Chapter 46
Chapter 46
“My time isn’t that rushed.”
“Weren’t you leaving first?”
“If I leave even a minute before you, then I’ve left first.”
I appreciated that he finally spoke, but it looked like he was starting again. He knew just as well as I did that arguing here would only wear us both out and accomplish nothing—so why was he doing this?
“But I’d like to rest a bit.”
“Yeah?”
“I’d appreciate it if you could leave now.”
I made myself clear. I told him to get out.
But he completely ignored what I said and stubbornly stood his ground. As I struggled to figure out how to get through this situation, an idea came to mind. If I ran to the room next door, Dad was there, so he wouldn’t be able to follow me.
The door was already open, so slipping out wouldn’t be hard. But just as I was about to move, it was like he read my mind.
With a look that said “no chance,” Shin Chi-woo closed the door I’d left open. And he even clicked the lock shut.
What now.
We were alone in a motel room. The door was locked, the windows tightly shut, and the tips of his dress shoes and my sneakers were lined up barely a handspan apart.
“The bruise is gone.”
“When did you see that?”
“When did I ever take my eyes off you?”
He reached out with his right hand and touched my left cheek. As if this kind of contact between us was completely normal, he moved with disarming ease.
Startled, I flinched away from his touch and took a step back. The cold texture of the wall seeped into my back.
There was nowhere left to retreat. If I wanted to avoid him, I’d have to move deeper into the room—and that might be even more dangerous. Because the bed was over there.
“Why are you so startled?”
“You touched me out of nowhere.”
“Ah, right. You said you didn’t like being touched.”
“If you know that, then don’t do it anymore.”
As I stepped back, he stepped forward. And just like that, the distance between us was erased again.
I tried to avoid meeting his eyes, but it wasn’t easy. Just as I could read the look on his face, he could surely read mine. The dangerous glint in his gaze, looking down at me so intently, made it clear what was coming.
“Don’t we… have things to talk about?”
“I don’t. No—I already said everything.”
“But I do.”
With a soft sigh, Shin Chi-woo’s voice dropped into a smoother tone. He was the one at a disadvantage in this pointless tug-of-war.
“I came back because I had something to say.”
His relaxed voice reminded me of the one he used when he called me in secret from the island. Low and steady, but with a distinct rhythm that carried his thoughts clearly. The gentle, almost whisper-like resonance brushed against my ears and sent a shiver through me.
My shoulders gave a tiny twitch.
That strange tingle made me clasp my hands together for no reason. But it didn’t do much to hide my anxiety. I was the only one unaware of how obviously I was reacting to him.
“Seo Wan-yi.”
His gaze burned, focused in one spot. It felt like he was staring at my hands, and that’s when I remembered the ring. I should’ve taken it off earlier—leaving it on was basically dangling bait in front of him. I had no excuse.
His attention was overwhelming, so I lowered my head further and stared only at my toes. That’s when Shin Chi-woo’s large hand reached out toward me.
“Wan-yi.”
Wan-yi—he would occasionally slip up and call my name like that. On those days, after the call ended, I’d feel giddy, like we were having some kind of secret relationship. I wished he didn’t know how I felt, but I had a feeling he’d figured it all out.
He gently took hold of my fidgeting hands, which I couldn’t keep still out of nervousness. His hand was large, firm, and unexpectedly soft—it didn’t feel bad at all. Since I was thinking of this as the end, there was no reason to coldly shake him off. So I stayed still.
Just as I began to wonder what he was about to say, my eyes widened in surprise.
“Don’t go.”
“……”
“Don’t go with your dad. Stay here with me.”
It was such an unexpected, unforeseen proposal that I slowly lifted my head to look at him. It was the most sincere expression I had ever seen on his face. I didn’t know he could look bashful—it caught me off guard.
But it felt like a shame to only discover this side of him at the end. Because from the moment he spoke, my answer had already been decided.
“I can at least protect you.”
“……”
“Don’t go with your dad. Stay here. No, I want you to stay.”
Because he was tall, I had to tilt my chin slightly upward to meet his eyes. His full lips, pressed in determination, trembled slightly with tension as he spoke with clear resolve. Was it just my imagination, or were his dark eyes genuinely desperate?
So I hesitated, just for a moment. Tempted by the sweet suggestion that I choose him over my dad.
I knew it didn’t make sense to go with a man I’d only met twice instead of the father who raised and loved me all my life. For all I knew, he was just sugarcoating things to use me as a hostage.
And yet, for the briefest instant, I had the reckless thought that maybe I wanted to do something crazy for once in my life. I’d always prided myself on living properly, following the rules, being the good one. Just this once, I wanted to break away from the path laid out for me and do things my way.
If Shin Chi-woo and I had known each other for a long time—if I knew what kind of person he really was—maybe I would’ve chosen him over my dad. But I was too scared to bet everything on a moment of passion. And I still didn’t know anything about him.
I wasn’t ready to face the consequences of choosing Shin Chi-woo over my father. I had no confidence that this man who said he could protect me would always love me, always choose me.
So from the beginning, there was only one answer. I had no choice but to turn him down.
“That… would be hard.”
“I don’t want to let you go like this.”
“I understand what you mean… but I can’t.”
“……”
“Thank you… for helping me leave with my dad.”
I didn’t expect him to accept my refusal easily. He slowly leaned closer toward me.
“This is the last time.”
“……”
“Don’t go, Wan-yi. Stay here.”
Was this the desperation of a boy confessing his feelings for the first time? Maybe it was because I could feel that he was being sincere, but a hot pressure began to rise in my chest.
“Stay with me.”
He lowered his head slightly to match my height, and our breaths mingled. We were close enough that I could see the subtle tremble in his gaze. And with that, the composure I’d barely managed to hold onto wavered once again.
Neither Shin Chi-woo nor I were the kind to fall into some fated love and throw our lives away for it. But sometimes, a certain pull didn’t need to be love—it could be a simple curiosity, a desire to know someone better.
Yes, the truth is, from the very first moment I saw him, I couldn’t help but glance his way. His looks were my type, sure, but it was more than that. The contradiction in how he’d be kind one moment and stab me with cold words the next—that kept me curious.
I was genuinely moved by how carefully he looked after me with a meticulous eye. But whenever he acted irritable, just when I was starting to warm to him, I found myself resenting him again. I never expected that these lovely and irritating moments would pile up to create this complex, ambiguous feeling.
That’s probably why he was trying to hold on to me now.
“I’m sorry. I’ve made up my mind—I’ll go with my dad.”
“……”
“But thank you… for coming back to ask me to stay.”
If only a single word—“sorry”—could define and resolve everything. I didn’t even know why, but tears began to fall down my cheeks.
If we’re meant to be, maybe we’ll meet again someday. There’s still my father to connect us, and if he really wants to, he’ll find me no matter where I go.
If, when that time comes, we no longer feel this same flutter in our chests, then we can simply wish each other well and return to our separate lives. So now, it really is time to end things here. And yet—
“You’re crying again.”
His hand reached my waist. No matter how strong a wall I build, he only needs to reach out to tear it down so easily.
“Don’t cry.”
The way he gently wiped away my tears was so tender, it only made me even sadder. If I could just let all this boiling emotion inside me burst out raw and unfiltered, how freeing that would be. But instead, I had to swallow it all back down—and maybe that’s why the tears kept falling.
