My Ex-Girlfriend Regrets Dumping Me

35 – Explanation (7)

“……I think Yul and I are probably closer than you think.”

A snake-like smile that seemed to mock herself.

As Gia listened to Hayeon’s words, she felt a small fire igniting inside her.

It was a clear provocation against herself.

And with it, there was a hint of unease.

A strange feeling that she might lose Yul to that woman.

“So what kind of relationship do you have with him? You’ve been beating around the bush and not saying anything clearly. Unni.”

Her own voice sounding cold and detached.

Gia stared at Hayeon as if to restrain her.

Under the streetlight, the sharp gazes of the two women intersected.

“Do I have a reason to explain that? Well, maybe… Can Yul be my girlfriend?”

Ha-yeon asked Ji-a, as if testing the waters.

There was a faint sense of unease mixed within.

“…We’ll soon become boyfriend and girlfriend.”

But Ji-a couldn’t confirm their relationship either.

Therefore, they couldn’t drive a wedge between them here.

Upon hearing that, Ha-yeon lifted the corner of his mouth as if he had expected it.

“So, you’re still saying it’s not yet? Then why do you have the right to treat me like this? Ha, unbelievable.”

“…We’ll start dating soon! We’re just in a stage where we haven’t confessed yet. Oppa likes me too.”

In Ji-a’s eyes, Ha-yeon’s eyes, illuminated by the streetlight, looked like gleaming cat eyes.

A thieving cat stealing love from her.

Unable to ignore Ha-yeon’s words that scraped at her nerves, Ji-a had no choice but to respond.

“Excuse me. What’s your name?”

“…My name? It’s Yu Ji-a.”

Out of the blue, Ha-yeon asked for Ji-a’s name.

It wasn’t necessary to answer, but…

Not wanting to lose the upper hand against Ha-yeon, Ji-a called out her name.

“Alright, Miss Ji-a. I’m saying this because you look younger than me and seem to lack much dating experience…”

“…”

“…No one knows what will happen until we actually date.”

“What?”

“It’s an unknown. Even after dating for years, people break up after cheating. Just because the current feelings are good doesn’t guarantee a continuous connection, right?”

Gulp.

Unconsciously, Ji-a clenched her teeth at Ha-yeon’s words.

As if it were cursing herself.

As if her present feelings with Yul were about to shatter.

It was true that she was young and inexperienced, but pointing that out made her feel uncomfortable.

Ji-a eventually gathered the information she knew about Ha-yeon and came up with words that could scratch at her.

“…At least it’s much better than being hated, isn’t it? Don’t you think so?”

“…Ha.”

Ha-yeon, upon hearing those words, her expression became even darker.

Now she looked completely emotionally wounded.

Jia knew that she herself was being childish, but seeing Ha-yeon’s unhappy face felt satisfying.

Because it made her feel as if she had won the fight.

“It’s fine. Let’s stop. It seems like there is no point in discussing it anymore.”

Ha-yeon turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

She was moving so fast that Jia couldn’t even catch up.

Not that she wanted to hold onto her anyway.

…So she runs away instead of facing any disadvantages.

Even the sound of her footsteps felt annoyingly loud.

Jia looked at her with a sarcastic smile.

“…I told you once, you should have understood my intentions, Unni.”

Why did she unnecessarily provoke herself and leave with wounds?

She might be older, but she was truly a foolish woman.

And just like that, Ha-yeon vanished from her sight.

Jia stood still for a moment, absentmindedly gazing at Gun-yul’s building.

– …Maybe Gun-yul and I are closer than what she thinks.

The words that Ha-yeon had said earlier lingered in her mind, bothering her for no reason.

Could they really have no connection whatsoever?

“…She probably said those things just because she was upset.”

Seeing Gun-yul’s attitude towards Ha-yeon, it was hard to believe that they were close.

But then again, it couldn’t have changed so dramatically within this short period.

Jia didn’t know much about their past, but if they continued on like this, she could secure her place with Gun-yul in their relationship.

That’s how Jia reassured herself against the rising anxiety.

“Trust Oppa. That’s right.”

The Gun-yul that Jia saw was sincere in nature.

He didn’t seem like the type to be involved in any suspicious behavior or two-timing.

But that woman, on the other hand, needed to be cautious.

She seemed suspicious in every way, and today’s conversation confirmed Jia’s suspicions.

It was clear that she had feelings for Gun-yul.

“……Oppa is definitely not that kind of person.”

Although she felt an eager desire to ask Gunyul about Ha-yeon.

Jia suppressed her rising anxiety and suspicion by making such a resolution.

*

The quiet living room after Ha-yeon left.

After hastily tidying up the table with limping legs, I went back to my room.

Sending Ha-yeon away didn’t mean everything had healed yet.

“…Should I have called Jia too?”

As I lay on the bed, unnecessary thoughts popped into my mind.

With both my legs and body in pain, my mental state seemed to weaken.

Now that Ha-yeon was gone, I realized afresh how comforting it was to have someone by my side.

Not that I wanted Ha-yeon to stay by my side indefinitely.

“Cough. Cough.”

Even a cough that hadn’t occurred earlier came out now.

With the cough, my head throbbed and made me feel even dizzier.

Besides, it was too late to call Jia now anyway.

I also didn’t want to bother Jin-ho and ask him to come home just because I was feeling unwell.

…I could only bear it alone.

Although my head hurt, the phone caught my eye.

I lay on the bed and absentmindedly stared at the video playing on my phone like a patient watching TV.

And soon enough, the phone began to vibrate.

Ring. Ring.

Who could it be at this late hour?

Opening my eyes as if sensing something, I glanced at the number appearing on the screen.

It was my mother.

“What’s going on? It’s so late.”

I touched the screen and answered the call.

Familiar voice of my mother flowed through the receiver.

[Oh, my son~.]

“Yeah. What’s the matter, Mom? It’s not a good time to sleep right now, is it?”

“Why so long? You hardly ever contact me. It’s your mother calling. I want to hear my son’s voice.”

Upon hearing those words, a pang of guilt and conscience swept over me.

Come to think of it, since the start of the semester, I hadn’t contacted my mother once.

I had been busy and preoccupied with various things, leaving no room for communication.

“Yura, are you feeling unwell? Your voice doesn’t sound good.”

“Ah… yeah, Mom. You know I get sick every year around this time. Must be happening today. Feels like my head will explode.”

Of course, my mother was well aware of the recurring illness that struck me every year.

It seemed to have been the case from when I was young.

After entering high school, Ha-yeon took care of me most of the time.

“Really? Oh dear. What should we do? Are you in a lot of pain? You always groan and act like you’re about to die when this happens.”

“Yeah, I’m exactly in that condition right now. Groaning while lying down.”

“You should take better care of yourself. I can’t come over to help, and back then, with Ha-yeon by your side, I felt relieved…”

“…”

Just why did she bring up that topic again?

As my mother spoke, she must have realized that she had said something wrong and fell silent halfway through.

There was a moment of static during our call.

“I rely on your mother. Sorry. Gun-yul, it’s just that Ha-yeon is still more familiar to me, more ingrained in my mind.”

“No, it’s okay.”

My mother, who was close to Yeon-ju aunty, thought of Ha-yeon as her own child, too.

In reality, she took care of her as if she were her own.

She even played the role of a close friend who left behind her daughter, and from a young age, she was always with our family.

Yeon-ju aunty become second to my mother in terms of comfort for Ha-yeon.

It would have been impossible not to share with my mother anything about Ha-yeon.

My mother was the most regretful about our separation.

As much as I liked Ha-yeon, my mother did too. She was pleased that we were dating.

She often talked about when she could see her grandson, as if gossiping.

“Ha-yeon said that?… Oh dear, why would she do that? She’s not that kind of person. There must have been some circumstances.”

When I mentioned the separation with Ha-yeon, my mother’s words still resonated in my mind.

I also remembered becoming agitated and getting angry at my mom, like having a fit.

Now that I think about it, I felt sorry for venting my anger on my mother.

“Mom. You know.”

Without realizing it, as I listened to Ha-yeon’s story, the words from that time came to mind.

And with Ha-yeon’s recent request, my feelings became complicated, and I wanted to confide in someone.

[Yes. Why?]

“…Mom, what you said back then was right.”

[What did I say back then? When?]

“When Ha-yeon and I broke up. You said there must be a reason for it.”

For a moment, Mom pondered and seemed to recall that memory.

[Ah, yes. But why?]

“I met Ha-yeon after school.”

[Really? So what happened then?]

“And by chance, I ended up talking to him…”

I began to explain to Mom briefly about what happened with Ha-yeon.

Though it wasn’t a very short story, I tried to make it as concise as possible.

The encounter with Ha-yeon. And how he gave me a deadline to break up with him.

As Mom listened to the story, she was surprised and soon started feeling sorry for Ha-yeon.

[What should we do… It’s so pitiful for our Ha-yeon… What should we do… Why didn’t you tell me this earlier…]

Listening to Mom’s voice filled with grief, I poured out my concerns to her.

“Mom.”

[…Okay, Yul.]

“Now he wants us to go back to being friends. What should I do?”

[What do you want to do?]

“…I’m not sure. I don’t hate him as much as before, but it’s not good either. It’s an ambiguous state.”

After a moment of silence, Mom spoke to me in a serious tone.

[Yul, there’s something I always heard at church. Would you like to hear it?]

“Yes.”

Mom was a devout Christian.

Even now, she goes to church every weekend for worship.

“It’s said that it’s harder to be hated than to hate someone.”

As I heard those words, it felt like something in my heart was resonating.