I Love You But Is It Too Late?

18. Saved

Kang Chin-hae POV:

The next ten days passed in a blink of an eye.

Han-jae moved into the room again, so we were again together all the time. Although I didn't say it out loud, I was quite happy to have him back.

The relationship between us changed a bit as Han-jae literally didn't miss a chance to flirt with me. He was patient though, he never forced me to respond to his flirtations or accused me of being aloof.

He was also taking good care of me, we never missed a meal or eight-hour of sleep. Interestingly, he was acting as if it was his duty and wouldn't let me say 'thank you'.

Although I was quite dense, I wasn't hopeless. I could see how much he cherished me and felt his sincerity. He was my safe haven and I felt at ease with him.

As everything was too calm, something had to bother me. After being silent for a while, my father sent me another message, repeating he wanted me to meet his girlfriend.

"What's bothering you?" I flinched when Han-jae appeared behind me.

Instinctively, I hid my hand behind my back, and noticing my reaction, Han-jae gave me a sad look.

"You don't have to tell me," he said with a smile which didn't reach his eyes.

Stupid! You made him sad again, I reprimanded myself inwardly. Then, I grabbed Han-jae's hand and told him about the message. He looked shocked as I chose to tell him, but his shock left its place to relief.

"Thank you for telling me," he said when I finished, "but, do you want to meet her?"

"No," I replied firmly.

"Then tell him that you don't want to," he gave me a gentle squeeze on my hand, "you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

Of course I already knew that, but hearing it from him made me feel strong. Whatever I decided to do, he would be there for me. With the surge of emotions, I gave him a quick peck on his cheek, even surprising myself, then I wrote 'no' to my father.

"See? It was not that hard," Han-jae said proudly and caressed my hair with a wide smile painted on his plump lips.

Lee Han-jae POV:

Ten days. It only took ten days for Chin-hae to feel my sincerity and rewarded me with a chaste kiss. Isn't he too precious?

When he told me about the message, I felt a heavy burden lifted off my chest. Finally, we took a step forward.

Well, who could guess that knowing Chin-hae's stance was actually very useful for the upcoming incident.

That afternoon, while I was getting something to drink for both of us, Chin-hae was returning the library books. When I was close to our meeting point, I saw Chin-hae was going somewhere with a middle-aged man whom I guessed was his father. For the others, it was a normal scene, but I knew Chin-hae better. I saw how pale his face was and his steps were forced. It was obvious that he was getting dragged by the man.

I dropped the drinks onto the ground and ran to their direction. Coincidentally, Chin-hae stumbled, so they halted their walking and I was close enough to hear the man yelling at Chin-hae.

"You need to grow up! Be a man and face the reality!"

He wanted to drag Chin-hae again, but I caught his other arm, preventing the man.

The relief in Chin-hae's eyes was apparent.

"He doesn't want to go with you," I said resolutely and the man squinted his eyes.

"Really? And who are you to intervene?" he tightened his grip on Chin-hae who cried out with pain, "stay away, it is a family business."

"I am his friend and I won't let you force him to do something he doesn't want, even if you are family," I said threateningly while ripping his hand off from Chin-hae's arm.

"Be a man and say something Chin-hae," the man demanded and I heard Chin-hae sighed heavily.

"I already told you that I don't want to meet your girlfriend. I can't still forgive you for what you did and I won't tell my mother to divorce you," he said slowly with a hint of exhaustion in his voice.

Chin-hae's father was taken aback, I could see from his face. "We will talk later," he said and left with hasty steps.

Suddenly Chin-hae hugged me tightly, "thank you for saving me."

I returned the hug, "see? That's why sharing is beneficial, otherwise I wouldn't dare to say that you didn't want to go."

"I love you."