SELA - 46

The movie’s theme was the tragedy of a loving couple. A man and a woman, separated during war, reunite after the armistice and marry, but then experience a destructive marriage due to various traumas. In the end, the two characters in the movie meet a catastrophic end. They point guns at each other, receiving death from their beloved.

Unlike the opening credits that started with grand music, the ending credits concluded with a lonely piano solo.

After sipping little by little for a running time of over two hours and forty minutes, two bottles of wine were almost empty.

“All gone.”

“Indeed.”

“It’s a meaningful ending in its own way.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Don’t you?”

“Not at all.”

As if surprised by the unexpected answer, Ji-hyuk turned to Sa-hee. Sa-hee, whose face was flushed from drinking wine, also met Ji-hyuk’s eyes.

“I thought you were going to cry, but you didn’t even shed a tear.”

“Why would I cry? I was frustrated throughout the entire movie.”

“That’s unexpected. So, what should the two protagonists have done?”

At Ji-hyuk’s question, Sa-hee looked down at the shining wine glass and carefully expressed her thoughts.

“They should have found a way to live instead of dying. I would do anything if the person I love could live.”

“Brave of you.”

“Doesn’t Director feel the same?”

“What do you think?”

Ji-hyuk, who asked back, lightly shook the stem of the wine glass between his fingers, looking at Sa-hee. His gaze was quite warm. He was someone who, when it came to his beloved, seemed to feel no less than her.

“You’d do your best, right?”

“I’d chase after them, even to death.”

Ji-hyuk curved his lips charmingly. Sa-hee’s eyes, watching Ji-hyuk with a dazed look, were slightly blurred. It seemed she was getting drunk.

Their bodies were close, so the heat was doubled. Their gazes tangled, and their sweet breaths mingled.

“Either finish the remaining wine, or put it down.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to kiss you.”

Sa-hee, who had been quietly looking at Ji-hyuk, drank the wine in one gulp while maintaining eye contact with him. Then, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Ji-hyuk, who had been watching her, immediately kissed her. The moist and bitter taste was transmitted to each other through their lips and tongues.

The blanket that had been covering Sa-hee fell to the floor. The kiss lasted for a long time. Low moans echoed in their mouths as they occasionally rubbed against each other below. The quiet living room was filled with their rough breaths.

________________________________________

“Ji-hyuk.”

“...”

Ji-hyuk didn’t answer Sa-hee’s gentle call. It seemed he was fast asleep.

In the early morning, when the leaden moon was brightly shining, Sa-hee was still unable to sleep. She had been having many sleepless nights recently, perhaps due to anxiety about the future.

Leaning against the head of the bed, Sa-hee took a deep breath and looked down at the sleeping Ji-hyuk. Ji-hyuk, who was sleeping peacefully, lay there with a gentler and more tender face than usual.

Thinking that this face might be his true self, Sa-hee gently stroked Ji-hyuk’s handsome eyebrows with her thumb. Ji-hyuk didn’t even flinch, as if he was in a deep sleep.

Encouraged, Sa-hee lowered her hand and traced the bridge of his nose with her index finger. She giggled like a mischievous child. Ji-hyuk, as if he didn’t feel ticklish at all, still had his eyes closed peacefully.

The part she wanted to tease the most was his lips. He often said mean things or teased her with jokes. Sa-hee traced the corners of his neatly closed lips. As she traced from one corner to the other with her finger, a soft sensation clung to her fingertips.

“...”

However, the smile slowly faded from Sa-hee’s face. Eyes, nose, lips. She wouldn’t have many more days to be close to this face. She wondered how long she could remember it.

Even though she had chosen this path to wish him happiness, because she wanted to, her heart didn’t feel good. It seemed she was still secretly coveting him in her deep subconscious, and she felt ashamed.

“I’ll let go of my greed. I will.”

How could she be greedy for her own happiness again? She was afraid of receiving the same punishment if she kept coveting him. Sa-hee had to remember. The fact that she could come back to two years ago and meet Ji-hyuk again was a miracle.

Carefully lying back down, Sa-hee nestled into the sleeping Ji-hyuk’s arms. Ji-hyuk, even in his sleep, hugged Sa-hee tightly and pulled her towards him. Sa-hee hugged him back and buried her face in his chest. She wanted to fully feel Ji-hyuk’s heartbeat, warmth, scent, and everything else she could feel.

“...Sa-hee.”

Then, a hoarse voice came from above her head.

“Yes.”

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Yes.”

Ji-hyuk chuckled softly at her strange answer. His chest, touching her forehead, vibrated slightly.

“Go to sleep.”

Ji-hyuk kissed Sa-hee’s hair and pulled her into his arms. Sa-hee nodded without answering and hugged him back. There was no gap between them.

After a while, regular breathing sounds returned, and Ji-hyuk fell asleep. Sa-hee had to spend many more sleepless nights after that.

________________________________________

[Are you really never going to see me again?]

Sa-hee checked her phone at the vibrating sound. It was a message from Seo-won. He had been repeatedly asking similar questions for a while now, asking if she wasn’t going to see him.

Sa-hee sighed and replied.

[I sent the message by mistake. I’m sorry.]

[It doesn’t seem like a mistake, Teacher.]

[It was my mistake. Please erase it from your memory.]

After making excuses several times, Sa-hee went into her sent messages and checked the problematic message again.

[You’ll never see her again. Get lost.]

This person... Not only did he read her messages without her permission, but he also replied like this?

As she rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on, the car door opened with a thud. Ji-hyuk, wearing a particularly well-fitted suit today, smoothly moved his toned body and got into the passenger seat. Sa-hee glared at him.

“Why?”

At Ji-hyuk’s question, Sa-hee shook her phone in front of him.

“What’s with this message? I’m in an awkward position.”

“What’s awkward about it? Just don’t see him.”

“It’s nice that it’s so simple for you.”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

Sa-hee was dumbfounded by his simple answer. Ji-hyuk handed Sa-hee the shopping bag he had brought.

“Don’t waste your emotions on unnecessary things. Change into these.”

“What is this?”

“You said you wanted to walk. How can you walk in those shoes?”

Ji-hyuk gestured towards Sa-hee’s heels.

“But I managed to run around and support you in these shoes, Director.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m so grateful I could cry. That’s why I’m giving you this gift as an apology. Aren’t you going to open it?”

Ji-hyuk subtly urged her. Sa-hee glanced at Ji-hyuk and sighed, then took a box out of the shopping bag. When she opened the box, it was a pair of white walking shoes.

“Do you like them?”

“They pass.”

Ji-hyuk, who smiled at her words, suddenly got out of the car. Sa-hee, bewildered, followed his movements with her eyes. Ji-hyuk walked around the front of the car and opened Sa-hee’s door.

“Stick your legs out this way.”

“My legs?”

Ji-hyuk nodded. Sa-hee, hesitant, carefully extended her left and right legs in turn. Ji-hyuk knelt down on one knee.

“What are you doing? Get up.”

Sa-hee, flustered, touched his shoulder, but Ji-hyuk smiled, raising the corners of his lips. Then, he took the walking shoes from Sa-hee’s lap, took off her heels, and put the walking shoes on her himself.

“I can do it myself.”

“I know. Secretary Yoon can do anything.”

“Thank you.”

“This is nothing. I’ll do more in the future.”

Ji-hyuk, who re-tied the shoelaces to fit Sa-hee’s feet, held out his hand to Sa-hee. Sa-hee took his hand and stood up.

“How are your feet? Comfortable?”

“They’re great. I feel like I could fly.”

Sa-hee, who lightly jumped in place, smiled at Ji-hyuk. Ji-hyuk also smiled pleasantly at Sa-hee’s childlike joy.

“Let’s walk quickly.”

As soon as Ji-hyuk put the heels back into the car, Sa-hee grabbed his hand and pulled him. Ji-hyuk quickly stood beside Sa-hee with large strides.

In the late afternoon of summer, as the sun was fading, the sky was tinged with a deep blue hue. The two walked under that subtle color.

After passing through a section of lush green forest, a wide-open view appeared before them. Below a low hill was a vast lawn and plaza, and further ahead, a river flowed with a raw scent. Sa-hee took Ji-hyuk’s hand and walked down the stairs, passing through the crowd.

Couples passing by on bicycles, children shouting and running around aimlessly, people gathered in small groups on the grass, drinking, and an elderly couple holding hands, walking quietly among them...

Walking along the huge flowing river, Sa-hee felt happy. Beside her was the person she loved, and around her was a peaceful scene of people. She felt that this was happiness itself. However.

“A lot of people are looking at us.”

“I don’t notice.”

“They’ve been doing that since the parking lot.”

“Really?”

Many people who passed by and saw Ji-hyuk talked among themselves or turned around to look at him again, which made her subtly nervous. He didn’t seem to notice it himself.