Want to Watch the Stars?
"Young lady, wait—just a moment..."
"..."
"My hand hurts..."
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Ever since we'd run into that man, Soye had been thoroughly furious, hauling me along by the hand in a grip that refused to loosen. When I told her it was starting to hurt, she apologized and let go.
I turned to her as she offered the apology.
"Why are you so angry...?"
"And what about you...! You're not angry? Even after hearing something like that?"
"I'm the sort of bastard who had it coming."
"That's—!"
She started to protest the way I tore myself down, but I stopped her. I held my hand out again and took hers—only this time I laced our fingers more tightly than before.
She looked more than a little startled. I spoke to her anyway.
"I'd rather enjoy this time than waste it on nonsense like that."
"Muwon..."
"It's gotten a little late."
Somewhere along the way the sky had darkened, and the last of the sunlight was sinking beyond its far edge. Knocking that man out, then hunting for a place where people's eyes wouldn't gather, had eaten what was left of the day.
"You're right."
Soye's face was a little dim as she answered. Her tone said she hated having to turn back when they'd barely had any fun at all.
I tugged on her hand.
"Thank you for escorting me all day. You worked hard."
"Escorting...?"
"Ah. Slip of the tongue. Think of it as showing me around."
"Oh... it was nothing. We hardly went anywhere."
"Hardly anywhere? It was a genuinely wonderful day."
"Even so..."
She ducked her head, plainly unsatisfied. I spoke to her.
"You've had a long day, so I'll take the lead for the last of it."
"...What?"
"I said I'll be the one to finish today off. Don't tell me that when a man and a woman go out together, you were already thinking of heading home."
"Ha—are you getting your revenge?"
"Yes. So you're not coming?"
"You call that a question? Of course I'm coming."
She caught my hand as if the very question were absurd, smiling with her eyes.
"Lead the way, then. Handsome young hero."
"Gladly. Beautiful young lady."
We traded titles mushy enough to make us cringe, teasing each other as we set off down the road.
"By the way, you can speak comfortably, Muwon. Like you said, you're a year older."
"Should I? Honestly, my mouth's been itching for a while."
"It must have been hard, holding that itch in."
"Well. Something like that."
We walked and joked for a good long while, and before I knew it we had arrived.
It was a small inn on the outskirts of the city. I'd dug through Jin Muwon's memories as far as they would go to find the place, and when we stepped inside, an empty tavern greeted us.
"Is this the right place?"
"Yeah. It looks a little shabby, but the food's good."
"If you say so..."
A man who seemed to be the owner came over and began to show us in.
"Welcome! Where shall I seat you?"
"A window seat on the second floor..."
"Yes, of course. And your order...?"
"Hmm."
In those memories, the noodles here had been the thing worth eating.
"Two of whatever noodle dish you're most confident in."
"Yes, understood. And to drink...?"
"Just something simple. Low proof. One bottle..."
I'd been about to order a bottle or two without thinking. I stopped and glanced sideways.
The sight of a fourteen-year-old girl who hadn't even fully shed her childish air shut my mouth before I knew it.
"No. Just water and tea, please."
"Yes, sir!"
"Let's head up."
"..."
Halfway up the stairs I looked over and found Soye watching me with a meaningful look.
"What? What is it?"
"You were about to order alcohol just now, weren't you?"
"Uh... uh?"
"You were going to ask for something low proof."
"I forgot you were fourteen..."
"I don't mind."
"No."
"What? I'm old enough to drink too..."
"No. I won't allow it."
She made it plain she wanted to drink with me. I refused in a tone that left no room.
"You're still too young to be drinking..."
"Tch. Anyone listening would think there were years between us."
"Just sit down."
We took the seats by the window and spent a moment on the view. A bamboo grove stood outside, and beyond it a small river ran.
"Well...?"
"I like it. The atmosphere, especially..."
"Right?"
In Jin Muwon's memories the place had remained as somewhere with a fine atmosphere, good food, and no people, which was why I'd sought it out. It was an even better inn than I'd expected. Better still, the server didn't even seem to know I was Jin Muwon, and so spared us the fuss.
"I didn't know you had a taste for places like this."
"Me neither. I didn't know I had this kind of hobby. When I'm with you, everything feels like the first time."
"I thought so from the moment we met. You do say interesting things."
"Good thing you like them."
Before long the finished noodles arrived on our table. Soye tasted them and spoke.
"Mm! Delicious...! This is easily one of the best bowls of noodles I've ever had."
"See? It only looks shabby. The skill is the real thing."
"I don't love how smug you are, but I'll grant you this once."
She said so, and yet the face she made as she drank her tea looked reasonably satisfied. I watched her.
"This tea is really bitter, though."
"Tea's supposed to be bitter... bear with it a little."
"I know that. But this seems a bit too bitter..."
"It's fine, it's fine. Good medicine is bitter, isn't it?"
"All right."
The meal was more or less finished when Soye suddenly complained of dizziness.
"Muwon~, my head's a little dizzy..."
"Dizzy?"
At the sudden words I hurried over and began to check her condition.
A martial artist is far stronger than an ordinary person, and that includes the immunity that fights off germs and illness. If someone like that complained of a headache or muscle pain, it meant their condition was more serious than it sounded.
"Let me see."
I moved to the seat beside her and slowly looked her over.
Pulse is normal, and the flow of her inner energy is natural... Other than that, there's a little more muscle on her...? Don't tell me—!!
The moment I grasped her secret, I hastily drank from the tea she'd been sipping. A bitterness nothing like tea filled my mouth.
"This... is alcohol...?"
"Muwon~♥"
"So... Soye?"
Drunk, she latched onto me.
She's drunk...!
There hadn't been much of it, but the liquor was fairly strong. If you didn't hold your drink well, getting tipsy on it would have been no surprise at all.
Where is this strength coming from!
I tried to peel her off, and she didn't budge an inch. It was astonishing that a body this slender could produce force like that—but then, that was why people called her the greatest prodigy of the younger generation.
"Mmm~, do you hate me?"
"No. Can we talk after we let go?"
"No! I won't let go."
"Just—calm down for a second."
"Hmph! You keep pushing me away... This time I won't let you."
"So... I'll grant you a wish."
"A wish...?"
At the word wish, I felt the strength holding me begin to weaken.
Somehow I got her off me and turned to face her.
"I'll grant you a wish, so will you do as I say?"
"No take-backs..."
Soye nodded without another word, agreeing.
"Good. Then, my Soye, will you sit in a lotus position for me?"
"Okaaay."
She folded her legs as I'd asked. I took her arm, let a thread of inner energy flow in, and turned it lightly along her meridians.
"Try circulating your energy, just like that."
"..."
Silent, she sent her inner energy through one full cycle. Each time it went around, the flush on her face faded back toward its proper color.
No. Then it flushed all over again.
"If... if you've come to your senses, shall we go...?"
"...Yes."
I led her out of the inn, her answer so small it might have belonged to an ant, mortified.
"..."
"..."
The embarrassment hadn't faded. Soye said nothing at all.
Into that awkward quiet I took her hand without a word.
"Will you stay with me a little longer?"
"......Yes..."
I held the hand of the girl who couldn't quite look at me and walked on, calling up a place from Jin Muwon's memories.
I'm sure, in his memories... it was around here......? Huh?
I led her along for about ten minutes. Fortunately I'd remembered right. A wide field opened before us, and in the middle of that broad meadow one great tree stood guard over the spot.
"Muwon, where is this?"
"My secret place..."
Somewhere Jin Muwon used to come whenever his mood turned foul. Whenever he felt rotten, he'd sit in that huge tree and sleep, and the sourness would ease a little.
"Whenever I felt down, I used to look at the night sky from here."
"I'm fine."
Soye turned her head as if embarrassed and answered bluntly. It was cute enough that I wanted to tease her, but for now I decided to match her mood.
"I wanted to see a view this beautiful with you."
"If that's the reason... you're welcome anytime."
Leaning against the tree, Soye and I watched the stars from where we sat.
"Thank you... for getting angry for me earlier."
"It was nothing. It's only what a fiancée ought to do."
"Even so... The truth is, even in my own house I'm a child they've half given up on."
"Muwon..."
"So my family doesn't take my side either. Of course, if you think about how I've acted until now, that's only fair. But it was a little lonely. So..."
"When you got angry for me, I was really happy."
"..."
"I had a dream of watching the stars here with someone I like."
"...And?"
"Want to watch the stars with me?"
"Hehe~, gladly."
And so we watched the stars in the night sky together, our two hands held tight.
This is bad...
After a day spent with her, what I felt toward Soye had grown past anything I could call mere fondness.
I don't want to push her away anymore.
What was I supposed to do? Was I even allowed to hold on to someone like her?
A tangle of thoughts crowded my head. Even so, it was a night when the warmth in our joined hands warmed my mind as well.