Episode 6
***
Yeorae dreamt of a giant serpent coiling tightly around her and swallowing her whole.
When she opened her eyes, she felt like she knew why she’d had such a dream.
“……”
From outside the window came the cheerful chirping of birds heralding the morning.
Warm sunlight streamed through the curtains, drawing a streak of light across the room. Within it, white dust danced in the air like it was twirling.
Leandros’s strong arms and legs were wrapped tightly around her from behind.
Yeorae groaned and tried to wriggle out of his embrace, but he was so strong that he didn’t budge.
Then, half-asleep, Leandros cracked his eyes open. Yeorae seized the moment.
“Wait, I need, the, the bathroom……”
“Mmm.”
He shifted, loosening his arms.
But he didn’t let go of his legs, so Yeorae had to exert herself once again in her aching body from the morning.
“……”
She checked her left cheek in the bathroom mirror first.
As expected, it was more swollen than yesterday. The scratch had turned into a dark red scab, making it stand out clearly.
And yet, for someone who had been slapped by a family member and cried, she looked far too flushed, as if she were about to attend a grand party.
Have I ever been this excited on a Sunday morning in my life?
Yeorae spotted her chapped lips in the mirror and hurriedly washed her face like she had seen something she shouldn’t have.
“Good morning.”
Later, while changing her clothes and pouring cereal, two arms suddenly reached around her waist from behind.
Leandros let out a sigh full of sleep and kissed the top of Yeorae’s head.
“It’s Sunday—shall we go out together today?”
There was no reply.
When Yeorae looked up, Leandros was wearing a meaningful expression.
“Does that mean I’m allowed to go outside now?”
“Of course. People might think I’ve been forcibly keeping you locked up.”
“……Wasn’t that the case?”
Yeorae stepped back with the spoon in her mouth and looked Leandros up and down.
Though he’d only been here a few days, he had already shed much of his foreignness from this strange world.
“Your appearance might draw some attention, but I think it’ll be okay to go out.”
Yeorae shrugged as she spoke.
She was glad their house wasn’t near her school. If she ran into someone she knew, she’d have to come up with an explanation.
But then, she suddenly remembered something she’d forgotten and frowned.
“Let’s go out when it gets a bit darker. Otherwise, people will misunderstand you.”
Leandros, whose eyes had been sparkling with curiosity, let out an “Ah” as he understood.
Yeorae caressed her swollen cheek and smiled. Her face belatedly flushed with heat.
Truly, it was a Sunday morning like no other.
***
Yeorae took a taxi for the first time in a while.
Leandros, who had been tense, fixed his gaze on the window as soon as the taxi started moving. His eyes darted about wildly, following the rapidly passing city lights.
“It’s amazing how such a heap of scrap metal can move this fast. The more I see of this world, the more fascinating it is. And this isn’t even magic.”
“There’s scrap metal that moves even faster underground.”
“U-underground?”
“There’s even some that fly through the sky. Carrying hundreds of people.”
“F-flying?! With people on board?!”
Leandros let out a loud cry, and Yeorae quickly covered his mouth.
When the taxi driver glanced back at them through the rearview mirror again, Yeorae awkwardly smiled and used her hair to cover her left cheek.
‘Maybe I should’ve just gone somewhere closer……’
She’d already lost count of how many times they’d locked eyes.
Then again, a blond foreigner speaking an unfamiliar language and a woman with a swollen cheek—it was a strange combination. Even she would stare at that.
Soon, they got out of the taxi, and the salty sea breeze blew across their faces.
They had come to the beach closest to home.
“Sorry. I wanted to show you somewhere special, but I’m not the type who goes out much, so this is all I know.”
“I like it.”
Beneath the hood pulled low over his head, Leandros’s Adam’s apple visibly moved. A gentle smile lingered on his lips.
Before they knew it, night had fallen, and the horizon and the sky had blurred together like a watercolor painting.
She had deliberately chosen sunset to show him a pretty scene, but she hadn’t expected night to fall so quickly.
“The sea’s not much different from the one in our world. Vast and serene.”
“That’s how all seas are. I come here sometimes when my mind feels cluttered. Just staring at the horizon helps calm me down……. W-well, not that you can see it right now.”
The hand that had pointed to the horizon dropped aimlessly.
She shoved her hands into her pockets and sniffled in embarrassment.
Leandros’s pleasant voice fell gently on her shoulder.
“But aren’t there stars in this world? The evening sky is as black as silk.”
“There are, you just can’t see them. In cities, the streetlights and building lights drown out the starlight. But if you go far out, like to Mongolia or the desert, you can see a ton of stars.”
“Mongolia?”
“It’s a country. Takes about four hours by plane from here. When I was little, my family traveled there, and it was the first time I saw the Milky Way. A huge Milky Way. I seriously thought it was a photo.”
Yeorae spread her arms wide and laughed heartily.
Leandros gently touched the bandage on her cheek with a warm smile.
“I want to scoop the Milky Way from my sky and give it to you.”
Headlights from a passing car shimmered across Leandros’s sharp features.
Yeorae stared blankly at the sight before hastily pulling her phone from her back pocket and taking a photo.
“……What are you suddenly doing?”
“So I can remember you after you’re gone. If I’d known, I would’ve taken a few more shots sooner.”
She showed him the photo she’d taken.
Leandros groaned when he saw himself on the screen, but unlike before, he wasn’t all that surprised. After seeing so many strange things, he’d become somewhat desensitized.
And yet, for some reason, sadness began to slowly fill his previously calm eyes. He whispered with a trembling voice.
“I want to take you with me too.”
“Once you go back to your world, you’ll forget someone like me in no time. I bet the girls around you are all twice as pretty and amazing as me.”
“You’re prettier, Noona”
“Ugh, seriously, since last night you keep saying…… A-and stop calling me noona*……”
Yeorae covered her face with both hands, blushing fiercely.
‘I wish you could stay by my side forever.’
The words rose to the tip of her throat. But she clamped her lips shut and swallowed them down hard.
All events are bound to return to their rightful place according to the laws of physics. This could never happen anyway, and she didn’t want to make his departure sadder by revealing such a selfish desire.
Just then, a gentle warmth wrapped around Yeorae’s wrists. Between her slightly parted fingers, Leandros’s mysterious eyes came into view.
“……”
Surprisingly, he seemed to be thinking the exact same thing as she was.
Like interlocking gears finding their place again, Leandros’s transparent heart flowed into Yeorae’s like a river.
Then suddenly, a cold droplet landed on her forehead.
‘……Rain?’
The few drops quickly turned into a rough downpour.
Their clothes were soaked in an instant. The mist rising from the concrete ground was so thick that it became hard to see ahead.
“That’s strange. There wasn’t any mention of rain today.”
In the distance, pedestrians who had been out for a nighttime stroll were now dashing for shelter.
“We should hurry and go inside too!”
Her lips were starting to tremble from the cold. Yeorae hastily pulled her jacket over herself and reached out toward where Leandros was.
But there was nothing there.
Her hand passed through empty air several times. Alarmed, she turned around with a sense of foreboding.
“……Leandros?”
A car’s headlights flashed as it passed through the white mist. But the person who should’ve been in that light was gone.
Yeorae forced her stiff neck to lower.
The clothes she had bought for him lay crumpled on the ground like a shed skin, proving he was no longer there.
.
.
.
All events are bound to return to their rightful place according to the laws of physics.
One of the once-interlocked gears had fallen away.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
