:O :O :O
This is amazing."Casanova's Final Target" has the most favorites and alerts I have ever had. Thank you all so much for reading my story! :D
And I want to apologize for not updating for a while. It's not that I don't have inspiration or anything; I already got the whole story drafted out waiting to be all typed up. There's just not enough time since college started for me, and as a first-time freshman, there were a LOT of adjustments, like not needing to get up so early every day or having Fridays off since I have no classes scheduled that day. Those are awesome pluses. And I have a debut to plan, coming up in just two weeks, so...until the first part of October passes, I won't be able to update as much as I want to. And college itself is a big thing, cuz I'm uber stressing about getting everything right and getting high grades... T_T
Now that I have finally addressed to my readers, let's get this show on the road, shall we? :)
"If I tell you I love you, can I keep you forever?"
On Monday, he brought flowers to her work. On Tuesday, he took her out for dinner. Wednesday was filled with strolling though Seoul, and Thursday was an exhibition at his family's museum...but with security guards this time. Even when she had to go to the restroom, female personnel went with her inside while others made sure no one entered.
The point was that Ga Eul practically had no time to relax from the angst that came with being with Yi Jung, but it wasn't that she completely hated it. She loved every moment she spent with him, but it was still hard to ignore the hatred and glares from the hardheaded admirers around him. The older sisters who came to pick up their younger siblings from the daycare center would treat her coldly and try to avoid her, sometimes scoffing at the sight of Ga Eul. It got her down most of the time, but she would put on her happy face when Yi Jung would appear minutes later.
But it wasn't like he was completely oblivious to the abuse she was suffering.
"What do you want to do today?" he asked after picking her up Friday afternoon. He decided to take his car to pick her up, and it didn't help rid of all the unwanted eyes around them when Ga Eul stepped out of the daycare building. She sat down in the passenger seat while his question was asked, but she stayed silent and kept her eyes forward.
"Ga Eul?" He looked over at her face, but she seemed to continue ignoring him. Yi Jung could see the strain on her face, making the effort of not showing the emotion beneath her eyes.
"...Whatever you want to do," she replied quietly with a hesitant smile. Her eyes didn't look at him, and it bothered Yi Jung that they hadn't made direct eye contact yet.
What was she nervous about? Wasn't everything basically set in stone just last week on Caledonia? That was what Yi Jung thought at least, and he believed Ga Eul thought so, too.
'I might be thinking about it too much,' he amended on her behalf. Taking that as the case, he fell back into his seat and chuckled, but he wasn't able to hide the frustrated emotion completely. "Okay. We'll just hang around my workplace, then."
She looked at him with surprise while he started the convertible. "Huh?" This was a sudden change of pace: usually, they went somewhere extravagant or where Ga Eul had never ventured before...but Yi Jung just seemed to have nothing planned for them.
Paranoia swept over her as he drove down the street. What if something had changed in him over the past week? Had he reconsidered their relationship and planned to dump her? Ga Eul thought it was reasonable, what with their difference in status and characters, but it was still painful to think that he would want to be done with her so soon.
'Wait,' she told herself cautiously. 'How can I just suddenly think like that? I need to have faith in him! What's wrong? Is there just not enough faith in myself? What if there is a problem with all this...because of me?! I must be completely wrong for Yi Jung...' The brain meltdown caused her to exhale sharply in confusion as her eyebrows pulled together and a frown pulled her lips down.
'What do I do??'
She could barely even glance at him during the drive. As the guilt for doubting him started to cloud her mind, even more thoughts came to her. How soon would he dump her? In a month or two? A few weeks? Maybe even in just a couple of days when some gravure idol catches his eye.
It was too good to be true to begin with: it's basically impossible to think that she would have the chance to stay with Yi Jung forever. He would never want a relationship like that with a girl other than Cha Eun Jae, and Ga Eul was definitely no exception.
This was unreasonable: she wanted to stay with him for as long as possible...but the hatred and rejection of their relationship started to make her known, notorious in fact. Was there any way for her to be with Yi Jung without the hassle of jealousy?
As they pulled up to his workplace, he quickly turned off the engine and opened his door to get out. His speed caught Ga Eul's eye, especially when he came over to her side and opened her door with a smile on his face.
"Yi Jung..."
He held out his hand in response, still keeping the perfect grin on. "Well? Are you gonna come out?"
After some hesitation, she took a tiny gulp and took his hand. Yi Jung led her out of his convertible with poise before closing the door behind her. He held her hand tightly to his side as he casually led her up to the front door, with every step making Ga Eul worry even more. Just what exactly was on his mind?
All the stress was too much for her, and the fact that she couldn't get into Yi Jung's mind made it even worse. 'Is this how it's gonna be?' Her eyebrows pulled together as the debate inside her restarted. 'No...I can't deal with his...If I don't even know what's going on between us. How can we keep this up any longer??'
Unlocking the door, he pushed it open and led her inside, allowing the cool air to bathe the both of them. It barely helped Ga Eul relax, not even when he finally let go of her hand and walked toward the counter. Yi Jung silently stretched his arms out and leaned against the counter, looking around as if he was ignoring the girl he dragged inside with him.
"Yi Jung..." She felt like her voice was forbidden to make a sound, what with the awkward atmosphere created around them. His change frightened her too much, and a part of her wanted to escape, hoping it would pass over with her absence.
This was it: she knew the end would be inevitable. Ga Eul just hoped it wouldn't be so soon. At her sides, her hands clenched and unclenched nervously; now that she knew it was coming, she may as well prepare herself for the lashing words of rejection.
"I'm terrible..."
Ga Eul's eyes widened and her body froze in place. She didn't want those kinds of words coming from Yi Jung, especially when everything was her fault. Why did she have to act so hesitant? Her worry must have been obvious on her face...and he was misinterpreting it. She wanted to deny his claims, but as they started to come up, they all clogged the passage in her throat, as if the very first sentence wasn't willing to be exposed at fault. "No, I am."
Yi Jung sighed, but still didn't turn back to her. He raised his head to look out the window, lost in his own thoughts. "I can't even make you happy after working all day. What can I do for you?"
She wanted to rush up and assure him that he did nothing wrong, but Ga Eul couldn't find the strength to take even a step.
"Ga Eul…" When he finally turned to face her, there was desperation in his eyes that wrung her heart. Some type of pain was in his mind, and something told Ga Eul that it started with her.
'No…Why?' It wasn't what she wanted. What she sought for was any kind of relief, any hope for the end of them…albeit reluctantly. If it was for him, she would go as far as ending their relationship, even if it meant betraying her heart.
Without saying a word, Yi Jung's feet began to drag him toward her still form. There was an agitation within him, something eating him up inside, and Ga Eul had no idea of how to heal it…
Except through one painful method that seemed to be the best. She felt like she was split in half: one side wanted to go with the method and leave behind her life with Yi Jung to restart anew. No explanation would be needed this early, just a simple realization that they could never work out. Her rationalization from earlier handled the problem of post break-up depression: find another, and leave all troubles behind. The other side, however, screamed at her to forget the worry and stay by his side.
The deciding factor was the motivation to help make her choice.
Yi Jung stopped just stopped one stride away from her and stared deeply into her eyes. "It's making you anxious, isn't it?" he finally asked. "Our relationship…"
She bit her tongue when he hit the mark. How did he know so much about her in such little time? Was this what he was thinking about when he was in Sweden: to get to know her?
In defense, Ga Eul nervously shook her head, but the gesture already gave her away. Yi Jung smiled pitifully at her attempt.
"It's my fault," he told her as well as himself. "If only I didn't build up that reputation…" His face was full of remorse, inflicting more pain on her heart.
She turned her face away, afraid to see even more of the pain she was just adding to. 'No more,' she told herself. 'We're both hurting…because of me. For him…I have to—'
All her thoughts disappeared when firm hands curved around her cheeks and forced her to turn back to Yi Jung, whose face was suddenly inches from hers. He noticed how fast the blush raced across her face, but even the close proximity didn't lift his mood.
"If you leave now, right when I finally have you…"
His hands didn't let go, but they were too gentle to slip away from. Ga Eul was able to hold in her tears, for she realized how ridiculous she thought she was.
It was foolish of her to doubt their love for her benefit of safety. Yi Jung was able to overlook all the admirers and obstacles for her; why couldn't she do the same for him?
"I love you."
The words he whispered made the tears pile up even before she realized what came out of his mouth. All she could do was stare at him incredulously, astounded how easy it as for him to say the words. They helped her see just how much Yi Jung valued her despite all the doubt that augmented within her.
Delicately, she brought her hand up to clutch onto one of his that held her face, assuring him that she understood his words.
"Don't leave," he continued. "Stay here…forever."
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and nodded, forgetting that some of the tears were still welled up. As they ran down her cheeks, Yi Jung wiped them away gently to keep them from ruining her face. He wanted to stop all the reluctance and pain in her heart and protect her from the malicious words of society. He was already aware of the pressure of the public on her, which made him worry from the beginning, but he was too overwhelmed with his feelings for Ga Eul to keep considering them.
Yi Jung dropped his hands after the last drop vanished so they could take in her own hands, holding them in the space between. Leaning forward, he softly rested his head atop of Ga Eul's before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"…You're quite a handful."
Once silence followed his words, he became glad that her quiet chuckle broke through. His laughter accompanied hers, and it was as if a heavy weight was suddenly lifted off her chest. All the sadness was suppressed from her mind, and the grasp on his hand grew tighter out of joy.
"But I'll take it," he finished just before lifting his head. Ga Eul lifted her face to look up at him…and saw the warm smile on his face that seemed to somehow brighten everything. Deep in her heart, she wanted to see the smile for the rest of her life, banishing every thought she had of leaving him.
Somehow, those three words glued her to Yi Jung permanently, as if they were the cure to her depressing doubts.
'He can keep me,' she thought happily. 'And nothing can make me reconsider this.'
...I definitely had some writer's block with this. I may or may not go back and edit this later, but I just really wanted to update and get some z's. The gist was that Ga Eul was feeling really nervous about the fangirls, became paranoid that her love with Yi Jung isn't everlasting, and resolved to end it before any major heartbreaks. Luckily, Yi Jung was able to see the worry in time and assured her that his feelings were true and proves it with the "I love you", hence the love quote on top.
Thanks for reading this crummy chapter (in my opinion, crummy at least). I hope to update soon! ^_^