CH 161

Muyeol shed the rest of his clothes, not caring about having left them on the floor as he climbed into his bed. He lied down, his back against the mattress as he stared into the darkness. And then he naturally reached out for Yiyoung’s pillow, pulling it in for a hug. He pressed his nose against it and inhaled deeply, and an awful frown marred his face. Her scent was disappearing.

He never thought their relationship would end like this. ‘What do I do now…’

Muyeol stood up and went to the bathroom. He was going to take a shower and think about this later. Tomorrow was a big day for him. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had lived for so long just for tomorrow’s meeting.

Madam Choi had been waiting for tomorrow, too, after her return to Korea.

“Where is your wife?” Madam Choi had asked.

“She went on a trip. She wanted to go on one before returning to her work,” Muyeol had explained as if nothing was wrong.

But Madam Choi had been quick to notice the change in his behavior. She was probably aware of it, the fact that Muyeol couldn’t keep Yiyoung next to him. But she thankfully hadn’t questioned him further.

Muyeol turned the tap for cold water and stood under the shower. The February weather was already cold, but he needed the icy water to lower his temperature.

He put a hand against the wall, letting the water run over him. He didn’t move until his body turned cold. Once his goosebumps rose all over his body, Muyeol turned off the water. He carelessly shook his wet hair to get rid of the water, and then went to lie down on the bed again.

Muyeol grabbed his phone, reading all the texts they’d exchanged ever since she left. The conversations, the photos, her poses… He couldn’t even count how many times he’d seen them. He read them over and over again, until he could recall the exact contents from off the top of his head.

It was then he saw something else in the pictures. A blue sky stretching over Yiyoung’s head, a river flowing calmly behind her, and the wind blowing her hair all over the place, a setting sun hanging on the bridge behind her, and an indigo sky that looked down at the fancy lights.

And then he remembered the message she’d sent him earlier. “I was mentally craving for people, warmth, and their chatter. I was able to satisfy it all through you. What are the needs in your life?”

Muyeol was in need of love, laughter, comfort, and passion. He sought a wave that would shake up his life, the sky that constantly changed, the wind that simply blew by, and Yiyoung, with whom he wanted to see all of these with.

His eyes instantly turned teary and red. Yiyoung had taught him what he was missing in his life: the emotions necessary to allow his life to be beautiful. Even if he wasn’t with her, the beauty could still exist. But he’d been blinded, and forgotten all this.

“You are really great, Yoon Yiyoung,” said Muyeol.

“Don’t hide. Don’t doubt. Everything is as you think. I trust you.”

Muyeol had always been hiding, always avoiding any potential pain by dulling his emotions. He’d been hiding in a room deep inside the ocean inside him, bottling up his anger and doubts, which always made him miserable.

At that moment, he thought he heard Yiyoung speak, “If there was a turning point in your life, what kind of life would you want to live?”

He remembered her wish, too. “I want to be Cha Muyeol’s woman, not the wife of S group’s CEO.”

“I want to be Yoon Yiyoung’s man, too,” he said to himself.

His wish was to live as Yiyoung’s man.

So he decided to get her back himself, determined to live with her as Cha Muyeol.