Chapter 68
Eric poured whiskey into the glass.
He didn’t know how many cups he already had, but he had to drink. He couldn’t fall asleep without drinking.
Now that Daniel had banned his entry to the lab, he was going through the day without doing anything. How many days had passed? Eric counted the days on his fingers, then gave up. Why would the date matter? His time still hadn’t flowed since the day he met Chloe.
As he gulped his whiskey and tilted his head back, he could feel the spicy and hot alcohol going down his throat.
His mind becomes hazy, and his eyes become blurred.
Through his blurred vision, he remembered the first time he saw Chloe. In other words, the moment he fell in love with her at first sight…
He was standing on the podium in the academy, and she was watching him from under the podium. The nervous Eric had to give a speech looking up at the sky as the chairman advised, but he couldn’t because Chloe kept catching his eyes.
Out of hundreds of people, only Chloe could be seen. In his eyes, the sunlight was only pouring down on her.
…Only on her was a candle placed and glowing.
That was how much she sparkled and looked noble. So, Eric wondered if he could really exchange words with that person?
He did exchange some words.
“Didn’t you say you were a commoner?”
Those cruel, most hated words, those words that were terribly horrible.
He closed his heart towards Chloe from then on… no, he tried to close, but she was always everywhere in his sights, always and everywhere intruding on his thoughts.
Eric tried to shake off Chloe, but still, he couldn’t during those two years of attending the academy. Nonetheless, they weren’t talking to each other or having casual conversations. He didn’t approach her, and Chloe wasn’t kind enough to talk her way out towards him, a mere commoner.
Eric was just watching Chloe from a distance.
Looking back, he was always following her with his eyes. Wherever she went, wherever she was, he always found her. Chloe did stand out, although… it was right that he was following her because he loved her.
Ah, why didn’t he admit love back then?
Would it have changed if he had admitted it? Would they not have gone through this worst situation as now? He had to accept it even now… he should admit. He felt a terrible inferiority complex to Chloe, who had something he did not have, and that inferiority complex covered the love.
What a stupid, stupid mind!
Eric poured another glass of whiskey and gulped it down as his thoughts deepen.
He remembered Chloe back then. She always shone, she never lost her lofty pride, she was full of vitality, and her loveliness reached its peak…
Still, she wasn’t like that now… everything disappeared as if she had really died.
He recalled the last time he saw her. She looked like sand flowing between his fingers. No matter how much he tried to hold it, it flowed through the gaps and disappeared… She crumbled like that kind of sand.
The light that always shone was gone, there was no life, and there was no smile. Everything was missing, like she had nothing left of her.
Why did she become like that? Why did she change so much?
“You’re such a terrible person.”
Chloe’s words come to mind.
Why did she say that?
Eric had doubts the whole time. He never did anything to her. In actuality, he tried to do everything he could for her—he gave money, gave time, and gave kindness… but why?
“You’re regretting all the things: when you didn’t care about her, left her alone, and hurt her!”
Drinking his whiskey again, Eric was now drunk and had come to the point where he couldn’t see very well.
‘I am… regretting it.’
He shut his eyes. He had to admit this, too. Like Daniel said, he didn’t care about Chloe, left her alone, and hurt her… and because of that, she turned into dead sand…
Everyone admitted that.
F*ck…!
It was because of him. Everything he loved was gone because of him.
His love… he ruined it.
‘What should I do? How can I get her back?’
“You’re such a terrible person.”
How could he hold on to her when everything about her was ruined enough for her to say such a thing?!
BANG!
Eric slammed the whiskey glass down.
Crash!
Broken fragments dug painfully into his hands, and bright red blood dripped, but he didn’t care at all. It was more important that Chloe was breaking down than the hand that was most needed for a scientist.
He dropped his head. Beyond his blurry vision, he could see Chloe’s afterimage behind his bleeding hand. Even though he stretched out his hand towards her, nothing was caught. She could no longer be caught.
‘…Chloe, I missed you so much.’
Swoosh, crash!
Chloe was gazing at the sea.
She didn’t know how many days this had been. These days she was mesmerized by watching the sea.
In fact, the idea of dates didn’t matter too much to her. If she counted the days, she would naturally calculate the date she would die… her remaining life span. Then, she would become helpless that she wouldn’t want to move.
In the end, she stopped counting the days and went to the beach as soon as she woke up every day, just spending her days staring at the sea. Even though she looked at the sea so much, she never got tired of it.
The waves rushing in and the waves turning, the day passed just by looking at this. She tried to send back the thoughts that came like a surging wave, and her efforts were successful.
Now, Chloe just sat still, not really thinking about anything. This was good… the fact that she could sit here without thinking about anything and that she didn’t have to do anything and she didn’t have to show her hard-made appearance.
Everything was good.
She even thought she might end her life here. At that moment, words ran through her mind.
“You must live.”
“You have to live somehow. You must not die. We must survive.”
Begging, clinging to her, he spoke so pitifully.
Seeing him like that, Chloe thought… Ah, has this man finally realized his mistake? However, hearing his words that followed, the wind shattered her thoughts, and they disappeared.
“Why?”
“Why don’t you want to go back with me? Why?”
She laughed at the fact that he had cheated on her again, and was saddened by Eric, who still felt no remorse or remorse.
Tears of ridicule and sorrow.
Chloe felt both of these things at once. It seemed that he hadn’t changed a bit… he just couldn’t seem to bear the fact that she would die, that she would disappear from his grasp. Because of that, she was sad again.
…Why was she not loved by anyone?
She has lived her whole life loving. Still, no one loved her—her parents, her brother, her husband… anyone.
This was very saddening. Even though she had been giving her whole life to love, she didn’t get anything back. It was no different from a business that didn’t pay off. On top of it all, she had been in the business for decades.
‘…What an idiot.’
Chloe smiled self-deprecatingly and pulled the two legs she was holding onto closer to herself. She laid her cheek on her lap and peered out at the distant sea.
It was at this time.
“Madam!”
She could hear Sophia’s voice. Soon, Sophia jumped up and stood in front of her, chatting with her.
“It’s not summer yet, so the days are cold. You’ll catch a cold if you stay like that.”
Chloe slowly raised her head.
Sophia. The owner of the inn where she was staying. She was the one who tried to take care of her. Because of that, Chloe was quite appreciative of this kindness, and she was trying to do a similar kind of kindness.
She answered Sofia with a slight smile.
“I think I’ll be fine with the blanket you brought.”
“How did you know I was giving this blanket to you?”
Laughing, she wrapped a blanket around Chloe’s shoulders. As she said thank you, Sophia sat down next to her and looked out at the sea together.
“Don’t you get sick of it?”
Hearing that question, Chloe slowly blinked her big eyes.
“You see the same thing every day. If it were me, I would have gotten tired of it and would have done something else.”
“Every day is the same.”
She said again.
Chloe shook her head.
“Every day is different. The amount of sunlight coming in is different, and the depth of the water is different. The fish swimming is different, and the clouds you see are different… Everything is different, how can it be the same?”
“You say that so it seems so again, but I think I’ll get sick of it. Come on and go for a walk. You have to be healthy.”
Sophia uttered, observing the pervasive sickness across her face, but Chloe shook her head again.
“Not yet. I’m fine.”
This was always the answer.
As if Sophia had expected it, she licked her lips and soon brought out the direct reason she had come.
“There is a town meeting today.”
She spoke with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Would you like to join us?”
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