We decided not to cross the line (Season 2)

Episode 48. Head-to-head showdown

Mr. Woojin left the cafe

I was left alone.





The ice pack I’d been holding to my cheek

I set it down.





What went wrong, and where did it start.





'Because I told someone to come and go...?'

Was it because of the day I called because of Taehyung? '





But...

Why was I

in front of her, the one who slapped me

unable to do anything.

Why couldn’t I do anything but stay still.





That made me

feel even smaller and more miserable.





So instead,

I didn’t want to cry.





If I cried here

I felt like I’d just become even more pathetic.





After sitting dazed for a long while, I

cleaned up the drink glasses

I’d had with Woojin earlier.



I tidied up the table and chairs, too.



I wanted to get out of this place as fast as I could.





After finishing the cleanup, I picked up my bag.


The moment I stepped out the front door,

I ran into Hoonji at the door.





"Jung-a..."





I pretended not to see him and passed by

and kept walking.





"Get in my car.

Let’s go home together."





"Are you trying to make me get hit on the other cheek too?"





I asked him with sharp words.





"I’m sorry. But just a moment."




he said, as if holding me back.





"Come with me."





He walked after me.





My footsteps echoing along the night road, and

his footsteps following behind me

sounded especially loud.





I suddenly stopped walking.

And crouched down.




My stomach churned.




Hoonji, who had been following behind me,

hurried over to my side.





"What’s wrong? Do you feel sick?"




I covered my mouth instead of answering.




"I think I’m going to throw up."





"Wait here. I’ll go buy some water."





He disappeared.

In the meantime, I thought I should disappear

somewhere too.





After drinking the bottled water he bought,

the nausea seemed to ease a little.





I sat down right there on the roadside.

I hugged my knees and buried my face in them.





Seeing me sitting collapsed on the street,

Hoonji wrapped his arms around me without a word.





After a while, he spoke.




"I’ll go get the car, so wait here a minute."





He ran toward the cafe

and came back with the car.





I got into his car and headed home.


After going inside, I

collapsed onto the sofa and sat down.





Hoonji boiled water

and made warm tea.





"Is your stomach okay?"





"Yeah..."





"Drink this slowly."




I picked up the mug

took a sip of the warm tea,

and slowly set it back on the table.




He sat in the seat next to me.




I asked him.




"Your girlfriend...

why did you come looking for me?"


 
"On the day Taehyung came looking for me,

was it because you called Hoonji?"






"That day... we were together.

But..."





"Did I do something wrong to Hoonji’s girlfriend

to deserve getting slapped too?"





"I’m sorry..."





"How did you find out about the cafe?"





"I think he had someone following me.

Through that person,

he must have found out about the cafe and my home.

I also knew he’d run into you by chance at the theater."





"You know where I live too?"





He nodded.

Slowly, he lifted his head

and looked at my face.






"Jung-a..."





After hesitating for a moment, he asked.





"Why did you just... stand there and let her hit you?
 
Why didn’t you hit her too,

or even scream?"




His voice began to shake more and more.




"You were just standing there...

do you know how much it hurt me?"





I lowered my head.





"At first I was so flustered

that I didn’t know what to do...



but right now, the girlfriend is her...

and it’s true that I called over someone who already had a girlfriend.

So I think I couldn’t say anything."

He gently stroked





my swollen cheek with his hand.

"That hurt a lot, didn’t it?"





"Not my cheek..."





I looked into his eyes.




"My heart."

 



Without saying a word,





he slowly pulled me into his arms.

Only then did





hot tears run down my cheek.

"Hoonji..."





I called his name




in a trembling voice.

"I need you.




I love you.

Without you... I don’t think I can do this."

"I think I’m going back to Spain."