About You: Love & Sacrifice

Aphrodite

Younha took his shoes and let his bare feet step on the fine sand soaked in sea water, his jeans had folded up the calves to protect the water that came alternately. The wind swept out fiercely, the sun had already started to descend and emit a beautiful orange glow. Walking alone becomes a healing course for Younha while thinking about strange things and then releasing a long breath to blend in with the free air.

Dusk began to appear to exist, feeling the sea breeze swept over his skin made Younha completely relaxed even almost forgot that he already had two sons.

Sand beach print the soles of his feet which is now also followed by two other soles of the feet. Jihoon saw Younha's back up and down following the rhythm of his breathing. It was obvious how the heavy breath was exhaled. What was he thinking about?

"You cold?" A jacket wrapped around Younha's body from behind, leaving her shocked.

"Oh, you." Younha was relieved when she found out that the man without babibu was Jihoon, she thought that the strange man whistled at her earlier. "Have you finished talking to Seungmin?"

"He's got business, so go first." Said Jihoon who was now following on the right side of Younha. "Well, what a beautiful sky."

Younha stopped stepping, turned her face to the vast ocean and looked up with a faint smile. Jihoon stared at Younha's face from the side, to her more beautiful than the sky this afternoon.

"True, it's so pretty."

"You think of something?" Jihoon stepped up to straighten both of Younha's eyebrows with his thumb. "You see the sky but your mind is not directed at it. Your forehead is furrowed, ugly."

Younha raised her face, looking at Jihoon right on her iris. "Jihoon-ne."

Jihoon's body felt trembling suddenly as Younha called out to him with a call that dragged him to remember in the early days of their love. Pupil Jihoon moved randomly, scanning the clear face of Younha who looked very calm.

"Have you ever asked me who I am?" Lirih Younha with a faint smile. "I am your breath. But I'm also curious, have you ever considered me? Have you ever cared about me? I thought you understood the meaning of the phrase don't confuse me. But, it turned out that I did not understand from the sentence itself."

Younha turned to face the sea again.

"Aphrodite used to love Ares even though their relationship was forbidden. But that love did not necessarily make him happy, instead bringing Aphrodite to the abyss of betrayal that made her life miserable." Younha told a story while watching the twilight slowly fade away. "Aphrodite's love was in vain because Ares chose to leave her."

"If Aphrodite and Persephone are yours, then what do you position yourself as?" Younha said softly, looking at Jihoon with a thread-thin hope that he would be cut off or hold on when he heard Jihoon's reply. "Have you ever considered yourself Ares? Or do you just want to always be Hades?"

Monolid Younha was clinging to Jihoon's dark eyeballs which slowly softened. While his heart guessed the answer while Younha waited.

"I've never been Ares." Jihoon replied straightforwardly without further ado. "I never wanted to be Ares."

Younha's lips formed a bitter smile, weak, ashamed, and feeling defeated. He should not have asked such foolish questions, from the beginning he knew that the man in front of him was Hades— who lived a true life of Goddess Persephone.

"Ah, sure." Younha smiled bitterly. "I just realized if love is actually— is a pretty dangerous thing. It turns out not only life, love is also a bastard—"

"I don't want to be Ares because it's just mythological nonsense!" Sahut Jihoon grabbed onto both of Younha's shoulders, forcing the twin pupils to look at him deeply. "I want to be your breath too, to be your man. What you call my name sincerely."

"J-Jihoon." Lirih Younha began to melt and stammer. "Lee Jihoon."

Jihoon lifted Younha's jaw, rubbing both cheeks overtime the woman—fearing she would be hurt further.

"I love you." Jihoon's words were starkly inviting the confused twinkle of Younha, a single tear drop falling from her beautiful netra.

"What did you say?"

"I love you!"

Younha's tears were not contained anymore.

"I was there for you first."

"I'm waiting for you."

"You love me."

"Full of my heart."

Younha's body trembled, stepping back as Jihoon tried to grab her wrist.

"Younha-yeah..."

"Jihoon-ne." Bisik Younha continued his sentence. "Maybe if you said that five years ago, I would have been the happiest woman in the world. If you had said that four years ago, I would have smiled broadly with a happy heart, if you had said that three years ago, I would have breathed a sigh of relief from no longer being lonely, she said, if you had said that two years ago, I would have accepted with an open heart and a peerless thank you."

"Now?" Younha chuckled cynically. "Do you think you can bring my broken heart back to pieces? All your attitude, don't confuse me with your attitude towards me, Jihoon!"

"What makes you confused?" Jihoon returned Younha's sad gaze. "What confuses you about my attitude?"

"You act like you love me!" Younha shouting. "You do it as if you never loved me."

"I love you!" Jihoon said again, putting more emphasis on his sentence. "I don't do it because I feel like it, but because I love you. I don't want to be Adonis between Aphrodite and Persephone— because I'm Aresmu, Younha-ya."

"I don't need any more!" Younha. Hands clenched on both sides of the body. "I don't need to be loved by you, we're over."

Younha rubbed his wet face rough, turning to leave Jihoon but hugged him from behind. Younha did not rebel, nor did he try to escape. Just carried away to feel Jihoon's warm body that Younha longed for. He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping that time could stop so that he could continue to feel the man's embrace like this.

"Is there still a chance?" Whisper Jihoon on Younha's shoulder. "Give me a chance to right my wrongs. Don't block your heart from screaming that you feel the same way about me. May I say—I'm sorry Younha-ya. Sorry, I'm sorry."

Younha took off Jihoon's embrace and turned to face him again. "What makes you regret?" His tone sounded very painful. "I'm still the same as when we met, my personality hasn't changed. My habits are still the same as what you see when you wake up. I am also not rich, my son is also still two—Yeonjun and Seojun. I am also very good at hiding my own tears. So what did I do that made you feel sorry?"

Jihoon fell silent with a slow work full of fun. There was nothing more to be said to defend her who was indeed very guilty of Younha.

"Don't waste your five years dating Hyejin behind my back. I told you to love him, how much you're trying to get him." Younha continued to regulate his breathing. "You are neither Adonis nor Ares. You are Hades, you should be aware of that."

"........ Jihoon-na."

The twilight began to be replaced with the coming of night as if giving a stretch of immeasurable darkness that now exists between Jihoon and Younha. Tears came uncompromisingly, soaking Younha's beautiful face that was now walking while squeezing Jihoon's jacket on her body, leaving the man on the shore.

...*****...