Side Story 1: Unaccustomed
Chapter 11
I returned to the inn, carrying the dress Pel had bought for me. We had only been to the dress shop, but I was already exhausted.
I trudged back to my room, wanting to rest, but there was an unexpected person standing in front of my door. It was Woo.
“…Sue.”
His face brightened slightly as he noticed me.
I straightened my posture and forced a smile. I didn’t want him to think I was tired.
“What brings you here?”
“Just… wanted to see you.”
“…What?”
I tilted my head, wondering if I had heard him correctly, but Woo didn’t seem to want to correct himself. I averted my gaze, feeling his eyes on me.
“…We just saw each other.”
“That was then, this is now.”
I felt my face flush. Why was he suddenly acting like this? And he wouldn’t even tell me what had happened earlier.
He shifted his gaze to the dress I was holding.
“…Did you buy that with him?”
“Ah, y-yes.”
I felt a pang of guilt and quickly hid the dress behind my back. But that seemed to have made things worse. His face darkened.
“…I see. It’ll look good on you.”
Why are you making that face? I couldn’t understand his ever-changing emotions.
“…Is there something you want to say?”
Honestly, I didn’t have the energy to argue with him, and I didn’t have the mental capacity to think about it. I just wanted to open the door, go inside, and lie down on the bed. That was all.
“Sue, I like you. I love you.”
“Ah, y-yes, I… What?”
I had never imagined he would say that. I stared at him, my eyes wide with disbelief. Woo was as calm as if he had just greeted me.
“That’s all I can say for now.”
The heat that had been building up in my head felt like it was about to explode. I struggled to suppress it, my lips parting but no words coming out.
Woo smiled faintly, as if to reassure me.
“I don’t want your dreams, your life, to be ruined because of me. I just want you to be… okay.”
“…What are you talking about?”
I finally managed to speak, as he continued to say things I didn’t understand.
“Sue, if I asked you to leave this place with me right now, would you come with me?”
And then, he said something even more confusing. I didn’t know where to even begin to question him, so I bit my lip and tried to collect my thoughts. But no matter how hard I tried, my head felt like it was about to explode.
But if I didn’t answer right away, he would leave. He would leave me. So I forced out an answer,
“…If you can convince me, I’ll come with you.”
So explain it to me. Why are you acting like this? What are you thinking? Why do you look like you’re about to cry? If you love me, tell me what’s bothering you.
***
“….”
Morning came again, as if the endless night had been just a dream.
I slowly came to my senses and frowned at the bright morning sunlight streaming through the window. I washed up, got dressed, and opened the door. Pel was standing there, as usual.
“Let’s go to the restaurant, Sue.”
He smiled brightly and took my hand, pulling me along. I followed him down the stairs without resisting.
It was my third day in Gemin. Or rather, it had only been three days since I had arrived in Gemin. But I was strangely accustomed to spending time with Pel.
Woo and Celine were, as expected, sitting together at a table, having breakfast. But even that sight seemed natural now.
“Sue, that guy keeps looking at you.”
“…He does.”
I had already noticed it the moment we had entered the restaurant, even without Pel pointing it out. Woo was staring at me. But I didn’t look back, ignoring his gaze.
“Did you two fight?”
Pel, unable to hold back his curiosity, asked with a smirk.
‘It’s your fault.’
I glared at him, then looked away. I couldn’t really blame Pel for this. He was just a trigger, this wasn’t a sudden development.
‘…Have I been thinking about this for the past six months?’
Woo, who had come to my room last night, had confessed his love for me, then dropped a bombshell that had almost made my head explode.
‘I’ll go back to Lohn after the trip.’
He had fallen asleep after saying that, so I had wondered if I had dreamed it. He had confessed his love for me, he had even asked if I would go with him, and then he had suddenly said he was going back to Lohn.
“…What does it even mean to say you’re leaving when you love me?”
The past few days had been a confusing mess. I wanted to believe that coming to Gemin had all been a dream.
“Maybe he’s leaving because he loves you too much.”
“Huh?”
He must have heard me mumbling to myself. Pel tilted his head and stared at me blankly.
“So he’s really leaving.”
I frowned at his knowing words.
“Did you hear our conversation yesterday?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Pel nodded awkwardly. He quickly changed the subject, as if he didn’t want to be scolded.
“So what are you going to do?”
“…About what?”
“Are you going to stop him? Are you going to say something to him?”
I paused at his blunt questions. It didn’t feel real. We had already been traveling together for six months, and he was suddenly saying he was going back to Lohn.
…When was he even leaving?
Was he talking about the end of the guild fair, or the end of our entire journey?
…Why did he want to go back?
“It’s his choice, but… still…”
“Still what?”
“…I haven’t done anything for him yet.”
I hadn’t done anything for the man who had confessed his love for me. I hadn’t even said anything, I had just been complacent, accepting his love.
Then what should I do now?
What should I do if Woo disappeared from my side?
I tried to imagine a life without him, but it was difficult. More importantly, I didn’t want to imagine it. I didn’t know how to describe this feeling that had been weighing on me for so long.
“Sue, are you in love with that guy?”
Pel asked the question again, the question he hadn’t asked at the cafe. His raw curiosity made me want to run away again. But unlike at the cafe, my body wouldn’t move.
There was nowhere else to retreat to. Not from Pel, not from myself.
“…I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Still?”
“What am I supposed to do if I really don’t know?”
I lowered my head. I felt like crying. My heart ached, as if he had dissected my emotions.
“Sue, did you two have an arranged marriage or something?”
“What are you talking about?”
I chuckled at his absurd words, and Pel, as he had done yesterday, grabbed my face and lifted it up. It wasn’t a very romantic gesture, as he was squeezing my cheeks so hard that it hurt.
I was forced to meet his sharp, gray eyes.
He didn’t look angry, or frustrated, or amused. His eyes were filled with curiosity.
“Then why are you trying to be responsible for him?”
“…What are you talking about?”
Pel tucked my hair behind my ear and continued,
“If you don’t like him, say you don’t like him. If you like him, say you like him. If you don’t want him to leave, tell him not to leave. If you’re okay with him leaving, let him go.”
“…That’s difficult, because…”
“There’s no such thing as ‘I don’t know’ in this world. There’s no word as vague and boring as ‘I don’t know.’”
Pel cut me off. His expression suddenly softened.
“Love isn’t just about responsibility.”
“….”
“Sue, do you love Woo Acrea? Or do you hate him? Answer me. There’s no such thing as ‘I don’t know.’”
He pressed me gently. But then, a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips.
“If you don’t answer, I’ll kiss you.”
“!”
He wasn’t kidding. He started to lean closer. I tried to pull away, but he was holding the back of my head with his other hand, so I couldn’t escape.
“Wait, I’ll tell you, just…”
I was about to say anything, just to get him to stop, when…
“Eek!”
I heard the sound of glass shattering in the distance. I instinctively pushed Pel away and turned towards the sound. Woo was standing there, blood dripping from his hand, his head bowed.
“Master Woo!”
I jumped up from my seat and ran towards him. Celine, who had been sitting next to him, was just staring at him with a horrified expression.
“Are you okay…?!”
It was an empty dish that had shattered, and it was his hand that was bleeding. I checked his hand, and it wasn’t just a cut, there were shards of glass embedded in his palm.
I was panicking, wondering what to do, when I heard him mumble,
“Sue, I’m hurt.”
“…What?”
“I said I’m hurt.”
“….”
I was momentarily taken aback by his whiny tone. But when I looked at his face, he was on the verge of tears. It seemed like he would burst into tears if I said anything harsh.
He had abandoned me for my future, he had confessed his love for me, he had said he was going back to Lohn, and now he was about to cry because he was hurt.
“…Let’s go to my room. I have a first-aid kit.”
I would think about it later. I gently helped him up. Woo, obediently following me, walked silently to my room.
I locked the door and sat him down on the bed. And then, I removed the shards of glass from his palm with my bare hands.
“…Ow!”
I had to use my bare hands because I didn’t have any tweezers, and I ended up cutting my finger on a shard of glass.
I was about to stand up to get a cloth to wipe the blood when Woo pulled me back down.
“Give me your hand.”
The whiny man was gone, he was now looking at me with a calm expression. He took my hand and gently stroked my injured finger. His touch sent a tingling sensation through me. I looked away, feeling strange.
Woo used white magic to heal my cut.
“…Thank you.”
He was still holding my hand after using the magic, so I tried to pull away. But he tightened his grip.
I tried to move my arm, but it wouldn’t budge.
Argh these kids were frustrating. Just say u love him already, Sue!