Side Story Chapter 8. A Fleeting Fantasy
The atmosphere, which had been slowly heating up, became frozen in an instant—with the mention of a person’s name.
‘Oh my.’ Teresa looked at Yunael and smiled inwardly. Until a while ago, Yunael had vigorously talked and actively partic.i.p.ated in the energetic atmosphere, but now, there was only a woman frozen in surprise. It wasn’t just Yunael. Teresa felt all the women here, including Ru Hiana and Yeriel, were all in a state of heightened senses. She seemed to have hit a nerve. Teresa chuckled inwardly and looked around. The answer she was going to get was obvious even if she just grabbed anyone and poked fun. Thus, she needed someone to take the lead in this conversation.
Just in time, Teresa caught someone perfect for this role on her radar and said, “Come to think of it, our Evelyn unnie is—”
“Choi Chi-Woo.”
Teresa was taken aback by Evelyn’s immediate answer. “What, I didn’t even ask anything—”
“Choi Chi-Woo.”
“No, wait a minute.”
“Choi Chi-Woo.”
“Unnie, you are Liber’s greatest beauty. You might even be the most beautiful in this whole universe at the moment. There are countless men in the universe pining for your heart. Are you really going to throw away all their affection for just one man?”
Evelyn raised her head and looked up at the ceiling. Then she quietly said as if she was talking to herself, “Choi Chi-Woo.”
Teresa tilted her head. She understood Evelyn’s feeling very well, but she hadn’t known it ran so deep. When Teresa looked around again, everyone was busily avoiding her eyes. They knew what her question was going to be, but they all looked ready to kill her if Teresa singled them out. Teresa paid no heed and, after slowly searching for her prey, chose the easiest prey among them all, Ru Hiana. “Ru Hiana unnie?”
“Uh, are you talking to me?” Ru Hiana was startled.
“What about you?”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Come on, don’t pretend to be ignorant. What do you think about Chi-Woo oppa?”
“Uh, what do you mean what I think about him? He’s a senior that I respect, and he’s the leader of the organization that I’m part of, and…” Ru Hiana rambled.
“I’m also well aware of who Chi-Woo oppa is, but I’m not talking about his social status on Liber. What do you think of him as a man?”
Ru Hiana chewed her lower lip at Teresa’s obnoxiously specific question. She looked around as if pleading with her to move on to the next person, but Teresa had no intention of letting her prey go. In the end, Ru Hiana had no choice but to open her mouth. “Uh…w-well? I never thought about it so…How could someone like me dare think of him in that way…?”
“Hey, don’t be like that! We’re all free to imagine, right?”
“Is…that so?”
“Of course. Absolutely. So go ahead and tell us. Quickly!”
At Teresa’s urging, Ru Hiana twisted her hair like crazy and didn’t know where to look. She was so embarra.s.sed that her pale skin became noticeably red at the thought of it alone. No one knew what in the world she was imagining, but the corners of her mouth twitched for a moment. Soon, Ru Hiana realized her mistake and carefully continued while glancing around, “Uh…I don’t know…Senior…as a man…I think he’s a bit…calm…”
“Ah, so you don’t like him because he’s boring? Like Mr. Ru Amuh?”
“No, no! That’s not what I meant!” Ru Hiana quickly waved her hand in frantic denial. “Of course, Senior is way better than Ruahu!”
“Ah! So rather than dating Mr. Ru Amuh, you"d rather go out with Chi-Woo oppa?”
“Uh…um…” Ru Hiana’s face reddened like a ripe persimmon on the verge of bursting. She soundlessly moved her mouth and then dived straight into the water with a resentful tone. “Ah, I don’t know…” As her blonde ponytail disappeared into the water as if it was getting sucked in, bubbles rose to the surface.
Teresa was satisfied. Excluding Evelyn, this wasn’t bad for the first batter. Then the next target—
“Yunael unnie?” Yunael, who was looking elsewhere with an indifferent expression as if she wasn’t interested, jumped. “What about you?”
“…Uh? Me?”
“Yes! What do you think of Chi-Woo oppa as a man?” Teresa posed the question first this time in case Yunael tried to wiggle out like Ru Hiana.
Yunael didn’t reply. Just a moment ago, she had been putting on airs and talked so much about Emmanuel and Ru Amuh, but she was now dead silent. “Well…uh…” Suddenly, she was acting like a shy newlywed bride on her first night. She looked at the water with her head down for a while, and her choice in the end was—pa.s.s the question over. “Ah, come to think of it, what do you think, Aida…?”
Aida broadly smiled as Yunael, who clearly sounded fl.u.s.tered, struggled to put on a straight face. She could clearly see how Yunael felt. Usually, she would have played along, but she didn’t do it this time. “Why are you asking me all of a sudden?” It was because Aida was also interested in the situation that Teresa had created and wanted to join in the fun. “Ms. Teresa specifically asked you. Then you should reply to her. Why are you pa.s.sing the question to me without answering it?”
“N-No, I just!”
“Is it because you’re embarra.s.sed? Because it’s hard to answer?”
“W-What, of course not!”
“Then answer her question.”
Yunael groaned and shouted, “No! Why should I answer first?”
“The first to answer were Ms. Evelyn and Ms. Ru Hiana.”
“I don’t know anything about that! Anyway, if you don’t answer, I won’t either!” Yunael was being unreasonable, but she was still dancing within Aida’s palm in the end.
“Then will you only do the same after I give you my answer?”
“Yeah! That"s it! I’ll never answer unless you do it first!”
“I see, I understand. I like it.”
“…What?”
“I’m happy enough to die thinking that I’ll accept my lord as my life partner. Just imagining it makes me feel so happy that I’ll faint.”
“…”
“I’ll repeat it for you. I, Aida, think of Lord Chi-Woo as an amazing man and person, and as a woman, I want to live with him until death.” When Aida looked straight at her and clearly enunciated every word, Yunael instantly became quiet. She hadn’t antic.i.p.ated that Aida would come out so strong like this. “I’ve made my position clear. You said you’d tell me if I told you, right? Now it’s your turn.”
Aida said all these words very quickly, and Yunael gaped in bewilderment. “Uh, uh…”
While Yunael hesitated, Teresa secretly gave Aida a thumbs-up, and Aida responded with a sly smile.
“It’s Yunael unnie’s turn!”
“Please go ahead and tell us! Hurry!”
Under the simultaneous pressure from Teresa and Aida, Yunael felt a strong spell of dizziness. She was getting much more flushed than Ru Hiana; not only her face, but her whole body. Teresa snickered as she saw Yunael shake as if she was going to explode with the slightest poke. Soon, Yunael quickly turned around and seemed as if she was going to finally talk, but—
Splas.h.!.+ She toppled backward into the water. Shocked, they went to fish her out and found her eyes spinning in circles. “Ehe…heheee…” Judging by how she had her tongue out with her eyes wide open, she seemed to have lost her mind after getting too heated up.
“The stimulus may have been too strong,” Aida murmured regretfully.
“What! Just by this much!”
“Please understand her position. She only recently became a woman. She has no immunity for situations like this.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“It’s a characteristic of the Tania Family. They are born s.e.xless, and then under the influence of hormones, their s.e.x is determined after the person they love appears.”
“Wait a minute? Then the fact that she became a woman means…”
“For your information, when her gender was determined, the only man she had contact with was Lord Chi-Woo.”
“Ah, what the heck. Then she had basically answered with her body. And a long time ago at that.”
“Yes, if you think about it that way. Yunael’s body is much more honest than her words.”
After Yunael was publicly executed in front of everyone, Aida dragged her friend, who may have been dishonest with her words but honest with her body, outside. There was a huge commotion, but it wasn’t over yet. There were still many people left to ask. This situation wouldn’t end until Teresa got an answer from everyone. After resolving herself, she began to look for her next prey.
“Wait a minute. I’ve been listening to it for a while, but there’s something that has been bothering me a bit.” The next prey volunteered herself to be eaten—it was Apoline. “What’s with the way you address him?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Oppa this and oppa that—who are you to call our leader oppa? Even I don’t call him that!” It felt like the last part was what Apoline truly wanted to say, but it was a surprisingly political complaint, so Teresa didn’t know how to answer.
“What’s so wrong about it? I call him oppa too, and this isn’t even a public s.p.a.ce. Does it matter?” Fortunately, Yeriel came to the rescue.
Apoline glared at her for intervening, but Yeriel paid no heed to her and continued, “Anyway, about Chi-Woo oppa…”
“What about you, Yeriel unnie?”
“Me?”
“Yes. What would you do if Chi-Woo oppa asked you out? Will you accept it?”
“Hey, is that even a question?” Yeriel replied without hesitation. “Duh, of course. f.u.c.k yeah.”
“W-What did you say?” For some reason, Apoline was appalled.
“I mean, to be honest—his appearance is good enough, and there’s no need to even talk about his ability. And he’s a Choi at that?” Yeriel continued, folding her fingers one by one. “Do I have to even say anything else? The great legend would call me sister-in-law. Who wouldn’t say yes? Am I wrong?” It was quite a materialistic reason, but it was also the most straightforward one. “Frankly, it’s not just a matter of saying thanks. If he’s given to me, I’ll bow deeply and eat the whole thing. I’ll bow three times a day and gladly eat to my fullest.”
“G-Give? Eat? What—what are you going to eat?!”
When Apoline shouted, Yeriel snorted. “Come on now. Then are you going to get married and sleep separately for the rest of your life? You have to get things heated up every night, not just during the honeymoon period.”
“H-How vulgar!”
“What’s so vulgar about it? Seriously geez. s.e.xual desire is one of the three basic human desires. Hunger, sleep, and s.e.x.”
“I know that! I’m saying that you’re shameless for having such dirty thoughts about him!”
Yeriel lifted one brow at Apoline’s fierce accusation. “...Oh, is that so?” With a lopsided smile, she stood up to reveal her naked body with water flowing down. “Then shall I show you what’s really shameless? Huh?”
“W-What are you…” Apoline uneasily gazed at Yeriel, who was approaching her while shaking her hips. “Imagine it…” Yeriel whispered close to Apoline’s ear. “Put Chi-Woo oppa on the bed…and tie up his arms and legs…of course naked…”
Apoline unconsciously gulped at Yeriel’s sultry voice. “And…you’re also tied up…sitting in a chair…with a gag in your mouth…”
“…What? Why am I also…?”
“And…I’ll get on top of him and…laugh as you cry tears of blood…and shake my hips like crazy. Like this, like that!” Yeriel suddenly changed the story around and moved her waist rhythmically in front of Apoline, shaking her b.u.t.t. She was so busy laughing that she didn’t see Apoline’s changing expression. “How about it? Just thinking about it gets you—ackk! Ecck aghhhhh!” Yeriel screamed.
Apoline, who had really imagined it, became furious and grabbed Yeriel’s hair. “You f.u.c.king bitc—!”
“Ah! Wait! Wait a minute! A joke! I was just joking!”
The once quiet bath house was now a complete mess. Teresa, who stared blankly at Apoline as she scratched Yeriel’s face like a cat, suddenly shouted, “Ah!” She saw Eshnunna try to sneak out of the bath house.
“Wait! How can you just run away after listening to everything?” Teresa stretched out her arm, but Eshnunna didn’t listen. It felt as if she was going to be the next target, so she quickly ran away using the disturbance to her advantage. Eshnunna moved very quickly, befitting a native who had survived such a monumental crisis. Then Teresa, who was at a loss while watching the tangled mess Apoline and Yeriel had become, suddenly caught Shersha before she could sneak away with Eshnunna. “No! You can’t go!” She immediately threw her body down over Shersha.
Then the commotion grew even bigger when Shersha tried to desperately run away as if her life depended on it. And Evelyn, who was looking at this scene with a calm face, suddenly turned around. Looking at the silver-haired girl with a bemused serious expression on her face, she asked, “Hawa, what are you thinking so deeply about?”
Hawa raised her head. “I remembered an old tale pa.s.sed down from the Shahnaz tribe.”
“An old tale? What tale?”
“It’s the story of two fools and an eccentric.”
Once upon a time, there were two fools in the Shahnaz tribe. The Shahnaz tribe strictly prohibited gambling under law, but after getting a taste of it, they couldn’t stop gambling. Then one day, the two were suddenly consumed by anxiety on their way to gambling. They worried about what would happen if they hit the jackpot. Of course, it would be good to have a lot of money, but if they took the money and went back to their tribe, they’d definitely be asked the source of their money. Since they’d be severely punished if they said they earned it by gambling, they worried about what to do. Then, the eccentric laughed when the two fools came to find an appropriate solution.
–Just go and gamble. Why are you already worried about something that’s not going to happen anyway? It won’t be too late to worry about that after making a lot of money.
The two fools were greatly enlightened by the eccentric’s words, so they put aside their worries and enjoyed gambling to their hearts’ content. “Just.” Hawa grinned as she retold an old tale out of the blue and said, “I just suddenly thought of it while listening to them.”
Evelyn’s face slightly darkened as she also came to realize the crucial fact. “…Yeah.” Evelyn made a bitter smile and sighed deeply. What did all this matter? “That’s right. When the person involved doesn"t have any intentions in the first place…”
It wasn’t only her. Apoline and Yeriel, who were fighting fiercely, and Shersha and Teresa, who were tangled up with each other, all reacted the same way.
“…”
“…”
After hearing Hawa’s words, the noisy bath house instantly fell quiet—as if they all suddenly got a serious reality check.