Terraforming
“...I’ve already passed the mid-rankings, so I don’t really need these anymore.”
*Crunch crunch*
“Then we wouldn’t have our secret nightly meetings anymore, right?”
“Ah?! W-well, that’s...”
Chris, her face flushing red with embarrassment, was utterly adorable. By now, the two of us had grown accustomed to sneaking behind the building every night for our clandestine rendezvous. Sometimes we’d just quietly enjoy each other’s company, other times we’d chat about nothing in particular. It seemed Chris had come to find these moments with me comforting.
The air between us grew sweeter with each passing day—this was the sugary tension that flowed between man and woman. It went without saying that Chris was aware of me. I’d realized it long ago and had been dropping hints in moments like this. Approaching her too suddenly as a man might make her panic, after all.
“You wouldn’t like that?”
*...nod.*
Chris, lacking the courage to take that next step, meekly nodded at my words. Even that much probably took a great deal of bravery for her. Right now, she was the timid type who couldn’t even get along well with her roommates. I’d already asked Gerard to put me on the same team as Chris for group training—and to add Brack as well. In the future, Brack and Chris had seemed close enough to call battle comrades, but by looking after Chris, I might have altered that timeline. There was no need to introduce unnecessary variables that could ripple into the future.
I wanted to at least make sure Brack and Chris knew each other well enough to nod in passing.
“All done eating? Time to head back soon...”
“Um... Chanyoung?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you... listen to me for a bit? Like counseling?”
Our rendezvous stretched longer at Chris’s request. I nodded gently and waited patiently by her side for her to speak.
“...”
A little time passed, but I didn’t rush her. She’d mustered the resolve to ask for counseling, but now that it was time to open up, her courage seemed to wane. In moments like this, all I had to do was wait quietly. I wasn’t in any hurry. Besides, just silently watching Chris like this was entertaining in its own way. Her fidgeting fingertips struggling to summon courage, her face openly betraying her hesitation, her pupils darting across my features in the thick darkness, convinced I wouldn’t notice—they all radiated pure innocence that made her irresistibly cute.
The faint freckles, barely visible now that her makeup had worn off since that first day, peeked through. Nearly a month in, her dyed hair roots had grown out, revealing hints of crimson. I could no longer deny that the Chris before me was the Gwangnyeon of seven years from now.
“Ah...”
Had I stared too obviously? She seemed to notice my gaze lingering on her hair. Enough time had passed for her eyes to adjust to the dark. She didn’t react much, though. Instead, as if that were the signal, she parted her small, tightly shut lips and began to speak.
“...My hair. My hair’s naturally orange.”
“Dyed it to look cool?”
*Shake shake.*
“...It’s a little different. You know? You’re the first real friend I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Hm... I don’t want to stop at just ‘friends,’ but this doesn’t seem like the time for that. Keep going—I’m listening.”
“Eek!... U-uh... Yeah... Um...”
*Ahem!*
Startled by my words, Chris cleared her throat to regain her composure.
“I... um... I was seriously bullied. Have you heard, Chanyoung? The slur they use for people with Irish blood... orange hair and freckles.”
“...You mean ‘ginger’?”
Damn. I hadn’t considered that. To think she’d faced racial discrimination back on Earth... I knew there were groups like East Asians, Black people, gingers, gypsies that got discriminated against—it was just abstract knowledge. The media spotlight usually fell on East Asians and Black people. Discrimination against gingers barely got attention. It hardly existed in big cities. But in some rural American towns with small populations, severe racism toward gingers still thrived.
“Yeah... I was born in a really rural area... so it was... pretty tough.”
“But your freckles are barely noticeable.”
“...Our family was the only one with Irish blood in that village...”
So the bullying had zeroed in on them... I could guess why she’d ended up with such a timid personality.
“I thought my hair and freckles were the reason I got bullied. So...”
“You dyed it and wore makeup? To hide your skin and hair color?”
*Nod.*
“...Did it work?”
“...For the first few days, I thought so. Everyone suddenly turned nice once I changed my hair color...”
“...”
“The first few days...” Her past-tense phrasing told me the outcome.
“But turns out they were just treating me like a toy... When I wasn’t around, they’d... secretly take pictures of me... mock me... and... hup!”
Overwhelmed by emotion, Chris couldn’t finish. In the darkness, I saw moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes.
*‘Hoo...’*
I closed my eyes and suppressed a sigh. I knew. I’d seen the effect of her trait, Compassion.
*‘...The penalty was that she trusts people too easily, right?’*
“...A week later, they started bullying me again. Worse than before... Then they’d pretend to be nice... trick me... act nice again... trick me... over and over...”
Chris tilted her head skyward to stem the tears. I watched her silently.
“So... stupid, right... Hic!... Knowing I was being fooled... but letting myself get fooled... I just... hated myself... Snf!”
*Swish...*
“Eek? ...!”
Chris tumbled into my arms. I’d approached and gently embraced her. Whispering softly into her ear to reassure her, I said,
“Keep going.”
“Uh... uh?... This is...”
“This way, I won’t see you crying.”
“...”
There were dozens of ways to hide her tears from me without burying herself in my arms, but Chris seemed to like this one best. Soon, her tense, rigid body relaxed, leaning into my chest.
*Drip...*
“...You’re totally seducing me right now.”
“Yeah.”
“...You must’ve had tons of dating experience back on Earth, Chanyoung.”
“Nah. I got bullied in school too, you know?”
Chris’s body jolted in surprise against me. Her face was buried in my collarbone, so I couldn’t see her expression, but she was clearly shocked.
“Ch-Chanyoung? No way, I can’t believe it.”
“It’s true. Up until right before coming to this world, I didn’t have a single friend on Earth.”
I really didn’t. Not as Park Chanyoung, anyway. No lies there.
*Swish!*
Still in my arms, Chris pulled back slightly to look at my face. Her eyes were wide—she clearly didn’t buy it.
“Liar. But Chanyoung, you’re... super handsome. You must’ve been popular...”
“By that logic, you’re gorgeous too, but you still got bullied.”
“G-gorge—ahem! Really?... Uh... Anyway! In my case... even if I looked normal, it was because of the blood in my veins...!”
“But you wanna keep staring at each other’s faces like this? It’s getting hard for me to hold back at this distance.”
To cut off her awkward question, I threw out something provocative, staring piercingly at her soft-looking lips. Even slightly apart, she was still in my arms—our faces were less than 15cm apart. Close enough to feel each other’s warm breath. Stay silent like this for three seconds, and the mood would turn into a kiss.
One second. Two seconds.
“Eek!”
*Smush!*
Realizing what I meant, Chris flushed beet red and dove back into my arms. Her tiny face pressed against my collarbone again.
*‘Hm... Diving back in is passing grade enough, right?’*
She’d clearly forgotten the option of just pulling away. She was so cute that I loosened my arms a bit before wrapping them around her shoulders again.
“...Mm...”
“What’s that sound?”
“Y-your arm suddenly came up, so I got... startled... Anyway! You smell really nice, Chanyoung. It’s unique.”
“Yeah?”
“Here, we only have soap—no shampoo or body wash... but you smell good.”
I used shampoo, body wash, and full-body lotion, so of course. But Chris couldn’t distinguish natural body scent from perfumer-crafted fragrance. Especially after training and one bath at the camp—not overpowering at all. Play it cool and brush it off.
“Yeah? Thanks.”
“D-do I not smell?”
“Hmm...”
I leaned down, bringing my face to her shoulder as if to sniff—really just to tease her a little.
“Kyaa—eek! Don’t! Don’t sniff!”
*Squirm squirm.*
“Haha, got it. I won’t. So just stay still like this.”
*Squeeze.*
I hugged the wriggling Chris tighter to keep her from escaping. Trusting my words, she stopped resisting.
“S-so... I’m your first friend, Chanyoung?”
“That’s right.”
Anzelli was a lover, Blanc and Lee Kangin became friends seven years later. Baby Angel... was ambiguous.
“Hnn... R-really...”
“Like I said earlier, I don’t wanna stay just friends...”
“W-wait! You went through that in school and you’re still so bold...? Amazing.”
“Hm... I got over it pretty well, I guess.”
“...Cool.”
“That’s just rose-tinted glasses.”
“Hehe. Is it?”
I worried “rose-tinted glasses” might not translate since it was Korean-specific, but Chris got it fine. She trembled lightly in my arms, chuckling softly.
Lately, I’d been openly showing Chris my affection. Not saying it outright, but radiating the intent to be lovers. Yet every time, she’d change the subject. I’d thought it was shyness before, but now I realized it wasn’t.
“Are you scared? Of me acting like this.”
“Ah... Honestly... I have a bit of... tr-trauma about fully trusting people. I know with my head that you’re not like that, Chanyoung, but... yeah... it scares me...”
“Then wanna stay friends until you’re ready?”
*Jolt!*
“...C-can we? Isn’t that too good for me?... You’re a guy and... you wanna do couple stuff...”
“It’s fine.”
Trauma was like that—something you knew about but couldn’t control, hence why it’s a disorder. Still, I felt the day we’d become official lovers wasn’t far off. I’d make it happen.
To hasten it a little, I whispered in her ear.
“In the West, friends kiss as a greeting, right?”
“Wha?... Wha?... S-some friends do, but... usually it’s family...”
“So they do it.”
“It’s not a lip kiss—it’s a light cheek kiss!”
“Maybe super close friends do it on the lips too?”
“Not where I lived...!”
“Cheek then?”
Cheek was fine by me—that’d been the goal. Pretending to aim for lips to negotiate a midpoint. But my cheek-kiss plan went awry.
“...”
“Chris?”
“D-due to my personal issues, I put off answering... and if you can... h-hold back on that, Chanyoung...”
*Gasp...!*
“I-it’s... okay... even on the... lips...”
Her last words were a mosquito’s whisper, but I heard them clearly. No panic or hesitation from the plan’s derailment. I released my right arm from around her, cupping her right cheek. Gently pulling her close body back a bit, I adjusted her head to the perfect angle.
*Swish...*
Gazing at Chris’s face—eyes brimming with myriad emotions—I slowly lowered my head. Our faces drew near, her beautiful lashes fluttering shut. Soon, our lips met.
“Mm...”
The silent touch parted silently. Soft and light, like a typical cheek kiss.
*Cling!*
Chris clung to me again, forehead against my chest. Her ears burned scarlet. I could picture her expression without looking.
“Here, turn your head a bit.”
“Hm?...”
*Swish.*
I turned her face slightly against my chest so her ear pressed there.
“Hear how crazy my heart’s pounding?”
“...Wow... yeah...”
My heart thundered with the thrill of the kiss. I let her hear it. No ulterior motive—just wanted to share it with her. She listened wordlessly to the mad beat, nestled in my arms for minutes on end.