I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 126

Episode 126

In the end, Jae-young lost to Seung-hyun again this time. Jae-young always became weak in front of him, but when he talked about memories that were precious to him too, not anything else, there was no way he could refuse.

Still, he was just as worried, so Jae-young followed Seung-hyun with a displeased face while holding Seung-hyun’s cardigan in one hand.

‘What’s so great about just fireworks?’

He could see that at his hotel’s summer event too. Rather than the small-scale fireworks done in a place like this, he could spend time in the comfort of a room’s terrace without worrying about the cold weather, watching more spectacular fireworks than at a small park in the middle of a mountain trail.

“I’m excited.”

It was a situation he didn’t like. However, he couldn’t take back his words now that he had said he would, and Seung-hyun looked unusually excited, so Jae-young could only follow him without saying anything.

But perhaps because Jae-young’s silence without saying anything weighed on his mind, Seung-hyun spoke to Jae-young.

“Are you that worried?”

“How can I not be worried? I…”

Jae-young shut his mouth again, unable to say if he even knew what Seung-hyun was thinking. He didn’t want to make Seung-hyun uncomfortable by saying unnecessary things.

If the current situation wasn’t difficult, it would surely be a lie, but in the end, the person having the hardest time would be Seung-hyun.

“Are you cold?”

“The sun has only just started to set. It’s still warm.”

The sky had already started to turn crimson. Seung-hyun, who had been looking down at the city where the sun had begun to set, murmured softly.

“Looking down like this, it really looks small.”

Looking down from the top of a building and looking down from the top of a mountain, they were similar in that they were looking down from a high place, but they were quite different. It was a coincidental discovery but quite a pleasing sight.

Seung-hyun quietly watched that sight for a long time, wanting to take it in as long as possible.

‘He acts like nothing matters, then his eyes sparkle at trivial things like this. He seems like I know him but don’t know him at the same time.’

Jae-young blankly stared at Seung-hyun like that, then suddenly felt cold and looked up at the sky. The sun had already completely set before he knew it.

Surprised, Jae-young adjusted the cardigan he was holding and draped it over Seung-hyun’s shoulders. Perhaps not feeling the cold at all, sharp words spilled out from a slightly suffocating feeling.

“Are you in your right mind? I told you it’s still quite cold at night.”

“Ah, time has already…”

Only then did Seung-hyun realize the sun had set and properly put on the cardigan draped over his shoulders. Only after putting on the clothes did he feel that the air had gotten quite cold.

“That’s right. I didn’t know because I was only inside the house.”

Since the temperature inside the house was always maintained at a similar level, the most Seung-hyun had done was occasionally open the window for ventilation during the day. He slightly shivered at the cold air he felt for the first time in a long time.

‘Oops.’

Then, in case Jae-young said let’s go back now, he tightly wrapped his clothes and pretended to be fine. It was a bit cold, but it was still spring when winter had passed and flowers were blooming here and there.

“I should have walked around places like this a bit more. I thought spending money while going around was the most fun thing to do.”

If he had known a bit earlier that he could feel joy even in trivial things like this, he could have enjoyed those days without feeling frustrated trying to find happiness in special places.

No matter what he thought, it was meaningless now. Seung-hyun checked the time and looked around.

“It will be pretty.”

“They only launch a few and it’s over. The one at the festival we went to last time felt like real fireworks.”

“That’s true, but it’s nice to be able to see it up close.”

There seemed to be quite a few people who had come to watch, as there were more people around than a little while ago. The excitement contained in each person’s chatter could be felt.

“That day, was it fun?”

“When are you talking about?”

“The day we played with sparklers at the beach.”

It might have been a bit embarrassing for two grown adults to play with a single stick, but he didn’t feel embarrassed because there were many people like that nearby.

He just found it amazing that he could become happy with just this cheap stick, and he thought the tiny sparks bouncing here and there were quite pretty.

“…It was fun.”

Jae-young answered, recalling the same picture as Seung-hyun. It’s just that if there was a slight difference, in Jae-young’s memory, the moment he became interested in Seung-hyun’s unexpected appearance with his eyes sparkling at that small light remained more vividly than the shining fireworks.

However, the fact that it was a moment they wanted to return to would be the same for both of them. While each was having similar thoughts, the first firework was launched before they knew it.

Bang-

People’s gazes converged to one place at the fireworks that burst with a loud sound. It was a single firework that wasn’t spectacular by Jae-young’s standards, but it didn’t seem that way to others.

“It’s pretty.”

“It would be nicer to see more go off.”

“If you want to see something like that, you have to go somewhere better. We’re watching it in the neighborhood, but you have a lot of complaints.”

“Well, that’s true. Anyway, it is pretty.”

The sound of people chattering and the intermittent sound of fireworks bursting. Excited faces and dazzling fireworks.

It was quite a chaotic situation, but Jae-young’s gaze was fixed on one place.

‘Maybe it was good to bring him out.’

Until before coming out, he had only felt frustrated about whether they really had to come out, whether they had to take this risk, but seeing Seung-hyun’s current appearance, he thought it didn’t matter.

He liked it so much, and it was only for a day. He felt sorry for showing such a dissatisfied attitude even though he knew Seung-hyun would feel stuffy staying inside the whole time.

“Do you like it that much?”

“It’s just because it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it.”

It wasn’t the first time he had seen fireworks. Even without looking into when and where such events were held, the loud sound and flashing fireworks were elements that couldn’t help but draw attention.

However, perhaps because he thought it was separate from himself, he hadn’t paid much attention to it, but seeing it leisurely in this situation, he thought it was really pretty.

‘Although everything might just look pretty to me now.’

Then so what? If he feels good right now, isn’t that enough? Seung-hyun thought that and smiled.

“…You’re right. It’s really pretty.”

Jae-young answered, fixing his gaze on Seung-hyun. Seung-hyun, who didn’t notice that Jae-young had been looking at him the whole time, not the fireworks, due to the noisy surroundings and eye-catching fireworks, looked back at him and smiled.

“Right?”

It was the most carefree-looking face among the few smiling faces he had seen recently. Seeing Seung-hyun’s brightly smiling face like when they first met, Jae-young unknowingly smiled back.

Come to think of it, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had smiled so brightly. Jae-young took a step closer to Seung-hyun.

“It’s been so long since you’ve smiled like this.”

“…It really has.”

Seung-hyun smiled a bit shyly this time. He wasn’t sure whose story it was, but it had been a really long time since he had seen Jae-young’s smile.

‘It must be because of me.’

Tomorrow, after returning home, there was something he had to tell him. After hearing that, it would surely be difficult to smile like now.

So he wanted today to be a day of only happiness without any worries. Seung-hyun stared at Jae-young for a long time and lightly kissed his lips.

“!!”

The surprised Jae-young looked around. No one was looking at the two of them as their attention was drawn to the fireworks that hadn’t ended yet, but it was still surprising.

“What are you doing?”

It wasn’t that he disliked it, but it was startling. He was unfamiliar with actions he hadn’t done before, and he couldn’t help but be more surprised because it was always him who approached first.

“I just suddenly wanted to.”

Seung-hyun answered with a slight smile. Because today was really the last day he could pretend to be okay. There was something he wanted to say before that.

The words he couldn’t say because it seemed like it would remain as eternal regret, but the words he thought Jae-young would know even if he didn’t say them.

The words he had avoided because he was afraid of both hearing and saying them, but the words he felt would be too apologetic if he didn’t say them until the end. Seung-hyun took a deep breath and said,

“I like you. Ju Jae-young.”

“!!”

“You probably know even if I don’t say it. But I thought I should say it at least once…”

Before he could even finish, Jae-young pulled Seung-hyun into an embrace. It was clearly the words he wanted to hear, but somehow, Seung-hyun saying those words felt like he would fly away at any moment, making him feel anxious.

Bang-

The biggest firework among the fireworks so far decorated the sky as if announcing it was the last, but neither of them could see that firework. It just seemed like the sky that had shone crimson and returned to a pitch-black color was telling them it was time to wake up from the dream now.