"I like you, Dawon."
Jeonghan's voice echoed within me. The tears I'd been holding back flowed down, falling onto the sand. I couldn't look back. I felt bad about seeing Jeonghan's face.
"So, tomorrow will come too, and the day after tomorrow will come too..."
" ... "
"Don't tell me not to come..."
"You can say it's annoying... but please don't tell me not to come..."
"You are my everything... without you, I..."
"I think I'm going to die..."
"Even though I'm looking at you like this, I miss you so much..."
"How am I supposed to live without you..."
Tears fell heavily. They kept pouring out, as if something had been holding them back had finally broken free. My legs gave out and I collapsed. Jeonghan emerged from the sea, came over to me, and locked eyes with me.
"Don't cry... When you cry, my heart hurts, it feels like it's going to tear apart."
"I really hate it, I hate it so much I could die. If this is the process of liking you, I'll endure it."
"You don't have to say yes to me. I won't expect you to."
"So please don't say you don't want to see me."
"Jeonghan,"
"I'm scared to hear it. I'm afraid you'll say you hate me."
"So, I guess I'll be going now for today..."
"See you tomorrow, Dawon."
***
He disappeared into the sea. Jeonghan's smile, which had been visible to me, seemed sad. How dare I hurt Jeonghan. Why did I say those words? I hated myself so much that I wanted to kill myself. I hated the sight of myself regretting it now.
But I don't want to see Jeonghan get hurt because of me. I wish Jeonghan could live without knowing pain or cruelty. I wish he wouldn't like someone like me...
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"Are you looking at the morning sea? Come with me."
"Ah... Kwon Soon-young..."
Kwon Soon-young came over and sat down next to me. "How did you know about this place? It's a place not many people know about."
"Hey, did you cry? Your eyes are red."
"Oh, no."
"What's wrong with crying?"
Kwon Soon-young took a can of soda from my bag, opened the lid, and placed it in my hand. I looked at Kwon Soon-young with unfocused eyes, and she stroked the back of my head and told me to drink it.
" thank you. "
"It's nothing special."
"But what were you doing here alone?"
" ... regret. "
" regret? "
"But why do your eyes look sad?"
"Sunyoung, do you believe that mermaids are real?"
"Believe me. Our village's legend is about mermaids. That's partly why, and partly because you believe in mermaids too."
"But I don't think very positively of that legend."
" huh..? "
"The ending is not good. It's so sad. The impossible love between a mermaid and a human."
" ... "
"But it's natural that it won't happen."
"...What are you talking about?"
"Mermaids and humans live differently, where they live, what they see, what they feel. Everything is different. How can they love each other when they are different species?"
"That's why I understand that the ending of the legend is tragic."
"I also think that a mermaid and a human can't come together."
"I don't even want to see it come true."
"Yeah... everyone has different thoughts..."
"Why are you doing this? Is what you're doing right now related to mermaids?"
"Why are you asking me now when you haven't asked me for 8 years?"
The tears I'd been holding back fell again. I didn't want to show them, and I didn't want to cry in front of Kwon Soon-young.
Kwon Soon-young, flustered by my sudden outburst, tried to soothe me. She took a tissue out of her bag and wiped my eyes. Fearing my eyes might swell, she held a cold can of soda (still unopened) to my eyes.
"Hey, why are you crying all of a sudden!"
" ... hmm, "
"I, I... thought that love between a mermaid and a human could come true..."
" ... "
"I thought so, I believed so... but I guess I wasn't, I guess I was mistaken..."
"I wanted something too big..."
" ... Don't cry. I hate seeing you cry."
(Where did all today's portions go..?)
The reason Dawon said bad things to Jeonghan last time was because she didn't want Jeonghan to get hurt anymore...ㅠㅠ
Impossible love... The title itself is... ( ͒ ́ඉ .̫ ඉ ̀ ͒)