43 – Discordance (1)
My back hurts.
There could be various reasons for this. Wearing tight shoes and walking around all day. Climbing high places without any equipment. Or maybe, it could simply be the accumulated fatigue rushing in at once.
But if I had to pick one essential reason, it would undoubtedly be because I slept on the bare ground.
I think it’s time to get used to it. However, the body born in a cradle always longs for a warm blanket, and I have to force the harsh reality into it. In doing so, my pathetic body accepts the reality while vomiting a faint pain with the taste of bitter gastric juice. I’m the only one suffering in between.
But thinking negatively doesn’t help. Throwing curses at the cloud-covered sky is as futile as adding weight to a criminal’s misdeeds.
So, I decided to focus on something more positive. For example, the warm blanket covering my whole body. Despite being hungry, it feels surprisingly pleasant. When I embrace something in my arms, the sweet scent of a baby, like a breeze, comes and goes. Those kinds of things.
Especially the last one provided considerable comfort. Knowing that there is someone to rely on by my side when I wake up after struggling through the night is undoubtedly a moment of overwhelming happiness. To savor that fact, I pulled someone I had embraced tightly into my arms with all my might.
“Hmm…”
A cute whimper escaped from the embrace. It seemed like an unconscious yawn seeping out. Enjoying that small breath, I found myself lost in a happy dilemma. What should I do? Should I wake them up now? Or should I continue watching a little longer? Either way, once I wake them up, an inevitably awkward moment will come. It will be an awkward situation, but a warm morning greeting and a light kiss or two will quickly resolve it.
But before that, I must wake up first. The gods do not feed even a bug that doesn’t wake up. If that is the fate of mortals, reluctantly accepting it is the only choice. I woke up, attaching such a self-deprecating proposition to myself.
And I rose, breaking through the thick fog that flowed in the window.
Shooo…
“…”
Mud sticking to my body is washed away like rags. Raindrops, replacing dried tears, sweep across my face. Even though the bugs, which felt like companions, did not stick to me because the whole world was damp, it was undoubtedly the prelude to a tragedy that one eye did not open.
Shooo…
Once again, the sound of rain hits my eardrums. I barely throw away the blanket I covered and look to the side. There, a dog lies, whether dead or alive, I do not know. I am certain it is dead, but I’m not entirely sure. If it is alive, there will be eight teeth marks in a row on my neck.
Perhaps I should find a house with a remaining mirror and check my neck. Then I can be sure that what flows through my body is not blood, but rain. But it seems unnecessary. Because this is a dream.
There is plenty of evidence that this is a dream. First, even though it is pouring rain like this, there is not a single cloud in the sky. Second, even though I pierced the center of my palm with my finger, I don’t feel any pain. Third, there is no way such a colorless landscape exists in the world.
And above all, I know where this is, and he no longer lives in this land.
With the certainty of everything, I finally smiled. It was not a dream that I dreamt only once or twice, but if I don’t believe it is a dream, I shiver all over my body.
So, once again, I closed my eyes. There is no way to get rid of the memories that I couldn’t shake off except burying them in the depths of consciousness. A muddy pond with rain falling. A dog sleeping as if dead. Darkness that appears before my eyes like a mask. All of them sank endlessly into the sea of the unconscious.
That way, I painfully felt the realistic pain in my lower back and finally opened my eyes.
“…Ah.”
The oxygen of reality finally flowed into my bloodstream, and I could breathe. I looked at the familiar ceiling and closed my eyes deeply. One. Two. One. Two. With each deep breath to calm my mind, I heard someone’s breathing matching the sound.
“…”
“Haah…”
Having barely returned to reality, I buried my face in Yuna’s hair, resting in my arms, to confirm the sensation of life. The sweet baby scent that poked my nose last night shook my drowsy heart. If I talk to you here, will my voice reach the inner you directly? With that thought, I called out your name.
“Yuna.”
“…”
“Kim Yuna.”
“…!”
“Kim…”
“…Now that you’re awake, stop it.”
In the moment when I was about to call her name again, Yuna slowly opened her eyes with a mumble and sat up. I looked at her cutely yawning and asked teasingly.
“Still find your real name a bit awkward?”
“Put yourself in my shoes. Even you would be surprised.”
“Got it. Kim Yuna.”
“Seriously, you…”
Yuna glared at me again, and I burst into a soft laugh. Then, with a slightly awkward smile, I asked.
“Did you sleep well, Yuna?”
“Sleeping on the floor was a bit uncomfortable, but… it wasn’t that bad. How about you?”
“Well, for me, sleeping on the floor is routine.”
“Oh, yeah. I see.”
After exchanging casual morning greetings, an awkwardness crept in. With the memories of last night surfacing, it became a bit embarrassing to face each other. I deliberately looked at the clock to steer the conversation.
“By the way, it seems like we woke up a bit late. If we’re going out, we should get ready quickly.”
“Uh… right.”
“Don’t you take a long time to get ready?”
“Uh…”
“The response seems unsatisfying. Is there any problem?”
“No, it’s just…”
Although I was bothered by her attitude, Yuna mumbled till the end. After a moment of hesitation, she replied.
“…I was thinking of not going out for just one more day.”
“But isn’t skipping for three consecutive days a bit too much?”
“That’s true, but…”
Yuna mumbled again, biting her lips tightly. It felt like she was locked in another secret unknown to me. However, even thinking about it, it seemed unreasonable for a noble lady to be absent without notice for three days.
“I should go, Yuna.”
“Ugh.”
As I poked her smooth cheek with my finger, Yuna let out a faint scream and glanced at me. Instead of withdrawing my finger, I continued to gently scratch the area above her cheek and asked.
“You’re leaving, right?”
“…Yeah.”
The response was still not satisfying. There must be something bothering her after all. I thought about the reason and tried to show my consideration.
“If it’s inconvenient for people to notice us together, you should leave first. I’ll hide well and follow. That should work, right?”
“Oh, about that… I was going to say.”
Yuna suddenly raised her voice. After a slight hesitation, she lifted her eyes and looked at me.
“It’s probably okay now.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah. When you think about it, it’s not such a strange situation, right? Just going into the classroom together, that’s all.”
“Is that so?”
“And…”
Suddenly, Yuna’s hand grasped the hem of my clothes. Though not particularly strong, her determination not to let go was evident.
“I don’t want to keep distancing myself from you in that way anymore…”
“Mm…”
Feeling a bit ticklish, I unconsciously scratched my head. It was somewhat pleasing to think that the gradually diminishing distance between us had finally disappeared, but at the same time, it felt quite embarrassing. It seemed that even for this ignorant blockhead, the emotion of shame still lingered.
“Are you really okay?”
“Yeah.”
This time, a confident response reached my ears. Then, as if chanting a spell to herself, a quiet murmur followed.
“It’ll be okay. Probably.”
“Hey, Ellen. Oh, by the way, aren’t you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?”
“!!!”
“!!!”
As soon as we entered the classroom, Gwero casually threw out a remark. However, we both stared at her eyes wide open, more surprised than necessary. Even Gwero, thrown off guard, opened her mouth dumbfoundedly.
“Uh… did I say something weird?”
“No. It’s not really that.”
“Oh, um. Well then. Uh… Hello, Yuna.”
“Oh… yes. Hello, Gwero.”
The greetings exchanged were so stiff that even I, who was looking at them, felt awkward. Gwero, apparently uncomfortable with such awkward situations, hesitated to speak and eventually turned her head directly. It seemed that a little time was needed for the two to become closer.
“Um…”
And Yuna, too, turned her head with a somewhat awkward expression. However, her reason was a bit different from Gwero’s. She cautiously looked around and whispered to me in a small voice.
“Still feeling quite strange?”
“Well, I’m not sure…”
I also answered quietly without confidence. But the situation seemed quite clear. Just lifting my head for a moment revealed that there were more than a few students who quickly averted their gaze after stealing a glance in our direction.
It wasn’t really a surprise. The villainous Yeongae, who had skipped classes for two days in a row. And the commoner who entered the classroom with her. Even though no one could say for sure, everyone in the classroom seemed to be exercising their own imagination. Meanwhile, Iliya was observing us with a rather pleased expression.
‘Good.’
“…”
Seeing her raise her thumb again, I couldn’t even smile and turned my head. Then, I whispered quietly to Yuna.
“Are you really okay, Yuna? It might be a bit awkward if rumors spread, right?”
“Yeah… No. It won’t be more awkward just because rumors spread now.”
“But…”
“And even if rumors spread, what does it matter? Like someone would dare say anything to me, claiming they like you.”
“Well… that’s true.”
Anyway, she’s Yuna Richmond. No matter how neglected her relationships with other nobles may have become, there probably wouldn’t be many who would openly criticize her. In that sense, there shouldn’t be much trouble for her.
And the same goes for me. Since hardly anyone knows me in the first place, there’s no one to suddenly explode with jealousy just because I’m hanging out with Yuna. Even if there were, it wouldn’t be particularly frightening.
From Noble mtl dot com
If there’s an issue, it might be Gwero. There’s no need to rush, but Gwero also needed to find a way to quickly become friends with Yuna. Whether he likes it or not, he’ll have to face her continuously, and we can’t afford to have an awkward atmosphere.
I wonder how he’s going to handle it. He probably won’t suggest tearing apart a puzzle together on the playground. Just imagining it made me want to laugh. Anyway, no matter how I think about it, the current situation seemed not to be a problem for me.
But as always, the problem erupted from an unexpected place.
“Oh, Ellen.”
“…Yes?”
It was a familiar voice. However, as far as I knew, no one had ever addressed me in that manner. Could it be that Ilya had somehow regained his voice? I turned my head, entertaining the absurd idea.
And then, perhaps the only person who could dare to confront Yuna Richmond met my gaze.
“Hello, Ellen. It feels like it’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Isn’t that right?”
“Ah… Elise.”
…!
As I called her name, Yuna flinched and turned towards me. However, Elise approached me amicably, completely ignoring Yuna.
“You skipped class yesterday afternoon, didn’t you? What happened?”
“Oh, just felt like playing hooky.”
“Ah, I see. We all have those days, right? Suddenly wanting to skip class. But why is your outfit in such disarray?”
“I got bumped by a passing cow.”
“What? Ahahahaha. Well, I guess that explains it. Be more careful next time.”
Elise responded to my nonsense without any sign of confusion. Her natural reaction made me even more perplexed. She smiled, casually sitting on the edge of my desk.
“By the way, how will you manage without attending the afternoon class? There was a lot of important material covered. You seem to be studying hard these days, and you even moved up to fourth place in the last exam. Isn’t that right?”
“Well, it’s not exactly like that… How did you know?”
“Oh, come on. We’re in the same class. Isn’t that right?”
“Still…”
I furrowed my brows and began to speak. However, in the next moment, my throat choked, and my voice was cut off.
There were several complex reasons for that. Honestly, there wasn’t much I could say. Elise suddenly leaning towards me as if about to fall, Yuna’s intense gaze from the side, and most importantly, the reason of its own.
Elise’s fingers, which had approached unnoticed, swept along the inner thigh.
…!!!
Like a long, extended tree branch, the cool and elongated fingers lightly gripped my thigh. It could be seen as a light form of skinship, but because they touched a place that was too deep, I made an unexpected gasp.
“But don’t worry, Alan. Take some time later and come to my place.”
Meanwhile, Elise smiled playfully and narrowed her eyes. However, her eyes didn’t look at me. She looked towards Yuna with a gaze colder than the frost that falls in midwinter and said,
“I’ll show you my notes.”