Love for love's sake [ENG TRANS]

Chapter 3

[Tae Myeongha's POV]

I heard the cheerful tune again.

[ Fondness: -20 ]

Huh? Not plus 20 but negative 20?

I was startled and double-checked the numbers, but the bright red negative was still the same.

"Who are you?" Cha Yeowoon asked coldly.

It was a genuinely frosty tone. Those who looked like this boy might have had a voice like melting cotton candy, but even his natural voice couldn't hide his raised vigilance. No, it actually sounded colder.

Didn't I just save him? Even if I did interrupt abruptly?

"Oh? I'm your sunbae, from your school..."

"How do you know me? Why are you here? And..."

The end of the sentence wavered slightly. Contrary to Cha Yeowoon's aggressive tone, he was trembling. I was bewildered.

Should I pretend not to know? Should I try to comfort him?

"Please let go of my hand." Cha Yeowoon said as he pulled his arm.

I only now realized that our hands were still tightly clasped together. I let go of it quickly, but my fingers hurt from how tightly I had held. Any longer and there might have been bruises.

"Sorry."

Although I apologized hastily, Cha Yeowoon only fidgeted with his reddened hand. There was no sign that his vigilance was easing up.

Actually. I knew him, but to him I was a stranger. And to anyone, it would have been very unpleasant to be caught in a vulnerable moment by someone you had never met before.

What should I say in this situation? That I had somehow felt like he was going to jump today, so I came here? Or that I had fallen into this world with the mission to make him happy?

The fondness might drop to around negative 100 with a statement like that.

What should I do?

"Your grandmother had asked me." I barely managed to come up with a plausible answer after scratching my head.

"My grandmother?" Cha Yeowoon asked skeptically.

Of course, I had never met his grandmother.

"Your grandmother and I know each other, and she had asked me to look after you."

"My grandmother never said anything like that."

Of course not. I had made up the story.

"She's from Gyeongsang province and likes to eat Gaengsigi."

But I knew Cha Yeowoon's grandmother really well.

"She says Gaengsigi is eaten on rainy days, but you don't like it that much. She has a habit of not liking Seoul food, and because she did menial work for a wealthy household that had a picky eater when she was young she became good at cooking and scolding."

Lies flowed effortlessly. Of course, the content of my story wasn't a lie. It was the same as what Cha Yeowoon had said about his grandmother.

"We spoke frequently when I would bump into her at the market. Noting I was the same age as her grandson, she would often talk about you."

Cha Yeowoon's expression slowly softened. After falling in love with the female protagonist, he would often talk about his grandmother. He would repeat stories about her as if there were only fond memories. I remembered thinking it was somewhat pitiful. Even more so because I was similar to him.