CHAPTER 2 – Engraved Petals

“It’s raining.”

The sound of rain trickling outside the window reached her ears. As she approached the window and looked outside, the droplets forming on the glass and the rain-soaked leaves didn’t seem much different from rainy days back home, and a faint smile crossed Ria’s face as if to reassure her that this wasn’t so different from Korea.

She stared for a while and felt her heart settle in the familiarity of the unfamiliar landscape, yet she couldn’t shake the unanswered questions that had been bothering her.

Why did I feel like that?

She still couldn’t understand the sense of naturalness she felt the day after she slept with Eden. Whether it was due to satisfaction or something else, she could accept it and move on. However, that one thing remained inexplicable no matter how much she thought about it.

Come to think of it, I think I was like that the first time I spent the night with Rune.

Her expression turned solemn as she suddenly recalled that thought.

Back then, she attributed it to Rune having a larger p*nis and better skills in bed than her previous lovers, thus providing her with greater satisfaction. She hadn’t felt such a feeling with her previous two relationships before meeting him.

But in bed with Eden, she felt the same naturalness and satisfaction.

So was I mistaken about what I felt with Rune? No. I felt the naturalness, but the situation itself was a bit coercive. So if I was mistaken, I should have felt bad when I came to my senses.

The only thing that stopped her mind from churning away was when she realized the difference between Rune and Eden and the people she’d met before.

Is it because they’re from another world?

It made quite a bit of sense. It felt strange to think that she had what she should naturally have from someone who shouldn’t have it in the first place.

…But I can’t confirm it.

After a brief moment of joy of feeling like she had found the answer, Ria sighed and leaned her head against the window. 

Even if this was the right reason, there was no way to prove it. The only way to find out was to sleep with another man from this world!

In the end, despite thinking for a long time, Ria couldn’t shake off her original frustration.

As she sighed heavily again and took in the scenery outside, something caught her eye. Someone was standing in the rain in the garden.

She stared intently to confirm and gradually, the blurry figure started to become clear. And at that moment, Ria’s eyes widened. He was one of the very few familiar faces in this unfamiliar place.

Kahin?

She had thought he had gone with Rune to the palace, but there he was, standing in the pouring rain, staring endlessly at a red rose. She could tell from afar that he was already soaked through.

Seeing him like that felt strangely pitiful. Standing there without an umbrella, completely drenched, his shoulders that always seemed broad now appeared infinitely smaller. She wondered what expression could he possibly be wearing under that lowered head.

Unfurling the umbrella she received from a maid, Ria hurriedly approached Kahin. As she covered him with the umbrella, his head lifted. Ria’s lips, which had been tightly closed, could not utter a word as she looked into his eyes, glistening with moisture, perhaps due to the rain.

Kahin quietly watched her. Ria, much smaller than him in stature, raised her arms high to shelter him with the umbrella.

For a moment, the days of the past seemed to overlay themselves in his eyes.

It was a day much like today, the day they first met, the moment he fell for her at first sight.

The other world he had first stepped into, following his master to a place he knew nothing about, to meet a woman he knew nothing about, had been a rainy sky, just like today’s, so he hadn’t truly believed his master’s claim that they could travel between worlds by activating the mirror. It didn’t feel strange seeing the rainy scenery. It felt even stranger when the mirror transported them to a dimly lit corner of the unfamiliar street where the woman was supposed to be. All they could see was darkness.

But the moment he stepped out of the alley, his vision was filled with unfamiliar sights. Lights so bright they hurt his eyes, buildings so tall they made his head spin. Even the familiar rain no longer felt familiar.

His master had paid no attention to such things and had wandered around searching for the woman with black hair and hazel eyes. Even though most of the people in sight had similar colors, he showed no hesitation in his steps.

He thought he might lose his master if he hesitated. Though people stared at them strangely as they navigated through the crowded streets without an umbrella, his master didn’t care. But soon, his thoughts were overshadowe, and he ended up losing his master amidst the crowd.

Stopping in his tracks, he ran a hand through his rain-soaked hair and sighed. And then…

‘If you stay like this, you’ll catch a cold.’

The beating rain stopped, and something was placed over his head.

As he turned his head, he saw an extended arm first. Following that arm, he saw a faintly smiling face and hazel eyes gazing straight at him.

At the moment when only his reflection was visible in her clear eyes, a sensation swept over him as if someone had punched his heart, and his fingertips trembled as if an electric current passed through them.

It was as if they were the only two in this different world, and he could only see her amidst the crowd. Trapped in her round eyes, he froze as if he were imprisoned, unable to make a move.

He had never felt anything like this before. It felt strange to have his heart beating right next to his ear. He worried about what would happen if she could hear it.

‘Are you okay?’

Her head tilted slightly, and her black hair, as dark as the night sky swayed, and he swallowed hard, a thirst to kiss the ends of it rising in his throat as he followed the movement.

‘…Yes.’

It was the only thing that could come out of his mouth, and for the first time, he forgot about his master.

‘Thank goodness.’

Alas, how could I not fall in love with the one clear light in the dark night sky, how could I not love her, when all I could hear was her laughter, so clear, and in that moment, she was etched into my heart.

Slowly closing and opening his eyes, Kahin came out of his reverie and met Ria’s gaze. Her eyes were still clear, and he was still trapped within them. The situation and actions were the same as before. Only the place was different.

No, maybe the circumstances were different too. Just as he needed her in a place where he knew nothing, perhaps this time she needed him.

“You put an umbrella on me that day, too.”

“What?”

“The day we first met on the street.”

At Kahin’s sudden remark, Ria, who had been frozen in bewilderment, relaxed a bit, understanding his meaning from his following words, and nodded slightly.

“That’s right. You were also completely drenched in the rain that day, Kahin.”

“From that day on, you entered my heart.”

Then, Kahin’s confession made her tense up again.

“From the moment you put the umbrella on me.”

With that, Kahin slowly reached out to her, repeating an action that had left him with a bitter thirst but had never been fulfilled. He gently held a few strands of her hair with a very weak grip, that Ria could easily push him away if she wanted to, and brought them to his lips.

“The caring voice that worried about me, the eyes that held only me, and the clear smile you gave me.”

“…”

“They’re all engraved in my heart.”

Leaning down slightly, closing the distance even further, Kahin kissed a lock of hair that he brought to his lips, locking eyes with Ria as he did so.

“All of it.”