TAKE CARE

“...You’re still the same.”

He was waiting silently, wondering what she was about to say when Saera finally spoke.

Her voice was low and quick, like exhaling a long-held breath, trembling and almost as if she were hiding something.

Hajin unintentionally repeated her words.

“Still the same.”

Her words came out of his mouth, the unspoken feelings escaping with them.

It was a strange feeling, one that made him realize that no matter when or how Saera suddenly entered his life, she had the power to tear him apart. A feeling he couldn’t shake off.

“Ha, damn it.”

Hajin muttered a curse under his breath, turning quickly to walk away.

He needed to get away from Saera. It was the only way he could find peace after tonight. His mind was already burdened enough.

His sharp instincts were warning him incessantly to get away from her, quickly.

“Then rest.”

Hajin widened his stride and moved toward the door. The sound of footsteps followed him from behind. Soon, Saera’s voice caught his steps.

“Oppa.”

She called him again. “Oppa.”

The resolve he had sworn to uphold shattered in that moment, disappearing into thin air.

Ah, the reason he had struggled through the past years was because he had been waiting for Saera to call him like this, wasn’t it?

Like someone who had never tried to distance himself from her, like someone who had been desperately waiting for her for ten years, his head turned automatically toward her.

At the sound of the word “Oppa.”

Hajin had no idea what expression he was wearing as he looked at her. He was certain that his eyes were not trembling, but still, he couldn’t do anything.

Could he have stopped her from coming so close in the first place?

But then, Saera pushed further.

“Tonight... will you stay with me... just for tonight?”

“What?”

Before Hajin could even respond, Saera, who had been hesitating until now, threw herself into his arms. Her face was twisted, and she still couldn’t bring herself to let it go.

“Saera.”

Hajin’s hand, trying to push her away, gripped her arms, but for some reason, he couldn’t muster any strength. Instead, the desire to hold her, pretending to lose, spread through his chest like wildfire.

“Don’t do this.”

“Don’t push me away, okay?”

Even though his body and mind were at odds, Hajin still tried to pull away from her. Saera, however, didn’t care about his response and clung to him without hesitation.

“I’m so embarrassed right now. This situation, and even seeing you in a place like that.”

Saera’s words made Hajin feel helpless. He couldn’t decide whether to push her away or pull her closer, but he wanted to yell at her in frustration.

“I know. I already knew. Just seeing your face, I could tell.”

So don’t shake me up like this. At least, isn’t it common courtesy to not do this? After you pushed me down so mercilessly... don’t you have any conscience?

He couldn’t vent these feelings to anyone. For the past ten years, his heart had been buried, almost fossilized, but in truth, it had never moved on. He had been waiting for her, just as he had 10 years ago.

But the questions he had kept buried for so long stayed locked inside. He couldn’t bring himself to voice them, for fear of sounding like someone with no dignity left.

He knew that he was about to become a pitiful figure in front of her. Even after ten years, he felt as though he was about to concede that Yu Saera was the one in control, and Hajin closed his mouth.

Instead, he clenched his teeth, biting down so hard his jaw ached, as if trying to grind them to pieces.

But then.

Without giving him a chance to breathe, Saera pressed into Hajin.

“Don’t make me feel worse. Just hug me. Just for tonight.”

Her pleading eyes relentlessly locked onto his, as if begging him not to turn away. If he looked into those eyes, he felt as though he wouldn’t be able to let go. Hajin’s gaze desperately darted around the room, avoiding her.

“...Just don’t leave.”

Her voice, soaked with tears, pleaded with him to hold her. She spoke words she’d never said before, throwing herself toward him.

And then.

“Oppa, you won’t turn me away, right? You won’t, will you?”

She struck the final blow, as if confirming her hold on him.

Damn it, Yu Saera. That’s cheating.

Hajin realized he had no place to run anymore, as the truth of his feelings was laid bare.

How could he push her away? How could he push you away? And you know it, yet you do this to me.

“Ha, Yu Saera. You’re really awful. You’re a bad woman.”

He muttered, letting out a deep sigh, biting down on his words. He glared at her, growling, but he knew full well that his anger was empty bravado.

“I know. I know too.”

As if she understood everything, Saera nodded and pressed her body against his.

Her large, crescent-shaped eyes gazed up at him, the wateriness in them clinging to him. Saera’s face, the one he had dreamed of even in his sleep. Her eyes, nose, and lips.

Looking down, Hajin saw her delicate collarbone, faintly visible. He raised his hand and gently traced her collarbone with his thumb, moving his fingers slowly along the sharp outline of the bone.

Her torn shirt, pulled by Baek Donghwan, barely clung to her shoulder.

Bad woman. What am I supposed to do now, seeing you like this?

His hand, which had gripped her exposed shoulder, trembled.

Damn it. If you left because you hated me, at least live a good life.

Hajin gripped her shoulder tighter, the strength in his hand increasing. He slowly pulled her closer, her soft arm now firmly held in place.

Just moments ago, he had been trying to push her away, struggling to free himself, but now his mind had completely changed. His reason had frozen.

As you said, if I spend this night with you, I know I will fall apart, yet I still step into that hell. I am such an easy target.

Even as he muttered curses, Hajin’s grip on her arm tightened, his strength reversing the direction he had tried to push her.

At Kanglim Group, there was a program for talented individuals without financial means.

It was a nurturing program under the Kanglim Cultural Foundation, founded by Hajin’s mother, Yeon Jiseon, and sponsored by Seo Jeongcheol. Just receiving a scholarship here was enough to be recognized for talent in the field.

Among them, Yu Saera was especially exceptional.

She was a girl born with the natural grace of her body.

She was expected to become a ballerina with international fame, not just in Korea. Of course, Yeon Jiseon had even higher expectations for her.

Eventually, Yeon Jiseon brought Saera, who was living in the countryside, to Seoul and placed her under special care. At the age of nine, Saera came to live with Yeon Jiseon and Hajin in their home.

The day Hajin first met Saera was a day he could never forget, even if he tried.

“Hajin, this child will be living with us from now on. Saera, this is Seo Hajin. He’s probably a year older than you. Say hello to your older brother.”

“Seo Hajin.”

The nine-year-old girl, repeating Hajin’s name with her small lips, smiled at the boy looking at her.

And slowly, but very gracefully, she raised both arms towards the sky, forming a circle. With a gentle “poof,” like feathers scattering in the wind, she lowered her arms and bowed.

It was the playful act of a young girl wanting to show off what she had learned.

However, Saera’s movements were different from the clumsy movements of other girls her age. As if drawing a language with her body, her figure was etched into Hajin’s eyes, very slowly but intensely.

The girl clearly knew how to use her body, and she also knew that it captivated people’s hearts.

When the girl, having straightened her back, came closer to Hajin, the ten-year-old boy’s heart was no longer his own.

“Please take care of me, Hajin, oppa.”

Before the title “oppa” was added after “Hajin,” Saera paused, catching her breath.

It was full of a confident feeling, as if saying, ‘I’ll call you oppa for now,’ but Hajin liked even that. No, it felt like anything from Yu Saera would already be good.

Hajin instinctively felt that his future life would be held captive by the girl in front of him.

From that first meeting, Yu Saera defined their relationship.

Saera fixed her gaze on Hajin and slowly moved her hands. Her shoulders were exposed, and after a moment, with a “thud,” the dress she was wearing fell to the floor, forming a circle.

Slowly, but gracefully.

With an unfathomable, indifferent expression, Saera’s fingertips hooked onto the thin straps of her underwear and pulled. Without any hesitation, she pulled them down, staring intently at Hajin.

Thud.

With the sound of the last piece of fabric covering her upper body falling, the luscious, rounded curves that followed formed an arc were revealed. Hajin’s breath caught.

It seemed like Saera’s lips twitched slightly. Or was it just his imagination? His judgment was so impaired that he couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

Ten years had passed since the day they saw each other naked. The body of the girl who was just twenty years old was now ripening into the mature body of a woman in her late twenties.

Isn’t she even embarrassed? I’m trembling like this. Or is she used to this? I haven’t let anyone take your place, but hasn’t she been the same?

All sorts of thoughts occupied Hajin’s mind.

How many guys has she shown that flesh to, that I touched for the first time?

It was only a matter of moments for his branching thoughts to be seized by jealousy.

If Saera’s dating rumors were to come out, nothing would hurt him as much as that.

The first few years after they separated, he lived like a madman, agonizing and constantly staying up at night. He had collected everything about Yu Saera.

If a kiss scene came out in a drama, he would punch the TV.

Yu Saera crying while falling in love with another man, Yu Saera laughing, Yu Saera getting angry. Even though it was acting, everything about Yu Saera tormented him.

And several years later, Hajin cleared everything related to Saera from his surroundings. As if she had never existed in his life from the beginning.

“It’s been a while, us.”

Saera spoke, approaching him as if nothing had happened, with such audacity. Soon after, her small head nestled into Hajin’s chest, where he stood still.

Saera placed her hands on Hajin’s chest and remained still for a moment. Somehow, Saera’s hands felt a little damp.

“Are you perhaps nervous?”

Hajin casually unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and retorted with an indifferent tone.

“Is that so.”

Saera gently rubbed her forehead against Hajin’s chest, then lifted her head to look up at him.

“Please take care of me, Hajin, oppa.”

In that instant, something thumped and sank in Hajin’s heart.

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