If Silk Flowers Bloom by the Water’s Edge Chapter 101

Every person bound to have at least one place where their mind felt at ease. Having early on come to understand the inclinations of her family members, Chaehwa also knew the spot where a stubborn outsider would likely be.

She crossed over to the guest room carrying a tray with a bowl of medicine, brewed for twenty hours with herbs good for the body, and marble candies.

Her prediction was spot-on. She saw Yirok sitting at a low table set up on the wooden porch, reading a book. Listening to the sound of the marble candies clicking against one another, her flower-patterned shoes moved forward, filled with fluttery anticipation.

“Yirok….”

Yet, Yirok, who seemed to be sitting demurely and reading, suddenly dropped his hand. He put on a serious, dark expression while staring up at the blank ceiling. If not for the long sigh that escaped his mouth, one might have misunderstood and thought he was possessed by a ghost. What was more, the bizarre behavior of Yirok, who looked unwell, did not end there.

She ended up witnessing him staying on the very same page for a long time, as if he was reading the book, or perhaps not. The space between Yirok’s brows narrowed, looking frustrated that he could not get through the book. Since his frowning face somehow looked rather cute, Chaehwa took another step closer.

“Yirok-a.”

The moment his eyes met hers, Yirok’s gaze turned icy cold, as if he had caught a disease where you die if your eyes meet someone’s. Had it not been for her memories of the snow-covered mountain lodge, she probably would have given him a playful noogie. She had not forgotten how sweet and how devoted Yirok had been on that day. Chaehwa ran over, neatly slipped off her flower shoes, and stepped onto the wooden floor.

“Eat this and study. How long has it been since you woke up that you’re already digging into books like this? You’ll ruin your eyes.”

“Mind your own business.”

With that, he pushed off the desk and stood up like someone about to leave right away, closing the book. Chaehwa, who was just in the middle of smoothing her skirt to sit down, raised the tray carrying the medicine above her head.

“Drink this before you go. Huh?”

“I don’t need to drink it. I’m leaving, so you go too.”

“…Do we move around as a set or something? If you want to go, then go. Instead, I’m not moving a single step from here. If my mouth gets twisted in my sleep, it’s your responsibility, Yirok, so just know that.”

“Ha….”

It was not as if Yirok was experiencing Chaehwa’s stubbornness for the first time today or yesterday. With an expression as though he had foreseen what was to come, Yirok slowly sat back down in his original spot. The sound of turning the pages became rough and loud. Even though he clearly knew Chaehwa was watching him, the sigh he let out was loud, as if asking her to understand how he felt.

While keeping the people around tight-lipped, she had anticipated that even if news of her engagement reached Yirok’s ears, would anything change? She thought he would just aloofly read his book with a face that knew nothing of worldly affairs. However, Yirok, who kept his eyes steadfastly fixed on the book, was nervously doodling even in the middle of his lesson today, sulking like a child whose treasured snack had been taken away.

So, what else could it be if not a plea for her to notice his jealous heart? Chaehwa carefully pushed the bowl of medicine near his feet and prepared to soothe him.

“You couldn’t possibly be… throwing a fit like this because you heard the news about my engagement, right?”

“…What?”

Slightly lowering the book that wasn’t registering in his eyes, Yirok answered with a expressionless face. The saying that someone’s gaze froze cold like ice was truly fitting. As if flustered by having his true feelings called out, the look in Yirok’s eyes became complex. If mistaken, he looked like a person who was angry.

“No. I mean, ever since you woke up from the hwanchō, you’ve been acting like a completely different person. It’s not like… we had a bad relationship or anything. You even turned off your cell phone completely. Yirok, you and I… have a lot of things to talk about.”

“Talk then.”

“Huh?”

“You said you have a lot to talk about. Talk now.”

Chaehwa, who had been speaking while swirling her finger on the floor, felt hurt by his words, which dripped with indifference. It was a mechanical tone, like the relationship between a boss and a subordinate, or like people who met purely for work. Even so, considering Yirok’s feelings a hundred times over, Chaehwa presented the bowl containing the marble candies like a tribute.

“Drink the medicine and pop one of these in your mouth. It’s something I like. I bought it from outside and eat it all by myself. I specifically brought it for you, Yirok.”

“If I eat this, you’ll leave, that’s what you mean, right.”

“No….”

Taking the bowl of medicine, Yirok gulped down that bitter liquid without averting his gaze. It was something that happened while Chaehwa couldn’t continue her sentence, merely going, “Uh, uh….” Drinking the medicine without his complexion changing a bit, Yirok held a single red candy in his hand. At his cold action of gathering his book and standing up heartlessly as if his business was finished, a fire suddenly burst in her chest.

“Kim Yirok. Why is your attitude toward me like this right now? You and I… are close.”

“I guess we aren’t.”

Chaehwa bit her lip, hating the sight of Yirok’s back as he retied the laces of his worn-out, old sneakers. She understood well enough that he was troubled by the engagement talk of the young lady he had played around and kissed with. But for him to be this cold when she was lowering herself to approach him was going too far, wasn’t it?

“Sit down here.”

“Curfew is soon.”

Yirok, who was speaking through gritted teeth, was angry at her. Chaehwa, who had come after treating the young master she was supposed to engage like dog poop, felt wronged, and her foot moved first.

“No. Wait….”

Then, her foot kicked the candy bowl that she had filled with only beautiful colors and pretty shapes to give to Yirok. The colorful marble candies rolled away and escaped past the wooden porch. Only after watching the glass-like shattering scene with her eyes did Chaehwa’s patience finally run out.

“Do you know how precious those are? Even I save them up to eat. I really hate you. I won’t talk to you anymore, either.”

She hated the sight of the candies having a running race on the porch floor. Feeling as though her sincere feelings were being rolled around like a joke, Chaehwa moved her steps quickly in a huff. Shoving her feet into her flower shoes, which became the target of her venting again today, she ran down the stone steps. Yirok, who was twisted far out of line, stood there holding his book, merely watching quietly.

Exiting through the middle gate where the guest room was located, Chaehwa spat out a hot breath instead of screaming. Thinking that the relationship between Yirok and her had changed seemed to have been her own delusion and expectation. The time spent sitting in the liquor cellar felt like something from 50 years ago. Vowing that she would never speak to him again and telling him to just wait and see, the moment her eyes turned sharp and slanted, she turned around.

Through the slightly open gap of the middle gate, Yirok’s presence could clearly be felt. Yirok, whom she thought would have put on his sneakers and run away to his dormitory, had not left yet and was still staying in the guest room. Could he really have chased her out like a sparrow and be enjoying an elegant reading session again? Ha, ha- letting out continuous snorts of utter disbelief, Chaehwa’s pouting showed right on her face.

Let’s settle this today. Her sulky footsteps crossed the middle gate boldly with a different feel from earlier. Opening the door like a returning victorious general and stepping into the yard of the guest room, Chaehwa mustered up strength in her abdomen.

“You…!”

Chaehwa’s lips, which were about to demand that he speak up if he had a problem, closed in an instant. Emotions mixing surprise and joy rippled in her two eyes. Standing on the stepping stone, Yirok, bent over, was holding the candy bowl.

He had not left because he was picking up and putting back the candies Chaehwa had spilled. The one who felt embarrassed when their eyes met was Chaehwa. Setting down the candy bowl with a serene face as if he were a person who knew she would return, Yirok took no ordinary steps.

“Kim Chaehwa.”

“…What.”

“You and I are close?”

If Chaehwa was the type to react immediately like boiling lava, Yirok was like a high-surging wave only late at night. A wave sounding an alarm, as if trying to wash away everything that had been calm in the morning. His steps coming down the stone stairs slowly were scarier than if they were fast. In those black pupils whose thoughts could not be known, there was only her. Chaehwa raised her eyes awkwardly, as if she had forgotten how to breathe.

“Then we’re not close?”

“I don’t want to be close with you.”

“Why?”

She wondered if this was something she had foreseen ever since she saw him picking up the candies with a dark face. Yirok, who held her chin in a swift grasp, tilted his face down at an angle. They were lips that had collided multiple times in the hwanchō world. As Chaehwa pulled her shoulder back as if resisting, her face was held even more firmly. At the red flesh pushing its way inside her mouth, Chaehwa tightly shut her eyes.

It felt like a punishment, not a kiss. Could a punishment for causing his chest to ache with jealousy be allowed to be this sweet? Separate from the hand holding her face so it couldn’t escape, his lips were tender. Giving up the resistance she had been offering out of politeness, Chaehwa opened her eyes with difficulty. Standing there was Yirok, watching her without even closing his eyes.

Not long after exchanging glances, Yirok pulled his lips away roughly without any manners. Starting as he pleased, ending as he pleased. She had ended up granting her first kiss to a person like this. Covering her lips with the back of her hand, Chaehwa clenched her fists as if she were about to hiccup. Yirok, who showed no intention of hiding his own moistly wet lips, spoke as if issuing a warning:

“Because when I look at you, I want to do this. Do you still want to say you’re close with me?”

“…….”

“If you want your lips stolen again, come to me. My head has become stupid enough right now that I don’t care even if I get caught and beaten by your grandmother. So when a person makes it obvious, give them some time to think. Huh? Chaehwa-ya.”

“Time to think about what….”

Having her lips stolen at the hour the moon was rising, Chaehwa still said what she had to say in the midst of it. Yirok did not tell her what kind of thoughts he was having, showing interest only in her covered lips. Gazing into Chaehwa’s eyes for a long time, he gritted his teeth as if resentful and turned his back.

“Close, my foot….”

She really had no idea from which words Yirok’s head had become stupid. However, Yirok’s back as he walked away, throwing the book he had been reading into the guest room, seemed to say this:

Coax me more. Look for me more.

Well, she would have nothing to say if it was purely her own misunderstanding. Lowering the hand that had been covering her lips, Chaehwa placed it on her chest.

It seemed that sleeping comfortably tonight was out of the question again.