I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 124

Episode 124

The next few days passed quite quietly. There were clearly many things they wanted to say and ask, but when they actually faced each other, the words didn’t come out easily. 

Perhaps they were instinctively avoiding conversation for fear of facing the reality they wanted to deny.

‘We don’t have much time, we can’t spend it so meaninglessly like this.’

That night, Seung-hyun thought about how to spend the remaining time. And when to end this meaningless lie. His physical condition wasn’t very good even now, but he was well enough to take light walks.

‘It’s not strange for your health to worsen to the point you can’t move at any time. It would be best to only take light walks.’

The words of the attending physician came to mind. He was probably talking about lightly basking in the sun in the garden in front of the house, but it was fine even if he had to stay cooped up in the house for a few days after one outing.

‘Anyway, it’s the same now that I barely leave the room.’

Because it’s spring. The flowers are in full bloom, the weather is warm, and it’s a pretty day in many ways, so maybe he could make at least one day that the precious person he had only hurt until now could remember without pain.

“It’s the time when the spring flowers are in full bloom.”

“That’s right. It’s the height of the cherry blossom festival season.”

“Do you like flowers?”

At Seung-hyun’s sudden question, Jae-young hesitated for a moment and nodded. He didn’t go to crowded places often because he sometimes ran into people he knew, but he still went to see the flowers for a few days every spring.

“I feel stuffy just staying at home. The weather is nice, and the streets will be pretty at this time…”

“No.”

Jae-young firmly cut off Seung-hyun’s words. He could tell what he was trying to say without even having to listen.

It wasn’t a particularly special or difficult suggestion, but Jae-young objected with an overly serious face.

He thought what problem could arise from just going out for a day, but seeing his thin body and sometimes staggering as if dizzy even while walking inside the house, he was bound to become conservative.

Moreover, although it was spring, it wasn’t very warm yet the day after it rained. He was worried he might catch a cold if he went out for no reason.

“You were dizzy even while coming to the dining table in the morning, what if you go outside and your condition suddenly worsens?”

“At that time, I was still a bit sleepy…”

Seung-hyun made an awkward excuse and looked out the window. The brightly shining sunlight made the weather look really nice. 

Moreover, his physical condition wasn’t too bad today. The attending physician who visited the day before had also said there were no abnormalities, and although he felt a bit dizzy, he felt like he would gain energy if he moved around a bit.

“It’s not good to stay inside too much either. The doctor also said light walks would be okay.”

“…Is that true?”

Jae-young said with a doubtful face. Well, not moving too much wasn’t good either. Moreover, if the doctor said it was okay, it would be better to follow the expert’s words rather than his own, who was a layman when it came to medicine.

“Still, it rained yesterday, so the weather is chillier than usual. When the weather warms up a bit more…”

“I say that because I feel stuffy.”

At Seung-hyun’s words, Jae-young stopped talking and looked at him. Come to think of it, he hadn’t gone out even once since returning. He thought he could feel stuffy.

‘…Yeah, after tomorrow passes, it will be the weekend, so there will be a lot of people. It might be better to go out quietly for a bit…’

Although there was no rain forecast for the next few days, the spring rain would start falling again soon, and after the rain passed, the beautifully bloomed flowers would also shed their petals in the rainwater.

Moreover, it was a rare occasion for Seung-hyun to speak first since returning. It was also the first time he had made a request.

“Still, for no reason…”

“I just want to go out quietly and enjoy the pretty scenery. …We’ve been staying inside the whole time since returning, haven’t we?”

He didn’t want to spend the remaining time so meaninglessly. Once he told the truth about his physical condition, the real overprotection would begin. Since he wouldn’t be able to go outside then, he wanted to go on a last walk before that.

“…And there’s something I want to tell you after we come back.”

Seung-hyun said, hesitating a bit. Feeling something unusual about his demeanor, Jae-young asked Seung-hyun, who couldn’t make eye contact.

“Can’t you just tell me now?”

He seemed to have instinctively sensed a crisis from the slightly anxious face and unusual atmosphere. Seung-hyun firmly shook his head.

“If I was going to do that, I would have told you right away. I just want a change of pace. We used to go out often, didn’t we?”

Seung-hyun said, recalling a past that seemed to have become a very old memory. When he first ran into him at the hotel, he had been dumbfounded thinking what kind of strange person this was.

‘But that was also the most fun time.’

He missed the time he had spent being dragged around as Jae-young wanted, even though he thought it was bothersome. Jae-young must have also thought of something similar, as he eventually nodded after agonizing for a long time.

“Okay. But you have to tell me right away if you feel even a bit unwell.”

“I understand.”

“Don’t be stubborn for no reason, if you’re really tired even a little bit…”

“It’s not like I want to get sick on purpose either, so don’t worry for nothing.”

Seung-hyun answered with a slight smile. It was a faint smile, but for Jae-young, it was Seung-hyun’s smile he was seeing for the first time in a very long time.

“…It might get cold, so make sure to bring an outer garment.”

In the end, words of consent fell from Jae-young’s mouth. An afternoon with not a single cloud in the sky, the first outing in a long time felt a bit exciting.

It had been a long time since he had worn outdoor clothes. It was really a long time since he had worn light home wear even when returning to this house.

Seung-hyun, who found his reflection in the mirror a bit awkward, smiled shyly and picked up the medicine bottle on the table.

‘After we come back, that’s when I really have to tell him.’

It was something he couldn’t hide forever. It weighed on his mind that the person who had been so kind and playful was gradually getting tired, and they had come to call each other regrets.

Nevertheless, if they couldn’t leave each other’s side in the end, it would be deception to hide it until the end.

“Shall we go?”

“Wait a moment.”

Jae-young properly closed Seung-hyun’s collar and put his hand on his face to check his body temperature. When the warm hand touched his lukewarm face, he felt an inexplicable sense of stability.

“You have to tell me right away if you feel even a bit unwell. I heard the flu is going around these days…”

“I got it, so stop nagging and let’s go out. The day will be over at this rate.”

Seung-hyun pushed away Jae-young’s hand that was endlessly nagging and opened the door. Jae-young made a slightly displeased face, but soon held the door open and followed Seung-hyun out.

He was very worried, but Jae-young didn’t dislike going out for the first time in a while either. Above all, he liked that the atmosphere, where they had been looking at each other for days not knowing what to say, had become a bit lighter, and the heads that used to awkwardly turn away when their eyes met now moved naturally.

He didn’t know what it was that Seung-hyun said he would tell after this outing was over, and it might be the calm before the storm, but he felt like he wanted to be dragged along as Seung-hyun led, even if it was just for today.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“There’s no place I particularly want to go, but… I don’t like places that are too close. Since we’re out anyway, I want to go somewhere that feels like we’re really outside.”

Not too close, not too far, a place where they could see flowers and there weren’t many people. After pondering for a moment, Jae-young thought of a suitable place and grabbed the steering wheel.

“It’s not a place with a festival atmosphere, but there’s a place suitable for viewing flowers. It’s not very far, and since it’s a weekday today, there won’t be many people.”

“Then let’s go there.”

The destination was set smoothly, and Jae-young started to drive the car. In the car that had become quiet again, Seung-hyun, who was sitting in the passenger seat and fiddling with his phone for no reason, spoke first.

“The weather is really nice today.”

A clear sky without a single cloud, a moderate temperature that was neither hot nor cold. It was the optimal weather for going out. Jae-young, who looked up at the sky for a moment, said,

“It might get a bit cold at night, but it should be fine while the sun is out.”

Seung-hyun felt bitter that he seemed to have become a caregiver, only thinking about the temperature in case he caught a cold rather than the sunny sky.

“That much is fine. It’s not like I don’t have an outer garment, and if I wear this too, I’ll be hot rather than cold.”

“Still…”

“Coming outside, I definitely feel good. Is it because I’ve been seeing the same scenery every day and came out? The wind feels refreshing too.”

Seung-hyun lowered the window and closed his eyes as if feeling good in the cool breeze. Jae-young, who was about to nag, stopped thinking it might be too much and turned his head.

‘Yeah, he seems to be in a good mood.’

Jae-young also wanted to see this sight he hadn’t seen in a long time for a long time, so he didn’t say anything more than that.

Without noticing that the corners of his mouth had lifted a bit, Jae-young thought it was a day with really nice sunshine.