content warning
slight nsfw mention at the end
When I left the El Dorado Airport, the sunlight was dazzlingly bright. In contrast, my hair fluttered in the cool breeze. Immersed in a sea of other tourists, I bought and drank the most renowned coffee in Bogotá as we explored churches and museums.
In the late afternoon, I strolled through Bolivar Square. Watching people leisurely ride their bikes, I contemplated whether I should buy one myself. Several bands were conducting street performances in front of the pointed, ashy clock tower. I stood in the square and listened to the foreign songs. Making eye contact with the charismatic, dark-skinned woman singing in a sweet voice, she offered me a faint smile. I smiled back, placing a 50 mil peso note in the guitar case up front.
Suddenly, I felt some moisture on my cheek, and as I looked up at the sky, droplets started falling one by one. Soon, a downpour enveloped us. As the raindrops grew thicker, I sought shelter and entered a nearby crepe shop. While inside, I decided to order a crepe and a coffee. The crepe was crispy and thin, filled with banana ice cream. I picked out the nuts and took a bite of the crepe. Listening to the sound of rain, the crepe tasted delicious. The Americano tasted good as well, its bitterness a good match for the sweet crepe. It tasted as delicious as before.
The rain shower quickly came to a stop. Thinking that my damp hair and clothes had dried enough, I attempted to stand when a waiter placed a plate with seemingly freshly baked waffles on my table.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Glrmeiqf, cb ib bgvfcé.”
“Srab fr ec gfujib.”
P abiv atf kjlafg atja P tjvc’a bgvfgfv jcsatlcu, yea atfs rwlifv jcv rjlv la kjr j uloa.
“Xgjmljr.” P rwlifv yjmx ja atf kjlafg jcv mbcnfsfv ws ugjalaevf. Snfgsatlcu kjr rb fjrs ublcu tfgf. P fcpbsfv atf kjooifr, ifoa j alq, jcv fzlafv atf rtbq.
There was still a civil war going on in some other part of Colombia, but where I was, it was peaceful and serene. Trying not to think of other things, I walked and walked through unfamiliar alleys, buying street food whenever my stomach called for it. I filled my stomach with Colombian-style dumplings, juice from an orange fruit I had never seen before, trout fried in olive oil, and several other things.
When my legs hurt, I’d step into a nearby restaurant or cafe and stay there until I felt like leaving. If there was nowhere to enter, I’d perch on the streets, observing the flow of the people around me. I bought an old bicycle and brought it around before stopping by a junk store and selling it again. If there was an attraction, I’d stop and watch. I would purchase vibrant bracelets that promised to ward off bad luck or magnets shaped like local specialties, along with one or two postcards with landscapes drawn on them. I would then leave them at my accommodation before heading out again.
I never stayed in the same accommodation for more than two days, and I never stayed in the same city for more than four days. Sometimes, I would stay in a 5-star hotel one day and in a hostel with cramped rooms and bunk beds the next. Sometimes, I even spent the night in establishments that blurred the line between family homes and bed-and-breakfasts.
I travelled to Peru after passing through Ecuador. Descending through the Pacific Ocean, I visited ancient civilizations. The constant climbing of steep mountain ranges became a gruelling task that left little room for other thoughts. Only after taxing my body in such a way could I sleep like a dead man at night. Though I couldn’t avoid the nightmares that would come find me, I was already prepared to experience such things. There will come a day when even these nightmares will fade. As I woke up to another sweat-drenched morning, I waited for the day where I’d awake to a refreshing one. But, despite nearing the completion of my voyage through all of South America, I continued to have the same dream over and over again.
Perhaps it was a reward for meeting Jung Haekyung in my dreams, but surprisingly, I didn’t think about him during the day. But, sometimes, he would pop into my head without warning. The azure waters of Piriápolis Beach creeped up my leg like a lizard before dissipating. I strolled along the fine sandy path for a while, with the crystal-clear waters splashing beneath my feet. Then, I spotted a boat with a dolphin tour flag hanging from it. I asked if there was still space for me to join, and the on-site guide confirmed they had a free spot, handing me a life jacket.
The boat swiftly cut through the deep blue sea. Had it been around thirty minutes? The boat came to a stop in the middle of the ocean. We waited for a while, surrounded by the bright blue sky above and the deep blue sea below. Just as the boat was about to turn back towards land, the cries of the people could be heard. A pod of dozens of dolphins had appeared. “We’ve got great luck today,” boasted the guide.
Observing the blue dolphins, as blue as the sea, I found myself utterly captivated as well. I stood there in a daze, gazing at the pod of dolphins, and it brought to mind Jung Haekyung. Even though he’d only choose to do the things I hated, Jung Haekyung would always like the things that amazed me.
Even when it came down to playing trivial games with me, Jung Haekyung always exerted more effort. He liked to save me when I was faced with crisis. There were times when he’d purposefully corner me into dangerous situations, but regardless, Jung Haekyung had saved my life about five hundred times now. In reality, though, I’ve never even stepped foot into any actual dangerous places. No, actually, there was nowhere I could go. And, whenever there was a new game, he’d secretly practice at night. One night, when I awoke from my sleep and entered the living room for some water, I discovered Jung Haekyung playing a game all by himself in the darkness. I asked him what he was doing, and, rarely enough, he avoided my gaze and replied, “This game’s a little difficult.”
He first started cooking when my stomach problems emerged and I wasn’t eating well. He followed the recipes to a T, fearing the food wouldn’t taste good otherwise. I had told him it was delicious, and from that point on, he poured his heart and soul into cooking, doing it nearly once a day, every day. You’re the reason why my stomach’s been turned upside down. Do you know how hearty of an eater I was before I met you? was what I wanted to tell him, but when he placed the food in front of me and asked me if it tasted good with sparkles in his eyes, I always answered that it did.
Ever since I clicked my tongue while looking at the windowsills, clean without a speck of dust to be seen, he seemed ready to wipe them down at least once a day. He wouldn’t even forgive the sight of a single, tiny little handprint on the glass window. He was especially diligent when it came to cleaning the floors. Because there were many instances where I’d have to crawl on the floor. Whenever I saw him crouch in a corner, diligently wiping the area with a damp cloth, I found it simultaneously pathetic, amusing, and scary.
「What are you, a whale? You dance with every compliment.」
It was so ridiculous that I had to say something, but in response, all he said was that he liked what I had just told him and proceeded to take my phone, saving his own contact name as [Jung Whale♡]. He even added a cute whale emoji, but my heart always raced whenever I received a message or call from him. But why had I travelled all the way to Uruguay to see the whales dancing?
That night, as if it were only natural, Jung Haekyung appeared. He placed a collar on my neck and forced me to walk on all fours. I was incapable of saying anything other than “bark.” Any attempt at speaking resulted in an electric shock coursing through my entire body. Every time I moved, the sound of a bell chiming would come from the vibrator that had been shoved into my back hole. I licked Jung Haekyung’s feet. There were ears protruding from the top of my head, and my mouth was long and sharp. The vibrator became a tale, and the chiming of the bell transformed into the barking of a dog. Jung Haekyung held the dog up and kissed it. “Arf, arf,” barked the dog. The sound woke me from my sleep. There seemed to be an uninvited guest at the old bed and breakfast. The loud barking of one of the large, crossbred dogs, its exact breed difficult to discern, echoed outside the window.
orcinus comments:
There are four chapters left before the end of the novel. Side track 6, Chapter 16, hidden track, and then the epilogue. After that, there is one extra. It’s definitely been a journey, hope everyone’s been holding on well~
Thank you for the chapter translator… I’m excited to see what’s going to happen next 🫡🫶
Naurrrrr this Masterpiece is about to end?Unacceptable.I recall this is tagged tragedy??
Im terrified that haekyung didn’t die. I Hope he did and Euijun gets to live in peace
BABYBOY OUT HERE LIVING HIS BEST AS HE SHOULD 🙏😤💕💕💕