Chapter 126
Chapter 126
When I chuckled at the sight, Sara glared at me. I was used to that face by now, so it wasn't particularly scary.
No, knowing how her mind works, it'd be more accurate to say it was actually cute.
Even among girls, casually touching each other's chests isn't common. It's the sort of thing that would only happen between people who are more than just friends.
...I mean, I was wearing that Renaissance-style outfit from last time, so any hand would hit thick lace before anything else. It wasn't a big deal.
"A-Anyway!"
Sara, the only one feeling awkward here, suddenly yelled.
Then she pointed a finger right at my face and said,
"If I don't like it, I'll say I don't like it, so don't you go making weird assumptions and beating yourself up over nothing! That's all I wanted to say!"
"Okay, okay."
My worries gone thanks to Sara, I answered with a smile.
Feeling a bit more at ease, I plopped down on the bed. Sara scurried over and took a seat next to me.
"......."
"......."
We were silent for a while.
"......But,"
I spoke first.
Sara had said it was all right, but that was about what I'd done in her body. It wasn't about the people who had been around Sara before.
The friends were just friends, nothing really to question there, but the matter of Yang Hye-in was different.
People who had clearly wronged Sara. How did she feel about them?
"How would you like to handle this?"
"......."
At my question, Sara went silent in thought.
Outwardly she seemed calm, which put my mind at ease a bit, but I still felt uneasy asking; this was the reason Sara had given up on life, after all.
"......I've thought about this too, you know."
Sara, who had been lost in thought for a long time, finally spoke up.
Her gaze was fixed straight ahead. She seemed to still be mulling it over even as she talked.
"Actually, I'm not sure either."
"......Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Sara nodded, then turned her face toward me.
I didn't see deep anguish or torment there.
She just looked confused.
Like she didn't know how to think about this, or how to act.
"I've never really had proper conversations with people before... So I don't know what to do with someone who wronged me, or how to act with someone who apologizes to me."
"Though, I haven't received an apology yet."
I didn't know exactly what Yang Hye-in was thinking, but she seemed to have the will to apologize.
The problem was, she also had no idea how to apologize.
I was angry when I first heard the story, but after calming down a little and thinking it over, I thought, maybe she wants to finish all the legal matters first and formally apologize properly at the very end.
I don't know what she was like in the past, but now she was definitely someone on Sara's side.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it."
"......Sorry."
When I apologized to Sara, who was pouting at me, she let out a heavy sigh.
"But... I can't just leave this kind of thing to you every time it happens."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"......."
Sara, still looking dissatisfied,
"Because the reason I'm leaving this life to you right now is that you claim this is 'your life'."
She said that.
Ah, right. That was true.
The reason I'm moving this body right now is because Sara said the relationships I'd built were not 'her life,' but 'my life.' So, handling the relationships I'd made was my responsibility.
But the matter of Yang Hye-in... I'd had some influence, sure, but if you traced it back to the root cause, it was part of the 'original Sara's' life.
Of course, all those relationships were created without any regard for Sara's wishes.
Mostly by Choi Na-kyung.
......And the emotions I feel whenever I get close to Choi Na-kyung all stem from the past between Sara and Choi Na-kyung.
"......This is my life, after all."
Sara spoke with a bit of difficulty.
"At the very least, I should take responsibility for my own life. I can't push it all onto you."
"......."
That was definitely the answer I wanted to hear.
It was the answer I'd wanted to hear, but....
"......Will you be okay?"
I hadn't wished to hear it in this kind of situation.
I had hoped that in a slightly more normal and happy situation, Sara would say she wanted to come back too.
This makes it look like I'm just pushing the difficult parts onto you.
"You idiot. What are you thinking?"
"Huh?"
Sara got annoyed, as if she'd read my mind.
"Of course I don't want to do it either. Most of my past is from a time I absolutely hated. But if I can't deal with this, we won't be able to maintain the life we have now, will we?"
Sara turned her head away, propped her elbows on her crossed legs, and rested her chin on her hands.
Then, after hesitating a little, she spoke.
"......Because I like the life we have now, too. F-Friends are nice, I get to eat whatever I want... I like getting healthier too... and..."
Sara's voice grew quieter the more she spoke,
"......is nice, too."
until the last part was barely audible.
"Huh? Sorry, I didn't catch that last part."
"A-Anyway, I said it's good!"
When I cupped my hand to my ear and asked, Sara yelled out loud.
"Anyway!"
And after shouting once more,
"So I'll cooperate this time!"
She made that declaration.
"Cooperate?"
At my question, Sara took a deep breath, then let it out all at once, as if rushing the words out.
"Give me the body for a moment. Don't get the wrong idea. Once everything is resolved, I'm going back inside."
"......Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Of course I won't."
Sara turned her head away with a huff, as if sulking.
"......But this is something I have to handle. And...."
Sara placed her hand on top of mine, which was resting on the bed, as if to add,
"And, wherever I go, you're coming with me, aren't you?"
"......Yeah."
I nodded.
"......."
"......."
And we were both silent for a while.
"Ah, but to swap, we have to ask Ha-neul again. Is that okay with you?"
"Do you really have to bring that up right now in this situation!?"
*
"H-Hey, Ha-neul."
"Hmm?"
Sunday morning.
Things had been a little awkward yesterday, but Ha-neul faithfully kept her word to stay the night. She'd probably leave today as usual, but only after dinner.
So we had time together, just the two of us. Plenty of time, but....
The problem was, what I needed to ask her to do was the sort of thing that's 'pretty hard to do in front of others.'
It might not go all the way to an actual kiss, but it was essentially an act that had to go right up to the point of kissing.
And I wasn't even sure if just a kissing pose would work. To bring out 'the most intense memories and emotions,' we'd need to press our bodies as close together as possible, not just bring our lips near.
......And no matter how you slice it, that's kind of hard to do in front of the other girls.
Ah, right—sure, both Sara and I did climb on top of Ha-neul in the middle of the classroom.
And So-hee saw it when Sara climbed on top.
Our friends at least knew it was to recover lost memories. Though they didn't know that the personality itself was switching.
......But that's exactly why they absolutely cannot see this.
Because if they saw us striking that pose again after we'd already recovered the memories, they might really misunderstand this time.
I don't care about myself. But I didn't want to make things hard for Sara and Ha-neul.
That's why I deliberately brought this up with Ha-neul this early in the morning.
Even So-hee, who sticks by me almost 24/7, wasn't around in the early morning. She had a few things to prepare before starting her maid duties.
And I'd told Su-a to wash up first. Since I'd already dried Su-a's hair before, Su-a went to shower without much suspicion.
Of course, this window with just Ha-neul and me alone wasn't going to last long. Naturally, I had to resolve it as quickly as possible.
......Though it felt very wrong to describe pressing our bodies together and going right up to the point of kissing as if I were just popping to the bathroom.
That's why I hurriedly spoke to Ha-neul.
"H-Ha-neul. Well... it seems..."
"Yeah, it seems?"
......I tried to speak quickly.
......But the thing is, you see.
In my past life, I was a scaredy-cat who had never once confessed to a girl. There was no way I could suddenly work up the courage to tell a girl, 'I want to press my body against yours and go right up to the point of rubbing lips.' The hurdle was way too high.
Some might say it's nonsense to bring that up now, but I'd been in a hurry back then too.
And I didn't use words back then. I used actions.
I could get away with it because it was something I'd done thoughtlessly before any proper relationship had formed. But if I'd been in a situation where I had to verbally say, 'Hold me'...
......Of course I couldn't have done it.
No, more than that—my original intention was just to have our bodies touching, but later on, Ha-neul took the lead and moved my body around this way and that. Even I had my excuses.
"Well, I talked to Sara last night, and it seems like we need to switch places..."
"Ah."
Still, I forced the words out.
As if she understood me instantly, Ha-neul looked blank for a moment,
"Okay, got it!"
and immediately agreed.
Thank goodness Ha-neul is so kind.
Ha-neul immediately went to the bed and plopped down.
A bed isn't narrow like a chair, so I'd probably have to fold my knees to climb on top of her, but whatever. I was just grateful she agreed.
However, as I started moving toward Ha-neul, I froze stiff and stopped at her next action.
Sitting on the bed, Ha-neul just flopped backward onto her back.
"Here, come on!"
Ha-neul shouted.
"......."
Um....
If I climb on top of that... won't it look like I'm pinning you down after you were just sitting on the bed...?