Love History Caused by Willful Negligence - CH 18

“Sorry. We came all the way here.”

“Don’t be sorry. We’re the ones who’s sorry. I didn’t know that you were in such a bad condition, and I feel like I forced you to come.”

“No. I came here because I liked it… sorry.”

Thanks to Lee Wooyeon who caught him crying while hugging Happy, Choi Inseop had to keep pretending to be unwell after that. It was only natural that he would not be able to participate in the fishing tonight.

“It’s okay. Rest. Rest. We’re going to have a proper duel tonight.”

“CEO, are you prepared to go to Seoul wiping your tears away?”

“Can you drive while crying? I’m worried.”

Lee Wooyeon, who saw the two of them fighting in front of the door, was stopped.

“Aren’t you coming, Wooyeon?”

“It’s cold. What will I do if I catch a cold?”

“You don’t catch colds.”

“Who knows what the future holds for human affairs. I might get sick and lay down. Then it could be a nuisance to others.”

CEO Kim, who knew Lee Wooyeon’s monster-like physical strength, laughed awkwardly and replied, “Yes.”

“Then go. Don’t worry about it.”

“… okay.”

Hearing such words made him even more worried, thinking that it may be because of his old age, CEO Kim went out. There was heavy silence when it was just the two of them left again.

“Good night.”

Lee Wooyeon left the room first, and Choi Inseop thought he was lucky and laid down on the bed. He didn’t seem to be able to sleep. Laying limp on the bed, he imagined many things.

Spending time imagining all kinds of things on sleepless nights was his main specialty. It also required skills to imagine. The more specific and detailed the imagination, the more enjoyable it was. One has to think of what kind of clothes to wear while imagining and what the circumstances around it are as if it was drawn one by one.

But this imagination didn’t need that skill. He remembered his home in America. The smell of cinnamon-scented cookies his mother baked, Will’s barking, his father’s poor piano skills, and his brothers running down the stairs. And the affectionate mother who calls his name…

This imagination was a failure. Successful imaginations had to bring him happiness when imagined. After that, the problem was secondary. But even when he imagined that, he was not happy.

Choi Inseop wiped the flowing tears on the pillowcase and stood up. It looked like it wasn’t going well.

He took a notebook out of his bag and began to write down the details of what happened today and the parts he had to memorize. The brand of beer that Wooyeon liked, the type and number of vegetables he put in when wrapping the wrap, the clothes and shoes he wore today, etc.

He wrote it down, even the trivial information that would be useless if anyone else saw it. After completing the three-page arrangement, Inseop raised his head. Out of the window, he could see the night view of the villa, which CEO Kim boasted about till his mouth went dry.

Choi Inseop got up from his chair, hiding his notebook well deep in his bag.

He went down the stairs carefully. The door to the bedroom on the first floor that Lee Wooyeon was using was firmly closed. He was careful not to make a sound when he opened the front door.

He walked down the stone path and sat in front of a bench overlooking the lake.

Watching the ripples on the cold lake water, he hugged his knees.

It was quiet. No, it was a silence that cannot be expressed in words. It was an air he couldn’t feel at night in Seoul.

“…It’s very lonely.”

When he said that out loud, he felt many times more lonely.

“I’m not lonely at all.”

This one didn’t even make him feel better. Choi Inseop mumbled the things he wanted out of his mouth again.

“I am not lonely. I am happy. I love this. I enjoy my work. I love what I’m doing here right now… I love it.”

Suddenly, a large blanket wrapped around his body.

“What do you love so much?”

“…  !!”

“Are you good?”

Lee Wooyeon sat down next to him and asked. Choi Inseop was surprised and couldn’t shut his mouth.

“It’s cold, so why are you here? You’re not feeling well.”

“…taking a walk…”

“You have a cold.”

Because of the blanket Lee Wooyeon covered him with, Choi Inseop noticed that his body was quite cold.

“Thank you.”

“It’s okay”

Having said that, Lee Wooyeon did not get up from his seat and leaned back with his hands in his pockets.

“The stars are so bright.”

“… Yes. That’s right.”

“It’s quiet.”

“Yes.”

Choi Inseop thought that Lee Wooyeon would get up soon after. But he rummaged through his pockets, pulled out a cigarette, and even took a bite. It meant that he wouldn’t get up until he had at least smoked a cigarette.

Holding the blanket, Inseop was conflicted. At what point would it be awkward to stand up?

“Mr. Choi Inseop.”

“Yes?”

With a cigarette in hand, Wooyeon called out Inseop’s name. Inseop thought that the name that was being called out was like choking him.

“Why are you doing this, Mr. Inseop?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you doing this?”

He was taken aback by the sudden question. His sharp gaze touched his skin like a needle. Not knowing what kind of answer he was looking for, it was getting harder and harder to breathe for Choi Inseop, like a fish being dragged to the shore.

“Since I was little, I didn’t quite understand why people were doing this.”

“… ”

“Now I know what it is in general. But I don’t know what Mr. Inseop is.”

Choi Inseop thought hard. And he gave him the best answer he could.

“… Manager.”

Upon hearing that answer, Wooyeon opened his eyes like a person who had been hit in the back of the head. After a moment of silence, he burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha ha ha. Yes. That’s right. You’re a manager. My manager.”

“… ”

Lee Wooyeon smiled like it was really fun.

“Hahaha. Okay. What does the manager want?”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t there something you want? From me.”

“I…”

“If you tell me now, I will listen. I’ll give you five seconds.”

“… ”

Choi Inseop was confused because he did not know whether he was joking or not. However, Lee Wooyeon started the countdown with a serious face.

“5. 4. 3…”

“I want to know your weaknesses, your weaknesses!”

That answer burst out of his mouth like an unconditional reflex that bounces off when he hits his knee. Having said that, Choi Inseop’s face turned white, wondering what he had done now.

‘Crazy. What did I say now…’

“A weakness?”

“…”

“My weakness?”

Lee Wooyeon pointed to himself and confirmed again. Choi Inseop was about to go crazy. The countdown, which started suddenly, made him go crazy. Otherwise, he could not admit what he had just said.

“You want to know my weakness?”

“… You don’t even have to tell me.”

When Choi Inseop turned his gaze to another place and said that, Lee Wooyeon brought his face closer to him and asked.

“Really? Can I really not tell you?”

“…”

He wanted to die.

He couldn’t do anything, he just wanted to die right now.

“Then I won’t tell you.”

Lee Wooyeon got up from his seat. Choi Inseop grabbed the hem of his robe and shouted.

“Please tell me!”

It was a gamble. He thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to hear it from Lee Wooyeon’s mouth, which he wouldn’t be able to find out if he went on like this.

Lee Wooyeon looked down at the hand holding his clothes. A faint smile crept across his lips.

“Okay. I will tell you.”

Choi Inseop’s eyes twinkled as he raised his head and looked up at him. He thought he looked younger even when he was wearing a suit, but he looked even younger when he was wearing casual clothes and his hair was messed up. His eyes were clear like a boy in a dream. Lee Wooyeon could read the hope in those eyes.

“I didn’t tell anyone.”

Lee Wooyeon looked down at the lake and spoke.

“I can’t swim.”

“…”

“Even when I was taking classes at school, I was always polka-dotting during swimming class. I’m good at other sports, but I can’t really swim.”

“… I seet.”

The vitality disappeared from the twinkling eyes. As fast as water seeping into the sand.

Lee Wooyeon smiled and put his hand in his pocket.

“Yeah, my manager knows my weakness and what is it going to be used for?”

“What?”

“Wasn’t it meant to be used somewhere? Do you want to pass it on somewhere?”

“No”

“But why?”

Lee Wooyeon leaned over and looked directly at Choi Inseop’s face and asked. He was even looking forward to what he would answer now.

“I… I wanted to know. Everything about Lee Wooyeon… Weaknesses, knowing it will help you someday.”

“Because you’re my manager?”

“… Yes. That’s right.”

It was a stupid excuse enough to make him laugh. Choi Inseop regretted falling for Lee Wooyeon’s pun, but it was useless.

Lee Wooyeon smiled happily. A small ripple from his laughter spread across the surface of the lake. He was standing narrowly on the shore of the lake. Choi Inseop swallowed dry saliva as he looked at his shoulder exposed by the moonlight as a backlight. It felt like his hands were shaking from tension and paralyzing every cell in his head. Inseop’s slender hand reached out from inside the soft blanket.

“Are you going to push me in?”

“――!”

“If you’re next to me because you have a grudge against me, this is a great opportunity.”

“Oh, no. It’s not like that.”

A light of surprise passed across Choi Inseop’s face. Then embarrassment, shame, and even trouble. Emotions that should not be revealed to the other party passed one by one.

Until Lee Wooyeon smiled and said, “I’m joking,” Inseop’s expression remained frozen.

Wooyeon wanted to give Inseop advice. If he wanted to deceive others, study a little more and come back. He wanted to tell him that no one will be fooled by such clumsy craft that didn’t even have the least amount of effort.

He wanted to explain to the manager with an innocent face how careful he should be to deceive people.

“Mr. Inseop.”

It was the first time.

What made him decide to give such heartfelt advice to someone?

“――!”

As if noticing something, Choi Inseop’s eyes widened like a puppy with his tail on fire.

“Mr. Inseop…”

Before even starting the advice he was trying to give to the other person in good faith, Wooyeon felt a burning pain in the area of ​​his head. Choi Inseop screamed and stood up, but Wooyeon did not understand exactly what he was saying. He touched the back of his head with his hand. A dull pain swept through his back again before he could figure out what the damp liquid was.

An unpleasant, incomprehensible language rang out loudly. Lee Wooyeon noticed that it was the dirty Chinese people he had met at the rest stop that had hit him from behind. He regretted adjusting the direction of the spanner he threw from the moving car so that it did not hit anyone.

Lee Wooyeon swung his fists. One guy was hit in the face and fell down, but the other guy hit Lee Wooyeon’s shoulder again with the wooden stick he was holding. Choi Inseop rushed in and tried to stop the Chinese, but to no avail. He was hit by a fist that wasn’t too strong, and Choi Inseop fell to the floor. Wooyeon swung his fists, thinking that the next manager should be chosen as someone who at least knew how to protect himself. The Chinese guy lightly dodged Lee Wooyeon’s fist.

Normally, they would’ve killed him off, but when the man who hit him in the back of the head was fumbling with Choi Inseop’s body in the bathroom, he felt unpleasant, so he hit his groin with his foot, and that person ran up to him cursing.

The guy who hit Lee Wooyeon’s his head pushed him into the lake. The sound of a splash rang out, and the men giggled in unintelligible Chinese. The lights came on and the dog started barking, probably because he heard the noise from the neighbor next door. The Korean-Chinese, who knew that people would soon flock, blinked at each other and began to move. After he heard the car start, the loud Chinese language faded away.

Choi Inseop, who had collapsed, ran to the lakeshore. Lee Wooyeon’s figure could not be found. Lee Wooyeon sank beneath the ice-cold lake. He, who was hated like a thorn in his eyes, had finally disappeared from the world. The strength in his legs was released and he did not hesitate to fall to the ground.

Lee Wooyeon disappeared from the world. Jenny’s revenge was accomplished without him even touching him.

“haha… Hahaha…  haha… Jennie… I…”

There was no saying that he did it. The bad person Lee Wooyeon, that motherfucker was punished, but he didn’t even think that he had achieved Jenny’s revenge.

This was not revenge. It was just an accident.

He couldn’t go to Jenny with the news of the accident.

Choi Inseop shouted asking for help. He shouted out loud to send 119 or the police or anything. The sound of people rushing could be heard in the distance. However, Choi Inseop had an intuition that everything would be over when someone who could help came along.

Yet, it was not the time. He couldn’t let Lee Wooyeon go like that.

Choi Inseop took off his shoes.

The second sound of a splash split the ice-cold lake water.