Chapter 239

Epilogue (1)

January.

The blue sky was no different than usual. It was the color of a sky-blue paint that had been overturned.

“Uuugh.”

I put down what I was holding and straightened my back. I saw the green barrel in front of me. The neighborhood dumpster. The bin was full of tightly tied garbage bags.

I quickly closed the cover before the smell spread out. The dumpster in this neighborhood is cleaner than I remember. Garbage was rare even on the road in front of the house.

Someone said that this was due to the beautification of the neighborhood related to economic power. But looking at it like this, it might be that this neighborhood is inhabited by people who are not bad.

The first reason for guessing that way is because I don’t know the neighborhood well yet. At least the people don’t seem to show their face much…….

“h.e.l.lo!”

Oh, what a surprise. I flinched and turned my back.

Behind me stood a girl in a neat school uniform. She was 19 years old. It was a familiar face.

“I’m surprised.”

The high schooler burst into laughter. It was a bright laugh.

“You don’t look surprised at all, it’s funny when you say that, Sister.”

She was a student living next door. The place next door to us is also a house with a clear wall, just like ours, but different people lived on the first and second floors.

This student was the youngest daughter of the owner’s side of the house next door.

“Going to school? You leave early.”

“Yes!”

The student next door gave a quick nod.

“Now, I’m a senior in high school, I have to come early. There will be tests from March too. I’m going to die.”

I glanced at the student next door. Indeed. She was soaked in the feeling of not wanting to go to school, the vest was visible through the long padded jacket.

“Does Sister always get up early?”

“You know. I don’t usually wake up early, but I wake up at this time every time.”

Having said that, I murmured softly.

“Maybe I have not adjusted to the time difference?”

The student next door asked ‘what?’. I quickly shook my head. It must be a joke she can’t understand.

But the student next door seemed to have managed to catch a few words.

“Time difference? Wow, is Sister from abroad?”

She showed a curious expression. I guess she looked like she wanted to do anything except go to school.

“You always didn’t tell me where you were from. Was it because you were from abroad?”

“Well, it’s roughly the same.”

Actually, there are other circ.u.mstances, but I just glossed over it. Then her eyes lit up.

“Wow, wow. Sister, are you good at English? Or French? German? Spanish?”

I didn’t hate the kid next door. Rather, I liked her. When her eyes were shining so brightly, it reminded me of the Rose I had left in another world.

I smiled.

I probably won’t be able to say that.

I muttered to myself inside. It won’t really be a problem. I will know how to speak any language regardless of my knowledge.

When I didn’t answer, the student next door seemed to figure it out on her own. Holding her chin with her index finger and thumb, she nodded her head.

“No wonder. No wonder. Because Sister was unusual. Even from the first meeting!”

“From the beginning?”

The round eyes stared at me. The hair along the bun, which was tied up as if she hadn’t washed her hair, dangled along.

“You were out of the ordinary. I told my mom that I felt something, like an aura, from you?”

“Aura?”

“Well, celebrities have them!”

I almost burst out laughing, but I held back.

“Oh, why did you laugh? Sister. I really thought that Sister was preparing to be an idol. No. Is Sister an actress? Actress!”

The student next door explained by drawing a square in the empty air. It may be a movie theater screen.

“But wherever I look at Sister, you look Korean. But you’re very pretty, and don’t feel like a Korean either……. You must have lived abroad.”

It sounded gibberish, but I understood the meaning.

As she said, after coming over here, my appearance was transformed to resemble the people here. To be precise, it seems that there is no sense of peculiarity in others’ eyes.

It seemed like my original appearance and ‘Lee Ana’s’ were mixed. But fortunately, I had no problem a.s.similating into this place with this appearance. First of all, it’s because my hair color and eyes were pitch black.

I scratched my cheek as I listened to the continuous compliments. This kid seemed like Francia, but more like a puppy. For instance, she was closer to Francia during her childhood.

I stopped touching my cheek and tilted my upper body slightly. This kid was smaller than me, so I had to tilt my head. I smiled brightly while making eye contact.

“Thank you for saying I am pretty.”

The kid next door was startled. After that, her cheeks grew red.

“What, what! Are you trying to seduce me? Is that so?”

The kid next door tried to hit my forearm, but ended up quickly grabbing my forearm and shook it. Her fussy reaction was something I was used to.

Rather, I am not bored anymore. The student next door looked at me with her eyes twinkling.

“Sister, I think being pretty is really alright. I really like pretty sisters.”

Then, with a serious expression, she spoke.

“My cousin says that girls are jealous of other pretty girls, but it’s all bulls.h.i.t. I feel so good when I see you!”

“Uh, um. I know. Really bull, no. That’s nonsense.”

I bewilderedly agreed.

“But Brother doesn’t talk nonsense like this!”

“What?”

If it’s Brother, it’s probably this kid’s real older brother, the eldest son next door. Was he a soph.o.m.ore in college?

I remember that he was very tall and looked quite slender.

The kid next door was looking at me with expectant eyes for some reason. Not knowing what she meant, I tilted my head. But she quietly tilted her head toward my back.

Like looking for someone.

“By the way, sister, today, is he, not here?”

“Not here?”

The kid next door’s face flicked back to me. Then, with a flushed face, she raised her voice to the same level as before.

“The handsome Brother!”

Ah, I laughed right away when I realized the answer.

“He, he. How can a person look like that? I am amazed every time I see him. He doesn’t come out very much…….”

“It’s because he doesn’t like going out very much.”

“That’s right, I think he only came out when he was with Sister. Is it because people stare at him? No. I guess they will surely stare.”

Well. Rather, it’s because he just wants to be in an enclosed s.p.a.ce with me all day…….

I decided to leave the truth for the child who is still young.

Maybe my Red Rose is still sleeping peacefully inside the house, half-naked. As the name suggests, with red marks on his body and my body underneath the clothes.

“I guess so.”

“Well, there’s no helping it. Because he is veeerryy handsome and his eyes are blue. Perhaps since he’s a foreigner.”

Hearing her words, I smiled and fell silent.

He’s not just a foreigner.

His silver hair was too conspicuous, so I dyed it black, but his eyes were still blue because I couldn’t do anything about it.

In fact, even when Ricdorian went outside, he didn’t seem to pay much attention to the gazes. When we came out, he was only looking at me.

“Anyway, don’t you have to go?”

I didn’t have a watch, but I could tell that time had pa.s.sed.

We moved around the dumpster, but we were still in front of the wall.

“Ah! Ugh, I hate to go. I hate high school..…. If only I could close my eyes and it would be December when I open my eyes…….”

In mourning, her shoulders drooped. Then a m.u.f.fled voice came out.

Jump!

Slam!

I heard the door open. We turned our backs together and headed towards the sound.

The door that was opened was none other than my house’s. And the inside of the door was empty.

“Oh, Sister. Did the door open by itself?”

It was at that moment that the kid next door spoke. I wrinkled my nose and laughed. Then I said, feeling a strong arm wrapped around my waist.

“Oh, my door has a bit of a problem.”

It acts up when I’m away for a while.

I glanced around, and before I knew it, there was a man wrapped around my back, leaning his face on my neck and exhaling slowly.

“…… Ana.”

Ricdorian’s voice was chillingly low and languid, as if he had just woken up.

“Where have you been…….”

I raised my hand and gently stroked the top of his head.

It wasn’t until later that I realized that the roses had their own scent, and it stayed the same in any situation. Even if they do not wash, even if they just wake up, they are just full of their scent, let alone an unpleasant smell.

Weirdly enough.

The student’s face who took turns looking at us slightly reddened.

It was probably because of Ricdorian, with his upper body exposed, that gave her nowhere else to look.

“Sorry. Our house’s child has..….”

I need to choose the right words.

“Separation anxiety.”

I wondered if it was an expression more appropriate for a pet than a person.