LUCK & SECRET

CHAPTER 04

Thank You My Love

My feet are shaking, and I'm out of breath—a good thing my soul did not leave my body. As soon as I see Eric's car, I start smiling a lot and excitedly open his car door.

"Eric, S–" My smile disappears as Eric frowns with his sharp gaze.

"Why are you getting late? I told you I'd call you when I got close." I contacted you but didn't get a response.

I'm pouting because of his attitude. Actually, it's not that late. I take a deep breath to calm myself down because we haven't seen each other in three months.

"Sorry, I had a little accident on the way here. By the way, how is your business trip to Gangneung that you went on before?" I ask softly.

"It's very wonderful; I learned new things from my friend, and we're going to the beach as well. The scenery is romantic, just like in a K-drama. The water was a beautiful shade of blue and very clean." His eyes sparkled, and he had a big smile on his face.

"Wow, that's fantastic; are there any more good things in there?

"Yes, the food. I went to a western restaurant, which was very tasty. My friend also showed me the Osan Craft Beer Club, which has a large beer variety. That city has many things good, what a wonderful city."

"I honestly hope you get to see it sometime. Okay, just the two of us?" He can't stop smiling. I nodded at him, the reason I asked about his trip was that he's such a moody person. He may get angry and then forget about it in a matter of minutes if we're talking or doing something fun.

"Here we are, darling; take off your seatbelt now. Take a look at the rooftop café. This is a highly popular hidden café, especially among tourists like myself. Let's go inside." I follow his lead, and as usual, he will choose to sit outside in the smoking section of the café. The only thing I can smell is smoke in the air, and I'm out of breath. I'm not a smoker, but it feels like I am when the smoke enters my nose and mouth.

"Eric, you're aware that smoking is bad for your health and that it's banned in South Korea, right?"

"You've told me that many times. How can I stop when this is so addicting? When you start smoking, you can't quit. When I'm sad, I smoke. When I'm upset, I smoke. Smoking has already been a part of my life." He is insistent.

Yes, perhaps the hospital will become a part of your life in the future. That's what I thought as I stared at him, shaking my head. I wear a facemask, so I don't have to smell anything. I don't want to have another argument with him over it. Aside from that, I can't make a man change if he doesn't want to. Some people believe that love may transform us into good or bad. In my experience, only I changed a little, but he did not. Try to be positive, Yujin. That's what I'm thinking.

Don't be a pessimistic girl again; instead, let's attempt to enjoy life once again. I take a look at the menu; do they really only serve coffee? Even if they just serve coffee, why don't they provide a matcha latte? That's the only nice latte I can get at a coffee shop like this. I lowered my head and chewed on my lips. I can't believe what a disappointment this cafe was.

"Yujin? Why are you not ordering something? It's my treat. Don't be worried." He patted my hair.

"I'm OK; as you know, I don't drink coffee, so you can drink your own." Half-heartedly smiling.

"Ah, shoot! He put his hand on his head. I completely forgot about it! However, you can try drinking a little of it. The coffee in here is good." He hands me a cup of black coffee.

"No worries, Eric. I'm perfectly fine. You may drink it." I refused with a smile and offered the coffee back to him.

Look at how he's pouting at me. He didn't seem satisfied when I refused it, but it was better than complaining to him about this place. I do sometimes get irritated when he takes me to a crowded place or cafe like this; I want to know what sort of things foreigners enjoy and what the difference between us is. So the more we understand and embrace our differences, the more love we may have.

He's on his phone, and all I can do is look because of the sun's reflection. Eric has huge light brown eyes and a little brown complexion, as I can observe from his face. He has a big, strong body, but wait, he looks like somebody I know.

"Pftt– ahahaha I start giggling to myself and laugh. When Eric noticed me laughing, he put his phone in his pocket, His gaze fixed on me, and he began scratching his head.

"How come you're now laughing? Did you notice anything funny around here?" He looked around, blinking his eyes.

"Actually, you remind me of a bear, an adorable chocolate bear mascot, especially with your large frame.

[Laughs] "No way!" He bursts out laughing. "The first time someone called me cute, people were terrified of me or thought I was macho and strong." He exposed his muscular hand to me. Make his arm muscles visible.

"That's why I said you resembled a bear. Both of you are adorable and scary." I say.

We both burst out laughing as a reaction to a simple joke. Even though Eric is not my type physically, there are lots of reasons why I love him. I wish we could keep being happy like this.

After that, Eric drives me back to Goshiwon, and when we get to my place, Eric opens his car's back door, takes two big boxes, and hands them to me.

I take a close look at the boxes. "What exactly is this, Eric? Such huge boxes and it's heavy too."

"Hey, this is for you; within these boxes are food stocks." He gives me a wide smile.

"O-oh. I meant to thank you very much, Eric; you were really helpful." I'm stunned and holding back my tears.

"I want you to become healthier and much more gorgeous; have a look at yourself now." Because your physique is so thin, you're not going to a K-pop audition or as a trainee, right? Haha." He cracks a joke. "I don't want to hear you ate once a day again; I'm sorry I couldn't provide you any food three months ago; it must be difficult to hold hunger." He embraced me and kissed my head.

"Don't say that. As I already mentioned, you are really helpful. I appreciate it, and once again, thank you." I return his hug with a smile.

Every time following our date, it's already been Eric's habit. He knew I only ate once a day, as he said, and Eric often handed me money too. I'm grateful that he's a caring boyfriend, but I'm also guilty about being a very poor and worthless woman. I continue to cuddle and squeeze him.

"All right, it's coming back. I'll see you later, honey." Eric kisses my cheek and returns to his home.

I cheerfully wave at him until he goes far enough. My tears just fall out on their own, and I bite my lips, trying not to make any noise outside. As soon as I enter my room, I lay down on the bed and cry while hugging my doll. My tears won't stop falling and flowing down my cheeks.

I remember many people Iknew who had already achieved their dreams, been married, or had a successfullife as a result of their hard work or because of their luck from God. I wish Icould travel to the end of my life story since my life cycle never ends. Themore painful it is for me, I don't know how, but I kind of predicted God wouldgive me such a terrible life in the future. I knew; however, I don't know howto stop this horrible thing from happening. Do you realize how ridiculous Godis? Every day, I can't stop worrying about my terrible future. I can't keep myhead clean. Both of my hands grip my head, which has a headache again, which iswhy I must not overthink my eyes, whichare tired, and I slowly close my eyelids. 

*A Goshiwon is a small and economical living quarters. It's inexpensive in South Korea*