Chapter 26

Da Hee had been sensing for a while that Woo Hyun was gradually changing. As the time and frequency of their meetings increased, Woo Hyun's gaze and gestures toward her subtly shifted. His fingertips, once considerate but not warm, slowly grew hotter. Da Hee knew his heart was heading towards 40 degrees Celsius, but she wanted to believe it wasn't true.

She didn't want to lose Woo Hyun yet.

"You won't ask why I'm here until the very end, so I'll tell you myself. I don't want to send you to that blind date. I don't want you to meet another man and dream of marriage, and I don't want to end this relationship. So, don't go to the arranged blind date."

Woo Hyun's words, driving a wedge between them, made Da Hee feel a sudden surge of fatigue, and she closed her eyes.

Woo Hyun gazed steadily at Da Hee. He had tried to forcefully push aside and not think about his feelings for Da Hee. He deliberately avoided finding answers to why he bought Da Hee presents but never gave them to her, or why he constantly squeezed time out of his busy schedule to see her.

He had simply concluded that sex with Da Hee was incredibly good, and that being with her was just comfortable, but then there were moments when he encountered unfamiliar emotions.

When he happened to see Da Hee's smiling face, or when the usually cold Da Hee wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a soft, almost tearful moan, his whole body would become so hot that it felt like it was melting.

It was love, unfamiliar and strange, something he had thought he would never encounter until the day he died. It was this morning that he reached that realization, and Woo Hyun couldn't hold back, rushing all the way here.

"Mr. Ma Woo Hyun."

Da Hee opened her eyes after a long moment and called to him. Woo Hyun looked at her.

"I'm refusing."

"..."

"It seems we've gotten a little too hot, don't you think?"

Da Hee said, having opened her eyes after a long pause. Woo Hyun looked at her.

"This relationship, I mean. Let's lower the temperature. Only you need to lower it. I haven't changed. Don't confuse obsession with love. We meet each other because we don't like the cold, not because we want to get hot. Don't forget the things we said, the promises we made at the beginning."

Woo Hyun's eyes wavered. Da Hee looked at him and spoke calmly but firmly.

"As I said before, I don't do love."

"..."

"Not even if it's you, Mr. Woo Hyun."

Da Hee brushed past Woo Hyun. Woo Hyun grabbed her wrist.

"Do you think I came here just to throw my feelings out there and retreat if I got rejected?"

"Please let go."

"You underestimated me, didn't you?"

Woo Hyun pulled Da Hee closer. Instantly facing him, Da Hee stared straight into his eyes. His gaze was burning, as if inflamed by passion. It was the look of someone deeply in love, angered by rejection.

"You like being with me, don't you? That's why we've been seeing each other, and it's not like I'm so worthless that I can't be introduced to other people. What's the problem?"

Coldness emanated from Woo Hyun's lips. Da Hee twisted one corner of her mouth upward.

"Our temperatures are different, Mr. Ma Woo Hyun."

Woo Hyun's brow furrowed at Da Hee's blunt remark.

"I told you. I've never deeply loved anyone. I just like them moderately. It would be the same even if I were to fall in love with you. Even if I fell in love, nothing would change from now. Can you handle that? A woman who will love you lukewarmly until you die. A woman from whom you can't even distinguish if she loves you or not."

Woo Hyun froze. Da Hee gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Take some time and think again. If you're okay with never hearing me say 'I love you forever,' then come find me."

As far as she knew, Ma Woo Hyun was in love for the first time in his life, and there's no love as intense as a first love.

"You probably won't be able to bear it, Mr. Ma Woo Hyun."

Da Hee turned her back on Woo Hyun and walked away. Her steps grew heavier the further she got from him, but Da Hee didn't stop.

'You don't love me!'

'I don't need anything else. I just want you to love me! Is that so hard?'

She recalled the desperate cries of someone stained with anguish. Love. She had loved to the best of her ability. Yet, the other person was always thirsty for more.

'I did my best!'

Da Hee said forcefully, as if protesting.

'No. You don't know what love is at all. You don't care at all about who I am or what I do!'

She did care and paid close attention. She listened diligently, more than anyone, whenever they needed to speak or did speak. It was just that their temperatures of love, their ways of loving, were different.

Da Hee squeezed her eyes shut. The voices of those who suffered buzzed in her ears. Da Hee genuinely didn't want Woo Hyun to utter those same words.

~~~~~

Miel's Translations