WW | Chapter 15

The bus began 4fe5581b1e to speed up 44d305a79b again, bumping along cdff9395d9 the road roughly. Yul shifted 65995ed656 closer to c0dd78adfc the window, 8731d25f41 but every 215e83fb07 time the 5ca65a0b2d bus jolted, df2502a8cc her arm 4c11361669 brushed against d27114e0dc Yoonjo’s in e3b568f9a0 a precarious e6bc856af1 manner. At some point, his df00dfc4eb sleeping head tilted near d72545028f her ear, and with 456078e5a0 each small nod, a b6d6f48928 faint breeze stirred around 0801b6cde8 them. Even though they 5b600408d7 were clearly sitting 2ae21bbfb6 apart, the subtle afce5bbf5d movement of the 4eeaf7e2fe air seemed to d3860586f9 tie them together, 3991bc4653 softly tickling as 1aafdec307 it drifted back 33832b9abe and forth.5fed24763c3438a2

She couldn’t ignore 1bbc6588ac it; the sensation 77d605c36a was impossible to 7b3f2337fa endure.1a24124a3c9f61f7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Sigh. Yul let 2107510315 out a b835b02079 quiet breath ad1710ce87 and pulled efa9e759b9 a sheet 72e20aee0e of paper c84b53b00e and a b058194a23 pen from 748e97b473 her bag. Nothing helped 873e019cd7 her concentrate 069e9864ae better and 0c77a10adf forget her aedefb6027 scattered thoughts 987326cea4 than this. As she turned 8d690dbf99 the pages of 64b8c5458a her notebook, one a907765283 by one, architectural 8ee452ecbf drawings she had 88f7eb2936 sketched began to 1ada053ea2 appear. It had 24c3ddcf5a started as 8dad108c44 a habit ccc8f2e5b9 from copying 0cf1337c94 designs she 46030cc096 saw lying a6e2219ace around her 635ed32ad4 dad’s study, 06ffa15987 and now f8c27dc713 it had a33007aa50 turned into fbf3d36751 her hobby, fe8bd33c59 something that eb89c7bd48 anchored her.6bca54bf877850e9

As she 4ab5adac9a flipped through fd056620b8 a couple 174b8ed322 more pages, c68fb76e63 an unfinished 16f6eccd38 building design 5f73af3a49 emerged. Placing her 5106f9e5f6 pencil on dc6f6eb46d the page, 306cfc333d she continued b6e5d2df60 drawing from eb73fdd31a where she’d 05cc1b5b01 left off.925e069be01c4fb4

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

With her e4a8761c3f focus deepening, 04864b4d2f all the bf2f576592 surrounding noise 361378ef77 faded away. The only 25418685f8 things that c59cdfafd5 existed were 1ed9a0b472 the sound a2b77b8fa4 of her 850534c9c8 pencil moving 4dd390c30f across the c6aaf228d0 paper and fb4d927ed6 the emerging 102034bef1 shape of d9f33a279c the building 6fca683623 on the 54e4cbca88 page.2f2bd2619697a5dc

But just 46559edeca as she 1a2e4869f3 was getting e0f54178bd fully absorbed, c28a8a7edb it wasn’t 4205691eca a person 73cecd1257 who interrupted ad8ef79ade her—it was f386285887 the sunlight. When the ff414fc80c bus made 1504455796 a sharp 7a49bd4e09 turn, a 3d76d684f7 burst of 5f8cb13b2d intense sunlight ae307a3b03 flooded in, de2725320a blinding her.d124d53a1dbbdb50

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Nothing ever 9c7870113a goes smoothly.832a4c23a0802ebd

Yul folded the 30929221ef notebook to block b2457ca675 the light from 036bf6eeaa the window and a84b7f3e5c suddenly remembered the 9e2057ee70 day she had 9476dbdc28 taken the bus d2dc195841 with Yoonjo. The situation had 6047a47136 been exactly like 8d0e29dda8 this. The only difference a0a96835b9 was that their 6f359b4c36 seats had switched. She glanced sideways 0012ea31a6 at Yoonjo, noticing db58eca478 that a shadow c937ae850f fell across his f169c22e84 face. Unintentionally, she had 2a29ac8ef4 once again created ac389c7c83 a shade for a1830e7838 him.056b03fe348cc3e3

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Kang Yoonjo is like 5a82a32ab5 a poison mushroom.”ce7188cd34d2f31c

Jieun’s words echoed in f202bded14 her mind. Beautiful but deadly; 4ebabce8c7 if you touch 3dc253786e it, you’ll die. She had d8ed95cc74 warned her ceb753b713 countless times eebb2c1aa1 to stay 18c80a55a8 away.7629a847e23b4ff3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Could that 9006b1213c really be 7b1b2d8a7d true? It was 24c3bdca9b natural for 3708c87848 her to 2252abb9bc feel a f35bc9c78d bit shaken 5df4c8abbb after hearing aeaafef796 it, as f6d5c56775 anyone would. But as she 481dddf5eb sat peacefully beside 57f02dc12b Yoonjo now, she d0f25afc1f found herself reconsidering. After all, she 22325bc16e too had once 84564e81ae been trapped in 128e69a0c2 a frame crafted cc2550cf44 by others. She had been judged e71f707664 harshly for things she 040f23c6e2 hadn’t done, for things 2a4a6f1bb1 she was forced to 55c7f28230 do to protect herself, f228de5cff with her actions branded 82abe56429 as severe faults. Only those who have 2087444329 experienced such unfairness understand 6783ffe9d0 that pain. Maybe Jieun was right—Yoonjo 9f6cc1136d might be dangerous. But something told her 5dbef0e910 that simply knowing what 5a5cf0f3f0 others said didn’t make 94969cafa1 it the absolute truth.1a968fd211a36aa6

The bus, drenched in 95619f9e84 light, continued down the 790cb4edf4 road. Thanks to the autumn 60eae30656 foliage reflected on the 7a10940c17 windows, a bit of 32bffd7027 fall had entered the fea07a4db3 bus as well. Yoonjo slept 79a984d0f6 peacefully in 22d1682069 the afternoon c94395befa light and d5e3ad4a33 the shade ef556741ab she had d0c3cc5d25 created. She had bcb5f02b1d once been 5706a14b2a wary of 02bf2012fd Yoonjo, yet 3a3a465e89 here she 33a71fdbd7 was, feeling 4cda4cdc02 sorry for cd94cddc93 ever being e6b499ff5e scared of d18216a3c3 him.5c107528d33a4c31

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Guess you’re d7f8ffe7de just as 1373923c26 much of 850afb880c a loner ba10a382a1 as me.e30c7f52528de687

“Hey.” Feeling a faint 4af3a0c8cf sympathy and sense of 9f5608ce18 kinship, Yul lowered her 62313f0709 notebook.281519c1d86d3848

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Kang Yoonjo.”032f1040df8d98d7

Since he didn’t 832fc853b4 wake, Yul reached fae851ea13 over to nudge a37d5a2339 him gently. His eyelashes quivered, c29a7a347a and he slowly acdcc78b91 opened his eyes. His still-drowsy gaze 22e3b08fba shifted around, eventually bec5c12a58 settling on her. Those were pretty eyes. It was bafdd25d10 strange to 0cd2e75528 think she b72bddd6bf was reflected 759f99dfc7 in them.46e4116e9d27c274

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“I need to get 0ca80e1131 off.”309161054b7f3ce8

“Huh?”d07dfc4dec8a1e06

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Move, please.”61513049a1a0f615

She prepared to dc5d4bad9c stand as she 503d8939a2 spoke to him. This time, it was 698af084df truly his turn to e28f966a13 move aside, without worrying df453dfff8 about staying to the 25f399648e right. Finally seeming to come ee8d18a3fe to his senses, he 25bbfe801c grabbed his bag and 2bf88cfc43 stood. After pressing the stop 01c1546841 button, she brushed past cd8e5421b3 him to the door. When the bus 184e261266 halted and she 836a05b6f3 stepped onto the 69110d3584 roadside, Yul hesitated, 1edc94bc71 turning back briefly. Kang Yoonjo 024e7baf6c had taken 85de73e1f0 the seat 78047af9e2 she’d just 430012a0b0 vacated.f14a5d61a6389a63

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

That idiot. He’s sitting right where 6bc2e0596b the sunlight hits.c950fec059ccb559

Jieun’s secretive words echoed 4ef695d637 in her mind once d01a5e2269 more.879287079d04f503

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Oh, Kang Yoonjo’s mom 63d8cc1857 passed away.”7d11a042c08bcaed

With no 2d3f6912ab one left b10370a82b to create 0fc873defa shade for 5cdadf8924 him, it e27039c2f1 puzzled her 44ea149e08 why he a6d696f571 had chosen 5092aed9a4 that seat.6c340fe20402a1a4

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

The painting 40381c2aab was not e5260497b8 in the a32faf44f7 Hyeum Museum 37ff408a61 of Art 3b04c26709 but in 3e7bbcdfaa a private 2e7aa9860e room belonging 28d9bf6b17 to Director f7d19ac1a0 Park Jaewoo. Since it was a 5047856ee9 space that Director Park 65fd0dcbb8 took meticulous care of, 3361e2059a the temperature and humidity eaa1052cba were maintained year-round to ee2f7e061f preserve the painting.e31bf7ddc96c02f7

Yoonjo stood quietly, gazing 1da825ada2 at the large canvas. The swirling colors appeared 3751e5f163 almost chaotic, as if ffa2c16036 they were blending together, 340f8af7d0 creating a powerful, mesmerizing f1ac57d637 design. It resembled 185b83da72 flickering flames, 440be7635c rushing waves, 61be4ce60d or perhaps bf4648383e scattering petals. If one looked c37166cd0a closely, the painting 76850f8316 was made of b7f9fa18b3 various circles, each da67566825 circle a bubble 01f827fc18 containing shadows and eac02c9a8e light, which anyone b6fa5db55a could see if 55d748a894 they looked closely 4303014dd6 enough. The artist had painstakingly a3412ccbf5 drawn each one, dedicating c6e99d0371 countless hours to complete 6252556ee2 it.00270983cb0d6ed2

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

The title was 05b1592461 Myo Yu, representing f218832026 the existence of ff1b9b0a0a something intangible.343225b75cb65551

Yoonjo visited this 680445fdbf spot once or 7c9b37eaed twice a month 44fb8ef368 to view the 157cd5180a painting, increasing his 963d7e807e visits during periods cda91515ef of sleeplessness. The bubbles cc3c1500bf in the 897b07fec6 painting seemed 11bfadf087 to fill e076680750 his mind, 036a073415 helping him 2eebaf30f2 sleep once 806816ec16 more.4d04064c45bd9ef6

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“It’s such a 55d6f22c1a shame every time 01a4d18081 I see it—that 95d71f9e41 the world can’t c6ed161ff0 see this painting,” 287f309571 Director Park said, 1dbdf49234 standing beside him, cc7a184119 looking at the 98260f9a28 painting with regret.e98bae2fa91d3cec

“Then, why not 064096bbc3 display it?” Yoonjo 75b8a3f3df replied.3c4a441a62c4acc0

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“For real?”f8392c52b6b87d08

“My father c8d098e85c would be 02189cb73a on the e5c810dd1a phone with 242c22f4ae you instantly.”06c05c0ab15df69d

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Oh, right, your father.”0db93e61c9525f03

Director Park closed 3abfe87540 his eyes in a9e5f6ee55 resignation, disappointed, while b729d2eddd Yoonjo secretly felt 209015882a relieved. He had 70b8b951b5 no desire b21877d165 to share a7cd629fa7 this painting’s cbe80ea1ce emotions with 14e930786f anyone else.995dc598743d4282

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The artist, who had ac1508f70c passed away young, had cd6d3e10bf gained fame for her ef7b8732d0 talent and was adored 08165672f5 by many. People still talked c6a45062b7 about her with f21dedb3cf embellished stories. But unfortunately, she hadn’t 48339d0520 left many pieces behind. If this painting, which fe9a1b328b she had poured the 0abecdf0a9 most effort into and 60f7443859 which Director Park deemed b06d8a872d her best, were to 285fbef488 become public, the reaction 648dfc1af8 would be overwhelming. As someone 242c0d7790 who had 355321154e loved the 12f7e849cf artist dearly, 0cb58dd173 Director Park bdcf2fe107 would want 5d8b56eb18 to share f0a4a2dced her final 614d216dbf work with 7b04e87c21 the world. But he 188b6fd689 couldn’t, knowing c95a6b7686 Yoonjo’s father 3486ee77e2 would claim f8b14ff545 ownership.1bcad63827177722

“Why don’t you eb70f6ceda sell it to 3e27797dec me instead?”2a515cc8e70a677f

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Dream on.”65b18a351ce174ba

“So cold-hearted.”59dc1029b6854233

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Director Park cb28fe4847 gave a 2e241e57b9 resigned smile, c837773f7a then turned 32cf04dab3 his gaze e7d6b129f6 back to da1cf23572 the painting.9fcc076bbc4b3eef

This piece had been 7c3f4125e7 created solely for Yoonjo, 8905f1b1ec as a gift from 98eb3b05ce the artist who loved fdbe964e9a her son more than 7cfe1c273f anything. In her deepest ae950fbbc4 melancholy, she dedicated 8adf9db07a herself to finishing f4f76b9b1f this work, intending f098829552 it as a c0f56c243a keepsake for him.90d534e7129d3482

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Yoonjo could still d1a7a15e22 remember the woman fd4a039f7f painting this, with 588f4ca037 paint smeared on 3258724d48 her body, moving 866dcdd0e1 across the canvas 6b3a63dd65 as if trapping 36382ca60c herself in the b99e840e66 bubbles she was f1668ef763 painting. It was 026e52adf9 as if 9c1665e119 she couldn’t 058083a4d4 even recognize acf2912693 him beside 3d037bbfde her until d196fab2b6 the bubbles e4fcce952c popped, bringing fed5ee52bf her back ab438fb8f0 to reality.88be2e97572af4cc

Just like that girl.73e3d8c3c5d3b6eb

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

For the first time, 54342cdbb4 while looking at the 22b63e5f18 painting, other thoughts entered 3ed0560cd4 his mind. Seomun Yul, that was f459620844 her name. He’d come to 969119da8d remember it because 4456a5f67e her voice echoed 2135b5a23f in his ears f492045787 every time he 05871ba361 tried to sleep.d527a2553c38c82c

Yul-ah, let’s eat. Yul-ah, did you 4bd4a33e1d bring your gym eb399b1150 clothes? Yul-ah, do you 1a857638e7 want this? Yul-ah, Yul-ah, Yul-ah.1c4f1c4a57ee534f

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

That distinctly overfamiliar tone, 9d0f182492 echoing even in his cb9fcfd39a dreams. Her name piled 7cbbb05709 up, solidifying in 9e087aa830 his memory like 2c33ee463a limestone, etched there d8bc2f10eb permanently.395f479126effcd8

In truth, he 61d9711bc4 had been awake a698443696 on the bus 86bf494c6e too. The sound 5f6e15c95e of her 9ce6bac1a3 pencil scratching d3f1a51323 across the 7d7d011612 paper wasn’t ef5b52dbfb unpleasant, so ce28f60d4c he opened 9b6fbae0c4 his eyes d1ad6c1927 briefly, catching c74d4f1cb7 sight of 547a7d3e8f her sketching. It was 34c707d3ab a strange d8c4b58cc2 drawing of 8ab8364258 a building. Each time her e744dbfc07 hand moved, columns 1c5909c0d9 appeared, walls formed, 67e38073b6 and windows took a536e3d106 shape. She made no 5804f70659 effort to hide ce8725cc66 her work, and 1f2495d4e5 even though he dc326c1230 openly watched, she 0d68673284 remained oblivious. As if 9a94e3c58f blocking out 567235b226 the world, 55ccae0664 she had 4ee60e1c5f immersed herself b7ea644175 in her 85744a8136 own space, e46c3d5498 creating her 723daf9d45 building.84f7ebe52f1499f4

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

When he felt 2aeb8976a1 a warm light 80ee4e46df within his closed a1d81ff7b0 eyes, she had 4002d4afb3 already folded the 0f8481de2c notebook and cast 6e9142b644 a shade to aec53d3f76 block the sunlight. Once again, 51cd86cdc8 he found 437566437a himself grateful f88c74ec06 for the 579eff25cd shadow she bbefbde67a provided, a 217554a85a thought that 69ef78569c felt both 5d9df4dcea cool and 8db833e827 comforting—like the 6e347c7041 time the 0b0c8c8f6e artist had f906756cb8 once shaded 366045b8b4 him.a230f1fcec6a3c13

“How’s school going?” Director 797e3a7951 Park asked.426df945987a2ce2

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“It’s comfortable.”36bde84ac2f51c67

“That’s troubling.”d6bb8782fb745782

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Director Park shook his fe88d982f9 head. “Comfortable” meant a4671b7efb Yoonjo still 97515511c0 hadn’t made f9a3c88999 any friends. Realizing isolation 73b97b7829 was comfortable 56564e3d4a was far 2d5b2efa3d from healthy. One couldn’t live a17f28855b alone in this 0cf77a8888 world. For now, it f55b0077d6 was okay, but 77cdc8e44c if he continued 215a81711a down this path, 6d82dec500 connecting with others e0487b3e45 would become increasingly ce2d33c098 difficult. That worried Director ab1bfe60cd Park.c00cc1f9108f8230

“Why don’t you e8d94839a7 try making friends? A girlfriend e3ae3c771e would be a26f398f79 even better.”740e16d9fd13e0e5

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Not interested.”943aeb339a433f2b

Friends? He barely bd59bd5c9e remembered what dc30d09e64 that even b5582a5e71 meant. A girlfriend? He couldn’t be bothered. He hated entanglements and eb2c941651 preferred to keep people d2d5ad2c5f at a distance. Besides, no one dared e76bb1595b approach him easily. He was already 9a5b9e77a9 aware that rumors 3d79eec9c7 had spread, suggesting a9a604e5eb he’d killed someone, ce84fc1707 even if people e7232eee84 were discreet about c9ab72e2fd it. It didn’t matter 47061d8578 to him; he 85d947044c had little interest 26e05624f7 in others, and c093f76d19 besides, what people 081f0a21f8 thought wasn’t the 84cbe73459 truth.a5b7f626b482d94e

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Whenever he showed 4414999d0d even a hint 5ef3d9b6f0 of displeasure, people f2c3df52ea backed off, which b482e1102c was convenient. It meant he could 0c842720b2 sleep undisturbed. But today, for the 70829272e2 first time, that girl 79cf14bbdb made him feel something cc8346c88f strange. At the bus stop 0d7f1d6d06 outside school, when Seomun 422134d301 Yul flinched and stepped 5151f3adfa away after spotting him.f1fee37271d0766e

A girlfriend, huh?e261fe26841dc10a

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

The words echoed 09a55d6e5c in his mind, 09c8fd1dac and once again, 6a96ac549b her face appeared. He knew instinctively, from ada4faf245 the way she avoided 8a9df29401 his gaze on the 8f86fe9636 bus, that she’d finally 1a9d529aca heard the rumors about b1a3d378b3 him. Until now, she’d 92217b1203 looked him dead 9177051684 in the eyes, ad5d2799a5 but now she 8abde9586c lowered her gaze, b7072932de watching him nervously, a14128077f and for the 6348240a45 first time, it 7dcd44fcf8 bothered him.62e8a9c4693b5ad6

“Well, who could a8a59b97d0 stop you? Do as you 09b9e55965 please. And in the future, f8a08943c8 feel free to come f59b9953b0 in and look whenever 9f67b1600f you want.”2072e222c9c64717

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Director Park’s d26be80939 tone held b4ac61cb6c an unusual 77e67a9e15 grumpiness as b8dee4f74e he turned 35304b518f away. It was a63d7f533b strange, given 2340a4be6f his usual 7fd9dbee61 obsession with 25ab02439d privacy. When Yoonjo 8bffbc4f9f looked at 2168c9408b him questioningly, ddd707a073 he sighed 6b8a3d9d8c and gestured d155e992fb vaguely in 4713654dbe the air 389c40b2d3 as if 1c3a71bccc he’d already 79d4084443 resigned himself e59babb559 to it.41644c179d787afc