Chapter 70: Couple Items
by GideonI put off replying to the message, though I felt a pang of guilt.
The car pulled away, and throughout the ride, Seo-rim kept his head down, his hands fidgeting incessantly. He looked visibly anxious, so his inner turmoil must have been absolute chaos.
“Do you have a friend you can call today?” I asked.
“…Yes, I do.”
“Then message them now. It’s better to have someone with you today than to be alone.”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then immediately opened his phone and started typing.
He looked so much thinner than the last time I’d seen him.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes, I have.”
His tone was curt, a clear refusal born of discomfort.
“That’s a shame,” I said. “I was hoping to treat you to a meal for a change.”
“…Do you pity me too, Teacher?”
Should I have just acted normal?
What would have been a simple gesture of kindness or a word of comfort under any other circumstances now felt like condescending pity, triggering his hypersensitivity.
“Is that why you’re pitying me?”
His pride was on high alert, a defensive mechanism he used to protect himself. There was no need to provoke him further.
“Sorry if that sounded like a premature attempt at comfort. I overstepped.”
He knew her personality all too well; this kind of response shouldn’t have surprised him. Yet, the fierce defensiveness he’d shown moments ago vanished, and he fell silent.
Sometimes, looking at Lee Seo-rim felt like staring at a reflection of his own past.
They looked alike, shared a similar build, and above all, their thought patterns were strikingly similar. It was as if they were even hitting their limits at the same time, by some cruel coincidence.
Watching Seo-rim, Woo-jin felt a pang of empathy. He saw his own past self in the boy—the same desperate struggle to survive, the same cluelessness about how to move forward.
“Seo-rim.”
CEO Moon Woo-jin had been the one to pull him out of that abyss. He had drawn strength from the guidance of a warm, upright person.
Maybe this is the moment he needs to know he’s not alone, Woo-jin thought, tentatively opening his heart.
“You know, there was a time when I hated myself so much I couldn’t even stand the sight of me.”
Seo-rim’s curious eyes followed his words with a slight delay.
“Of course, you and I are different people, so even if our situations are similar, I can’t understand everything you’re going through. But… I think I can relate to how you feel, at least a little.”
I didn’t want him to be alone, just as I had been back then. I hoped this would be a warm form of comfort, not pity.
“You too, sir…?”
His tone was similar, but the end of his sentence rose slightly. A sign of hope.
“Yeah, I wasn’t always lucky.”
“I thought you’d always been like this.”
Had that inexplicable distance between teacher and student finally vanished? Seo-rim’s reaction was noticeably softer.
“Before I started teaching you all, I was a student with a lot of worries. Just like you.”
“I just thought you’d been a teacher from the very beginning…”
“No way. Believe it or not, even I had a glory day.”
Though he hadn’t fully let his guard down, the sharp edge of his defensiveness had softened.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“Yeah, get home safe. What about your friend?”
“He said he’s almost there. Probably waiting for me to shower.”
“Alright. See you.”
Seo-rim unbuckled his seatbelt, thanked me one last time, and stepped out of the car.
Just before closing the door, he paused, clearly lost in thought.
“Something wrong?”
“No, it’s just…”
He hesitated, looking like he needed a little nudge.
“It’s okay. You can tell me anything.”
His hand gripped the door handle, fidgeting nervously. He couldn’t even meet my eyes.
“…Please keep what you saw today a secret.”
His voice trailed off, barely a whisper.
“Yeah, I won’t tell anyone. Don’t worry.”
“We don’t usually fight like that… I’ve just been on edge lately…”
He kept talking, offering explanations I hadn’t even asked for. He seemed to be trying to smooth things over, terrified I’d see more than I already had. Jubin played along, feigning ignorance.
“Yeah, I get it.”
“Then I’ll be going now.”
Jubin wanted to stop him again, to keep him from rushing away.
“Hey, Seo-rim.”
“Yes?”
“Call me if you ever need help.”
Seo-rim managed a small smile before leaving, a sign that his words had reached him.
Back home, Jubin showered and habitually reached for his vape. He toyed with it for a long moment, debating whether to give in.
“Ugh, forget it.”
He sighed softly and set it back down. He didn’t want to break his resolve to quit.
“…I’ll just go to sleep.”
Hoping a night’s rest would make things feel better, he climbed straight into bed.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried my best to stay calm.
“…”
I hugged my favorite blanket, tossed and turned to find a comfortable position, and even tried a breathing technique I’d never bothered with before. But…
“Ugh, seriously…”
My mind kept demanding pheromones. Specifically, Do Zion’s pheromones.
Is it because of the marking…?
I thought of the message I still hadn’t replied to.
I should probably respond now. He might be worried.
Sorry for the late reply. See you tomorrow.
He must have been asleep; there was no reply.
I considered calling him under the guise of quitting smoking, but I crumpled that desire and folded it away.
Maybe it was because I wasn’t feeling well, but my head was spinning and dizzy. A wave of fatigue, the kind that wouldn’t easily lift, washed over me.
It took me an unusually long time to fall asleep, and from that day on, I started tossing and turning strangely every night.
The midsummer air was heavy and humid today. I was feeling completely off, my body aching from a restless night.
I’m so tired…
It was a deep, soul-crushing exhaustion that drained my energy and killed any motivation. When I woke up this morning, I saw a message from Zion.
I’ll pick you up in front of Do Zion Park.
I replied, worried that refusing would make things awkward between us.
Yeah, I’d appreciate that. See you soon.
Even without any new notifications, I kept checking the time, my nerves on edge for no reason.
Will he be his usual self today? What if he’s unusually quiet?
I let my mind spiral with trivial worries, imagining all the possible changes that might be in store. I needed to prepare myself mentally.
“I hate my own personality sometimes…”
In the distance, a familiar car pulled up smoothly in front of Jubin. When I opened the passenger door, Zion greeted me warmly, contrary to all my worries.
“It’s scorching out here, isn’t it? Hurry and get in.”
Thankfully, his expression, tone, and overall mood seemed completely normal.
Jubin let out a silent sigh of relief.
But his pheromones… They were gone, vanished without a trace. It could have been the chip, but it felt like he was hiding his emotions, too.
Jubin climbed into the passenger seat, forcing a smile. “I swear, I can’t survive without AC. This summer is brutal.”
“You’ll miss it when we’re filming in the winter,” Zion replied.
“Probably. But I’d still take summer over winter.”
“That’s because you can’t stand the cold. We’ll be filming in the winter before we know it.”
His words sent a wave of warmth through Jubin’s chest. He wanted summer to end already, yet he was so anxious about whether he could handle the upcoming shoot that he wished the heat would linger.
“…Time really flies,” Jubin murmured.
Zion glanced at him sideways, then checked the rearview mirror.
“Zion, is that a paper bag in the back seat?”
Jubin tugged slightly at his seatbelt, twisting his body to look back.
“That one?”
“Yeah. Open it.”
“Do you need something? What can I get for you?”
Zion reached back, pulled the bag onto his lap, and checked its contents. Everything inside was diving gear—brand new, with the packaging still perfectly intact.
“It’s a gift.”
The prices of diving equipment varied wildly. Jubin had planned to rent gear today and then buy what he needed based on the instructor’s recommendations, but Zion had already prepared everything.
“…This is all so expensive.”
“It’s nothing. It’s your first time freediving, after all. This is just the basic gear you’ll need. You could have rented it, but since you’re getting into this, I wanted to give you a present.”
A mask, snorkel, and wetsuit were one thing, but there was even a diving watch. And not just any watch—it was the latest model.
“I don’t need something this expensive…”
“The watch is a must. Learn well, and if you take up diving as a hobby, you can come with me.”
As expected of a former swimmer, Jubin thought. He’s always so serious about anything related to water.
“Try it on.”
Zion’s voice held a hint of anticipation, as if he was eager to feel the satisfaction of giving the gift. Jubin deliberately strapped it on right in front of him. It was much thicker and heavier than a regular watch.
“Is it too heavy?”
“Yeah, more than I thought.”
“It’s a couple’s item now, so don’t forget to bring it when we go diving.”
The steady weight pressing against his wrist felt like Zion’s feelings for him.
It was overwhelming, yet Jubin couldn’t stop glancing down at his wrist.
Was this how Zion felt when he received the handkerchief? Jubin wondered. Still, I need to draw a line.
“Thank you, really. But honestly, this is too much. You don’t have to give me such expensive gifts next time. Your thoughtfulness is enough.”
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