and visiting his apartment on his birthday. Of course, she conveniently omitted the fact that Ga-eul’s younger sister was present. It was just omitting parts of the truth, not lying, so she felt confident.

“Wow! That’s almost like dating!”

“Really?”

Without hesitation, Anna openly acknowledged her special relationship with Ga-eul, which she didn’t share with just anyone, to Yoo-young. It felt satisfying to reveal this fact. She smiled brightly at Yoo-young.

* * *

Ga-eul usually took the village bus, but he didn’t even have time to rest and ran all the way home. When he finally reached the front door, he hesitated. He couldn’t open it because he couldn’t turn the doorknob properly.

“…I’m home.”

He struggled to open the door. Once faced with reality, he had to accept it. It wasn’t a big deal, after all. But Ga-eul almost hesitated to sit down.

Under the sunlit window, she lay there. When Ga-eul cautiously approached, she smelled the same shampoo scent as his own.

Ga-eul knelt under the mattress, trying to suppress the noise. Under the blanket on her waist and the pillow under her head, she was wearing his clothes. It was all discordant, yet somehow a perfect moment he wanted to remember forever.

On the table, untouched coffee and toast remained. Well, Go-yeo didn’t eat well, and he didn’t want to force-feed her just because she was hungry. He thought about what to feed her when she woke up, and if she suddenly got up, what would he do? He considered various possibilities.

After a quick shower, Ga-eul decided to finish his assignment while she slept. He sat in front of a small table instead of a desk and started typing on the keyboard. While feeling her breath still sound asleep.

Go-yeo woke up to the distant sound of cars and the quiet, steady tapping of the keyboard. Now, she was somewhat familiar with where she was. His small house felt so different from her daily life, uncomfortable, yet strangely, she slept well.

‘Is it because of this mattress or bedding?’

She felt like keeping his room just the way it was. She pulled the blanket and took a deep breath. She sensed Ga-eul’s scent filling her nose, a gentle scent of sunlight.

The regular sound of the keyboard stopped. He looked at her lying down and Go-yeo nodded her chin, a signal to continue. Ga-eul smiled softly and started typing on the keyboard again.

‘As diligent and sincere as ever.’

Go-yeo lay quietly, watching Ga-eul. At first, his eyes were restless, but now he was fully focused. Watching his serene figure, her eyes grew heavy. She drifted into a deep sleep she hadn’t experienced before.

Ga-eul quickly finished his assignment and lay on the table, watching her sleep. He simply wished her image would stick to his eyelids. So, even if he closed his eyes, he could still see her.

As Go-yeo tossed and turned, the blanket slipped down her waist. Ga-eul approached cautiously and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Despite it being spring, it was still chilly. Even with the heater on, there was a draft in this place.

As he lay beside her, the mattress sank deeply. Holding her tightly, he felt tears welling up. He didn’t regret going to her yesterday, despite the difficulties.

He checked the news of Moon Ji-hyuk’s engagement cancellation. Despite not wanting to know, it was impossible to ignore the gossip.

From the woman’s side, they simply stated that the engagement never happened, while the man’s side brushed it off as personal reasons.

‘Is he trying to meet the boss again? And what about the boss?’

There hadn’t been any discussion about it. They hadn’t delved into deeper issues, and any speculation was based on hearsay from others rather than through her. It wasn’t that he was offended or saddened by it, because that was her territory. 

He wondered what she wanted. And he wanted to ask what happens next.

‘Do we have a future?’

The words “we” and “future” might not exist between Go-yeo and Yoon Ga-eul. The man casually mentioned things that Ga-eul couldn’t have.

‘This house with a garden was where Go-yeo and I planned to live after getting married. We wanted our kids to play in the garden. We shared more than we thought. Many years, countless memories. And we thought about the future.’

They dreamed of the future as naturally as the earth rotates, as if it made sense. But Han Go-yeo is in front of Yoon Ga-eul’s eyes, and even if he can’t have her perfectly, it’s Yoon Ga-eul, not Moon Ji-hyuk, who can touch and hold her now.

‘I forced myself onto Go-yeo.’

His dry voice still echoed vividly in his ears. A cruel person who casually uttered such words. Someone who treated her recklessly… Ga-eul hugged Go-yeo gently, his heart overwhelmed with emotion.

May she no longer be hurt. May she not suffer. May Ga-eul’s comfort become her solace.

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah…”

Go-yeo naturally accepted the person snuggling up to her in her half-asleep state. With drowsy eyes, she raised her hand to feel around his eyes. She touched his white, soft skin. It was obvious that it was Han Go-yeo who had corrupted him from a pure deer. She gently pressed her lips against his, mixing their breath like flowing water.

She wore nothing underneath the short-sleeved T-shirt he’d given her. She didn’t resist as he enveloped her like a blanket. It was desperate and intense, but it wasn’t unpleasant. A small bead of sweat fell from his forehead onto Go-yeo’s chest. As he moved urgently, heat consumed her body, tingling from head to toe. When he leaned down for a kiss between her thighs, she trembled with excitement.

They reached the peak multiple times with lingering heat, using up all the condoms. His small space was filled with an eerie energy that lingered even after they finished.