Ryu Hyang5-6 minutes 20.02.2022

“Look at it yourself and tell me if I did it okay or not,” Yiyoung said.

“I’m sure you didn’t draw it properly. The ‘rose’ you drew last time didn’t resemble one at all.”

“After this term, I’m not going to register for this class again.”

“Good idea.”

Yiyoung suddenly tightened her hold, perhaps because she was upset at his response.

“I should learn how to write,” she said.

“Why?”

“You never know. I might have to publish a memoir in the—”

Before Yiyoung could finish, Muyeol untied her arms from around his waist and turned around. “Okay. Should I see your drawings now?”

“Yes. That’ll do it.”

Muyeol went to the living room, and Yiyoung followed after him. He stood in front of the easel and said, “Open the sketchbook.”

“No, you look for it. I definitely drew a dog.”

Muyeol collected his breath and opened the sketchbook. Every page he turned to drove him crazy. She really wasn’t good at drawing. He tried his best to swallow his laughter, but just when his face couldn’t turn more red, a drawing that somewhat looked like an animal showed up.

Muyeol couldn’t bear it any longer. He lost the internal battle. Dogs were cute, but Yiyoung’s drawing of the animal was not. It resembled a horse.

“How is it?” she asked.

Muyeol breathed in and out before responding coldly, “It’s a waste of money. And it’s a waste of your time, too.”

Even if someone told Yiyoung to trace a line already drawn on the page, she would not be able to do it.

“I wonder how good you are at drawing. At the very least, you could compliment a beginner who just started to learn how to draw,” Yiyoung complained, her lips drawn into a pout.

Muyeol grabbed a pencil and showed off his doodling skills, which he’d honed for years. In an instant, he drew a dog. His drawing wasn’t that great either, but it was still much better than hers.

Yiyoung looked at the drawing. “You’re talented.”

“No, not really.”

Suddenly, she said to him, “Draw my face.”

Muyeol’s face turned stiff. ‘Don’t tell me she read my diary… Did she?’

There were many doodles in his diary, and most of them were of Yiyoung.

At that moment, Yiyoung hugged Muyeol’s waist from the front. “Look at my face carefully. Observe it, and draw my face.”

Startled, Muyeol didn’t know what to do.

And then Yiyoung whispered, “I love you.”

He wasn’t ready for the sudden attack. Yiyoung rubbed her face against his shoulder and said again, “I love you.”

Muyeol frowned, heart stirring at her words. His composure was breaking, and now, he wanted to ask for love. He held a deep desire to have her entire life. Yet, at the same time, fear was crashing at him like a tsunami. It seemed as if he would lose all sense of identity after being swept away by the tsunami.

Muyeol took a deep breath and pushed her arms away. “Go to sleep first. I’ll sleep after finishing my work.”

Yiyoung, sensing the soft tremble of his body, nodded without arguing. “Thank you for having dinner with me.”

“That was my promise to you.”

“We’re still in a relationship, right? And that’s because of the promise, too…” Yiyoung questioned.

Muyeol hadn’t expected those words from her. He didn’t know how to react to the question. But he didn’t have to think long about answering; his body was already reacting to it.

Even though he’d been avoiding physical contact with her, he hugged her with wide open arms, as if she was the most precious person.

Her warm temperature warmed Muyeol’s heart, and her scent made it feel like he was standing under the pleasant sunlight. ‘Yoon Yiyoung. I love you so much.’

Every time he went to work in the morning, he wanted to come home quickly, and constantly checked the time. His everyday life had changed because Yiyoung was now the center of his world.