DI Ch 74

“Customer. I will help you with the calculations.”

“…”

I saw the staff smiling and people already lined up behind me, so I took out Tae Seong-je’s card and used it. Ah, if this happens, it will be like Tae Seong-je bought his own gift with his own money. I didn’t use it the way I was told to, but I did end up using it this way.

After leaving the store, I rummaged through my wallet, but I couldn’t find the card that had been there just yesterday. I began to worry if I had dropped it somewhere and retraced my steps mentally, patting my pants pockets. Then, I felt a crinkling sensation and pulled out… a jelly packet.

“What is this again?”

Jelly beans. I muttered to myself, puzzled. I must have bought it, but I couldn’t remember doing so. I decided to eat a piece as I headed back to my room. As expected, it was a nice room even if I look at it again. They say that spending money begets earning money, and it seems to be true. In a world where I thought I would never have time to relax, I found myself in this luxurious room, gazing out at the sea.

Sitting down at the desk, I placed the gifts and Tae Seong-je’s card on the table and stared at it intently. Well, there was no going back now; I had already used the card. I promised myself that next time, I’d get something even more expensive. With that thought in mind, I momentarily pushed the gifts and the card aside and took out the elegant stationery.

Just as Seo Seung-won served as the plot-triggering character, ‘Seo Seung-won’s Letter’ also played a pivotal role as a plot-triggering object. To be precise, it’s ‘Seo Seung-won’s diary’, but it’s a bit awkward to write a diary that I haven’t written since the lower grades of elementary school at this age, so I arbitrarily replaced it with a letter.

Whether it was a diary or a letter, as long as it conveyed the meaning, it didn’t really matter.

This was my third letter. If I kept writing whatever came to mind, I wondered if I would accumulate enough to fill a notebook in a few years. Anyway, ‘Seo Seung-won’s diary’ was a keepsake that appeared later when Seo Seung-won committed suicide, and it was an object that Woo Ji-min received from Seo Seung-won’s younger brother when he visited his house.

Woo Ji-min read Seo Seung-won’s diary after Seo Seung-joon asked if he knew who the person in the diary was. Woo Ji-min eventually felt compassion for the unloved Seo Seung-won after reading the diary. He was filled with rage and frustration at Tae Seong-je’s heartlessness and cruelty, which lacked both pity and grief.

Seo Seung-won’s mementos would become the catalyst for Woo Ji-min to develop even greater animosity towards Tae Seong-je.

This was the most important plot point in the novel. It was thanks to “Seo Seung-won’s Diary” that Woo Ji-min and I could learn detailed information about the kidnapping. It also revealed a side of Woo Ji-min that I hadn’t seen before.

Seo Seung-won’s love, sadness, resentment, sorrow, pain, and jealousy for Tae Seong-je…

Seo Seung-won was jealous of Woo Ji-min. He knew that Tae Seong-je was interested in Woo Ji-min, and because of that, he was tormented by endless comparisons between himself and Woo Ji-min. When Woo Ji-min realized that Seo Seung-won’s soul was rotting away because of him, he didn’t know what to do and ultimately directed all his anger toward Tae Seong-je.

I would finally return home when Woo Ji-min and Kang Moo-hyun entered the final chapter and the end of the story, and Seo Seung-won would return to his own body and reunited with his family. Seo Seung-won would not recognize Woo Ji-min, but at least Woo Ji-min would be less burdened by the fact that Seo Seung-won hadn’t died.

Tae Seong-je, who has lost everything, departs for China. That would be the end. There were no more acts of revenge or anything like that in this story. This was the ending. He would start a new life. My whole body throbbed as if tiny hearts were clumping together like barnacles and pulsing in unison.

It was a predetermined future from the beginning, and Taesungje knew that he would face the consequences of his actions in Part 2. But why did I have this uneasy feeling again? Whether I had a good time here or not, when I returned, when I went back home, I felt like there would be lingering effects.

I had a premonition. I would miss him. A lot. Feeling down, I turned my head to look out the window. The weather was so nice, and the sky was incredibly blue. I gazed at the sky absentmindedly,

I had a sudden thought. Why doesn’t this book have any side stories or extras? Even if not all villainous characters’ endings have to be miserable, it wouldn’t hurt to have some minor updates. Well, this story was written at a high school level at best, lacking in originality like this.

The side story of how Tae Seong-je lives there. Who he fell in love with, how he was getting along with that person, whether he was in good health or not; having such information would be interesting. However, thinking about it that way made me wonder how much Woo Ji-min, who had suffered at the hands of Tae Seong-je, would hate that. Still…

There was no excuse, and my thoughts didn’t continue. In the clear and clean, square sky, a fluffy cloud appeared. A white cloud that lazily floated by, stealing my gaze like a cotton ball.

It looked like the buttocks of a white cat. Fluffy… cat paws… jelly… I absentmindedly looked out the window and took out a piece of jelly from my pocket to eat it. Woo Ji-min had suffered since he was young, but in the end, he would live with Kang Moo-hyun…

The ending was so boring that I didn’t even care about the epilogue. Initially, I had thought that since the two main characters were the focus, an ending where they were together would be a happy ending. However, after getting to know Woo Ji-min, I realized that the ending he desired wasn’t that at all.

Woo Ji-min’s primary life goal was to have an environment where he could start a family with someone. Once that was achieved, he would seek a woman to marry and become a family with. For Woo Ji-min, who had no family, having a family was his true ending.

“Woo Ji-min… He’s a good person…”

He had a sensitive side, but he was kind and had a good nature. He was far too good for someone like the shady Kang Moo-hyun. Kang Moo-hyun. I frowned unknowingly. I wasn’t in a position to pity anyone, but Woo Jimin’s words were so dreadful. After all, the true winner in this story was Kang Moo-hyun.

In the end, Woo Ji-min voluntarily chose Kang Moo-hyun, but he didn’t choose him because he wanted to. How could he live with him for the rest of his life? If it was Tae Seong-je, it would be worth living together. Rolling a small jelly on my tongue, I had these frivolous thoughts.

But it’s true. He might have a temper, but compared to Kang Moo-hyun, he has a tolerable personality so it would be nice to live together. Even if not, he’s someone you can rely on and learn from. He’s not as pathetic as some others. He’s not pretending to be laid-back and easygoing like some people.

Maybe it’s because he’s a cousin to Kang Moo-hyun, that they both have flaws that make people uneasy. Well, I guess if the other person is someone you casually meet like me, it’s fine. If it’s someone who thinks about the future and dates seriously, wouldn’t he treat them well?

What would it have been like if Tae Seong-je had been the main character instead of a supporting villain? I suddenly thought about that. I looked away from the window and stared at the ceiling absentmindedly, imagining Tae Seong-je standing next to Woo Ji-min. Woo Ji-min and Tae Seong-je, who had just smiled at me and left…

“…They would suit each other.”

To me, they just seemed like brothers, but the two of them looked quite compatible. It’s not easy to say that about two men stuck together. I felt a little irritated after I said that.

I spread my hand flat and then covered my face with it, pressing down hard. What’s falling apart? I was disturbed by just imagining. I closed my eyes tightly and groaned before collapsing onto the desk, making an agonizing sound. The headache, which I had thought I had become accustomed to, unexpectedly asserted its presence.

“Ugh…”

Strange. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal. I could endure it… I held my head tightly with both arms and exhaled forcefully. The pain in my head was much worse than usual as if it would split open.

There were two ways to temporarily alleviate this unusual physical pain. One was medication, and the other was alcohol. I discovered the latter relatively recently, and while it certainly has a great effect, I am cautious about it turning into alcoholism. As for medication, it was a problem because side effects occurred as soon as the dosage increased.

Being sick in this body was torturous. If there were someone out there who had to live with this body, they probably would have committed suicide long ago. Even though I had a constitution that was difficult to explain, I had thought that after enduring it for a few years, it would eventually end. I couldn’t bear it any longer.

By the time the sun set, the headache had subsided, but it was after I had completely lost my energy. Maybe it was because I was mentally distressed. I missed Tae Seong-je very much. Now… no, once the sun completely sets, should I give him a call? What should I say? When are you coming? Are you on your way?

I pulled out a summer flower that had been carelessly placed in the vase and twirled it in my hand. Didn’t he say he would come in the evening? If he finds it bothersome, what should I do? Just wait quietly… But how long? It’s already evening, isn’t it? Dinner time, no, appointment time, isn’t it?