Even If It's Not Love

Yoo-hwa, who meant to ask what they were going to do tomorrow, closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them. They had been living together for about a year. If they had to register their marriage, they would have done so a long time ago. Even though she did think about doing that, hearing it with her own ears felt weird.

“You said you don’t like weddings.”

“Yeah. No one would come, and it doesn’t mean that much to me. You said so too.”

Woo-hyun nodded lightly.

“But we still need to register our marriage. That way I can become your legal guardian. From being your guardian when you go to the hospital for minor things, to the possibility of an accident happening. Although I don’t think it will, in case something does happen to me, I want you to inherit my property. And if something happens to you, I want to be the one to handle it more than anyone else.”

Those words choked her.

She realized how far he was thinking. To the inevitable point in time when they won’t have each other.

Maybe it was something normal. Those who have repeatedly suffered losses prepare for them like just another habit.

However, even though Yoo-hwa habitually thought about it, she always consciously pretended not to know.

“If you die, I will die with you.”

“I will too. But you don’t know what people can do. This makes me feel at ease.”

“That’s right.”

She started wanting to see each other’s names as spouses on the copy.

“Then let’s go do it tomorrow.”

Woo-hyun gave a light smile at Yoo-hwa’s answer.

“Shall we go get some fresh air?”

Woo-hyun asked, not long after dinner. It was Woo-hyun’s plan after recognizing that Yoo-hwa’s brown eyes had subsided since he made the sad assumption.

“All of a sudden?”

Yoo-hwa asked, sitting on the sofa while watching Woo-hyun do the dishes after purposely losing in rock-paper-scissors once again.

“I want to see the night sea with you.”

“Ah…”

She had asked before if he had ever seen the night sea while lying with her head on his legs. Woo-hyun said he hadn’t, so they promised to go see it together. She had actually forgotten about it, but Woo-hyun seemed to have remembered.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

When she thought of the night sea, she wanted to see it even though she had never seen it before.

After quickly getting ready, she got in the car with Woo-hyun. When they arrived at the end of a long drive, they were met with a perfect winter sea. It was a dark night sea with a strong wind, and the boundaries in the horizon and the night sky were indistinguishable.

After staying in the car for a while, they decided to head to a convenience store for a drink. Coming out of the car, the sinking mood had melted away and their steps were excited.

The warm convenience store was noisy. There was a radio broadcast that the owner had turned on instead of music, and they noticed many couples walking around the convenience store. They had also gone there to buy something to eat in the car.

When Yoo-hwa and Woo-hyun were standing in the innermost drink corner, picking something to drink, They heard the news that was coming from the radio that the owner had turned on.

“Serial killer Lee Tae-ho has been caught this time. It was said that it was a copycat crime of the serial killer Kim Beom-sik, as his track record and method of murder were similar. However, according to Lee Tae-ho’s statement, there is no relation to Kim Beom-sik.”

The voice of the news presenter hit her ears. Although this wasn’t heard, the sound felt like a thorn being stuck to her ears. She could feel the blood coming out of them. Yoo-hwa stared blankly straight ahead, as if all the blood was pouring out from her fingertips.

“Seems like Lee Tae-ho has finally been caught.”

“I thought it was Kim Beom-sik’s son because it was so similar.”

“Why are you talking about Kim Beom-sik’s son?”

“They said Kim Beom-sik’s son killed Kim Beom-sik.”

“Ah! I remember. But wasn’t it the brother and sister who killed him? They were famous then. The siblings who killed Kim Beom-sik.”

“Ah, they said he had a daughter too, right?”

The conversation between the men who were picking sausages in the corner next to them was stuck to her like a blade. Even though they didn’t know exactly who she was, there were people who remembered her.

When Yoo-hwa, who heard their conversation, grabbed any drink she looked at, Woo-hyun went past her and walked towards the men. Yoo-hwa went in front of him, blocking him with her body, and shook her head. Those men were not at fault. They couldn’t have known. The fact that Kim Beom-sik’s daughter would be next to them.

Looking quietly at Yoo-hwa’s face, Woo-hyun took the drink that was in her hand, put it back, and came out empty-handed.

He walked quickly as soon as he stepped out of the convenience store. As if he wanted to get away from the conversation they had just heard.

“Woo-hyun.”

“…”

“Woo-hyun.”

After calling once more, Woo-hyun stopped walking. His expression was frighteningly stiff. When Yoo-hwa smiled faintly, Woo-hyun frowned.

“Don’t be angry. Thank you for being angry instead of me, but I don’t want you to be.”

“…”

Woo-hyun’s face softened at her words, but it didn’t change much.

“Shall we walk for a bit? I think the wind will be very cold…”

Yoo-hwa muttered, keeping her gaze on the beach where the night breeze was blowing hard. The wind was cold, but she needed that cold wind right now. She thought being exposed to it would be less painful.