I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 125

Episode 125

The place they arrived at after driving a little over 30 minutes was a mountain road not too far from the city. The street with flowers in full bloom was dazzlingly beautiful.

Jae-young, who parked the car in a nearby parking lot, brought Seung-hyun’s outer garment for him. It seemed to be a place that many tourists visited, with a neatly maintained path and slightly rustic photo spots catching the eye.

“It’s pretty. I could see the flowers blooming a bit from home too, so I knew spring had come, but…”

Seung-hyun muttered as he walked along the path surrounded by flowers. Although he had come out wanting to make even one more good memory, the scenery was so pretty that he momentarily forgot such a purpose.

Perhaps he had been feeling more suffocated by living indoors than he had thought. He had thought it was just a bit stuffy, but seeing the path that stretched on endlessly, he felt refreshed.

Seeing Seung-hyun’s back walking far ahead without realizing it, Jae-young reflected a little, thinking he had nagged him not to come out for nothing when he liked it so much.

‘Both Seung-hyun and I were trapped in that house the whole time.’

No one had forced it, and he wasn’t doing anything special by staying inside, but Jae-young had been cooped up in there.

It was even more so because of the strangely awkward atmosphere and the discomfort that kept raising its head. He knew they couldn’t stay like that forever, and Jae-young also thought they needed a proper conversation soon, but he had been putting it off because he couldn’t muster up the courage.

Until just a few months ago, it had felt cozier than his own home, but he had been pretending not to know that the unchanged house felt barren. But seeing Seung-hyun excited about the outing for the first time in a while, he smiled again as if nothing had happened.

“Do you like it that much?”

“I didn’t know I wanted to come out this much either… Yes, I like it. The weather is nice too. And…”

Seung-hyun turned around and made eye contact with Jae-young, who was holding his cardigan. The hair that shimmered in the sunlight and the face that smiled following Seung-hyun were as pretty as a picture.

‘If only it was a sight I could see for a bit longer.’

“The flowers are pretty too. There’s a good number of people. You know a nice place.”

“There aren’t usually that many people on weekdays. On weekends, we won’t be able to enjoy it this leisurely though.”

Fortunately, Jae-young didn’t notice the bitterness that flashed across Seung-hyun’s face. The two, who had matched their walking pace at some point, continued their conversation naturally as if they had never been awkward.

“Do you come here often?”

“I like going around a lot to begin with. I found out about this place by chance and come sometimes when I think of it. Also to watch the fireworks.”

“Fireworks?”

“I’m not sure exactly where they do it, but I see it once in a while.”

There seemed to be a stadium or something at the foot of the mountain. It seemed they held events there from time to time. Fireworks, it was something he wasn’t usually interested in, but today there was something he thought of.

‘When we first went on a trip. We played with sparklers on the beach.’

It was so fun playing with just a single stick. Although he couldn’t go back to that day, couldn’t he at least feel that way?

“It would be nice if they did it today too.”

“They usually do it on weekends, so they probably won’t do it today.”

Is that so? Seung-hyun clicked his tongue, thinking it was a bit unfortunate. It was fine since that wasn’t the purpose of coming here anyway.

“A snow-covered street is pretty too, but a path you can only see during this season is also nice.”

“I guess you like spring.”

“I haven’t really thought about it…”

The season he liked the most. He didn’t like winter much because he disliked shoveling snow, but he hadn’t really considered his likes and dislikes for other seasons. Still, there were definitely no good memories of summer when he would sweat just from moving a little and spending time in a house without air conditioning.

He liked seasons with moderate temperatures like spring or fall. If he had to choose between the two, spring seemed a bit better because it felt like something was starting.

“I suppose so. I think that’s the case.”

“What do you mean you think that’s the case?”

Jae-young smiled slightly at the unsure answer. Seung-hyun asked Jae-young,

“You like summer, right?”

“Have I mentioned that before?”

“No, you just seem like you would.”

Seung-hyun said with a chuckle. He felt like he would know even without asking. He was a person who suited summer very well.

It would be nice if he could see him shining under his favorite season. Seung-hyun thought that and shook his head.

‘No. Let’s not think meaningless thoughts. We decided to only think about today.’

“You said you wanted to go to the villa in the US during summer. I thought it must be because you have many good memories.”

“Ah.”

He had said something like that. What had Seung-hyun said back then?

‘Did he say it was hard to take a long flight?’

It wasn’t something to think lightly of, but he might have unconsciously not thought deeply about it. Maybe he wanted to believe it was nothing.

“After the flowers fall, the weather will gradually get hotter, and the season you like will come.”

“In the summer… It would be nice if your health improves a bit. It would be too much this summer, but so that we can go somewhere next summer.”

“That would be nice.”

Would there be a summer for him? Even if there was, it probably wouldn’t be as enjoyable a season as he thought. Seung-hyun nodded, thinking that.

“They said there are fireworks at 7:30 today, let’s watch them before going back.”

“7:30? Isn’t the timing a bit awkward?”

“We can kill some time nearby and then go.”

While walking slowly, Seung-hyun pricked up his ears after hearing the conversation of passersby. He hadn’t particularly searched for it, but he could see it today by chance. Wouldn’t this also be fate in a way?

“…Do you want to watch it before going back?”

After the passersby who had passed by were far enough away that they couldn’t hear the two’s voices, Seung-hyun hesitated for a moment and asked. Although they would be going home later than expected, since they had come out anyway, wouldn’t it be good to enjoy a nice view before leaving?

“No.”

However, Jae-young firmly rejected Seung-hyun’s suggestion. The answer was sharp enough to be embarrassing, so Seung-hyun momentarily froze in surprise, forgetting to even take a step.

“It’s still chilly at night. Especially since it rained yesterday. Moreover, this is a mountain, so the temperature is lower… What if you catch a cold?”

“It’s still spring anyway. I brought a cardigan too.”

“There’s no harm in being careful, right? You’re not… okay yet.”

Just because it was spring didn’t mean there were always warm days. The greater the daily temperature range and the more capricious the daily weather, the more likely it was to affect one’s health.

He didn’t want to risk such variables. When Jae-young refused without any hesitation, Seung-hyun tried to persuade him, saying,

“I know my physical condition better than anyone. That much is fine. I’m not a patient who can’t even move, and I won’t end up like that from that much.”

“I don’t want to gamble with Seung-hyun’s health. Besides, what’s so great about just fireworks? You can see that anytime. You don’t have to overdo it and watch it today…”

It wasn’t that Seung-hyun didn’t know why Jae-young was against it. However, the words “just today” didn’t really resonate with Seung-hyun.

Since he didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, every day was a series of variables for Seung-hyun. He didn’t know when a day when his condition was as good as today would come again, and this outing with Jae-young could be the last.

So even if he seemed like a strange person, he wanted to be stubborn and see it. Seung-hyun said in a calm voice,

“Doesn’t it seem like fate? That they happen to have it on the day we came, that we can see a beautiful sky.”

“That’s not really…”

“Do you remember when we met in Busan? You chased after me too, making absurd excuses like being an employee.”

“……”

For Jae-young too, that day was a day he wanted to go back to just by recalling it. It was something he had done thinking it would be a fun memory in its own way even if he was rejected, but it was surprising that he ended up falling for it more than he thought.

‘If I could go back to that time.’

Then would he have gone all the way to Busan chasing Seung-hyun? Jae-young, who had been thinking for a moment, shook his head. Although he couldn’t say it to Seung-hyun, he probably would have made the same choice even if he had to experience the same frustration as now.

‘Is he regretting it? He probably is.’

However, Seung-hyun, who had no way of knowing that feeling, guessed Jae-young’s silence was regret about that time and felt a bit bitter, biting his unnecessary lips. Ignoring the stinging heart, Seung-hyun broke the silence first.

“At that time, I remembered playing with fireworks at the sea. We had so much fun with just that tiny cheap sparkler. Wouldn’t it be even more enjoyable to see proper fireworks?”

At the soft words filled with earnestness, Jae-young couldn’t refuse right away this time and fell into thought. The two people who had stopped in the middle of the street with spring flowers in full bloom stayed in that spot for a long time.