He was wearing a center jersey and holding a walkie-talkie near his lips. The man, who had not yet discovered her, tilted his head towards where the butterfly was flying and moved his lips.
The little words she could hear was completely different from when he had been speaking heatedly. Even though a swarm of butterflies hit him and passed by, he did not blink once. Only his disheveled bangs gathered like a black river in the wind.
As he looked closer, all the people tending to the cages seemed to have come from the center. Eventually, the remaining cages opened one after another, and variously colored butterflies poured out.
However, the sound of the camera shutter, the people’s ecstatic cheers, and Kwon Chae-woo’s unusual laughter all faded away as their eyes met in silence.
“….”
“….”
He slowly lifted the corners of his mouth, even as his eyebrows furrowed in the blazing sunlight.”.
The welcoming gaze was undoubtedly Kwon Chae-woo whom she knew well, and her heart raced with excitement rather than nervousness after a long time.
Without realizing it, Lee-yeon started running ahead towards him. Before reaching him, she was overwhelmed by his sweet and refreshing scent. Crossing the butterfly path, she hugged his waist at once, and Kwon Chae-woo hugged her back as if in response, making her nostrils tingle with comfort.
As Lee-yeon caught sight of the welcoming gaze, her heart raced with excitement rather than nervousness. It was undoubtedly Kwon Chae-woo, a man she knew well, and hadn’t seen in a long time. Without realizing it, she quickened her steps, eager to be near him again.
As she drew closer, she was enveloped by his sweet and refreshing scent, and her senses were overwhelmed. Crossing the butterfly path, she rushed into his embrace, holding onto his waist, and he held her back as if in response. The comforting scent of him filled her nostrils, and she felt safe, like she was home.
“This person keeps doing this….” Lee-yeon thought to herself, recognizing the familiar, yet fleeting feeling of comfort she always felt when around him. Even if it was just a delusion, she longed to hold onto this feeling, to have a relationship where they could deceive each other in comfort and trust
“Chae-woo, when did you come? Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, trying to suppress her overflowing emotions.
“I wanted to surprise you, but it turns out I was the one who got more surprised,” he replied, a small smile forming on his lips as they gazed into each other’s eyes.
Out of nowhere, he pulled Lee-yeon away and quickly scanned her with his eyes.
“You almost fell. What would have happened?” His sharp gaze traveled from her knees to her toes and back up. His meticulous concern caused Lee-yeon to once again waver.
Memories, they’re coming back, right? But… you’ll stay with me, won’t you? She forced her tightly clenched lips to swallow the question that rose to her throat.
“I thought for sure you would run away again, yet here you are, grinning like a fool.”
Kwon Chae-woo furrowed his eyebrows and gently pinched the corner of her lips with his thumb.
Lee-yeon opened her mouth wide and punched his shoulder.
“Here’s outside, please lower your voice…!”
However, Kwon Chae-woo shrugged indifferently and touched her cheek. “I think I’ll remember it even if I die. Lee-yeon running with the the butterflies.”
She closed and opened her eyes with a familiar warmth.
In the midst of flapping that flowed and scattered like a Milky Way, an impulse to make a promise surged within her in this magnificent nature.
“…I cherish Kwon Chae-woo more than this scenery.” He flinched and hardened his face. The butterflies still flew between them like a fantasy.
“That’s why I, who grew up without anyone, can’t miss things like that.”
“…!”
“So please stay by my side, Chae-woo.”
Despite her courageous confession, Kwon Chae-woo showed no reaction. For a moment, his gaze seemed to waver, but it was just a misconception as his expression completely disappeared. His numb face, which had protruded like thorns, was unfamiliar. However, his Adam’s apple bobbed indicating that he was affected.
At that moment, a butterfly landed on Lee-yeon’s nose. Surprised by the unexpected obstruction in her sight, her pupils gathered in the center. She couldn’t even shoo the butterfly and called him in a weak voice. Seeing her unsure what to do, Kwon Chae-woo pressed down on his twitching lips with his hand.
“You’re good at handling fertilizer and pesticides, but you can’t handle a butterfly?”
“That’s not it…”
“Yes?”
“The butterfly is too pretty, but I’m afraid it will fly away because of my breath….”
The man’s pupils were dilated at the unexpected words. Yeon closed her eyes as if she had no other choice and endured the tickling sensation on her nose. But instead of the thin wings that touched her eyelashes, something heavier and moist pressed against her nose.
As she opened her eyes with a start, she met Kwon Chae-woo’s gaze instead of the butterfly’s.
“…. What are you doing?”
Before she could finish her sentence, their lips met. Their unsteady breaths rushed together hurriedly. Their rough lips collided painfully, separated, and then plunged again, repeating the biting motion. However, his emotions were more vividly felt than ever before.
He tightly grasped her cheek, stroked it, and forcefully pressed against the back of her neck while he passionately kissed her. His ragged breathing seemed oddly desperate.