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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.
Chapter 68 — Did I Say Something Improper?
68.1. The Guilt.
The afternoon was already well underway.
Seo-Yeon had left a few minutes ago,
leaving behind a soft, heavy calm, like the one that follows a storm.
In the wooden cabin, the air smelled of eucalyptus,
and the silence was so light that even the buzz of a fly seemed out of tune.
Zayra, still pale from the hangover, walked slowly to the dining area,
where Ryu had just emerged from the bathroom, drying his hands with a small towel.
She stopped a few steps from him.
Her expression was serious, though more from worry than embarrassment.
"Ryu... may I ask you a question?"
He looked up.
His eyes, dark as strong coffee, rested on her.
The slight way she frowned her lips and the faint tremble in her voice were almost endearing to him.
"I just spoke with your sister."
Zayra said, lowering her tone slightly.
"She told me you brought me back last night.
I just want to know if I said or did anything I shouldn't have... if I went too far.
I don't remember anything, and if I offended you, I am truly sorry..."
She tangled her fingers in her own hair,
with the trembling anxiety of someone who fears they have said something unforgivable.
She took a deep breath and finally said.
"I don't usually drink like that, honestly.
It was that awful mix of alcoholic drinks...
I just didn't want to ruin anything."
Ryu watched her in silence for a few seconds.
He was analyzing.
"How can she not remember it...?"
The annoyance was quick, fleeting, but real.
He held back a brief exhale.
For an instant, he thought she did remember, and that thought warmed his chest more than he cared to admit.
It was clear she was not just speaking out of courtesy, but from genuine distress.
***
He couldn't help but notice how her eyes glistened with worry,
or how her brow furrowed with a mixture of physical pain and mental burden.
"Something improper?"
He repeated with feigned doubt.
"I wouldn't say it was improper."
She looked up, half-hopeful and half-more confused by his tone.
Ryu crossed his arms and leaned slightly toward her, as if gauging the exact moment to say something more.
A thought escaped him.
"I shouldn't enjoy this."
But he did.
He looked into her eyes and added.
"Although you did say some... interesting things."
Zayra went even paler.
She tried to smile but only managed to bite her lower lip in frustration.
***
She turned slightly, crossed her arms, and lowered her head.
A small sigh escaped her lips, as she desperately repeated mentally.
"What did I say?"
She ran a hand through her hair, as if searching among blurry memories for the lost answer.
Ryu watched her with a slight curve to his lips. It wasn't cruelty.
It was that minimal wounded pride that felt compensated by seeing her restless because of him.
He wasn't mocking her, but he couldn't help but be amused.
He knew her well enough to know what would happen the rest of the night she'd be turning the matter over and over in her mind,
like someone trying to recall a word they have on the tip of their tongue.
She turned her face and looked at him with a pleading, yet resigned expression.
He said nothing.
He approached calmly, raised a hand, and ruffled her hair slightly, like a mischievous child who has just been caught.
She widened her eyes, confused, but did not step back.
"Don't worry so much."
Ryu finally said, in a quiet, almost low voice.
"When you want to remember it... I'll be here to help you, too."
He turned with a serene step,
leaving a bewildered Zayra behind, and walked toward the small kitchen in the back.
The truth settled uncomfortably in Ryu's chest.
"If she meant it... why doesn't she remember?"
Just before turning the corner down the hall, he paused for an instant,
glancing at her sideways with a calm and slightly amused expression.
"You know how to overthink everything, Zayra... and this time you'll have a lot to think about."
With that silent thought, he continued on his way, as the afternoon stretched languidly over the cabin's roof.
68.2. I Remembered... And I Regret It
The moon hung high, bathing the cabin's porch with a soft, milky light.
The jungle was asleep, and the distant rustle of leaves moved by the breeze completed the calm.
Inside the room, Zayra was still awake.
Ryu breathed deeply beside her, sleeping with that elegant calmness that seemed unbreakable.
But she couldn't close her eyes.
Her mind, true to form, was unraveling the fragments of the night before again and again,
as if trying to assemble an incomplete puzzle.
A hug. His scent. His voice.
His confused gaze. And suddenly, like a flash.
"I love you..."
She remembered in an almost choked whisper.
Zayra sat straight up in bed, her eyes wide.
She looked at him.
Ryu was sleeping on his side, one hand under his cheek, as calm as ever.
His face betrayed nothing.
But hers was burning.
"How could I say that to him? God! What is he going to think of me?
Am I desperate? How embarrassing!"
Anxiety swirled in her chest.
She sat on the edge of the bed, covering her face with her hands.
She was so nervous that even the hangover couldn't stop her.
***
Just then, Ryu moved.
He opened his eyes slowly.
"Zayra?"
He asked in a deep, sleepy voice.
She turned with a start, forcing a smile.
"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?"
He sat up slightly, propping himself up with one arm on the pillow.
He looked at her calmly, but attentively.
—Did you remember?
Ryu held his breath for a second, as if fearing the answer.
Zayra lowered her gaze, playing with the edge of the blanket between her fingers.
And she said.
"Yes..."
A silence fell over the room.
Then she added.
—I'm sorry, Ryu. I know that wasn't the right way.
We are more expressive by culture, but I don't want you to feel forced.
The alcohol made me talk too much... and I shouldn't have.
He looked down for an instant.
"So it wasn't real?"
The doubt cut through him more strongly than he expected.
Zayra watched him and noticed that doubt, a chill ran down her spine, and she resolved in her mind.
"There's no point in hiding it anymore."
"No... don't get me wrong."
She finally said, taking a deep breath.
"The truth is... yes, I do love you."
Ryu looked at her, and for a moment he seemed speechless.
He didn't recoil, but something in his posture tightened, barely perceptible.
"Are you sure?"
He finally asked, with a seriousness that unsettled her.
"Are you not confused by the situation?"
She looked at him as if she hadn't heard correctly,
her lips parted, her face immobile.
It was the exact expression of someone who has just had the air knocked out of them.
And unintentionally, doubt invaded her.
"I think I'm with the wrong person."
Ryu felt something wasn't right and said.
"I didn't mean to say it like that...
I just wanted to make sure you truly feel it; I don't want you to regret it later."
Zayra had already closed off into her mental world and only managed to say.
"Oh..."
She lowered her gaze, swallowing hard.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that... It doesn't matter"
She murmured, but her voice was already muted.
She turned around, pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, and closed her eyes.
She said nothing more.
Not a gesture, not a smile.
Just her back, firm, hurt, silent.
Ryu watched her.
But the words didn't come.
Emotions had never been a language he handled well.
He wanted to say something more, but he saw her so still,
so different from the usual Zayra, that he knew it was better not to insist.
The air grew dense.
He lay back down in silence, eyes open, listening to her breathing...
Which no longer had a rhythm of peace, but of distance.