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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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I stared at the woman with bewildered eyes.
Two-toned, a mix of black and blue.
The first thing that caught my eye was her blue-black hair.
Yesterday, I was too flustered and it was nighttime, so I didn’t notice, but now I could see that it wasn’t just black hair. It was a dark, bluish-black overall, with brighter blue highlights underneath, creating a two-toned effect.
I quickly averted my gaze from the woman. Even on a second look, the numerous piercings and sharp thorn tattoos gave her an intimidating aura.
“Hello. Thank you for yesterday.”
I thanked her first. Thanks to her, A-reum was safe until I arrived.
The woman gave a curt nod and silently stared at me.
…Why are you staring at me so intensely? It’s scary.
But then I realized the woman wasn’t looking at me, but at A-reum, who was asleep beside me.
Realizing my mistake, I woke A-reum up.
“A-reum, wake up.”
“Mmm?”
“Well, you didn’t have to wake her.”
The woman said that, but A-reum was already awake after I nudged her. I pointed at the woman and lightly patted A-reum’s back.
“This is the person who helped you yesterday. She stayed with you until I arrived.”
“Yesterday? Uh… Ah!”
As if remembering, A-reum’s eyes widened, and she sat up.
“Thank you, unnie! You’re an unnie, right?”
“…I suppose so. Twenty years old?”
“Yes! I’m Pi A-reum, first year in the Digital Contents department at Cheonggwang University!”
A-reum said energetically, bowing.
It’s amazing how high-energy she is even after waking up.
The woman seemed a bit taken aback by her energy. Then, with an awkward expression, she returned the greeting.
“Han Saebyeok. Third year in Fashion Design.”
“You’re a senior! Thank you, senior!”
“…We’re in different departments, you don’t have to be so formal.”
“Then I’ll call you unnie! Saebyeok-unnie, let’s follow each other on Outstagram. I’ll buy you a meal later as a thank you!”
“Sure.”
They suddenly started exchanging Outstagram IDs. I think this every time I see it, but it’s truly remarkable. They’re strangers, yet there’s a strange closeness. Is this what being popular is like…?
Feeling awkward just standing there, I greeted her as well.
“I’m also a first-year in Digital Contents. My name is Kang Cheol-jin.”
“Oh.”
“…….”
Somehow, her attitude towards A-reum and me seems quite different. Am I imagining things?
‘She’s already been introduced, so whatever.’
I choose to believe she’s like that because it’s awkward to introduce herself twice.
…But why has she been using informal speech since yesterday?
Of course, I don’t have the guts to ask, so I quietly sat back down.
‘Scary patterned tights…’
Han Saebyeok had come to pick up her laundry. After following A-reum on Outstagram, she quickly gathered her laundry and left.
“Unnie, I’ll say hi if I see you at school!”
“Okay.”
Saebyeok replied shortly and opened the door.
Then, our eyes met. This time, she seemed to be looking at me… and her gaze was directed at my neck. Come to think of it, she looked at it yesterday too.
Reflexively, I covered the back of my neck with my hand and awkwardly nodded a greeting. Fortunately, I put on a cover patch today.
Ding.
As soon as Saebyeok left, A-reum fussed over her retreating figure.
“She’s such a cool unnie. So stylish.”
“Cool…?”
More like scary than cool.
“Well, she is good-looking.”
I’m not sure if it’s an appropriate expression to use for a woman, but she looked more stylish than most men. Her hair was short, a bob that didn’t quite reach her shoulders, and the bluish-black color suited her cool demeanor. The tattoos, despite being intimidating, also suited her.
‘If she were a 2D female character, she’d be super popular.’
She had all the elements that would make otakus say, “Step on me, noona.” Anyway, she definitely had a striking character.
As I was having such otaku-like delusions…
“Kang Cheol, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah? What is it?”
A-reum stared intently at my hand. More precisely, at the hand I had placed on the back of my neck.
“I’ve been curious for a while, is that a tattoo?”
She was talking about the tattoo cover patch. I’ve slept with A-reum multiple times, but I’ve never once removed the cover patch.
“…It’s not a tattoo.”
I hesitated for a moment and then pinched the cover patch. It was strange that she hadn’t asked until now. She probably just glossed over it with her innate social awareness.
Rip.
I gently peeled off the cover patch. It should be okay if it’s A-reum, even if it’s not okay with others. We’re constantly sleeping together, so I can’t hide it forever.
Rip. Rip. Riiiiip─.
There wasn’t just one or two patches.
Multiple patches from the nape of my neck to my collarbone.
A-reum’s eyes widened with each patch I peeled off. Her large eyes wavered, unable to focus.
“Th, that……”
Her voice trembled.
A-reum’s words trailed off. She seemed shocked and covered her mouth with her hand.
I spoke as calmly as possible.
“I told you, right? I was bullied a bit in the past. That’s from then.”
“A, a bit?! How… How could they…?”
A-reum said sadly, her expression on the verge of tears.
I smiled bitterly and comforted her.
“I’m okay now. It doesn’t hurt.”
“What do you mean you’re okay…!”
Unable to hold back her tears any longer, A-reum wrapped her arms around my head and hugged me. With her small body, she embraced me and sobbed.
“Sob. Sniff. Of course, it hurts…”
“It really doesn’t hurt.”
“Geez. You idiot, it hurts my heart!”
“…A-reum’s heart is fluffy.”
“Dummy!”
I tried to lighten the mood, but I guess I can’t be like a social butterfly. A-reum scolded me, calling me a dummy, but she seemed overwhelmed with emotion as she hugged me tighter while sobbing.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry……”
“What are you sorry for?”
“For bringing it up. You must not have wanted to show me… I guessed… that you were hiding it on purpose……”
A-reum carefully traced my neck. Her trembling fingers gently caressed the scars.
Burn scars that stretched from my collarbone to the nape of my neck.
Like Mongolian spots, they were the marks left by cigarette burns.
“Can’t you… get rid of these?”
A teardrop fell and traced the burn scars. My skin there is numb, so it felt strange.
“They said it’s difficult because it’s been so long. I didn’t think about removing them right away.”
Back then, I couldn’t bring myself to think about removing the scars. The mental wounds were more severe than the physical ones, so I couldn’t afford to worry about them. My parents were just worried about me being cooped up in my room.
After hearing my story, A-reum murmured in a tearful voice, “Those bastards, those assholes! They should be punished…!”
“Those guys went to juvenile detention, no, juvenile prison.”
“They should be punished more! Let them rot in there forever!”
A-reum cursed on my behalf.
While I was grateful for her feelings, I was also surprised by myself.
“…It’s not as bad as I thought.”
“Sniff. What is?”
“Just… I feel strangely calm.”
These scars, which I’ve always been conscious of and covered with patches, weren’t just simple scars. They were directly related to my trauma, so I didn’t think I’d be able to talk about them so calmly.
Is it because it’s A-reum?
‘If it were someone else…’
The thought made me flinch. It’s not a pretty sight, to say the least. I didn’t want shallow pity from people who didn’t know my situation, and I didn’t want to show them these ugly scars.
But it seemed okay to show A-reum. I was grateful and also sorry for her, crying more sorrowfully than I was.
I reached out and held A-reum’s waist. I sat her on my lap and kissed her.
peck, peck.
I didn’t use my tongue. It wasn’t a prelude to sex; I just felt like kissing her. I think this was the first time I kissed A-reum so lightly.
A-reum looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.
Feeling suddenly shy, I blurted out, “Don’t tell anyone.”
“…Dummy, do I look like that kind of person to you?”
“I showed you because I know you’re not. No one else knows.”
“…….”
“Oh, except my family.”
Besides my family, this was the first time I’d shown anyone these scars. Even Ahn Sung-hyun, who knew something about the incident, probably doesn’t know I have these scars.
I let A-reum go from my embrace. But she still didn’t get off my lap. She just caressed the scars with a pitiful look.
Then she buried her face in my neck and…
Peck.
Soft lips brushed against the scars.
“Wh, what are you doing?”
She started kissing each scar. A-reum’s lips nibbled at the numb skin.
“Peck. I’m going to make the scars disappear.”
“…Hey, that’s not going to work.”
“I don’t care!”
Peck!
“Ouch. Stop it, it feels weird.”
I forcibly pulled A-reum away. She struggled, huffing and puffing, her eyes and nose red, looking quite comical.
“You have a runny nose. Here’s a tissue.”
I tore off a tissue from the table and handed it to her.
A-reum brought the tissue to her nose and blew. No, I told you to blow your nose yourself.
The tissue almost ripped from the force of her blowing.
“Whoa! Hey, you had a lot of snot! Eek!”
I giggled and showed her the tissue, and A-reum punched my shoulder. Ouch, her cotton-candy fists felt a little painful today.
“Geez! Give me more tissues.”
“I told you to blow your nose yourself.”
“You talk too much. Hurry up.”
Smack!
“Feel better?”
“Yeah……”
She seemed embarrassed after blowing her nose. She snatched the tissue from my hand and went to throw it in the trash can herself.
“Get some more sleep. The laundry still has a while to go.”
“I can’t sleep. You woke me up completely.”
“If you close your eyes, you’ll fall asleep again soon. Oh, by the way, did you call your parents?”
“…I don’t know.”
“You didn’t, did you?”
Well, there’s no way she would have called when she was too drunk to even think straight. I wonder if she’ll be grounded again.
Before long, A-reum, her head resting on my lap, fell asleep.
“Zzzzzz─.”
The long late winter, longer than usual, had passed.
It was a spring day with warm sunshine.
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A-Reum is truly best girl