Vien (End), Russ (1)
Vien (End), Russ (1)
After eating a simple lunch and saying goodbye to the children, we climbed into the carriage.
"Vien eonni! You have to come again!!"
"Hyung!! Hyung, come with noona too!"
"Oppa! Next time you come, stop yawning so much!"
I waved my hand.
My body was tired from playing with the kids, but a bittersweet feeling welled up as I realized I'd grown attached to them.
I kept waving until the children disappeared from view, then flopped down into my seat.
Well, it was all over now. I could just go home and rest.
Honestly, we were heading back earlier than expected.
When I saw Vien throwing a tantrum, I figured we'd be back around evening and wondered what we'd do if that happened.
Right. Thinking back, when Vien used her Wish Ticket, she'd told me to stay up all night and sleep in late the next day.
Because I'd kept that in mind, we were returning sooner than planned.
Vien must not have forgotten that part.
Come to think of it, I wasn't the only one who was tired.
Vien was someone who always went to bed at a fixed time, so staying up all night couldn't have been easy for her either.
She probably wanted to rest too.
Deolkeong.. deolkeong..
As the carriage swayed gently, drowsiness rushed over me like I'd been placed in a cradle.
The usually uncomfortable carriage felt incredibly cozy.
I felt like I could fall asleep the moment I closed my eyes.
"Vien. I'm going to sleep. Wake me up later."
As I spoke, I looked at Vien.
Curling up like a small animal, she was already asleep.
The instant I saw her sleeping face, I too slipped into slumber as if a thread had snapped.
I had a dream.
My long-cherished wish.
A dream where I got a girlfriend.
A dream where I gained a girlfriend who understood me, considered me, and made me happy.
My one and only understanding companion.
The time I spent with her was so blissful.
Her face was blurry and hard to see, yet she was still lovely.
When I marveled at her beauty, she praised me in return and whispered her love.
Embracing her made me feel like I owned the world.
I felt like I could do anything for her.
I wanted to avoid anything she told me not to do and fulfill every request she made.
My long-cherished wish.
I only needed one person.
Because I would love her for the rest of my life.
"Wake up, Stachys."
A sharp pain stung my cheek.
It was a familiar sensation.
"...We're already there, Vien?"
I asked without even opening my eyes.
I felt a bit disappointed at being woken from a good dream.
A hollow feeling also crept in.
She was just a dream girlfriend, yet waking up made it feel like a real breakup?
Would I ever see her again?
I let out a small chuckle at that silly thought.
"Yeah. We're here."
Vien answered.
I slowly lifted my eyelids.
Silver hair and silver eyes.
Vien was right in front of me.
I thought I'd slept properly again, but when I came to my senses, I was lying on the carriage floor.
I pushed myself upright and brushed off the dust.
The headache had mostly subsided.
My eyes still hurt, though.
Rubbing my eyes, I looked outside the carriage.
The sun had moved far to the west, but it wasn't evening yet.
It didn't seem like I'd slept that long inside the carriage.
But it didn't matter. I could just sleep once I got home.
Loosening my stiff back a little, I stepped out of the carriage.
"Stachys."
Vien called from behind. She was holding out one hand from atop the carriage.
Why do that when she could just get down on her own?
She really was like a princess.
Yawning, I extended my hand to her.
She gently took it and stepped down.
Even after getting off, she didn't let go of my hand.
Because the dream girlfriend still felt so vivid, I felt oddly guilty and slipped my hand free.
"Vien, what are you going to do now?"
Since we had to part ways, I asked the usual pleasantries.
I wasn't particularly curious, but saying "Okay, bye" right away would feel strange.
And her answer was enough to catch even my uninterested attention.
"...? I'm going to cut your hair."
.
.
...? What?
What did she mean by that?
"Huh? How? I'm going home."
I asked with a frown. Vien frowned right along with me.
"What? Why go home. I still have time left on my Wish Ticket, don't I?"
"What are you talking about. We both stayed up all night, so we should go rest."
The headache I thought had vanished after that short sleep came rushing back.
"Th.. I worked hard yesterday and today, so I'm trying to repay you!"
No. I had thought about getting my hair cut eventually.
But not today.
I swept back my messy hair that had grown unkempt from being so busy lately.
"It's fine. You don't have to repay me. If you really want to, can't you just cut it next time?"
"Then you're saying you're going back now?"
Vien's expression grew increasingly serious.
"Vien, I'm really sleepy."
"I don't want to!!"
She snapped at me.
What did she mean by "I don't want to" when I said I was sleepy?
"It's not even night yet! Why are we parting already!"
This conversation felt familiar, like the one I'd had with Lily noona.
"We don't necessarily have to part at night."
"Then what was the point of me using the Wish Ticket! If we part now, it's not even like we spent that much time together! It's just changing the meeting time!"
"...You said if I stayed up all night with the Wish Ticket, you'd let me sleep in late the next day."
"You slept a long time in the carriage. No. I'm cutting your hair, so come with me."
She grabbed my hand tightly and pulled.
Why was she acting like this?
Was it because she'd feel uncomfortable if she didn't repay me?
That could be it.
Did she still have more things to make me do?
That could be it too.
Or maybe... she had other feelings for me?
...Probably not.
It was the same conversation I'd had with Lily noona, but unlike with her, I didn't ask if Vien liked me.
I didn't want to have to fight like that again.
Vien was the one who sang about meeting someone better than me until my ears grew calluses.
So she probably didn't like me.
If I fought with her here the way I fought with Lily noona, Vien would burst into tears in broad daylight and things would get even harder.
Then comforting her and doing whatever else would take who knows how long.
Vien might say the harshest words, but she was also the one who got hurt most easily and cried the most.
Even the usually mature Lily noona got angry when told she couldn't be treated like a workhorse anymore.
I wanted that kind of fight to happen only when I had some energy to spare.
Of course, fighting was always unpleasant, but if I had to do it, then at least then.
Ha.
Fine. I just had to sit still while she cut my hair.
It wasn't like I had to do anything special, right?
I decided to endure just this one last time.
"Then you'll let me go once this is all cut?"
"...."
Vien, who was roughly dragging me along, gave no answer.
So this time I pulled back on her arm instead.
She turned to look at me, who hadn't budged.
"You got it, right? Once this is all cut, you'll let me go?"
"...You really want to part with me that badly...?"
Tears welled up in Vien's eyes as she looked back at me.
I felt like I had to comfort her here.
"That's not it... I told you. I'm just really tired. It's not like I want to part with you quickly or anything. And why are you crying just because we're parting a little earlier."
I never thought I'd see this ridiculous scene again that I'd even mentioned to hyung.
Once again, I realized you couldn't try to understand Vien with ordinary common sense.
"I didn't cry!"
She wiped her tears away roughly.
"It's all because of Lily. She made you too tired on the first day."
Vien began blaming Lily.
Even biting her lip lightly.
No... you're both the cause...
"Anyway, you promised, right?"
"...Can't we at least eat dinner together before you go? There's something I want to eat."
Hah. So there was more. Good thing I made that promise.
I almost got roped into cutting my hair and eating too.
At this rate, I'd probably fall asleep and face-plant at the table.
I was that exhausted.
"What do you want to eat."
"Huh...? Th.. that's... um... potatoes?"
Vien hesitated even though she said there was something she wanted to eat.
Would she really stay just to eat potatoes? Couldn't she just eat that alone?
"Vien."
At the single word spoken with a lowered gaze,
"Fine! I got it!!"
Vien agreed while fuming.
I let out a big sigh inwardly and followed where she led.
After getting my hair cut at the barber.
I finally returned home.
I didn't check how the haircut looked.
Still, Vien said she had plenty of experience cutting other people's hair while volunteering, so it should be fine.
She must have thought she did a good job herself, because even after the haircut she kept fussing with my hair, but I told her I was too tired and to let me go.
-Tik
I turned on the mana lamp.
It was my stuffy room filled with my own scent.
To air out the smell, I opened the window.
It was completely evening now.
Technically I'd only been gone for a day, but it felt like I'd been away for a month.
Before going to sleep, I opened the magic food box to fill my stomach.
...There was nothing edible left.
Right. Lily noona had cooked, and Vien ate it all.
I was too tired to go outside and buy food.
Deciding there was nothing left to do but sleep, I collapsed onto the bed.
Knock knock knock.
"Chisya, I'm here."
A gentle voice called out to me.
It wasn't loud, but it was enough to wake me in the room.
The five-day forced march, and the final gate.
Rus.
How long had I slept since coming home?
In the end, I hadn't even washed before she arrived.
I didn't want to, but it was a promise, so she might be disappointed in me for just passing out without getting ready.
I sighed inwardly.
I swept back my now-neat hair.
Rus was sometimes hard to understand.
Out of the three party members, Rus was the one I'd known the longest.
We'd crossed many death lines together and completed many missions.
In battle alone, I could tell what she wanted to do just by looking into her eyes.
You could say we were well-matched.
We were each other's closest friends as well.
Perhaps because we'd spent so much time together, we'd reached a point where we could read each other's hearts even outside of combat.
Especially Rus—she was an expert at reading my mind.
There were many times she surprised me.
That was exactly why Rus felt even more strange.
Why didn't she consider me?
It didn't make sense, but if I tried to think as generously as possible,
Lily noona was a bit mature and the leading type, so maybe she dragged me around without realizing my condition.
Vien was a bit childish and the type who couldn't feel satisfied unless she did what she set out to do, so maybe she was inexperienced at being considerate.
Then what about Rus?
She could read my mind.
She should know how exhausted I was.
So why was she doing this?
The ridiculous thought that everyone was deliberately tormenting me flashed through my head.
Cheolkeok
I unlocked the door and opened it.
Black long hair and black eyes.
Rus faced me in neat clothes.
"Did you have a good time, Chisya? It's been a while.... Huh?"
She stopped when she saw me.
I scratched my head awkwardly.
"Sorry, Rus. I was so tired I just woke up. I'll wash up quickly."
I apologized before she could even speak.
But Rus waved her hands.
"...Huh? Ah! That's not why I was surprised. It's just that your hair looks so neat, Chisya..."
"Ah, this?"
Now I started wondering how it had been cut.
"Is it okay?"
"Yeah! Yeah! It's really neat and pretty. Where did you get it done?"
Really? I'd been so reluctant yesterday.
Maybe this was the silver lining.
"Vien did it for me yesterday."
Though faint, I could see her looking uncomfortable.
It was a subtle emotion I'd noticed because I'd known her so long and could read her feelings too.
"Rus, is... something wrong?"
"Want to turn around for a second?"
Without understanding why, I showed her the back of my head as she said.
Rus's hand fiddled with my hair at the nape.
"Ah... It looked neat from the front, but seeing it like this, it's a bit lacking."
After a while, she spoke regretfully.
Vien must not have done a pretty job on the back.
It might have been my fault for dozing off.
"...Really? Well, can't be helped."
"Still, since it's you, Chisya, this much is fine. Anyone else would've looked weird already. It's Vien's fault. I'll do it for you next time."
She tapped my head lightly.
I turned back to look at Rus.
"You know how to cut hair too?"
"Leave it to me next time."
It didn't really matter who did it.
She stood quietly in front of the door, staring at me.
"Ah, look at me. Come in, Rus. The house is a bit messy."
"Yeah, thanks. I already saw how messy it was last time, so don't worry about it."
She came in with a grin.
Rus entered the room and looked around.
Even though she told me not to worry, my messy room was still pretty embarrassing.
Unlike when Vien barged in uninvited before.
"Can you wait until I finish washing up a bit?"
At my request to wait, she took her eyes off the room and looked at me.
She tilted her head this way and that, examining my expression.
"Chisya, but you look tired. How about sleeping a little more?"
....Huh?
"Wh.. what?"
"No, your face looks haggard. You look sleepy."
"Rus.. Rus..!"
You're the only one who understands me?
I felt like tears might burst out if I exaggerated a little.
I felt so sorry for doubting why she, who could read my mind, would act this way.
When she was thinking of me this much.
"Really... you're not joking or anything, right?"
"Why would I joke like this, Chisya."
"Then I can really sleep a little more?"
"That's what I'm saying. I'll wake you up later."
Rus flopped down onto the chair in the corner of the room.
Unlike Vien, she didn't say she couldn't sit in a pigsty.
Really, she was my longest-known friend after all.
After parting with Vien in the evening and sleeping straight through, my battered body didn't recover that easily.
Just as she said, my body had been pushed to its limit.
I'd never expected to feel this level of fatigue outside of a dungeon, something I'd only experienced occasionally there.
Rus's consideration didn't end there.
"...Ah, is there anything you want to eat for breakfast? I'll make it."
"Anything.. Rus.. anything."
Like a soldier who'd run a long distance to reach his destination, all strength drained from my body in an instant.
At the words that I could rest, the tension in my body loosened.
I collapsed onto the bed again.
Unable to say thank you or sorry or anything else, I fell asleep.
Right before my consciousness flickered out.
A question floated up.
Huh...?
If she was going to let me sleep again, why did she come now...
Unable to ask the question or come up with my own answer, I fell asleep.
I looked down at the sleeping Chisya.
How must those other girls have played with him to make him this exhausted?
He, who was always so reliable, looked almost frail.
I could tell just by watching him collapse the moment I said he could sleep again.
His body had been pushed to its limit.
The reason was obviously Lily-ssi and Vien.
They must have demanded something even more difficult from him this time too.
This was the result of our secret struggle.
It hadn't been like this at first.
Because of the Stachys Treaty, we couldn't cross the line, so we were only looking for things we could do without crossing it.
When I first enjoyed a date with him,
Lily-ssi and Vien also started requesting dates from him as if competing.
When Lily-ssi bragged about meeting Stachys for two of his five rest days,
I couldn't lose either and begged to meet him for two days too.
Seeing Vien brag about linking arms with him made me want to naturally link arms with him too.
Our fights escalated like this.
Step by step, we demanded things from Stachys.
Little by little, without him even noticing, his burden only grew heavier.
As a result,
he meets us at dawn and parts at night.
No, with this one step, we don't even part at night.
We even stay up all night.
If he doesn't meet us, we sulk.
As people who always wanted more of his love, we realized it too late,
but we had placed an enormous burden on him.
Because he had no rest days.
......Right.
I came to my senses.
I noticed.
That he was struggling.
The vitality was draining from his eyes day by day.
No matter how reliable he was, no matter how well I treated him,
he was becoming worn out.
....But I couldn't stop.
The moment I stopped, I didn't know how the balance would break.
The Stachys Treaty could only exist because everyone's power was equal.
If someone became certain they could get ahead and win his heart,
the treaty would surely become nothing more than a scrap of paper.
So even though I don't want to do this either, I have no choice.
If meeting him makes him suffer, and I don't meet him,
and in the meantime one of the party members succeeds in seducing him, could I endure it?
He's my entire life?
I'm going to love only him for the rest of my life—if he doesn't give me his love, how could I bear it?
"...That won't do."
I muttered quietly.
In the end, my plan was to get one step ahead of everyone else.
To build a closer relationship than Vien and Lily-ssi no matter what,
and when I was certain, secretly break the treaty and become his girlfriend.
Then I won't make things this hard for him.
Just endure a little longer, Chisya.
Today, telling him he could sleep more was partly because he looked tired.
It was also to earn his favor while he was struggling.
But that wasn't the most important reason.
I was doing this because of what Lily-ssi did a few days ago.
After putting him to sleep, she even hugged him and made him breakfast.
As if she were his wife or something.
That anger lingered for a long time.
I'd fallen behind Lily-ssi.
In the area of hugging him and making breakfast.
Once I fell behind in one thing, I couldn't stand the anxiety.
I slowly stood up from my seat.
I carefully walked over to where my love was sleeping.
Rising on tiptoe so he wouldn't wake.
When I reached the bedside where he lay, I looked down at him.
This face I'd known for so long.
This face I thought of whenever I closed my eyes.
Yet this face that made me feel so pitiful.
Just like Lily-ssi had done, I slowly began to lie down beside him.
-Ssaeak, ssaeak.
Focusing on his breathing, I lay down next to him.
My legs moved on their own, rubbing against each other.
My heart felt like it would burst.
It made me wonder how Lily-ssi had endured this.
Next, I used his arm as a pillow.
It felt just like we were lovers.
I slowly moved closer and pressed against his side.
Yeah... this was it.
This was right.
This had to be our future.
If another girl did it, then I had to do it too.
If I didn't want to fall behind.