A few seconds later, he took his hands off my face. Still showing the same glow of warmth in his eyes, he said in his deep, deep voice, "Chunghee, will you come with me? I want you to stay with me at my place, not in this place. I want us to spend more time together at my place."

Those words were a little offensive and made me frowned tightly at him. I said in an exasperated tone, "What do you mean 'not in this place'? Are you comparing this old place to yours, huh, young master?" Sighing silently, I continued, "I'd rather spend the rest of my life alone in this old place than have to go to your luxurious place, but it will only make me feel uncomfortable."

Although I didn't speak without an affirmation, those words were still individualistic.

A second after finishing my sentence, he gripped my arms, looking at me with his eyes that lost their warmth and looked gloomy. There was a faint surprise on his face, then he started to speak, "Chunghee, don't get me wrong. I didn't mean to compare anything. Do you think that I'm that kind of person? Haven't we been together before, since you were still working at my company, have you ever heard me compare such a thing? Or, do I always look arrogant in your eyes?" He was stunned for a moment, and continued, "If so, you're wrong."

Looking at him, I said calmly, "But, you just did it, didn't you? And, do you know, a beginning sometimes has no end."

Instantly he showed an expression as if he was surprised by what I just said. Paused for a moment, he then sighed heavily by loosening his grip on my arms before continuing to say in a desperate tone, "I don't know why I always look bad in your eyes. I don't recognize myself as a good person but I'm just trying to do my best so that I'm not seen wrong in your eyes. But, no matter what I do, you never even think that it's good to you."

"If you say that, you make me think that you ain't that different from Donghwa." I grinned, and said indifferently, "Should I explain to you why I was mad? I thought that you already knew. And, now, you want to take me where I don't want to. Are you going to hide me?"

He looked dazed for a while, then suddenly grabbed his hair tightly. He gave a small groan, sounding like repulsion and sicken. Then, he took a deep breath, trying to relax. "What do you mean? I told you that you misunderstood. Don't go too far into thinking about something that doesn't match my point."

I looked at his face that looked earnest and asked, "Then, what do you mean? Isn't that obvious enough—"

"Chunghee!"

A loud voice struck once in the air. It shook the wind and also my heart at the same time. At the first glance, there was a sharp glint in his dark and cold bead eyes.

With a sense of shock, I couldn't say a word, other than touching my slightly tight chest.

As long as I knew him, I had never heard Daehyun shout at me like that, let alone with such an unusual look, without blinking. It made my whole body felt as if it was trembling.

It made him look completely different from how he had always been friendly before!

In that instant, he said with an emotion that sounded pressed down in his throat, "Fine. If you think that I want to hide you, then okay. I do want to hide you. I don't want that bastard to find you. That's why I want to take you to my place." He paused for a moment with the corners of his lips curling downward. "Maybe, that sounds exaggerated, right? But, about what I said just now, I mean it. I don't care what will you think about it."

For a moment I lowered my gaze while thinking about his words carefully, about his attitude that was stupid and too kind. Then, I shifted my position so that I was closer to him, who currently still showed a clear seriousness on his face at this moment. "I got it. Is that a good intention of you? Then, thank you. I'll appreciate it. But, do you know, why I want to be alone? Why I don't want you to chase me?"

"..."

Also, why did I decide not to stay with Donghwa again, who has even spent a lot of ups and downs with me over the years?

However, those words seemed to be frozen on my tongue so I couldn't say them directly. I thought that the sentence I just said was enough to describe what I exactly wanted to say.

Hearing about this, he frowned, but still showed the same expression, cold.

I grinned. Then, calmly saying again, "It's because I don't want to have an argument like we just did before. I've had enough to do it with Donghwa, and I don't want to do it with anyone else again. Especially if it is you. That's why I said if I wanted to be alone. Don't you get my point?"

After finishing my words, his expression became slightly more relaxed as if it was being blown by a warm spring breeze. Even though his eyes were still cold, the tenderness slowly dominated his face. Then, in a flat tone, he said, "If so, I got it. But, even if my head had understood, my body will never understand a word like that."

I took a deep breath. "I know ... I know. I know you will never listen to me."

I was silent. I knew how he felt, but I always pretended not to understand his feelings.

"Then, I would like to ask you one thing." With a pause, he continued to say, "Are you always being stubborn like that when you were with him? Or, are you just showing your stubbornness to someone who likes you, but you have no feelings for that person?"

Instantly my eyes widened open when I heard the question of him, then immediately turned my face away.

Hearing those words, I began to realize something that had been forgotten. During my time with Donghwa, I always gave in and blamed myself. I realized that what I showed to Daehyun was something different, where I was always indifferent with him, while with Donghwa, I would always be obedient; obeying his willingness; trying to hide my sadness in front of him; trying to smile to cover my pains; and even now, Donghwa didn't know that I was struggling alone at that time just because I wanted to be with him any longer.

I never even complained to Donghwa ...

This thought made me unaware that at this moment, my tears had been rolling down my cheeks.

Daehyun, who saw me crying become shocked, he exclaimed in panic, "Chunghee, what's wrong? Did I scare you?"

"Please, I'm already burdened with a lot of things. I've suffered so much right now. Please don't make me suffer more than this. I can't bear the burden inside of me anymore," I stammered. "If you want to be with me, then please listen to me."

Why did I become the bad guy when I was with him?

Why am I so hard to just repay his feelings?

The questions kept circling my head until I barely heard anything.

Daehyun hugged me tightly, making me sink into his arms. "I'm sorry ... I'm sorry. It's my fault. I didn't mean anything. I'm sorry."

I bit my trembling lip. I didn't know why Daehyun apologized for something that didn't concern himself.

At the same time, I truly wanted to reply to Daehyun's words, saying that he shouldn't blame himself, but as if helpless, my lips seemed to be locked by a memory that had been silent for a long time in my head and suddenly appeared like a heavy blow. It was as if playing back like an old roll of film, with the footage slowly fading, then crystal clear!

With tears in my eyes, I kept thinking about it. There was a feeling of guilt rising in my chest and it was tightening me up.

I don't want to say stupid things like that. However, I couldn't understand why these thoughts kept spinning in my head incessantly that it gave me a headache.

Hurts ...

It really hurts...

Until the pain in my chest finally had spread throughout my body. Carried by the blood flowing through my nerves, slicing every part of my body.

It caused intense pain!

Then, a few seconds later, my limp body fell, but Daehyun swiftly holds me.

I could feel his touch and snap his breath ... but could only remain silent ...

I could still hear his voice calling out my name. It was clear at first, but slowly, the voice began to fade away until I heard nothing — not even to feel my own body.

I was unconscious!

***