Munjeong - Chapter 29

“Oh dear, Chaeon. What happened to you? Why are you soaking wet?”

One of the staff, who had been decorating the staircase of the main building with fresh flowers, was startled by Chaeon’s bedraggled appearance and asked in concern. Clutching the vase tightly in her arms, Chaeon paused for a moment to choose her words.

“Well, some flowers fell into the fountain, so I went in to retrieve them…”

“Oh my goodness. You’ve been studying for the college entrance exam while helping your mother and doing all these little chores. You’re going to catch a cold. Go change your clothes quickly.”

“Okay. Thank you for your concern.”

The fountain’s water was as cold as ice, as the weather had grown considerably chillier. The air of Songbaekwon, nestled near mountains and forests in a high-altitude area, felt especially cold, and Chaeon couldn’t stop trembling. However, it wasn’t just the cold that was causing her to shake…

Was it because she had run into him again after so long—someone she had been avoiding out of embarrassment for being caught watching him? Even from a distance, the moment their eyes met, it felt like her heart plummeted. His piercing gaze seemed to pin her down, and she had almost remained frozen in place. But in her panic, she ended up showing him such a sorry sight instead.

Letting out a sigh, Chaeon placed the vase in the sitting room and turned to leave, only to run directly into Yeonjun, who was entering the main building.

Since Heejung had advised her to stay away from the main building for a while, Chaeon hadn’t come near it much recently. It had been as long since she’d last seen Yeonjun as it had been since she’d seen Taeha. When Chaeon stopped in her tracks, Yeonjun raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side with a smug expression.

“It’s been a while, Chaeon.”

“…Hello.”

Yeonjun, who seemed about to say something disapproving, narrowed his eyes as he scanned her from head to toe. His expression hardened.

“You… like this… you came here like this?”

“Pardon?”

Yeonjun, who had been wearing a long cardigan over his shoulders, took it off and draped it over Chaeon’s shoulders. It was so large and long that while it barely reached below his hips, it nearly touched Chaeon’s ankles.

“What on earth happened to you?”

Having already answered the same question from the staff member earlier, Chaeon felt a little drained repeating herself. When she hesitated silently, Yeonjun’s gaze sharpened as he asked again.

“Didn’t you run into anyone on your way here?”

Since the person who had already seen her in this state was Jang Taeha, it wasn’t true that she hadn’t met anyone. However, for some reason, she felt it would be better not to mention it. After a brief hesitation, Chaeon nodded.

“No, I came straight to the sitting room to place the vase and then came out.”

Yeonjun, as if suppressing some sort of frustration, clenched his teeth momentarily before letting out a long sigh and patting her on the shoulder.

“Take a warm shower as soon as you get back. You’ll catch a cold. You can return this later.”

Feeling guilty about receiving kindness again after such a long time, Chaeon hesitantly tried to return the cardigan.

“Um, about the clothes you lent me before…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Sorry?”

Frowning slightly, Yeonjun draped the cardigan back over her shoulders and even buttoned it up.

“I didn’t care about getting that back in the first place.”

Confused by his cryptic response, Chaeon was about to ask something when Yeonjun took a deep breath and spoke again.

“Let’s talk later. You can tell me then why you’ve been so hard to see these days.”

Avoiding Chaeon’s puzzled gaze, Yeonjun turned and walked away.

After the day Chaeon had been called to Jang Taeha, she had stopped visiting to ask about difficult problems or to borrow books. This change had put Yeonjun on edge. Though he suspected her mother, Mrs. Ahn, had given her some instructions, he also felt there was more to it.

The piano melody he had heard from that room on that day still lingered in his mind. The fact that Jang Taeha had allowed “that piano” to be played by someone else was strange enough. Yet the sight of Chaeon hurrying down the stairs to the staff quarters, her ears red with embarrassment, left an even deeper impression. It was obvious she had discarded the clothes he had lent her somewhere.

Seeing her again after over a week, Yeonjun had nearly lost his composure. To top it off, seeing her in such a drenched and pitiful state had been too much. Grinding his teeth in frustration, Yeonjun rubbed his temples irritably.

Stepping out into the garden, the cold wind helped him regain a bit of calm. Feeling the chill against his exposed skin under his short sleeves, he walked slowly over the grass.

Chaeon possessed a unique air unlike anyone Yeonjun had ever met—a quality he desperately wanted to capture. But he couldn’t figure out how or with what. Even looking at the light sketches he had drawn over the past few days, he couldn’t grasp it.

His artistic ambition had subtly shifted into something more peculiar. What began as a desire to draw or sculpt her transformed into a longing to see her smile, hear her voice, and look at her for longer. These were emotions he hadn’t felt since his emotional circuits had been broken, and they came entirely from her.

Now, he even felt anxious whenever Jang Taeha’s attention fell on Chaeon or when he sought her out. Was it jealousy, stemming from the fear that someone else might approach the person he had wanted to immortalize in his art simply because she was beautiful and fit his preferences?

Lost in thought, Yeonjun was unconsciously biting his lip when his foot brushed against something. Lowering his gaze, he saw a single dried flower lying there. It seemed oddly out of place, as though someone had dropped it in haste.

“…”

Yeonjun quietly picked up the flower. As a chill crept over him, he turned around, only to find himself facing a large window that opened onto the terrace. Taeha’s room. From where he stood, it was positioned in such a way that their eyes would inevitably meet if Taeha looked out.

“Didn’t you run into anyone on your way here?”

“No, I just came in to place the vase in the sitting room and left right away.”

Why…

Standing there, glaring at the window, Yeonjun crushed the flower in his hand. The pale blue petals fluttered weakly to the ground, as if anticipating their end.

—

D-30 Until the College Entrance Exam

Chaeon checked the reminder from her countdown calendar and quietly closed her phone. It was the end of regular classes, and as her classmates noisily packed their bags to head home, Chaeon silently gathered her things as well.

Her school life had been quiet and uneventful for a long time now. She remained indifferent to those who expressed interest in getting to know her and equally indifferent to the whispers of animosity she occasionally heard behind her back. As always, she simply let things pass with her characteristically detached attitude.

When classmates awkwardly greeted her, she responded politely and continued walking. But just as she was about to step forward, someone called out to her from the end of the hallway.

“Wait a minute, Yoon Chaeon!”

“…”

It was a boy from the same grade but a different class. She recognized him as someone she occasionally passed in the hallway. Each time they passed, the boys nearby would cheer exaggeratedly with cries of “Ooooh!”—enough for her to notice that he probably liked her.

As Chaeon stared at him, clutching her bag strap, as if to ask what he wanted, the boy scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and suddenly held out a blue can of coffee to her.

“Well, um, you… I’ve noticed that whenever you get something from the vending machine, it’s always this one.”

“Oh.”

“I was trying to get a zero-calorie cola earlier, but I accidentally got this instead. If you don’t mind, you can have it.”

In truth, she didn’t particularly like canned coffee; she drank it mostly to cope with her morning grogginess. But explaining that felt tedious.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure. Uh… Here.”

The boy’s cheekbones turned slightly red as he handed her the can. Despite all his fumbling words, the can’s surface was cold, making it clear it had just come from the vending machine.

“Well then, see you around. Bye.”

“…”

To go so far as to lie just to give someone something they liked, to try and say even one more word to them, and to pour your heart into such gestures—would she ever do something like that for someone else someday?

Watching the boy’s retreating figure, Chaeon lowered her gaze.

Someone you like…

Looking down at the can in her hand, Chaeon suddenly felt a face flash through her mind. Startled, she nearly dropped the can. No way. Why now, of all times, would that face come to mind?

Shaking her head vigorously, she quickened her pace, as if trying to erase the lingering image of the face hovering in her thoughts.

TL – Idk i love Taeha more