Love for love's sake [ENG TRANS]

Chapter 46

[Tae Myeongha's POV]

The brightly shining stars falling resembled a painting. Happiness. Cha Yeowoon wanted that common and obvious thing so desperately that my heart inevitably ached. I finally understood.

[ Mission: Make Cha Yeowoon happy. ]

That was also his wish. When I closed my eyes and opened them, I was the bus again. I disembarked at the last stop. Having escaped the hallucination of a meteor shower, the night sky of another city appeared. Instead of the scent of trees, there was the smell of dust and oil.

Cha Yeowoon's confession followed belatedly and repeated in my ears. "I like you."

My knees buckled. Unable to climb the excessively steep alley, I sat down right there. My lone shadow on the asphalt drew a horizontal line beneath the lamplight. The pouring light felt heavy.

"You've lost it, haven't you, Tae Myeongha." I talked to myself like I was swearing.

Cha Yeowoon was too dazzling and heavy. When I raised my head, the city's starlight struck me. Ah, what should I do? Feelings that I couldn't bear to name pierced my chest. Messages blinked in the sky above the power lines.

[ !Sub-Mission triggered. ]

[ Q: What is necessary for a happy life?
A: Days without worries. ]

[ Sub-Mission: 3.000.000 won ]

[T/n: it's around 2250$]

One, ten, hundred, thousand...I opened my mouth wide in astonishment. The number blinked in the air along with the stars. What was that?

[ Fondness: 36 ]

***

[Cha Yeowoon's POV]

Cha Yeowoon was breathless. A whistle rang out. His foot pushed off the starting block. Muscles in his entire body expanded with heat. His heart pumped vigorously and his thighs ached stiffly. The surroundings' vision flowed like water.

Fast. He could feel it himself. Right now, it was a good speed. Reaching the destination point, he stopped.

"10 seconds! Cha Yeowoon, your form has improved lately. You're in good condition today!"

Cha Yeowoon wiped his sweat and nodded at the coach's praise.

"Your records have been really good lately. Did something good happen? You're in great shape."

"I guess it's the result of hard training." Cha Yeowoon dryly replied to the coach's teasing.

A good thing? He had experienced his first heartbreak. If he didn't run, he felt like his heart was constantly beating wrong. It seemed as if it had lost its original rhythm. It was easier to forget that memory if his chest felt like it was going to burst.

"Teacher, can I run with Yeowoon?" A shout came from the group of 2nd year students who had been watching from behind.

"Cheon Sangwon. Why do you always want to run with our ace?"

"I want to be stimulated. I want to work hard because of that stimulation."

Although it sounded like nonsense, the coach allowed Cheon Sangwon to run in the lane next to Cha Yeowoon. Anyone could see that Cheon Sangwon was the exception in many ways. Despite having joined late, his decent performance must have won the coach's heart. Cha Yeowoon had also heard him sincerely regret not starting track and field earlier.

Did they really kiss? Cha Yeowoon persistently looked back on the memories of that day. He remembered Tae Myeongha's puzzled gaze at Cheon Sangwon, the furrowed brow, the back hand on the forehead, and even the lips that spoke rapidly.