Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: An Irreversible Misunderstanding
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"That's... I meant that you should be more careful... more wary. Not in the literal sense..."
Even as she answered, Glacia's heart wavered greatly.
She couldn't understand why Han Cheon-seong was clinging to her words so tenaciously. Just then, his image filled her sight.
"..."
The way Han Cheon-seong's gaze sank.
And to her, it was a look that felt a little frightening.
Their recent conversation was different from usual.
She couldn't shake the feeling that Han Cheon-seong, who had always treated her gently and calmly, had suddenly changed.
"Can you kiss me?"
For a moment, she doubted her own ears.
"Han Cheon-seong...?"
As she blankly called his name, her mind felt adrift.
It had just been an impulsive remark.
Words she had spoken without thinking, words she hadn't meant. Above all, there was no way she and Han Cheon-seong would ever do something like that.
...She had only said it because she felt he was being unguarded and wanted him to be more careful.
"Glacia. I asked if you *can*."
"I already t-told you. I didn't mean it like that."
"Well, it doesn't feel that way to me."
*Thump.* As Han Cheon-seong replied nonchalantly, his eyes stared coldly at me.
His dark eyes seemed to pierce right through me, and every word he spoke felt so spiteful.
"What do you mean, it didn't feel that way...?"
I found myself asking without thinking.
"Exactly what I said."
His cold words made it hard to even move my lips.
*'Something... is strange.'*
The sudden change was bewildering, and I felt as if I had answered something incorrectly.
The sight of Han Cheon-seong felt alien. He wasn't like this just a moment ago; how could his attitude change so drastically?
I believed the reason lay in the words I'd spoken.
The words telling him to be careful and wary of Instructor Kalli.
*'I...'*
I didn't think I had said anything wrong.
I had said it out of pure concern for Han Cheon-seong, and the look in Instructor Kalli's eyes was filled with the kind of emotion lovers have when they look at someone.
And that shouldn't be.
I couldn't be certain, but just feeling that emotion made me think Instructor Kalli was dangerous.
Besides, in the relationship between an instructor and a cadet, the cadet usually has a hard time asserting themselves. The Han Cheon-seong I knew might inadvertently accept Instructor Kalli.
It was all a ridiculous thought, but if by some chance it did happen, I thought it wouldn't be good.
"Han Cheon-seong."
"Yeah."
"...Did I say something wrong?"
Even as I spoke, I felt a truly strange mix of emotions.
I had only said it out of worry, yet it felt like Han Cheon-seong was continuously pushing me away.
"I'm not going to say you did anything wrong. It's just that the things you said to me have been bothering me."
"Don't... talk so strangely."
"What did I say that was strange?"
"I want you to tell me exactly why you're being like this. Why my words upset you, or why they're bothering you—all of it."
As I kept speaking, my heart felt heavy with frustration.
This wasn't right.
This wasn't the situation I wanted when I spoke.
"There's not much to say. It's just that your words felt strange. The fact that we're friends, and whether that's really true... I'm not really sure myself. I don't know what you want me to tell you."
As Han Cheon-seong finished speaking and gently lowered his gaze, my heart felt like it plummeted.
*'Strange...'*
Han Cheon-seong was being so strange.
And my own feelings as I looked at him were different than before.
I'd always had a good time with him, thinking the comfortable, enjoyable feeling was the coziness of being with a friend.
Now, all those feelings were gone.
In place of those good feelings, I felt impatient and needlessly anxious.
Above all, I felt a distance, as if our hearts weren't connecting. It was an indescribable feeling.
It was an intensely unpleasant emotion.
I had no idea what Han Cheon-seong wanted from me.
"..."
Then, I suddenly realized where Han Cheon-seong's gaze was directed.
No longer meeting my eyes, his lowered gaze was aimed slightly downward. And I subconsciously realized.
*'My lips...?'*
I flinched without realizing it.
Han Cheon-seong's gaze was definitely on my lips. Then, it naturally came to mind.
*—Even if I kissed you right now, would you accept it?*
The words I had unintentionally spoken.
...That Han Cheon-seong was still thinking about them.
"Haa."
A deep sigh escaped me, and for a moment, no words came out.
"No, it's fine. Just forget what I said before. Acting like this feels so... futile. Glacia. Should we just go for a walk?"
As Han Cheon-seong suddenly shook his head with what looked like an empty smile... my heart pounded strangely.
"..."
And then, belatedly, I realized.
Han Cheon-seong, who, unlike usual, kept clinging to my words. Thinking back, his constant questioning felt strongly like he wanted to hear something specific from me.
And during that, he repeatedly asked if we were really friends and said my words were strange.
...And that was.
"Glacia? If I seemed a little strange... I hope you can just forget it."
Watching Han Cheon-seong smile awkwardly, I subconsciously clenched my fists.
*Rustle.*
As my eyes fell on the pristine white cadet uniform crumpled by my hand... my heart surged even more.
*'Now, I finally...'*
I felt like I had finally understood what Han Cheon-seong wanted from me.
And why he had been acting this way toward me.
*'All this time, Han Cheon-seong has seen me as...'*
My breath hitched at the thought.
Because the words I'd uttered had struck a deep chord in his heart.
And the core reason our conversation had gone awry wasn't about Instructor Kalli. That was purely my own misunderstanding.
The reason the conversation went wrong...
Was because I had asked if he would accept my kiss.
"...Glacia? Is it because I'm acting so strangely?"
Even as his voice kept calling my name, I couldn't escape my thoughts.
Han Cheon-seong's voice continued to reach me, but my heart was shaking so violently that I couldn't organize my thoughts.
*'I've been treating Han Cheon-seong as a close friend.'*
But Han Cheon-seong's perception of me was different.
The actions I thought were me approaching a friend could have been taken in a completely different way by him.
"Sorry. The way I was acting toward you just now was because I was so frustrated."
So that was why he had been acting so strangely.
It felt like all the puzzle pieces were falling into place.
"...Han Cheon-seong."
As I opened my mouth in a daze, I could see his expression brighten slightly.
"I'll be honest now, too. You see, I... our relationship as friends..."
Seeing him return to his usual self, I reached out with both hands.
The answer... that Han Cheon-seong wanted from me.
He had already been expressing it continuously through his words and actions.
I was just too slow to realize it.
*Grab.*
As I cupped his face with both hands, I leaned my upper body forward.
"...!!"
Taking in the sight of his wide, startled eyes, I had no more hesitation.
Because I knew the answer.
***
"...Glacia? Is it because I'm acting so strangely?"
As he spoke, Cheon-seong realized.
—That a person could be so naturally oblivious to their own feelings.
—That it was possible for someone to be unaware of why they acted and spoke the way they did.
Amazingly, he could see it in Glacia.
Greatly flustered, Glacia had tried to accommodate me, even asking what she had done wrong.
And she had sincerely asked me to tell her... why it was bothering me.
So, I decided to stop acting based on my thoughts about Glacia.
*'It's truly unbelievable, but...'*
I knew she wasn't doing it intentionally. Now, just looking at Glacia made me feel a sense of futility.
"...Han Cheon-seong."
Her voice calling my name only complicated my feelings.
Even knowing that Glacia's feelings were in an ambiguous state, there was no answer to what I should do.
*'How could I...'*
Because I couldn't.
I was in a position where I could neither reject her nor accept her.
"I'll be honest now, too. You see, I... our relationship as friends..."
Having obtained a clue about the skill, Glacia had become an even more important existence to me. Someone I couldn't ostracize or ignore...
My train of thought...
*Rustle.*
...was completely severed when my face was suddenly grabbed.
And I had no time to react.
"...!!"
The moment I thought Glacia's approaching face was getting too close.
*Peck.*
The soft feeling on my lips made my body freeze solid.
It was so sudden, it felt like my mind was going completely blank.
"..."
And yet, Glacia's translucent eyes entered my vision. Her moist eyes were completely filled with me.
The time my lips were stolen by her, unable to do anything.
The moment, which felt like an eternity, passed before I knew it.
*Ssk...*
Her lips slowly parted from mine, and Glacia's face moved away.
"Th-that's as far as..."
Even as I watched her immediately straighten up and pull away...
I blankly brought a hand to my lips.
"..."