TSBSFVW 67

Chapter 67
Bread Eleven. Just Admit It, You Won’t Die (3)

“A good product, isn’t it? A valuable means of making money.”

The sarcastic tone cut sharply into her ears.

Ellie froze in place. Meanwhile, the conversation between Morris and Edmund continued. She knew it wasn’t good to eavesdrop, but her feet felt glued to the ground—she couldn’t move.

“I like anything that makes money.”

“Ellie is like a gold mine that I stumbled upon. How could I not like her?”

It was a revelation—but not really. Ellie already knew well enough that Morris was just a money-grubbing loan shark. This was merely confirmation of what she already knew.

There was no reason to be shocked or hurt.

She already knew. Ellie swallowed the words silently in her throat.

If anything, this was something to feel proud about. Even in the eyes of a money-obsessed loan shark, the things she had made had value. Morris had expectations for what she had made and what she would make in the future.

So, this wasn’t something to cry over.

“Is there no way you’d ever like Ellie as a woman?”

“No.”

A laugh of disbelief followed.

That brief sound perfectly conveyed just how absurd Edmund found the question. For Ellie, his voice and laughter felt louder than Morris’s words. The coldness in his voice, the mocking tone—it stung sharply, more than anything she had ever heard before.

It was painfully sharp, humiliating, and hurtful.

Ellie kept wiping her falling tears. No matter how much she rubbed them with her palms, the tears overflowed endlessly.

Why was she crying?

Even she couldn’t understand the tears, which had completely escaped her control.

In the end, all Ellie could do was stand there and wait for her broken tear ducts to calm down. She couldn’t move for fear that making a sound would give away her presence.

Biting her lips and letting the tears fall, memories of past events flashed through her mind.

Edmund had told her it would be better to leave Morris alone. At the time, she hadn’t understood why he said that, but now she did. Edmund had known before Ellie did.

He had noticed that Ellie was watching Morris without even realizing it herself.

‘How stupid,’ she thought.

The stupidest thing was not knowing her own feelings until this moment.

She was desperately holding her breath, trying to stop her tears, when the door suddenly swung open. Ellie couldn’t even think of running or hiding her face—she looked up.

“Ah.”

Morris appeared. Even though her vision blurred and she couldn’t clearly see his expression, she could tell he was startled.

He paused for a moment, looking down at her, and then moved his lips.

“Ellie.”

“…….”

Even someone as eloquent as Morris seemed at a loss for words in this situation. He just moved his lips silently before lowering his head to look at her face.

“Are you crying? Did something get in your eye?”

The troubled expression spreading across his neat face made Ellie feel miserable all over again. Still, it was a relief that her tear ducts were finally starting to calm down.

“Or are you angry? Did you hear everything?”

She blinked rapidly to clear her vision and spoke in the clearest voice she could muster, hoping her voice didn’t tremble:

“What do you mean?”

“You heard everything. Don’t misunderstand, Ellie. Edmund was just making a strange assumption, which is why those words came out.”

“…….”

“Good, right? It’s better to nip assumptions in the bud. Especially since Eddie likes you so much—if you let him keep misunderstanding, he might even try to assassinate me.”

Morris laughed, trying to ease the atmosphere and pass over the situation.

If she played along, he might completely forget this moment.

Even if he didn’t bring it up as a joke, he could just dismiss it later as something trivial, once she appeared completely unbothered.

She could simply say, “I did well. I almost shouted in anger and bit my tongue,” and that would be enough.

Still, Ellie let the remaining tears fall and replayed Morris’s words in her mind. It wasn’t a misunderstanding—Edmund had noticed before her, and she wasn’t mistaken either.

“What’s this, why aren’t you saying anything? Huh?”

“…….”

“Really, why? You think even being involved with me here is unpleasant. Go scold Eddie for his ridiculous assumption.”

“…….”

“…This is maddening…”

Morris sighed, running one hand through his hair. His light brown eyes, looking down at her with a mix of annoyance and exasperation, reflected nothing but trouble.

He wanted to say something to move past the situation, but strangely, no words came out.

“If you keep quiet like this, I’ll interpret it however I want. Do you even like me? Huh?”

“…….”

“That’s impossible. You’ve said you wouldn’t tolerate clinginess.”

At the time, she had been sincere.

‘I never thought I’d end up liking someone like this.’

The sentence forming in her mind forced her to confront her feelings. It was too embarrassing to act like she didn’t notice, but pretending would only make her feel worse.

She could lie to others if needed. To survive, there was little she couldn’t do.

But she must never lie to herself.

Having lived in a world where no one could be trusted, Ellie had always trusted only herself. Even though now there were a few more people she could trust, she had done so for a long time. The moment she lied to herself, she would no longer be able to trust herself.

“I’ve never misunderstood.”

“Hmm?”

She rubbed her eyes hard with her sleeve, which quickly became damp from all the moisture. Her eyes were probably red, but it didn’t matter—it was already an ugly sight.

“It wasn’t a misunderstanding.”

“……What?”

It was just love.

She couldn’t lie to herself over something so simple.

She couldn’t allow herself to avoid this moment and remain miserable forever.

“I liked you, but not anymore.”

“Wait, wait, Ellie.”

“I misread the situation. I’m really sorry.”

She felt slightly unfair.

She had liked Morris for a while, but the decisive moment was when he ran to save her.

Anyone would fall in love after seeing that face, that gaze.

The desperate expression, as if he was about to lose the most precious person in the world.

When someone saves you at the moment you’re prepared to die, embracing you with that intensity… anyone would at least feel affection.

At that time, Ellie thought that even if it were truly the last moment, it was okay to die because someone had tried so desperately to save her.

Her words burst out impulsively:

“Yeah, you probably just valued me like a product that could make money, but petting my head like I was your cute little sister—sorry, I misread that!”

“Ellie. Give me a chance to explain.”

She took a deep breath, bit her lips, and felt tears threatening to burst again.

Finally, she shouted through her tears.

Explain? What had he done wrong?

“Who told you to go around with those eyes and that face that make people misread you! You don’t have to mock, you don’t have to laugh! I’ve given up now, so don’t worry!”

“Ellie!”

Not wanting to show her crying face any longer, she turned around.

Her first confession and first heartbreak happened at the same time, and to make matters worse, she even blamed and got angry at someone who simply didn’t like her back. Truly pathetic.

Morris grabbed her arm, but she shook him off with all her strength, leaving him unsteadily pushed back. Only then did she remember that he had been hurt. She hesitated, stepped back, and spoke quietly:

“Go get treated, idiot.”

“Wait a moment, Ellie!”

Without looking back, she ran away.