11-2
by Han Yong-un
“Are you leaving?”
The smile on Sun-young's face vanished in an instant.
“Why so suddenly?”
“If you've come to a strange place, you have to leave again.”
Dae-cheol said calmly.
But Sun-young felt more hurt by that attitude.
“Is there something urgent?”
“It's not so much urgent... I have my reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“You wouldn't understand.”
“Is it something I shouldn't know?”
Sun-young's voice already carried a hint of disappointment.
Dae-cheol shook his head.
“It's not that you can't know, but I don't want to go into detail.”
“……”
“I also don't know when I might come back.”
At that moment, Sun-young's heart sank.
‘I don't know when I'll come back again.’
That one phrase strangely pierced her heart.
Sun-young lowered her head.
It was too hurtful to hear him speak as if he had no lingering feelings for her, even though he was leaving.
Dae-cheol quietly observed Sun-young's expression before adjusting his sitting posture.
Then he spoke softly.
“But for me, leaving brings considerable pain.”
Sun-young's gaze immediately wavered.
She had already guessed.
‘It must be about money…’
But she pretended not to know and asked.
“What kind of pain?”
“It's something I brought upon myself, so there's nothing I can do about it.”
“So what is it?”
Sun-young leaned slightly forward.
“Can't you even say that?”
“It's not that I can't say it.”
Dae-cheol hesitated for a moment.
“However…”
He looked at Sun-young.
“I'm afraid it might be insulting to you.”
“Insulting to me?”
Sun-young's eyes widened.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“Then would it be alright if I told you?”
“It's your words, so why would I think negatively?”
Sun-young said firmly.
“Please say anything.”
Daechul looked at her for a while before speaking softly.
“I have my reasons to leave now, but…”
He slowly paused his words.
“I really don’t want to leave.”
Soon-young's heart raced loudly.
Daechul spoke without avoiding her gaze.
“What I mean is that I cannot leave without saying goodbye to you, Soon-young.”
At that moment—
Soon-young understood everything.
Her face turned red.
“Oh dear, even you, teacher…”
Soon-young covered her mouth with a voice mixed with laughter.
“Why would you say such things to someone like me?”
“You might think so.”
Daechul smiled bitterly.
“You might think that way in your heart, Soon-young.”
And he continued to speak quietly.
“But for me… this is the greatest pain I have experienced in my life.”
His voice was sincere.
“If I can overcome this pain…”
Daechul laughed like a sigh.
“I would become the strongest person in the world, yet also the weakest.”
Soon-young ultimately could not hold back her tears.
“If your leaving me is the greatest pain…”
Her voice trembled.
“For me, that would be the greatest happiness in the world.”
Daechul's gaze wavered.
Soon-young continued to speak.
“If I cannot live with you, teacher… I feel like there will be no joy in the world for me.”
And she added very quietly.
“If you do not abandon me, teacher… I can endure any pain.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Daechul looked at her for a moment before raising his head.
“Thank you.”
But a deeper shadow fell across his face.
“However, I feel the opposite.”
“……?”
“Since I have come to love you, Soon-young…”
Daechul looked up at the ceiling.
“A new pain has arisen.”
And he let out a long sigh.
Sun-young cautiously asked.
“If there’s something that worries you that much, you can tell me.”
She looked at him with sincere eyes.
“If it’s about you, I would never be a hindrance.”
Dae-cheol smiled apologetically for a moment.
“Well…”
“……”
“It’s difficult to say because I love Sun-young.”
Sun-young's heart ached.
And in the end, she couldn't hold back and asked.
“Teacher.”
“Yes.”
“You said something to Jung-soon, right?”
Dae-cheol's gaze changed.
“To Jung-soon?”
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“Even if it’s not something you specifically said to Jung-soon…”
Sun-young swallowed her breath.
“Did you say anything while Jung-soon was listening?”
Dae-cheol thought for a moment and nodded.
“I have talked to Seo Jeong-sik.”
And then he immediately asked back.
“Why do you ask? What did you hear?”
Sun-young nervously bit her lip.
“While Jung-soon was listening…”
She spoke with a slightly sharp gaze.
“Isn’t it because you trust Jung-soon more that you don’t tell me?”
Dae-cheol chuckled for a moment.
“That’s not it.”
He spoke slowly.
“To others, it might just be passing talk…”
His gaze turned to Sun-young.
“I couldn’t say it because I was afraid it would hurt you.”
And he added quietly.
“Even if I say there’s nothing I can’t do for someone I love…”
After taking a moment to breathe.
“Words that cause pain are not something I can say easily.”
Sun-young's gaze slowly wavered.