Yuri, You Too?
This atmosphere is hard to interrupt...
Crash! Bang!
Rough, violent noises kept pouring out from inside the room. Charlotte stood by the door with her hands clasped behind her back and clicked her tongue.
A low, bone-chilling creak followed—clearly the sound of a throat being strangled. Yet there was no scream, not even a single pained groan. All that drifted out was the soft, repeated sound of someone stroking a head, as if soothing some great beast.
I always thought they got along terribly...
Every time Sister Irene and Mister crossed paths, the air turned murderous, so Charlotte had assumed their relationship was pure ice. Lately, though, that didn't seem to be the whole story. Even if they hated each other, maybe family was just like that. Having never known a family of her own, she found it hard to grasp.
Should I just imagine Yuri or Yulia instead?
She had no real family, but Yuri and Yulia were the closest things she had. What if one of them suddenly snapped and came flying at her like a madwoman? Ah—then she would probably just stand there and take it all, the same way Mister was doing right now. The moment she put herself in his shoes, understanding clicked into place with a bright little ohhh.
Once you become Mister's family, he covers for you no matter what.
She felt a sudden, sharp envy toward Sister Irene. Of course she knew Mister doted on her too—but the flavor of it was different somehow. Anyway, an unnameable jealousy kept bubbling up inside her.
Ah!? They're coming out!
The door creaked. Charlotte darted into the shadows and clamped a hand over her mouth. Aslan and Irene strode past toward the laboratory—probably to finish yesterday's unfinished experiment. From Aslan's back she could see the dense scatter of fresh wounds. Looking at them made her chest ache for no good reason; tears prickled at the corners of her eyes.
"I hate anyone who hurts Mister..."
She hated seeing him in pain. So she couldn't exactly like Sister Irene either. Yet watching him protect her so fiercely made pure hatred impossible. What was this feeling—resentment and envy tangled together?
Pouting, Charlotte decided to go find the first-aid kit. She simply could not stand the sight of those wounds; the moment the experiment ended she was going to wrap him in bandages herself.
By the time Irene emerged from the lab with swollen, red-rimmed eyes, Charlotte had already raced to the kit and wound bandages around her own body as thickly as possible. He'd looked like he had a lot of cuts, so better to bring plenty...!
I'm too late...
She had moved the second Irene left; she should have been first. Instead she found a single tiny adhesive bandage lying forlornly in front of the closed door and her whole face fell. Yulia had beaten her to it.
The scene inside was easy to picture. Yulia would have barged in with an armful of every bandage she had been hoarding from magazines, plastering them all over Mister while casually lying, "I just happened to be carrying these because I knew something like this might happen." Charlotte knew perfectly well that Yulia normally carried only one or two. The moment she spotted the wounds she must have stuffed every last bandage from her drawer into her pockets and sprinted over. Yulia only ever moved that fast at times like this...
Huh. Should I just leave them alone?
Annoyance made her reach for the handle—then her hand froze. Was barging in right now actually wrong? Yulia was alone with Mister, sticking bandages on his wounds—a ridiculously romantic situation. Leaving them alone would be the proper way to support Yulia and Mister's marriage, wouldn't it? She had promised to help Yulia. She had sworn to help her friend's tender feelings bear fruit. So of course she shouldn't interfere...
And yet her heels kept bouncing; an irresistible urge to throw the door open kept rising.
What is this feeling now...
The laboratory door sealed off every sound and scrap of light. Nothing leaked through. Still, to Charlotte it felt as though the door had turned transparent: she could see Yulia laughing and teasing, hear the bright chatter. She was supposed to be happy. Her friend's love was progressing smoothly; she ought to feel proud. So why did her chest sting and ache like this?
Faced with a phenomenon she could neither name nor explain, Charlotte stood frozen in confusion—until a voice spoke right behind her.
"Charlotte, what are you doing there? Wrapped head-to-toe in bandages..."
"Hyaak!?"
"Wow, you actually jumped. That's rare..."
The hand on her shoulder made Charlotte leap nearly a foot in the air. It was Yuri. Yuri was right—Charlotte almost never startled at people anymore. Ever since she started swinging the Jjang-sseh-jjang-sseh-geom, she could sense nearly any moving object within a hundred meters. For Yuri to sneak up right behind her meant her mind had been completely elsewhere.
"What's going on?"
"Umm, well... I don't know what I should do. Logically I know I should just stay put... and that should be what I want... but my feelings aren't listening. My chest feels all tight and my body keeps fidgeting... What do I do?"
"...?"
Yuri tilted her head at the baffling question. Charlotte, who usually charged first and thought later, was actually agonizing over something? Was this the Charlotte she knew? Had Charlotte ever been the type to think before acting? The whole thing felt so un-Charlotte-like that Yuri was briefly dumbfounded. Still, because of that, she didn't feel like answering with a joke. If the girl who always moved on pure impulse was this conflicted, it had to be important.
"Hmm. Why not just follow your feelings?"
"What? How can a person just do whatever they feel like?"
"...That's literally what you always do."
How can a person just do whatever they feel like? That was Charlotte on a normal day. Yuri almost snorted in disbelief.
"That's exactly why I'm stuck—because this is important, so I figure I shouldn't just follow my mood."
"What makes you so sure that staying still is the right move?"
"Huh? Grounds? Well..."
"Isn't that just another feeling? An old feeling. And now the feeling has changed."
"Ah! You're right! That sounds right!"
"Then just stay true to the principle of following your feelings. When the feeling changes, act differently. That's all."
"Aha...!"
Charlotte's face lit up at last. Of course—how could anyone's actions stay perfectly consistent all the time? People got moody and changed their minds! Fighting that wasn't integrity; it was just stubbornness!
"Thanks, Yuri! I feel so much better now! No more stewing by myself!"
"Eep..."
Enlightened, Charlotte threw her arms around Yuri in a crushing hug. Yuri's face went scarlet at the sudden contact. Th-this kind of thing she should do with Yulia... She preferred watching from the sidelines rather than joining in herself...
"Uuuu..."
"All right! Time to go in!"
By the time Yuri had melted into a limp puddle, Charlotte released her and flung the door wide open.
"Ah, what do I do...!"
"I knew this would happen—behold my entrance!"
The moment the door swung open, the scene that greeted her was Yulia fretting because she had run out of bandages, and Aslan with roughly half his wounds already plastered over. Heh! She knew she would be needed!
Charlotte congratulated herself for opening the door and casually wiped her nose. Yuri had been absolutely right. Better to charge in on impulse first. Feeling free was way better than standing around with a mysteriously tight chest. Sitting still and quietly suffering over something you didn't understand was the kind of hopelessly dense thing only Yulia would do. Helping Yulia was fine and all, but she herself came first.
Feeling the stuffy weight finally leave her chest, Charlotte began unwrapping her own bandages and winding them around Aslan's forearm.
So then... why did leaving Yulia alone with Mister make my chest feel so tight...?
As she absently stroked Aslan's thick arm, the question rose again. She glanced up and met his eyes. While she was blankly staring, his free hand reached out.
"Umm? How do you even tie this? I don't get it. I've never been hurt before..."
"Give it here. Hold the other end steady."
"Ah, yes...!"
They pulled the bandage taut, and the distance between them naturally closed until they were nearly embracing. Over Aslan's shoulder she caught sight of Yulia watching them with a hollow expression. Every time her body brushed against Mister's, Yulia looked ready to burst into tears. A strange thrill shot through Charlotte at that sight, leaving her flustered and lost.
She had definitely decided to help Yulia... so why was she sabotaging her and enjoying it so much?
Come to think of it, this wasn't the first time. She had been interfering like this all along. Consciously she had denied it, but unconsciously she had never been able to stop herself from getting in the way. Why on earth...?
Ah... now I get it...
The brief torment of that inexplicable thrill lasted only a moment. Charlotte understood its true nature at once and gave a bitter little smile. She really was a terrible person. The form had just been different. She liked Mister too. The ache in her chest hadn't been anything else—it was jealousy. Once she realized that, every mysterious mood swing she had ever felt suddenly made perfect sense.
"...!?"
In that instant a chill ran down Charlotte's spine. She sensed a sharp, freezing aura she had never felt before and flicked her eyes toward the doorway. An intense gaze pressed against her through the crack of the door.
No way... Yuri, you too...?
Was Yuri after Mister as well...?
Charlotte was left momentarily speechless with shock.
Just when had Yuri managed to fall for him!?