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This light novel is inspired by the beautiful landscapes and cultures of Bolivia and South Korea. However, the characters, events, and situations portrayed are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is purely coincidental. This content does not intend to represent or reflect the historical, social, or cultural reality of either country. The author disclaims any legal liability arising from the interpretation of these elements.
Content Warning: The topic of adult entertainment is discussed or mentioned, in this chapter.
Chapter 66 — Where the truth escapes without permission.
66.1. The weight of an "I love you."
The warm lights of the lobby flickered softly,
as if the night were holding its breath.
The sound of Zayra's irregular footsteps broke the stillness, forcing Ryu and Seo-Yeon to stop.
In that suspended silence, something was about to change.
Ryu swallowed dryly.
He felt the automatic urge to straighten his shoulders, as if he needed to hide any internal tremor.
"Not drunk... not like this."
He thought with a mixture of fear, frustration, and desire.
Seo-Yeon watched from a few steps away,
her expression contained and her fingers intertwined a gesture she only made when she was truly nervous.
She subtly rubbed her forehead, embarrassed that he was seeing her in this state.
Her cheeks burned for an instant; she hated that her self-control failed right in front of her younger brother.
She wondered.
"Why must. I witness this?"
She swallowed, trying to read her brother's face with the experience of a lifetime...
But for the first time, she didn't know what he was feeling.
Ryu remained completely motionless.
He was barely breathing.
The feeling of Zayra's body so close, her voice trembling with tenderness,
the unfiltered words she had thrown at him...
"I love you?"
His heart gave a dry thump,
so hard that it forced him to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid reacting.
He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time.
Not drunk or reckless, but brutally sincere.
"I am lost... completely lost."
He dug his nails into the palm of his hand, hiding the tremor he would never let others see.
He admitted to himself, with a sigh that didn't quite escape.
***
Zayra raised her head, still smiling, with the bright carelessness of someone who isn't afraid to feel.
"You're drunk."
He managed to say in a low voice.
It wasn't a reproach.
It was barely a whisper loaded with confusion, surprise... and something more.
"And you're handsomer than ever?"
She replied, sincere and amused.
Ryu immediately diverted his gaze, as if he needed a second to recompose his impassive expression.
He blinked.
He didn't know whether to laugh, sigh, or hug her.
Instead, he lowered his gaze for an instant, and allowed himself a small, imperceptible smile.
"Let's go to your cabin."
He finally said, in a calm voice.
Zayra raised a finger like a mischievous child.
"But only if you carry me!"
He sighed.
His jaw tightened for an instant, an automatic reflex of someone trying to maintain authority...
and losing a little bit every time she smiled like that.
And in his mind, the following words:
"Unbelievable. No filter at all... but so authentic."
"No. Walk.
I'll hold you up."
He told her, taking her by the shoulder and guiding her along the stone path.
The contact ignited a nerve in the back of his neck,
forcing him to adjust his grip so his sudden start wouldn't be noticeable.
Without realizing it, he slowed his pace so she wouldn't trip.
"Uhhh! Grumpy Ryu appeared again!"
She joked, but allowed herself to be guided without resistance, clutching his arm.
As they walked along the illuminated path toward the cabin, his sister followed a few steps behind them.
Her steps were slow, measured, as if she were rebuilding her composure piece by piece.
Even so, her chest was still agitated, not from the alcohol... but from what she had felt that night.
She brought a hand to her abdomen, searching for an anchor to organize her emotions.
She noticed the familiarity of the gesture in her brother and felt a strange knot,
of protective jealousy and nostalgia tighten her chest.
She walked slower so as not to interrupt them, as she was aware that she had to be respectful,
and silently accepted something that hurt to admit.
Ryu was changing... and perhaps she would have to change too.
A part of her feared that this change would leave her behind.
She adjusted her step, careful not to let her heels echo too loudly.
For his part, Ryu walked in silence, analyzing.
"I was annoyed, ignored...
and suddenly she hugs me, smiles, and says she loves me."
He sighed, resigned and questioning.
"How does she manage to disarm me...?"
The night was warm, but something else warmed his chest.
Zayra, clinging to his arm, hummed a song without lyrics.
Ryu swallowed as he realized he didn't want her to let go of his arm.
That need unsettled him more than any words of the night.
He glanced at her sideways, and something warm, almost dangerous, embraced his chest.
Just a light melody, born of her happy state of mind.
For the first time that night, something akin to happiness brushed against his chest.
66.2 A whisper that changes everything.
The porch of the cabin rested in serene silence, barely interrupted by the distant chirping of crickets.
The moon spilled its silver light onto the wooden steps, enveloping the scene in a tranquil, intimate atmosphere.
Ryu helped Zayra lie down on the bed.
It didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep.
Her breathing was steady, as if her body had finally surrendered to rest.
In the midst of this calm state, she murmured something, barely audible, like a thread of a voice escaping a dream.
"I love you... I love you so much..."
Ryu stood motionless for a second.
He felt the ground under his feet seemed to give way an absurd sensation,
for someone who had negotiated millions without blinking.
He watched her with a mixture of disbelief and bewilderment.
Her face was relaxed, oblivious to the tremor those words provoked in him.
"How can someone tell me that...
without fear, without conditions?"
He thought.
He took the blanket folded at the edge and tucked her in carefully,
as if that act could protect her from everything that was to come.
His pinky finger trembled slightly, the only part of his body that sometimes betrayed what he felt.
Before moving away, he grazed her cheek with his fingertips.
He immediately pulled his hand back, as if the contact had burned him, and cleared his throat to regain control.
The contact was brief, almost imperceptible, but enough for something inside him to break, silently.
For an instant, he forgot the tension that had followed him all day.
There was no negotiation, no doubt, no distance between their worlds.
Only her, breathing calmly, and that whisper still echoing in his memory.
He closed the door carefully and went out onto the porch with slow steps,
measuring the creak of the wood beneath his feet.
***
His sister was waiting for him there, leaning against the door frame.
Her arms were crossed, her lips pressed together a gesture she always made before starting uncomfortable conversations.
"May I ask how your bachelor party was?"
She asked in a calm tone, but maintaining a respectful nuance, although her curiosity was evident.
Ryu barely lowered his gaze, and responded with his usual contained tone.
"It was fine. Though something unexpected happened...
I didn't know how to handle it at first."
Seo-Yeon tilted her head slightly, a small gesture but full of alertness.
He kept looking toward the horizon and added.
"But it was resolved."
She observed him in silence for a few seconds before speaking.
Her voice, when it sounded again, had a more serene, almost warm nuance.
"Zayra's bachelorette party was somewhat different.
She made sure the dancer didn't approach me.
She was very uncomfortable, so we preferred to go out onto the terrace until he left."
The memory came back to her with a slight prickle of discomfort at the back of her neck.
She hadn't known whether to protect Zayra or let her deal with it alone.
Ryu raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.
He diverted his gaze to an arbitrary point in the darkness,
fighting against the small wave of relief that rose in his chest.
Seo-Yeon noticed it. She always noticed everything.
And although she said nothing, she felt a piece of the puzzle starting to click into place.
"Afterward..."
Seo-Yeon continued.
"Her friends kept drinking with her.
It was her day, after all."
He nodded slightly, processing what he had just heard.
looked up at the starry sky, while an unexpected sensation ran through his chest.
"So she wasn't lying when she said she didn't like special shows..."
A mixture of relief, appreciation, and something harder to name settled inside him.
It wasn't just because of what she had done.
It was because of what she hadn't said,
because of the way she kept disarming him without seeking to.
His sister continued to look at him, with an expression that oscillated between complicity and concern.
She softly squeezed her crossed forearms,
as if seeking to hold herself together before saying something she wasn't yet ready to admit.
But he didn't notice.
He was still thinking about that sleepy whisper.
Without knowing that the very same phrase,
"I love you."
Wouldn't be so simple at dawn.