The two of us remained locked in a stalemate for several minutes, but to me it felt like an eternity. The air felt like a thick wall pressing down on my heart. In the end, I almost wanted to say sorry, but then I heard him let out a rough sigh and soften his tone: "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, it was my fault. Please don't stay silent, okay?"
When neither of us said a word, I thought and thought, and I just felt that I hadn't done anything wrong, so why was he yelling at me? But when he said sorry, I finally understood that between two people who love each other, who is right and who is wrong doesn't really matter. What matters is whether both of them still want to give to each other.
"I'm sorry, I was too selfish and didn't consider your feelings," I said, bowing my head.
He cupped my face in his hands: "Let's not apologize to anyone after this, okay? Don't ignore me when you're angry. I feel so sad when you ignore me, like the whole world has shut its doors on me, like it's the end of the world. I'd rather die."
I couldn't believe such weak words would come out of his mouth. My heart suddenly ached terribly, and his face blurred before my eyes as tears welled up. I knew how ugly I looked when I cried, and I tried to turn my head away, but he covered my eyelids with his lips and gently sucked away my tears.
“It’s sweet,” he said.
"Nonsense, tears are all salty, how could they be sweet?"
"Tears shed for others are salty, but tears shed for me are sweet," he said earnestly.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed myself tightly against his chest. I couldn't help but recall the time I had a fever and felt a pang of anxiety after hearing his heartbeat while I was next to him. I couldn't help but whisper, "From now on, I'm not going anywhere. I want to move in." I pointed to where his heart was.
He took off a necklace from his neck and put it on me, saying, "This is the key. I've used it for twenty-eight years, and it's the only one of its kind in the world. It's yours starting today. Don't lose it, or we'll have to call a locksmith to break the lock so we can go home."
I turned the lock on the necklace open, and there were some Korean characters written on it: "Young Seok's beloved son, XXXX year X month X day".
"Is this the chain you always wear?"
"Well, I've been wearing it since I was three years old, it's like a part of my body."
"Don't worry, I won't lose it, because I don't have any spare money and I can't bear to hire a locksmith. From today onwards, it's mine..." I raised my right hand and solemnly swore.
"Don't say the second half of the sentence," he interrupted me.
"Then I'll move in, but you can't kick me out." I took the opportunity to act spoiled.
"Even if you have to go to Mars, I'll chase you back," he said, giving me a hard kiss.
"You won't forget the company anniversary party tomorrow night, will you?" Willson suddenly asked me as we got into his car.
"Oh, right, I really forgot if you hadn't mentioned it." The real problem is that I have absolutely no interest in these kinds of activities, so I didn't pay any attention to the notice that the administration department sent out the previous week.
“I knew you were this kind of person. Here you go.” He took a cardboard box from the back seat of the car.
"You're not that old-fashioned, are you? Don't tell me you bought this dress for me. In TV dramas, rich kids always buy Cinderella a whole set of clothes to turn her into a princess before the ball. You're going for this too?" I teased him, as if I knew he was coming from nowhere.
"Don't be so harsh! Do you know how embarrassing it was for me when I ordered this outfit for you? When they asked me for your size, I had to measure myself up, pointing to the second button of the shirt above my chest to tell them how tall I was, and then putting my hands together to say how thick my waist was. If that store wasn't a good friend of ours, I would definitely have been mistaken for a perverted goldfish preying on underage girls."
"Do you have to go through all that trouble to make fun of me for not having a good figure?" I said angrily, slapping his right arm.
"Ouch!" He winced, as if it really hurt. I didn't soften at all and threw the cardboard box back at him: "I don't want to wear such formal clothes, it looks weird. I wore jeans and a white shirt to the anniversary party last year, and no one kicked me out."
"Stupid woman, if you don't wear it, I'm going to confront Lin Yirou."
"You don't need to go. I'll explain everything to Yirou tonight." Actually, the moment he apologized to me, I had already decided not to let this matter drag on.
"Really?" He looked at me with surprise and delight.
"What?" I shrank back warily. "Now that you've asked me this, I really need to think carefully about whether I made a hasty decision."
"You dare!" he threatened me shamelessly.
"Why don't you choose Yi Rou? She's better than me in every way."
"To be honest, there are indeed many people in this world who are better off than you, but it's really not easy to find someone worse off than you."
"Hey, I found you to be really funny tonight."
"I have many good qualities that you don't know about. Why don't you just marry me and give you plenty of time to discover them?"
"Wait a minute, you want me to marry you so soon? You're not after my money, are you? Let me tell you, you'd better give up on that idea."
"Alright, since you've already figured it out, then you can accept this dress. Consider it a punishment for my inappropriate thoughts."
"Hey, are you ever going to stop? You were just making fun of me for not having a good figure, and now you're calling me a dog. I don't want your skirt."
Seeing that I was serious, Willson stopped joking and said sincerely, "This is the first gift I've ever given you, how can you refuse me?"
"Alright, since this is the first time you've apologized to me today, I'll accept it." I couldn't bear to play along with him any longer, so I found a way to save face for both of us.
He visibly relaxed, but still added with some concern, "Remember, 7:00 PM tomorrow at the White Swan Hotel. I have a lot to do tomorrow and won't be able to pick you up."
"Alright, alright, I got it. When did you become so long-winded? Be careful, or even the nursing home won't accept you."
Part One, Chapter Seven
I finally managed to tell Yirou everything I needed to say in one breath. I relaxed my slightly tight throat, lowered my head, and prepared to accept Yirou's outburst. But after waiting for a long time, there was no response. I looked up and saw that although Yirou's face was a little pale, her expression was no different from usual.
"Good sister, it's not a bad thing, why are you hiding it from me?" Her tone sounded completely normal.
"I'm sorry, Yirou, I didn't expect things to turn out this way." Her certainty only made me feel more helpless. Right now, besides apologizing, I didn't know what else I could do.
"Why apologize, dear sister? It's wonderful that you two like each other. Nothing has changed. You're still my dear sister, and you're both my good friends." Yi Rou's understanding touched me deeply, and I secretly rejoiced that everyone I knew was so wonderful.
"Hey, what's in this box?" Yi Rou asked, noticing the cardboard box I had placed to the side.
"Oh, it's a dress Willson gave me to wear to the company's anniversary party tomorrow." I didn't think much of it.
"May I take a look?"