Chapter 31

When she had been coming here, her heart had been so full of excitement that it felt as though she were walking on clouds. But on the way back, her stomach churned so badly that she could barely tell whether her feet were properly touching the ground.

Danbi trudged toward the academy.

The scene she had witnessed moments ago kept flickering before her eyes like a ghost: the crowd that had swarmed around him like waves, and the luxurious presents piled high in his arms.

Was giving it to him really the right thing to do?

Wouldn’t it have been better if I hadn’t given him anything at all?

Danbi passed the convenience store where she used to grab a quick dinner before going to the academy, her steps heavy and listless.

She had spent almost everything in her wallet buying his present. Now, only a few coins remained.

She had scraped together everything she had and handed it to him, yet among all the things he was carrying, her sincerity looked so pitiful and insignificant.

From the beginning, Hae-il and she had lived in different worlds.

And this wasn’t merely about material wealth.

There was a gap between them even when it came to their hearts.

Hae-il was rich even in affection. He had enough feelings to spare that, even after giving his attention to countless people, he could casually toss some of what remained toward her.

But Danbi’s heart was poor.

If she wanted to respond to him, she had to offer up everything—even the last speck of what remained of her pride.

And even that heart, after giving everything it had, would probably end up gathering dust somewhere among all the other affections piled up in a corner of his room.

“Take it and buy yourself some shoes.”

“I don’t want to deal with you because you’re beneath my level.”

“You get all high and mighty because you don’t know your place.”

The words she had heard from him in the past flew toward her like daggers and pierced her heart.

He had never needed a gift from her.

He had never needed her feelings.

She felt ashamed that someone like her had dared to dream of becoming his lover.

Large and small lights flickered chaotically before her eyes, making her dizzy.

Her stomach churned.

And then, suddenly, she remembered the words of the letter she had written late into the night.

I made these with feelings that were a little more selfish than simple gratitude.

I want to become closer to you.

The moment that blatant sentence flashed through her mind, Danbi, who was almost at the academy, abruptly turned around and started running.

As though it had been waiting for her, something cold landed with a tap on the crown of her head.

One raindrop fell, then another.

In an instant, the drops grew heavier, turning into a downpour so fierce that she could barely keep her eyes open.

But Danbi didn’t stop.

No.

She couldn’t stop.

There was only one thought in her mind.

Hae-il must not read the letter.

She prayed that he hadn’t arrived home yet.

Please.

Please, let him still be on his way.

Please, let him not have taken off the wrapping yet.

Before he could read that humiliating confession, she had to take her heart back.

It was about a twenty-minute run to Hae-il’s house.

Her rain-soaked school uniform clung damply to her body, making every step heavier.

Her ragged breathing scraped against her throat like a blade, and her heart pounded so violently that it felt as though it might burst at any moment.

She couldn’t tell whether what streamed down her cheeks was rainwater or tears.

She knew it was ridiculous to run through the rain like a madwoman over nothing more than a box of chocolates and a letter.

But she couldn’t stop.

That letter wasn’t merely a letter.

It was everything eighteen-year-old Lee Danbi had.

It was her pride.

It was the pure love she had carried in her heart for so long.

And it was proof of the foolishness of someone who had dared to desire a diamond.

The moment he read it, she felt as though everything would come crashing down.

She could already imagine the ridicule curling around his lips.

Or perhaps something even more cruel: pity in his eyes.

Whatever future awaited her, Danbi didn’t have the strength to face it.

She would rather be hated.

Danbi gritted her teeth and ran.

It was a desperate struggle to reclaim the heart she had placed in his hands, a frantic sprint away from a future in which she would never again be able to look at him the way she once had.

She raced through his neighborhood, lined with enormous mansions, without even knowing where her feet were taking her.

Finally, she arrived in front of his house—the place she had visited once before.

Standing before the imposing gate that looked exactly as intimidating as she remembered, Danbi frantically pressed the doorbell.

A moment later, a familiar voice came through the intercom.

―“…Lee Danbi?”

Fortunately, it was Hae-il.

Danbi struggled to catch her breath before hurriedly speaking.

“Um…”

Before she could finish, the intercom abruptly clicked off.

Instead of an answer, the massive gate slowly began to open.

An unspoken permission to come inside.

Danbi cautiously opened the gate and crossed the wide courtyard, drenched by the cold rain.

When she finally stood in front of the entrance, the door suddenly flew open.

Hae-il appeared.

His eyes widened as he looked at Danbi, who was completely soaked and trembling from head to toe.

“What the hell? Did something happen?”

The moment she saw his face, the nausea that had been churning inside her grew into a terrible ache, as though every organ in her body were melting away.

It felt as though she had finally seen with her own eyes the impassable river between him and her.

Danbi tightly clenched her trembling hands and barely managed to force out a broken voice.

“Um… I’m really sorry, but… the present I gave you earlier… could you give it back to me?”

The instant she said those words, the tip of Danbi’s nose stung, and her eyes welled up.

His face was filled with bewilderment.

“What? What present? You give someone a present and then take it ba—”

“Give it back. Please, give it back…”

Danbi looked up at him and repeated the same words like a broken machine.

By now, tears had filled her eyes, blurring his face before her.

“It’s… really important to me…”

Because what means nothing to you is everything to me.

Her trembling voice scattered helplessly beneath the sound of the rain.

Hae-il stared at Danbi with shaken eyes for a moment before furrowing his brow, as though he simply couldn’t understand what was happening.

“Wait…”

Leaving that single word behind with a short sigh, he opened the door wide and went inside.

Danbi blankly watched his retreating back.

Fortunately, it was only after he had turned away that the hot tears finally spilled down her cheeks, mixing with the rain.

At least she had been spared the worst humiliation of crying while looking directly at his face.

In one corner of the living room, she could see a mountain of extravagant presents, presumably gifts he had received from the other students.

Without thinking, Danbi searched among them for her own pitiful little box.

But Hae-il wasn’t heading toward the living room.

He was going toward the staircase leading to the second floor.

Why is he going there?

The brief question crossed her mind.

A little while later, he returned holding the box of chocolates Danbi had given him.

He handed the chocolates back to her with an expression that was difficult to describe, as though he really didn’t want to do it.

“Here…”

Unlike his usual confident demeanor, his shoulders seemed strangely drooped, and there was no strength in his voice.

He looked exactly like a child who had been forced to give up a favorite toy.

He seemed genuinely hurt and disappointed.

Danbi watched his expression carefully before quickly turning away to check the chocolates.

Fortunately, it appeared that he hadn’t opened them yet.

The letter she had tucked between the wrapping was still there.

She hurriedly pulled it out.

Then, as though she were crushing her own heart between her cold, wet hands, she crumpled the paper with a loud crinkle.

She stuffed the ruined ball of paper deep into the pocket of her thoroughly soaked school uniform skirt.

Only then did she finally feel as though the blockage in her chest had been released.

As she breathed out a sigh of relief, an irritated voice came from behind her.

“Aren’t you seriously being too much? If you were going to do this, you shouldn’t have given it to me in the first pla—”

“It’s cheap…”

“What?”

“It obviously won’t suit your taste. I thought… maybe I shouldn’t have given it to you in the first place…”

Danbi quietly revealed a small part of what she was feeling before handing him the box of chocolates again, now without the letter.

“But if you’re still okay with it… eat them.”

“Seriously… You really know how to mess with a person.”

He accepted the box, now damp from Danbi’s wet hands, without showing any disgust.

The disappointment that had lingered on his face faded slightly, and a faint smile appeared.

Apparently, he really disliked having something that had come into his possession taken away from him.

Even if it was something as small and insignificant as a box of chocolates.

Danbi, having accomplished what she had come for, took a step back and was about to say goodbye.

That was when—

“Do you want to come inside?”

His low voice pierced through the sound of the rain and landed clearly in Danbi’s ears.

For a moment, Danbi wondered if she had heard him correctly.

She had thought she had barely managed to escape from his world.

She had thought that, even if her heart was battered and torn to pieces, she had at least managed to protect it.

But he had effortlessly returned everything to where it had started.

No.

Perhaps he was leading her into an even more dangerous situation than before.