Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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“Are you okay with that?”
That evening, I asked Sara, whom I met in my consciousness at night.
“Are you asking if I’m okay with that? Are you saying I was too lenient? Should I have hugged Yang Hye-in and patted her on the head?”
Sara asked jokingly, so I frowned slightly.
“That’s not why I’m asking.”
“I know.”
Sara pouted as if complaining, as though I couldn’t even take a joke.
“You’re asking if I can’t forgive her for what she did to me, right?”
“…Yeah.”
When I nodded, Sara shrugged her shoulders once and spoke.
“Well, I honestly don’t have any strong feelings left. And didn’t you say that if someone wronged ‘me,’ then ‘I’ should be the one to forgive them?”
“…I did.”
That’s why I was still anxious.
I wondered if Sara had really forgiven her sincerely or if she was just pretending because of my thoughts.
At least it seemed like Yang Hye-in had genuinely accepted Sara’s words.
“…That’s why I said that.”
Maybe noticing that I didn’t trust her, Sara drooped her shoulders in a weary manner, then sat down beside me.
“Honestly, I don’t know how to truly forgive someone. It’s true that she was part of the group that ostracized me, but at the time, I didn’t really care about anyone except for Choi Na-kyung. So even if she wronged me… hmm.”
Sara tilted her head with her hand resting on her chin.
“And, as you know, I spoke to Yang Hye-in sometimes, unlike the others. I’d tell her what I needed or call her when I needed something… Back then, I wasn’t as articulate as I am now, so I’m not sure if that could be called a conversation.”
“…”
“…So, my feelings for Yang Hye-in are a bit less intense. I don’t have the same anger or desire for revenge, at least not as much as I have for Choi Na-kyung. So, when she apologized, I just felt puzzled.”
“I see…”
So that’s why Sara said that.
It must have been the result of her trying to be considerate toward Yang Hye-in.
“Yeah. That’s why I said it. I told her to help me until she felt at ease. Then she could leave when she felt she had done enough, and if we got close in the meantime, that’d be nice. Right?”
When Sara said that, I couldn’t help but nod.
Whatever I thought, the right to forgive Yang Hye-in was Sara’s alone.
Whether or not she forgave her and in what way, I had no right to oppose Sara’s decision.
“…”
Besides, I had my own apology to make to Sara.
“Why? Do you still have something left to say?”
“No, it’s just…”
Looking at Sara’s bright face as she leaned toward me, I hesitated for a moment before sighing and finally speaking.
“Well, sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry.”
Sara, who had leaned toward me, looked confused.
She pulled back and asked again.
“Sorry? For what?”
“Well, it’s just… I’ve had thoughts similar to Yang Hye-in’s.”
“Similar thoughts?”
As Sara tilted her head, I hesitated for a bit before speaking.
“I once thought that because you had a lot of money… that eventually, things would be fine for you. That you had no reason to give up on life.”
“Ah…”
Sara looked blank for a moment.
“So what?”
Then, the next moment, she furrowed her brow.
She tilted her head as if she genuinely didn’t understand why I was apologizing.
“No, I mean… I’m sorry for thinking that…”
“So, you’re apologizing for a ‘thought’? You didn’t say it to my face, and you didn’t gossip behind my back. You’re apologizing for something you just ‘thought’?”
“Uh…”
When I listened to Sara’s words, I realized she had a point.
“Are you the kind of person who, if you have inappropriate thoughts about someone passing by, would stop them and say, ‘I’m sorry, I had indecent thoughts about you’?”
“Uh…”
I was at a loss for words.
“Well, that’s sexual harassment.”
In the end, the only thing I could say was a petty retort.
“Besides that, don’t you sometimes have unpleasant thoughts about other people? Do you apologize to them every time that happens?”
“…”
Of course not.
There’s no way to get caught just by thinking.
Although, if those thoughts become persistent, they eventually reveal themselves in actions.
“Still, since we share memories… I thought it would be better to apologize in advance.”
It would be much better to sincerely apologize and move on than to have her find out later.
“…”
Sara narrowed her eyes and stared at me for a while before sighing deeply.
“Well, fine. Since you’re so intent on apologizing, I’ll accept it.”
“Tha…”
Before I could even finish saying thank you, Sara sat down in front of me with a thud.
Not beside me, but in front of me.
For reference, as usual, I was perched on the edge of the bed.
Naturally, the only place for Sara to sit “in front of” me was on my lap.
…So this is what Ha-neul must have felt like.
Right now, for some reason, Sara appeared slightly bigger than me.
Originally, Sara was a little smaller than me, but at some point, she started appearing slightly larger.
I didn’t know why.
I think it happened after the first time Sara kissed me…
I don’t know what that means.
Maybe Sara matured mentally?
If that’s the case, then my mental age should be much older than Sara’s.
“…Hey, Sara.”
“Yeah?”
When I called her, Sara responded.
Since Sara was a little bigger than me now, her gaze, from sitting on my lap, was much higher than mine.
Looking down at me slightly, Sara’s gaze was somewhat intimidating.
I swallowed dryly and spoke.
“But, do we really need to do this every time we switch consciousnesses?”
“What do you mean by ‘this’?”
…Her eyes were scary.
Her eyes.
Her mouth was smiling, but strangely, her eyes seemed devoid of emotion.
No, rather than being emotionless…
Because of her sharp eyes and the fact that she was looking down at me from a slightly larger form, Sara’s face strangely resembled a feline predator gazing at its prey.
“Well… now that we can both see each other’s memories, we can switch consciousnesses by just agreeing within the mind…”
The reason Sara and Yang Hye-in could talk alone last time was because Sara quickly switched consciousness with me without needing my help.
There was no need for rest in between, and no need to deliberately recall intense memories.
Of course, since that’s the case, Sara had been in control of the body until we fell asleep and could meet like this.
“Oh, that.”
Sara seemed to understand what I was thinking and, after some thought, spoke.
“That was a coincidence.”
“…A coincidence?”
“Yeah, it was just a coincidence. There’s probably a method, but at that time, I just happened to be able to switch like that. It’s unstable. Yeah, that’s it. A coincidence.”
Sara, who muttered the word ‘coincidence’ several times, was honestly a bit scary.
“No, um…”
I tried once more to muster the courage to speak to her, but,
“But you know what.”
Sara interrupted me.
Still looking down at me, Sara spoke.
“Right now, I’m bigger than you.”
“Huh?”
“I’m bigger than you right now.”
She just said the same thing twice, didn’t she?
“I could push you down right now if I wanted, but I’m holding back. After all, this is technically my consciousness.”
“…”
Apparently, those were the eyes of a predator watching its prey.
“So, what did you say last time?”
Once, I fell asleep only to find Sara confidently sitting on top of me.
What did I say back then…
“…You’re still a minor, so…”
“Yeah, since I’m still a minor, I’m holding myself back.”
After saying that, Sara gave me a bright smile.
There was a weight to that smile.
A very heavy weight.
“Didn’t I tell you last time? I like you so, so much. To the point that I want to chomp down on your neck.”
You were the one who called me a vampire, weren’t you?
If you bite me, doesn’t that make you the vampire?
…was something I obviously couldn’t say.
Because Sara was a bit scary right now.
“…Okay.”
Once again, I swallowed dryly.
Well, at least she’s not going to eat me.
Thinking that made me chuckle.
What on earth am I thinking about a kid several years younger than me?
“Yeah, okay.”
Before I could even finish speaking, Sara grabbed both my cheeks.
I probably had the face of a fish again.
“Right? Got your permission?”
…Let’s just say you did.
Seeing Sara’s face getting closer and closer, I closed my eyes.