Chapter 71 - Which era [2]

Both of them walked through the streets of the Seoul. A small smile sat on Moon Jiwoo's face while Oh Sookyung had a nonchalant expression upon his features.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Moon Jiwoo questioned, turning her to face him.

"When did you get perceptive enough to notice that?" Sookyung retorted— his lips curving to form a smirk— and his eyes had a teasing glint.

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me here? Don't think that I would not be beating you up outside. I have no problem in doing so," Moon Jiwoo warned while staring at him sternly.

Raising both of his hands to together, he spoke out, "Woah! Woah! Calm down! I have no interest in picking a fight with you outside! It was just that I was thinking about that Minhyun guy."

"About him? What is there to think about him?" Jiwoo asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Rather than him, it's the things he had discussed about. I will be going with him in a few days, and I don't even know what type of things I will be encountering," Sookyung spoke out, "I guess my life feels more of a fantasy at this moment."

"Heol! You have such thoughts as well," Jiwoo commented, "Well, just accept the reality. There is no reason in mulling over it. There is nothing you can do about it, and it's not like you have to protect some jerk."

Oh Sookyung scoffed and vocalised, "Your job is more or less easier than mine. At least you know what to do. But in the future, I have to maintain and entire nation. Are you aware of how difficult that is going to be for me?"

Anger rose within Moon Jiwoo after hearing his words, and it was unlike the other times. This time around she felt more or less upset.

Curving her lips to form a smirk, she scoffed at him and vocalised, "My job is easy? That's funny! And why are you thinking about the things to do as a king when you are not even one yet? Aren't you being too confident? 

At least learn skills to conquer the current King instead of studying on how to manage a nation. You don't know even know if you will be a king yet you pretend like you are one."

Her sudden outburst of words caused Oh Sookyung's eyes to widen, and turning his back on her, Jiwoo began to walk towards the other direction. Seeing him at this moment made her feel unsettled.

"Shin Daerin," he called out after her, but Daerin did not respond to his call.

Hearing him call her job easy caused her to feel enraged. Moon Jiwoo was risking her life for someone yet he considered it to be a simple task. At least he would be reassured, knowing that there was someone on his back, but the same could not be said for her.

Moon Jiwoo was completely alone. Although she had been alone her entire life and learned to cope with it, it was a different story at here. At this unknown situation, she wanted for someone to support and comfort her.

Chewing on her bottom lips, she walked forward while glaring at the street. Tears burned at her eyes, wanting to come out, but she did not let them fall. It would be too humiliating if she cried at the middle of the street over Sookyung's words.

'Stupid, Oh Sookyung! Why can't that bastard just die!? Everything would be better if he had just disappeared! He is so infuriating! That son of an ȧsshole! That—'

Before she was able to continue cursing at him inside her head, Moon Jiwoo felt someone grab at her shoulder, and as that person pulled her back, a gasp escaped from her mouth.

Raising her head, she realized that Oh Sookyung stood in front of her, and a gentle expression sat upon his face. Knowing that this might be another act of his, she did not let herself to moved by that.

"Are you crying?" Oh Sookyung questioned.

Irked— that was what his question made her feel like. Although she was shocked by his abilities to read her emotions at this moment, this was way too much humiliating for her. Out of all the people, he was someone she did not want to show her true emotions to at this moment.

"What the hell are you talking about, You Bastard? Have you gone crazy? What would I cry about? You— Eh! What the hell are you doing now?"

As Moon Jiwoo exclaimed at him loudly, the man extended his hand towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. Moon Jiwoo's eyes widened at that.

"I am sorry about what I have just said. I know that your job is more stressful than mine. You are putting your life on the line for someone you completely hate, and you were forced into it. 

I, on the other hand, have a strong shield in front of her, and compared to you, I don't have much things to worry about. I am well aware of that. So, I am sorry for my hurtful thoughts earlier.

It was just that I was stressed about all that Minhyun had said earlier, and I babbled out some nonsense. The changes in my life felt horrible, and I suppose I am not as good as coping up with them as you are. You really have admitted things easily, and I feel envious of that," Sookyung vocalised.

His soft voice caused her heart to beat faster, and she did not believe that he had it in him. For a second there, she doubted whether or not it was him.

Pulling away from the hug, she stared at him with a questioning expression while folding her arms across her ċhėst.

Raising one of his eyebrows, she stared at him with a serious expression and spoke out, "You can't fool me with those words. What type of game are you trying to play at now?"

"You don't believe me? But I truly meant those words of mine. I really admire you at times and hope that I will be as strong as you," he confessed.

His words caused her eyes to widen, and her cheeks suddenly heat up after she had noticed how genuine he was. Receiving praises from Oh Sookyung was rare, and Jiwoo could not recall the last time she had gotten one from him.

"Whatever. This is common."

With that, Moon Jiwoo turned her back on him and began to walk away while trying to hold in the excitement within herself. It would not reflect well upon herself if she had gotten this enthusiastic over some mere words from him.

A chuckle escaped from Oh Sookyung's mouth as he took a couple of steps forward, and placing his hand over her shoulder, he voiced out, "Are you being shy now, Daerinnie?"

Hearing the name that he had called by her now lead to her eyes widening, and turning at him, she vocalised, "Yah! Don't call me by that! It is too embarrassing! And keep your distance for me! It's disturbing!"

"Why? Does it disturb your heart? Are you falling for me, Shin Daerin?" Sookyung questioned, arching both of his eyebrows.

"What kind of crap are you uttering, You Loser? Why in the hell would you disturb my words? I don't even consider you a man," she vocalised, "Rather than that, I consider you to be a little child I have to protect."

Maybe because of how she is responsible for protecting him, Moon Jiwoo never considered Oh Sookyung to be a man in that way. Although the man was quite attractive, looking at him in that light was not possible for her. Probably because her idea of man was a different thing.

"Is that so? Since those words hurt my pride, should I show you how much of a man I can be?" he asked.

At his words, a chuckle escaped from her mouth, and she said, "No matter what you try to show me, it will be overshadowed by the image of when you tried to push me off to those man who attacked you back then. How do you think I will be able to consider you a man after that? Sorry, but cowards are not my type."

"Aren't you too stereotyped? There is nothing wrong with protecting themselves," he spoke out.

Dropping his octaves lower, he added, "And even with that memory engraved inside your mind, I believe in my abilities to show you how much of a man I can be."

Before she was able to respond to those words of his, she felt a soft pair of lips upon her cheeks, and Moon Jiwoo's eyes widened. Her face heat up at that instant, while her expression showed how startled she was by that.