Thorn Year (가시연) (ENG)

(가시연 ) Thorn Lily: Main Story - CHAPTER 18

I sat across the table from him, the table between us heaped with dishes. Food was served almost every minute, filling up the entire table. But we didn't say a word to each other - I finally understood how 5 minutes could feel like a century!

In Yunho's family, Jinho-hyung is the one who dotes on me the most. Actually all his brothers used to like me a lot, because everyone around me would be initially attracted by my pretty face. All except Jung Yunho.

Jinho-hyung gives off the same aura as his mother, but he's not a bad person, just that he looks successful. Naturally, he inherited his father's business. He looks exactly like the 30-year-old Jung Jinho I last saw, except that his features are softer and his face has more lines than before. Did 10 years really pass just like this?

"I'm already an old man... but you're still as pretty as ever!" "Mm... hearing that makes me feel better already."

Looks like he still cares for me. That's fantastic! Even though he can't tell anyone I'm his brother's lover, he's still rather fond of me. But I'm not certain of how he feels about the relationship between Yunho and me.

Yunho knows Jinho-hyung treats me well too. On the day Jinho-hyung got married, he asked me to speak with him in private and till now, I can't forget the way he smiled bitterly at me. "Us brothers, our eyes really resemble each other right...? Eunho... Yunho..." And then he suddenly pulled the 17-year-old me into an embrace, and I was too stunned to do anything.

At this thought, I felt my confidence rise. He's the one calling the shots in Yunho's family now, so he might be able to help me. I flashed a brilliant smile at him.

"You seem to have lost weight?"

"I don't know... I'm not sick, just that I don't seem to have an appetite."

"You really should eat more. All that cute flesh from your cheeks are gone..." "What should I do... I've been trying my best to eat..."

"Hasn't Yunho told you that you'd look better if you gained a bit more weight?"

"Mm... Yunho said I look good no matter what, and he'll love me even if I turn into a pig!"

His lips curled into that familiar bitter smile. I toyed with the ring on my finger subconsciously, turning it a full round before he suddenly spoke...

"Then, does Yunho... still love you?"

"Of course! We... haven't changed at all! The problem doesn't even exist!"

He's no longer the 30-year-old Jung Jinho I knew. The person seated before me is a true man, emanating an air of maturity. If his mother was still alive, I'm sure they would be spitting images of each other.

He asked me out for lunch because he wanted to ask me that question, right? I started feeling a little uneasy about whether he'd truly be able to help me. This man sitting in front of me, is he really the same person Kim Jaejoong hugged when he was 17?

"Does Yunho feel the same way as you do...?" "Yunho can't possibly have a different opinion!"

Is he cross-checking me? He knows this is akin to holding a knife to my throat, but he wants to hear me say it myself. Exactly like what his mother would've done! To them, everything must be meticulously handled and no matter what happens, nothing will sway their opinion. I felt a tight feeling in my chest; perhaps it was a good thing that she's dead. What right do they have to make me endure all this? There has to be an end to it eventually!

"It's been 2 years since Mother passed on."

I don't want to hear it! I don't understand what you're saying... stop pretending to be so calm! My heart won't be hurt by your words... so stop saying things like that. Don't give me that hateful expression. Where did that gentle Jung Jinho disappear to, the Jinho-hyung who embraced me so gently? You... must you be so cold?