What kind of bitch is she? (4)
What kind of bitch is she? (4)
"Hey, Vien. Are you and my girlfriend the same?"
At those casually tossed words,
the atmosphere turns ice-cold.
Not only Vien, who heard the words, but even Rus and Lily-noona fell silent.
I was flustered.
"Uh... why is the atmosphere like this... Vien?"
Examining Vien's face, goosebumps broke out.
I didn't know the reason, but I knew she didn't like what I said.
But Vien, who would normally have scowled, shouted loudly, and gotten angry,
was standing there—how should I put it—drooping, with a vacant gaze, looking utterly devastated.
It was a sight I was seeing for the first time.
Vien, with all the energy sucked out of her like this.
The thought crossed my mind that something huge was coming.
Something I could barely handle.
"Ah... oh dear, oh dear, my stomach. I gotta go to the bathroom...?"
Dropping an awkward lie, I fled to the bathroom.
Kung
As the bathroom door shut, Vien collapsed to the floor as if a thread had suddenly snapped.
Tears she had been holding back poured down her eyes.
Even so, she couldn't let Stachys catch her crying, so she couldn't make a sound.
"Hic... sob sob... hiccup!"
Even though she covered her mouth with her small hand to keep from making a sound, it wasn't easily done.
Inside Vien's head, Stachys's words were replaying on an infinite loop.
-'Are you and my girlfriend the same? Are you and my girlfriend the same?'
Even Vien could understand what those underlying words meant.
My girlfriend is comfortable so it's fine,
but you're uncomfortable so it's not.
'You've known me... for a much longer time...'
Her shoulders heaved.
Once again, the word 'two weeks' hovered in Vien's head.
'You've only known her for two weeks... why am I more uncomfortable...'
Vien had never had a romantic partner before,
so she had no idea the gap between a friend and a lover would be this huge.
Simply linking arms with him every once in a while made her feel like she had the whole world,
and it was comfortable because she could show him her true self without putting on airs in front of him.
Making food and feeding it to him, laughing inwardly at his jokes.
'I... was so happy...'
It was her true feelings she hadn't been able to say aloud.
That was why she had lived contentedly even under the Stachys Treaty.
Only now, belatedly, did Vien feel the difference between a friend and a lover with her entire body.
A friend can remain uncomfortable even after meeting for years,
but a lover is a comfortable relationship even after just a few weeks.
Things she could never do,
Stachys's girlfriend could.
It hit her with the realization that little by little, bit by bit, she was being robbed of him.
Vien wasn't the only one having a hard time.
Lily and Rus also felt like Stachys's words were directed at them.
He had only mentioned Vien by name, but it wouldn't have been strange if their own names had been inserted instead.
Though they were able to hold back their tears since they hadn't heard it directly like Vien did.
Ugh. What on earth was that?
It's been quite a while since I came into the bathroom.
It was time to head out now.
I washed my face once and tried to shake off the drunkenness.
I knew my last remark was a mistake, but I couldn't figure out why it was a mistake.
I mean, it's only right for a girlfriend to be more comfortable than a friend, right?
Ain't that right, hyung?
Hyung nodded his head repeatedly inside my head.
Jjak-jjak
I smacked my cheeks a bit hard.
I need to pull myself together from now on.
The excuse that "I was drunk so I couldn't help making a mistake" won't fly.
I reviewed the backstory of the girlfriend I had memorized.
Her name is Elzain, with pink hair and pink eyes, physically less attractive than the three of them, but incredibly kind.
If I had known this would hit me when I was drinking, I should've drank a little less.
The alcohol hyung bought was so delicious that I drank it one cup after another.
Is this what an emergency mission you receive upon becoming an A-rank party feels like?
Something you have to do happens when you least expect it, and when you're not in top condition.
Shaking the water off onto my pants, I felt something.
"Ah, right."
I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the ring.
The friendship ring with Rus.
Honestly, it had meaning and I liked the design since I picked it out myself,
but I had to act decisively if I didn't want my lie to be found out.
Regretfully, I placed the ring inside a drawer in the bathroom.
A sense of guilt washed over me at the sight of myself clearing away a gift filled with a friend's heart just for the sake of a lie.
Every time that happened, I thought about what happened in the dungeon.
Right. I decided not to feel guilty.
"Hoo."
Letting out a sigh, I opened the bathroom door and walked back out.
The three of them had already taken their places and were sitting at the table.
Maintaining the exact same sunken atmosphere as before.
I was scared.
But without showing it, I walked over to them proudly.
Vien's side was empty.
As I was about to sit down, I saw the table with nothing prepared on it.
"Ah, look at my absentmindedness. Hey girls, what do you want to drink? I'll bring it to you."
"Sit."
"Yes, ma'am."
At Rus's chilly tone, my body reacted on its own.
Sitting in my seat, I checked on Vien next to me.
But at the exact moment I tried to check her condition, Vien's head turned the other way, making it completely impossible to see.
Amidst the rigid atmosphere, I brought up a topic.
"Uhm... girls, noona. So why... did you come here?"
They still didn't answer.
Instead, Lily-noona, sitting across from me, leaned her upper body toward me and sniffed, keung-keung.
I couldn't even budge.
"... Stachys, you've been drinking, haven't you?"
"..."
The icy gazes of Rus and Lily-noona pierced into me.
So what if I drank? Why are you like this?
"... Yes, I had a glass."
Keung-keung.
"Judging by the scent... it's a high-end wine from the neighboring country of 'Bind'."
.... Pardon?
Completely flustered, I could only blink my eyes.
Lily-noona's sense of smell was sometimes astonishing.
I just drank whatever hyung poured for me, so I didn't even know what kind of alcohol it was myself.
"Ah... I don't know the type of alcohol, though."
"I understand this wine is only sold at Tering Restaurant, a high-end restaurant nearby. The place you went to today was there, right?"
At the mention of a high-end restaurant, Rus and Vien flinched.
"...You've never been there with me..."
Vien whispered, barely audible.
I answered back in my heart.
I wouldn't have had any reason to go there either if it weren't for hyung.
"The alcohol was expensive, wasn't it?"
When I didn't answer, Lily-noona asked persistently.
I don't know either! Hyung bought it for me!
It was already a hurdle. I simply nodded.
"Uhm... yes. It was expensive."
Since the restaurant was high-end too, it must have been expensive.
However, Lily-noona bit her lip and asked,
"It shouldn't be an amount you can just order carelessly, right?"
Unable to find anything to say, I just listened.
Walking on eggshells because I felt like I did something wrong for no reason.
"Yet you spent that kind of money... on an alcohol you didn't even know?"
Lily-noona looked extremely uncomfortable.
And as if connected by Lily-noona's words, Rus's expression changed to match hers as well.
I had to say something before the atmosphere got even worse.
"Uhm... I didn't know the alcohol very well, but... I thought my girlfriend would be satisfied if I ordered something expensive... haha. It's my first time at a high-end restaurant too..."
Pudeudeuk
A strange sound was coming from somewhere.
As I was searching for the source of the sound, Rus spoke to me.
"Chis-yah. Bring me some cold water."
"Huh? Earlier you said just to sit—"
"-Cold water."
Rus's black eyes dyed even blacker.
"Bring it to me."
Without talking back anymore, I leaped up from my seat.
Y-Yeah, I can catch a breather, so this is actually better.
Pouring water into a glass, I glanced back and forth at the three women.
Without even making eye contact with each other, they were just staring down at the table.
So as not to get swept up in the situation and blurt out something weird due to panic, I reviewed my girlfriend's persona once more.
Holding the water, I returned to the table.
"Here's your cold water. Whoa!"
Rus sensually grabbed the back of my hand holding the cup.
Then she said with a sweet smile,
"Thank you, Chis-yah."
And then she took the cup with her other hand.
Just when I thought the atmosphere might loosen up a bit because of Rus's slight smile, Rus's eyes locked onto my hand.
"Uh... huh? Chis-yah, where did the ring go??"
Ah. The friendship ring.
"Ah, that...?"
This time, even Vien, who had been mumbling or turning her head to avoid me until now, reacted.
She looked at my hand.
Her eyes looked a bit red, too... though I couldn't be sure.
Feeling awkward, I scratched my head and couldn't answer.
"You bought it just a few days ago. Ah, did you just take it off for a moment? You didn't... lose it, did you?"
Rus asked in a worried tone.
Squeezing both eyes shut, I told a lie.
"Well... my girlfriend seemed to hate it so I took it off... sorry, Rus."
Silence fell once again at my words.
Rus aside, why does the atmosphere keep turning so icy?
Letting out breaths with a progressively crumpled expression, haa, haa, Rus chugged the cold water down gulp by gulp.
It was a pretty big cup so there was quite a bit of water, and even though the water was freezing cold, she drank it all the way to the bottom.
-Kwang!!
Then she slammed the cup down hard.
She looked furious.
"It's a friendship ring. Does that bitch have to complain even about things like that?"
The guilt I had told myself I wouldn't feel stabbed at my chest, and a truly apologetic expression naturally emerged.
Stepping on a friend's feelings just to avoid getting caught in a lie felt repulsive.
"S-Sorry, Rus. It's a gift you bought me just a few days ago."
"It was a ring commemorating our friendship. Is our friendship nothing to you?"
"Our friendship is important, too. B-But my girlfriend hates it, so what can I do? My friend Rus, you understand, right?"
Even though I spoke a bit softly,
"No. I don't understand."
Rus answered firmly.
So I continued to cower and grovel.
"I'm really sorry. Ah! T-Then... should we go get a refund? If it's still early, they might do it."
Rus's anger exploded.
"Hey! Why the hell would you refund a gift?!"
Calling me 'Hey' for the first time instead of Stachys or Chis.
Rus wrapped her hand around the ring on her left hand, hiding it from me.
I knew money wasn't the issue, but I had just said that to somehow diffuse her anger.
I shouldn't have said it.
While feeling sorry, my head was a mess.
If I had known she'd get this angry, I should've just kept the ring on.
Would anyone like it if a gift filled with sincerity was taken off after just a few days?
How did things end up like this?
Is it because of the alcohol?
Isn't it actually something she could understand?
No, still, I'm in the wrong, aren't I?
Thoughts bred more thoughts.
And at that moment, Lily-noona stopped the huffing and puffing Rus.
"... It's fine. Stachys has a point, too. His girlfriend hates it, so how could he wear a matching ring he got with another woman?"
"Lily-ssi.... You...!"
The anger directed at me shifted over to Lily-noona.
Vien also opened her mouth.
Her voice cracked once.
"Geuh! Yeah! That's right. Keep the friendship ring off."
Rus trembled before her strength completely drained out of her.
I felt so sorry.
Sorry, Rus.