## Chapter 123 – Intimacy
“…What in the world is this mess?”
“…You’re here? Hurry and come in, and close the door. Before people walking by see.”
I was sitting on the bed, blankly staring out the window.
When I first came into the hotel, the sun was just starting to rise,
but now it was shining brightly, having already crossed the horizon and floating higher than the sea.
I managed to grab a small water bottle and was quenching my thirst while looking at the sun,
when I heard the sound of the door hinge opening behind me, and I turned my head.
Seohee, who had opened the door and stepped into the room, froze at the sight before her eyes.
“…Unni, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Navi, unable to see into the room because of her short height, was standing on tiptoe,
and as if that wasn’t enough, she was jumping up and down behind Seohee.
Seohee sighed, covered Navi’s eyes, and entered the room.
“What is it? What’s going on inside?”
“…The kid shouldn’t see this.”
Seohee spoke as if she were telling her own child, “That’s dirty~.”
I’m not particularly angry at her tone. It’s not like I’m in a position to say anything…
“I thought some of the staff I passed on the way in seemed a little off,
so I figured Lee Chaeyun had done something… but what exactly did you do?”
“…You wouldn’t believe me if I said I didn’t want to do it, would you?”
“Take another look at the state of this room, put your hand on your heart, and ask yourself that question again.”
At her words, I reluctantly turned my head, which didn’t want to move, and looked around the room.
The bedding was covered in all sorts of sticky goo and completely ruined, and there were Chaeyun, Sister Iran, and Sua.
They were sleeping soundly on that filthy bed, and I was half-naked.
“…What was this for?”
“Room assignment… They were deciding who would sleep with me…”
Hearing my words, Seohee let out a short, dumbfounded laugh and ran her hand through her hair.
Then, she looked down at me with a pitiful expression and gave me advice that felt almost like comfort.
“…You could have just rotated one person each day.”
“That’s what I’m saying…”
That’s exactly what I wanted to say, that we could have just taken turns sleeping with me…
Tiredness and an inexplicable annoyance washed over me all at once, sweeping my body away.
Overwhelmed by the wave of fatigue that crashed over me, I collapsed onto the bed.
Seohee patted my shoulder once as I lay on the bed, then took off her coat and straightened it out as she spoke.
“…We’ll have to ask for new bedding, right?”
“…By the way, Unni Seohee, how long are you going to keep covering my eyes?”
“It’s become brunch.”
“Yeah, thanks to someone.”
The group sat huddled together at a large table in the buffet restaurant below the hotel.
They had waited for Chaeyun and the others to wake up, so it was a little after lunchtime when they were finally able to come down.
Chaeyun, who had brought food and sat down in her seat, sighed and lamented the time that had passed,
but Seohee nagged her without Chaeyun even pretending to listen.
“Those two are really close.”
“Huh? Does it look that way, Unni?”
“Did you forget I can read minds? They may look like that on the surface, but they care about each other a lot.”
“…I think even I, who can’t read minds, can tell that. Is it because they’re the first of their kind they’ve met?”
Chaeyun and Seohee were quietly joking around, even at the dining table, without a moment’s rest.
Iran Unni, who had been carefully watching the two of them with a fork in her mouth, spoke up.
…Seohee looked like she was about to throw a punch at any moment, and Sua also chimed in with Iran’s words from the side.
But I also thought that the two of them were unusually close compared to the other flower petals.
Like Sua said, they were the first of their kind to be resurrected in this era, so that must be especially true.
“Come to think of it, have you two become close to anyone else?”
“…”
“…”
The Unni and Sua suddenly became silent at the question. Did I ask something unnecessary…?
Well, Sua seemed to lack sociability even when she was a ‘human,’ so she probably didn’t have any friends.
Leaving Sua aside, I don’t even know what Iran Unni, or rather Iran, did before Lapus took over her body, so I can’t know about her relationships.
“…I only talk to Chaeyun, so…”
Sua, who had a connection with Chaeyun even before being parasitized, must be close to Chaeyun.
Then how does Iran Unni get along with the other flower petals…
“I’m on informal terms with Seohee too. All I’ve heard since then are curses, though.”
…Never mind.
“…Then have you two? Have you talked to each other?”
“…”
“…”
How close have these two people, who boast a non-existent social life, become to each other?
I asked out of curiosity, but Sua and Unni clammed up again this time.
What am I supposed to do with these people? It’s driving me crazy.
Unable to bear the awkwardness, the two of them were just fiddling with the food on their plates.
I felt like their awkwardness was being transmitted to me, and it was driving me nuts.
“Unni and Sua, can I see you after you’re done eating?”
——————————————–
“…”
“…”
Sua, the child, and I were walking down the darkened beach road.
The awkward silence that had continued from the restaurant was still going on.
What in the world is Im Chanwoo thinking…
‘This trip isn’t just a simple trip,
but you can enjoy yourselves to the fullest while I’m looking for their base…
Please, just drop the honorifics and come back, it’s driving the people watching crazy…’
…
Am I… no, are we looking that serious? If he’s saying it to that extent…
Without turning my head, I only rolled my eyes to look at Sua, who was much taller than me.
“…Is, is something wrong…? No, is there?”
“…Nothing’s wrong…yo.”
The moment I turned my eyes to look at her face,
I made eye contact with Sua, who was also rolling her eyes to look at me without turning her head.
It was just eye contact, but we were flustered, mixing honorifics and casual speech.
…We’re really serious, aren’t we?
What should I do? It’s been almost tens of thousands of years since I’ve tried talking to people and making friends…!
And I spent most of that time locked up alone inside the fruit…
I’ve even forgotten how to become friends with others.
Seriously! No matter how much I search through the memories of ‘the current me,’ there’s no way to become friends with people…
In the first place, what friends? All I had were colleagues in the same industry that I contacted online.
…And I don’t know Sua’s situation in detail, but at least it seems similar to mine.
“…S-shouldn’t we at least drop the honorifics…? Yo…?”
Sua spoke, hesitating and swallowing the awkwardness.
Did she take the first step? It’s still strange mixed honorifics and casual speech, but…
Ah, maybe she feels distant because she thinks I’m the creator who made them?
Also, there’s a huge age difference of several centuries.
“…Don’t talk so formally, just speak comfortably.
After all, it was the old us who created you, and that’s all ‘in the past.’
And right now, you’re older… aren’t you?”
“…I’m 24.”
“Ah… you are older…”
I scratched my head, feeling embarrassed after trying to say something cool.
…Then should I call her Unni? Even though my body is 21 years old, my true self is countless years old?
Ah, but I said earlier that it’s all in the past…
“…Then let’s just drop the honorifics, it doesn’t matter to us anyway.
I’m 24, you’re 21, so it doesn’t matter since there’s not that much of a difference.”
“Oh, cool…”
We finally introduced ourselves properly. Thanks to Sua for almost perfectly sorting it out.
I felt relieved looking at Sua’s smiling face.
…It was hard to start a conversation, but it doesn’t seem that difficult now…?
“Then, with this momentum, shall we ask each other what we’re curious about?”
“…Well, sure. You brought it up first, so go ahead.”
“What was your first meeting with Chanwoo like?”
“…I don’t want to talk about that.”
“…Hic…! I was really lonely…! Alone in that narrow place for tens of thousands of years… Huhu…”
“…I can’t understand since I’ve never been trapped like that, but I also had a hard time when I was young.
My mom passed away, and my younger sibling and father, who I thought were my only remaining family, abandoned me.
I thought I was just going to die alone like that, but then I met my real ‘father’ there.”
“…You’re talking about Chanwoo? Aren’t you angry at him? It’s a little strange to say this, but…
He’s the one who gave birth to ‘you,’ but he’s also the one who killed the previous ‘you.’
What do you think when you see Chanwoo, with those memories intact?”
“…Of course, those memories are painful and full of hatred to the point where I want to kill him,
but strangely, I don’t feel anything right now. Rather, my heart races every time I see Father…
That’s the feeling, so now it’s your turn to answer. Do you also like Father… ‘Chanwoo’?”
“…Yeah, I didn’t think much of it at first, but it turned out that way. It’s strange.
I’m not a being born from a flower petal, so I shouldn’t have those feelings for him.”
“I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I understand.”
Sua and I were sitting side by side on the beach with the darkness, telling each other our stories.
At first, I was a little scared to approach her because of her intimidating impression,
but as we talked, I realized that she was also a woman who had fallen in love with the same man as me.
And as we talked about our difficult pasts and similar experiences,
almost two hours had passed.
“…Ah, I finished all my beer. Should I buy more?”
“Then let’s go together. Let’s just have one more each and go in.”
We shook the sand off our butts and stood up, following the light visible in the darkness.
We walked to the convenience store together, following the lights.
…So this is how you make friends.
It was a little difficult since it’s been so long since I’ve done it…
But it’s fun to talk and hang out like this.
My facial muscles weren’t listening to me because of the alcohol that had risen from the relaxation.
I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from going up on their own, so I lowered my head and smiled bashfully…
“Ouch! Why all of a sudden? Is there something in front of…”
“Shh.”
I crashed right into Sua’s back, who had suddenly stopped in front of me.
It seemed like Sua had seen something, and I was trying to see what was behind her,
but I was buried in the sand along with Sua, who grabbed my shoulder and lowered my posture.
A much lower view than before, and finally, what Sua had seen.
“…S-someone, save me…! Ugh?! Ah…”
“…Subject secured. Returning immediately.”
Men wearing black clothes were kidnapping women who were playing on the beach.
