89 – I came to love you once again (3)
White steam rose between our breaths. I carefully moved her hand and hugged the shoulder of the girl I finally met. The longer I waited, the more I felt that warm body temperature.
But I couldn’t stay immersed in that moment for that long. The entire hospital was still shaking to find me and Yoona. As if to prove that fact, a pure white light vibrated from the pocket of Yuna’s clothes.
Weees
“Ugh.”
“Who is it?”
“Ari. I’m asking where you are.”
Her name is Ari. It seemed like he was slowly becoming curious about the situation. It’s probably stamping its little feet up there.
“You’re asking too much. It’s no wonder you came here after all the trouble.”
“What should I do? Should I go back?”
“No…It wouldn’t be any good.”
“Then?”
I looked up at Yuna with her shoulders slightly slumped. Yuna seemed to be a little worried, but she suddenly showed a determined expression.
“Don’t worry, Ellen. I will protect you somehow now.”
“Uh…Do you have a plan?”
“No. But…Yeah. It’ll be okay.”
His tone seemed somewhat unsure. Nevertheless, Yuna held onto my shoulder tightly and she opened her mouth once again.
“Now just trust this sister.”
Yoona’s actions showed no hesitation as if saying she would protect her wasn’t just bravado. After leaving the hospital in that same outfit, Yoona called a taxi and immediately pushed me inside.
The taxi driver was a little embarrassed when he saw our clothes, but he quietly started driving after he said he would give us double the money. I couldn’t help but be taken aback by his behavior, which was literally like that of an angry bull.
Maybe I felt this way in the other world. It feels like the positions have somehow become opposites.
“Yoona. Where are we going?”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry. It’ll take some time, so sleep a little.”
“Ahahahaha…”
Can you sleep? But I couldn’t resist Yoona’s annoyance and forced myself to close my eyes. And I tried to ignore the stinging gaze and leaned into the corner.
After about an hour, the taxi finally stopped.
Only then did I open my eyes and look at the scenery outside the window. A single-family house was visible rising high above the dawn sky. Yuna quickly calculated her fare and grabbed my arm.
“Come on, let’s get off.”
“Where am I?”
“My home.”
“Um…Is that still okay? If they were hired by your mother, the bodyguards would probably know where your house is.”
“…But this was the only place to go.”
In an instant, the bravado that was put on was removed and a timid voice came out. No matter what, Yoona is still Yoona. She seemed rather relieved by that sight. Yuna pushed my back toward her house while biting her lip, as was her habit.
“Go in quickly. You have to lock the door.”
“Okay. By the way, should I take off my shoes? I don’t know much about this stuff…”
“Let’s get in quickly!”
“Ugh.”
If he played around any longer, he seemed like he was going to take me away. As soon as I entered the house, I was led by Yoona to the second floor without even looking around. After almost being thrown into the room, Yuna closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ugh…”
“Huh…”
At the end of a stormy day, I once again laid down in a small room. When I leaned on the bed on one side of the room and raised my head, I saw a slightly disorganized room. Clothes scattered in one place and tear stains on the desk. Traces of a lonely life were visible in the chaotically scattered piles of toilet paper.
Meanwhile, Yoona searched around her door, hurriedly looking for something of hers. Then, what she finally picked up in her hands were glasses large enough to cover half of her face. Yuna put the glasses on with her trembling hands and then she stared intently at my face.
“…”
“Ahahahaha…”
Somehow I smiled involuntarily at the happy sight. Yuna, who was staring at me like that, came towards me, patting the floor with her knees.
She then grabbed my cheek with both her hands.
“Um…Is it Yoona?”
“…”
My image was reflected in the large glasses. The heat slowly rose on my cheeks, where I was embarrassed by those endless gazes. After a while, a low voice came out from Yuna’s lips.
“Oh my god…”
“…”
“This is the real Ellen…”
“Uh…Yeah. It’s me, Yoona.”
“It’s really Ellen…”
“Yes. It’s really me.”
“It’s really Ellen…What should I do…”
She looked like she would shed tears if left alone. In fact, Yoona must have shed some tears as she sniffled and swallowed her snot.
“…What the hell happened, Eren? Huh? How did you get here?”
“I came because I missed you.”
“Don’t be kidding. Have you completely crossed over to this world? What happened to Eren from that world? What on earth is this body? Are you possessed by someone from this world?”
“No. It’s not like that. There’s a lot to explain and talk about, but…”
I took a little deep breath. Then he spread his arms a little awkwardly and said.
“This is the real me. After Eren died, the goddess gave me a new body. When I asked again that I wanted to see you, she gave me this body again.”
“You were originally from this world too? Really?”
“Yes.”
Yoona’s eyes roamed all over my body. It felt like she was defenseless, and her heart was pounding for no reason. Without realizing it, I kept moving my legs.
“So…The things you talked about before about your mother and your older brother. Did they actually all happen in this world?”
“That’s right. I originally worked as a mercenary in another country. Then things got bad, so I came into exile in this country.”
“So this is really you?”
“Yes. This is me. And from now on, I will continue to stay in this world.”
My outstretched arms kept shaking, so I ended up shrinking back. And then he opened his mouth in a bright voice.
“It’s a bit ugly, isn’t it? Compared to Eren, there are more scars, and the eyes are a little weird. There are a lot of bruises here and there.”
“Ah… No, Eren! That’s not the case at all. Rather… I’m scared that I might be too inferior to Yuna.”
“What are you talking about? You even worked as a child actor.”
“…Don’t tease me about something like that. I know I’m not pretty like Yuna.”
This time, Yoona hesitated and stepped behind her. The fact that she was left defenseless was probably the same for those over there as well. This is our first time seeing each other face to face with the masks of this world removed.
I raised her head again and looked at Yuna wearing glasses. Unlike Yuna, her big glasses suited her very much. I said, playfully tapping the frame of her glasses.
“But her breasts are big enough to rival Yuna’s.”
“Hey…”
“And I told you. I liked you in it, not Yuna. It’s the same even now. Even if you were an old grandmother, I would have liked you.”
“It’s a lie. If it were my grandmother, I would have avoided her.”
“Is that true?”
Only then did Yuna smile a little. But there was still anxiety in my heart. The back of my neck, where the burn scars were, felt sore again.
“But this is still too much. Even to me, it’s so ugly.”
“No, that’s not true, Ellen. I’m really serious. It’s not ugly at all.”
“You really shouldn’t lie. I know at least what I look like.”
“No, really! I’m actually happy because I think I met the real you. And more than anything…”
Suddenly, a strange energy appeared in Yuna’s eyes. She suddenly swallowed her saliva once and nudged her arm towards me.
“It’s smaller than me and so cute…”
“…”
Only then did she realize that in order to make eye contact with Yoona, she had to look up from me. I once again felt fear in the shadow cast over my head.
“Oh my god… Ellen is shorter than me… It’s ridiculous…”
“…How tall are you, Yoona?”
“Me? The last time I measured myself, I was 173… But you’re really short, Ellen…”
“It’s not that small, is it?”
“No, I don’t mean it in a bad way. Rather, I….”
At that time, clear saliva flowed from Yuna’s lips. She quickly swallowed her saliva again and involuntarily stepped behind her as he tasted her again. Then, Yoona suddenly smiled sinisterly and approached me.
“Now that I think about it, Eren, your clothes are really dirty. I’ll change them for you.”
“Huh? Ah…No. Because I can do it…”
“There is no need to apologize. Are you really embarrassed now?”
“That’s not true…Okay! I’ll take it off! I said I’d take it off!”
“It’s okay, Ellen. I’ll be gentle with you. So…!”
She tried to resist violently, but Yoona eventually grabbed her by my shirt. And then, before he could stop her, she was thrust upwards.
And at that moment, the smile that remained on Yuna’s lips disappeared in an instant.
“…”
“Ah…hahahaha…”
I smiled awkwardly. But that didn’t mean the sight I saw once was erased.
It was a late fix, but I held on to the hem of my clothes again. Then, I pulled my clothes down again to cover the knife wound that was clearly visible on my stomach.
“…”
“…”
There was an awkward silence for a very moment. There was still a trace of shock in Yuna’s eyes.
“Ellen.”
After a long time had passed, Yuna finally opened her mouth. And she said in a slightly more serious voice.
“Can I touch it?”
“…Yes. As much as you want.”
I couldn’t hide it now, so I lifted the hem of my clothes again. Soon, Yuna’s slender fingers caressed her wound. I’m sure it was an illusion, but it felt like the pain from back then was coming back.
“How did this happen?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Um… I was once taken prisoner by the rebels. The wounds came from being tortured at the time. Fortunately, I was rescued a week later.”
It was a memory from a long time ago, but I felt like I could recall it vividly if I were still asked to recall it. Memories of that day when I was covered in a black mask and dragged around like a dog. The fear of the dark was also engraved in me at that time.
“Then what about this?”
Yuna, who had been stroking her stomach, this time placed her finger on the burn on the nape of her neck. The moment she came into contact with the hot energy, she flinched her shoulder without realizing it.
“That… Was a burn I received from an artillery barrage. Not long after I treated it, I was bitten by a large shepherd and it got worse.”
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Yes. It’s okay now. It’s all gone.”
“Can I see more?”
“Yes. It’s okay.”
When I nodded, Yuna carefully took off my top. Ugly scars appeared where the soft cloth had passed.
As Yoona stroked each of the scars, she asked me in a whisper.
“This?”
“That’s a sign of being hit by my father. He threw a broken piece of a whiskey bottle at me. That’s when I learned how to stop the bleeding.”
“Then what about this?”
“I got a wound from fighting the rebel I mentioned earlier. His bullet went through cleanly, so he didn’t die, but he had to suffer from high fever for over a month.”
“Here…This?”
“I got scars from being caught by gangsters while I was stealing when I was young. They said they would scold me, so I made deep knife marks.”
“Do you remember everything?”
“Yes. One by one, everything.”
It is often said that emotional wounds remain deeper than physical wounds. But from a position where I am sick of both, that is nonsense. Anyway, if the wound on your body is deep enough, it will one day be engraved as a wound on your heart.
And as the wounds in the heart grow deeper and deeper, they will one day seep out as scars outside the body.
So, I carefully held Yuna’s hand. And as expected, he asked in a whisper.
“Yoona.”
“Huh?”
“Can I touch it too?”
“…Yes.”
Although there was some hesitation, Yuna held out her wrist towards me. I cupped the five lines of scars engraved on it with my palm.
“Ugh…”
As soon as I felt the rough texture of the scar, a low moan escaped me. Although it was smaller and more delicate than the one engraved on my body, it must have been cruelly deep growing pains in her world.
Because I couldn’t fully understand her pain, I just wrapped the scar warmly. Yuna’s naked body, seen beyond her mask, was covered in so many scars that it seemed like they would disappear in no time if she didn’t lick them.
“…”
“…”
Yoona probably had similar thoughts. She also continued to lick the wounds on my body with her fingers. We smoothed out each other’s scars for a long time, so much so that we didn’t realize it. The closer my heart got, the closer Yuna’s body came to me.
Then at some point, Yoona pushed her shoulder and made her fall to the floor.
Thump.
“Ugh…”
The skin sticking to the floor let out a faint moan. Her flowing black hair scraped stingingly across her face.
“…”
Yoona lightly bit her lip while putting her hand on my shoulder. Clear evidence of tension was evident all over her body. Her swollen cheeks and sweaty palms. That alone was enough to tell her what she was hesitating about.
In the meantime, it is not yet time. She had refused, saying she wanted a better location. But I felt like I couldn’t make that excuse anymore.
“Yoona.”
“Yes.”
“It’s okay.”
So I nodded. Yuna smiled a little and then she lowered her head towards me. Before I knew it, her wet lips were slowly soaking into my face.
I lifted her hand and grabbed the hem of Yoona’s clothes. What still covered her body was the hospital gown that this cruel world had placed on her. A thin piece of cloth that trapped her body like a chrysalis, unable to cover her scars. It was an old shell that had to be thrown away.
So I put my hand through her clothes. And with my own hands, I began to undo her first button.