Chapter 43 (1/2)

[This is the work of the new translator working on this series.]

43====================

The twenty-fourth fragment, Carpe Diem

Judah, who was riddled with thoughts all night long, finally managed to fall asleep deep into the night. As the day dawned, Judah woke up, and as soon as he opened his eyes, what had occurred the night before flooded into his mind. Tia had kissed him, and the very thought of it formed a smile into his lips that stretched from ear to ear.

Judah coughed in an attempt to suppress the laughter working its way out of his chest. Now was not the time to laugh like this.

“In a little while, she’ll get up too. I should boil some Haejangguk while I have the time.”

Judah headed to the kitchen, recalling a recipe for a simple hammock soup. He put on an apron, took out the ingredients, and started cooking. As he focused on his task, the sound of a door opening and closing reached his ears, followed by the sound of footfalls approaching. Judah turned his head attentively, and there stood Tia, her hand brushing through her messy hair as she rubbed away the drowsiness in her eyes with the back of her other hand. Hungover from last night’s drinking, she staggered and walked into the kitchen like a zombie.

“Just woke up?”

“Yes… Did you sleep well?”

Judah didn’t sleep well, but it affected him naught. He felt elated. However, Tia greeted Judah casually, which led him to believe that the Suin had no recollection of last night. Choosing to keep it a secret, he answered her with a tinge of regret.

“Yes, of course.”

Tia grabbed a cup to pour herself a glass of cold water. With each gulp, her hangover slowly eased into sobriety. Upon emptying its contents, she looked back at Judah as she filled the silence between them.

“By the way, on our way home…? Uh…”

“Yeah?”

Judah paused, turning to face the lady who had fallen silent. The moment their eyes met, Tia’s gaze fell onto everything but Judah. Her face twisted in confusion as her cheeks flushed with a furious red hue. Her mouth sat open, but no words came from them.

“Tia?”

“Ju—Judah… Uh, yesterday I… Did I… Did I kiss you? That was a dream, right?”

Judah, who had been silent for a moment, broke into outrageous laughter.

“Did you think it was a dream? Unfortunately not.”

Judah scooped the boiling soup with a ladle, looked at its simmering contents, all while answering without hesitation. If she remembered everything anyway, he figured it was best to give her total honesty. Tia’s expression as she stared down at Judah while having a taste of the soup, was on the verge of bursting.

“I’m sorry. I was drunk. I… I guess my reason can’t justify that. So for what I did, I’m sorry. Really. Oh, I’m not that kind of person…”

“It’s okay. I thought it was cute. And I liked it because it was you. Because I like you, Tia.”

“…”

No answer came. The silence between them stretched on. Judah, who had been whisking the soup back and forth, turned to look up at her. The gap in their height was small, and he was sure that he could catch up with her in two years or so. And undoubtedly, after five years, he would grow way taller than her. However, right now, Tia could only look down at Judah, dazed and confused with herself and everything that had happened.

‘What is this guy talking about?’

It was absolute madness to kiss the young boy, but her face couldn’t stop its raging blush when Judah proclaimed how much he had liked it. She knew it was wrong, and it shouldn’t be that way. They shared a relationship akin to that of a teacher and a student, and because of that, he was considered family. However, in recent years, she couldn’t help but care about Judah.

‘Am I in heat?’

No, it was still too early. Amidst the smorgasbord of chaos inside Tia’s head, it was the only thing her dazzled mind could come up with. She still had a long way to go before the period of heat came. However, Tia had long since withdrawn from her nature and endured it for several years, which could be why her body now craved after Judah. Certainly, he was young, but he was of age to be able to conceive with women. Judah had grown admirably as the days have gone by, and soon, the boy would be one dashing adult. Tia remembered seeing his erection during that one accident in the bathroom, and there was no denying that he was beyond the average for his age. She buried her musing as fast as she thought of it, pulling herself back to the issue before her.

“Wait a minute. What did you say to me a while ago?”

“I said I like you.”

“…!”

At that moment, the matured Tia completely lost her composure. If only she had forgotten the drunken mistake from last night, she could be spared from such a meltdown. But to her embarrassment, every detail of it had been carved vividly into her memory. What she did and all the things they said, including Judah and his confession, flashed before her eyes until her mind could take no longer.

Tia felt unable to withstand being there. In a blink, she stormed out of the room faster than light itself.

“Well then…”

Judah blinked at Tia, or at least where she used to be before fleeing, leaving him bowing his head to nothing but the air. He felt shame, but when he said he liked her, it had taken all his courage to say it. Even last night, as they sat in the carriage, he debated whether to say it or not, but her reaction was not bad as he thought it would be.

In an even bigger sigh of relief, she did not seem to hate it. Curiosity urged Judah to peak at her information window. Her likeability and favorability hung at 70 and 69, respectively, with just a single point away from entering the lover stage. Should it reach 70, they could become lovers, but given their circumstances, could they truly share the intimacy needed between real lovers?

The question lingered in him before the sound of boiling snapped him out of his musing. Turning off Tia’s information window, Judah tended to their Haejangguk. Its bubbling sound warned him that it would soon overflow, so he lowered the heat and removed the bubbles that had erupted from it.