Lumiere squinted his eyes.
The streetlight blinked.
'Shouldn't the lights change?'
He lowered his gaze. Black asphalt floor and his sneakers.
'I can't get used to it.'
I look down at my hand.
Smooth hands without hard flesh or scar. A hand holding a pencil. A hand that has never killed a man.
He closed his eyes.
'What a past life.'
If the past life is this vivid, it may not be called a past life. Iveria, the dragon, and the master's tears that fell on my face are vivid. How is that a previous life?
Sitting in a midsummer classroom, he thought it would be a dream either way.
The feeling of not settling down in reality was the same anytime, anywhere.
Not only under this dusk.
Wearing a school uniform, he sat down and listened to the quiet Korean teacher's voice, looking out into the sun.
'It's like a lie.'
My parents were normal, and I was half-blooded, but I didn't have that much trouble. It was a harmonious family. I'm surprised whenever I think this is what an ordinary family is like.
I am surprised and familiar with it. Whether you're Lumiere or Louis. The boundary was ambiguous.
Memories of his past life began to return when he was five or six years old, and the effects of agreement on speculation or gladiator were so great that he would wake up screaming. Would you come to Korea and go to psychological counseling?
'The psychology counselor was really serious. I thought you saw something rough in Russia.'
He woke up several times with a fit and fell asleep again in his mother's arms.
As time went by, the memories of the past life became faint. Except after I met Ran. Since then, it has been sparkling and clear with hope and light, so Louis has had many dreams again.
Before that, color and light were opened as if they had already forgotten, but not after that.
'I'm ashamed to think about it. But I kicked him clean.'
The idea that I had to get dumped was now a thought that came to my mind. Even if it continued, it would not have been a normal relationship.
'Is this an excuse for a person who got dumped?'
There seemed to be something between Eustaf and Ran that he couldn't get in. Anyway, maybe it's because he's spent time as a brother or sister, or is it just his qualification?
'It's none of my business now. I think they're living really well. I'm a little concerned about the master crying like that....?'
Wouldn't it be okay if she had Eustaf?
More important to him was Sina. At first, I thought she was crazy. Ran asked me to do it, so I was obliged to treat her well.
It was annoying and ridiculous to stick with her like a cat. Seeing that fur lying quietly in front of Ran, I felt a sense of homogeneity.
But basically, he was a grumpy opponent.
'Because there was no one like that before.'
There was no equal to himself, just those who had to protect him. Except Ran is exceptional. Now that I think about it, it was my first friend.
'From friend to lover.'
I've been taking steps step by step. It was more urgent because of the surrounding environment, but the reason for the thought was simple.
'May I see you again?'
Louis felt uneasy.
It was an anxiety that has been felt ever since puberty. After living in Russia for a while as a child and returning to Korea, he was discriminated against as a mixed race, but he also benefited a lot thanks to his appearance.
It was common to be recommended as a model or child actor, and it was the same as growing up. It was hard not to know that he was popular with the opposite sex.
'I've had a lot of confessions, ······.'
But I have never dated anyone.
'I've never liked anyone before.'
"Hey, class is over. Canteen call?"
Louie turned his head when he suddenly slapped his back. It was my friend, Kyungsoo.
"Shall we go?"
With a grin, Louis got up from his seat. This idea was in place as if it were the first round of a squirrel. The two went up to the classroom after buying and biting snackbar from the Mitera store.
"Louis, what are you eating?"
On the stairs, a girl called him and heard Hard.
"Sk X Bar."
"My tongue turns red when I eat it."
"I know."
"Show me."
"That's enough."
When he said so and frowned, the girl giggled and kept asking him to show her, but he avoided the spot. Kyung-soo spoke with a trembling face next to him.
"Aren't she the late?"
"Wedge?"
"Isn't she just Mi-young the dog? She's really pretty, but she's said that seniors in the 3rd grade also took her."
"That's what."
"What do you mean, I'm interested in you. I keep talking."
"No."
"What do you mean no, even at your meeting-"
Spilling his quivering friend's words in one ear, he ate the last bite of the snackbar and threw the stick into the trash.
'It's even worse after high school.'
It was not that Louis was not popular with the opposite sex even in middle school, but Louis was a fighter at that time. There was no middle school student who could beat him, who had the memory of a gladiator.
My mother was fed up, and my father would stir his head wildly, asking, "Are you a Russian mafia?" So as soon as he graduated from middle school, he applied for a high school where he moved to take the test according to his mother's will and passed the test easily because his grades were originally good.
Middle and high schools are another completely different world, and there were no students who were arguing with him because he was a prestigious high school in his own way.
So, of course, his popularity rose vertically compared to middle school. But he couldn't like anyone.
No, I wasn't interested in reason than him.
'But can I like Sina when I meet her?'
I made a promise.....
She exists somewhere in the world. You probably don't remember right now. It must be before that.
Louie thought it was good for Sina to listen to Korean stories in advance.
Other than that, it was a normal high school life.
When I was a senior in high school, I studied to death and went to a satisfactory university.
'Then I'll go see you.'
I became an adult, and I make money with my own hands.
So let's go check, Louie simply thought. It was something I kept thinking about.
I'm going to see Sina.
It was such a natural proposition that the premise of "going to meet" was the same in elementary school, middle school, and high school or college. Just how do we meet? What should I talk about? That's the only thing that's changed.
He took the subway and searched around where she told him on his cell phone. Even though everything else was almost dim, I remembered it several times, so this memory was clear.
I got off at the station and started searching around it. I didn't think we would meet at once anyway.
'I didn't.'
Louis stopped as it was.
'That's ridiculous.'
There were a lot of people around the station, and she didn't even look this way because she was walking while looking at her cell phone.
Nevertheless, everything seemed slow.
Like slow motion, people passed by, and he saw Sina. The world is all natural.
How can this be?
I already knew the sky was blue and the leaves were green. Was it this color? Was it this color? Was the world like this?
"Ha."
A laugh flowed out of his mouth. Louis clenched his fist.
Isn't this cheating?
"Damn, Damn it."
Spouting abusive language, he pressed his eyes hard. Tears are streaming out. My heart beats like crazy.
Even if you met the love of fate, you wouldn't see this reaction.
'I like you.'
I really like you.
No, it's not just about liking it, it's.
Louis laughed.
'I'm here to meet you beyond the world, you know.'
*******
Louis waited.
Enough, until she gets to know herself. I waited until I got back from all that in Lacia, and in the meantime, I found out about the complex and apartment where she lived.
One day, Sina began to appear, and no matter how she went out, she always looked dark.
Sometimes she cried and left the apartment with swollen eyes. It's a crime to watch like this, but there was no other way.
'Are you sure now?'
Louie thought so and took a deep breath.
'I'm going to say hello today.'
Say hello. What should I say?
'What if she don't recognize me? Oh - but I don't think she can recognize it either.'
Or she don't remember, or she don't like yourself. Worried, Louis chose his clothes. Dressing as neatly as possible, Louis went out to see Sina after getting his hair done at the salon.
After leaving the entrance of the apartment, she began to walk in the opposite direction, not in the direction where she was standing, so reflexively Louis called her.
"Sina."
His voice came out appropriately well, so it was surprising to himself. Sina looked back. a surprised but smiling face.
'Don't you recognize me?'
How can I introduce me, Louis grinned.
At that moment, Sina was stiff. The bag fell off Sina's shoulder, which had been hardened. It was quite dull and Louis flinched, but Sina stood as if she hadn't noticed.
Standing blankly, Sina opened her mouth.
"Lu, Lumi········."
"-!"
Louis felt a surge of joy at that moment. She found out!
Louis strode and picked up the bag she spilled.
"Oh, there. Thank you. How can I be·······."
It was easy for him to see that the fumbling voice was made up.
'No, Sina doesn't know.'
'What if she don't recognize me? Oh - but I don't think she can recognize it either.'
Or she don't remember, or she don't like yourself. Worried, Louis chose his clothes. Dressing as neatly as possible, Louis went out to see Sina after getting his hair done at the salon.
Since Sina crossed the world first and she came over, it's natural that she doesn't know. She recognized me even though she didn't know.
Laughter flowed and he spoke cheerfully.
"What, you've already forgotten? You're like a colt on a spring day?"
Sina looked at him with her mouth wide open. her black eyes. The eyes that see me straight.
Those pretty eyes that face me no matter who I am or where I am.
"No, we've met once before, haven't we? I think I saw you in Lazia. Do I have to say that?"
Laughing came out again when I spoke.
The bag I gave her fell again. A dull sound again
'That one. Are you trying to decide what's in your bag....?'
I'm more anxious because it's an eco-bag, but she's a step closer.
"Lu, Lumi, Lumi?"
Her voice was shaking so much that Louis was heartbroken. He smiled softly.
"Yes."
At that moment she hugged him with all her might.
I imagined I would be hugged like this, but I felt completely different when I was actually hugged.
"Lumie, Lumiere, Lumiere-"
Calling my name several times, she began to tremble and cry. The desperately clinging hand was pathetic and lovely.
Above all, Louis was so happy that he hugged her.
"We've barely met."
"Huh-huk-ugh-huk, I, miss, miss-you-huk-uh."
"Yes, me too."
I soothed Sina by gently sweeping her back. I felt the eyes of people passing by, but that was somehow good.
After crying for a long time, Sina managed to come to her senses. Carefully, Louis handed her the tissue, and Sina wiped her tears and hugged him again. There was a tear mark on his coat, but he didn't like she falling more than that.
"Sina, it's cold. Let's go in somewhere. My hands and face are freezing."
"Yes...."
Louie smiled and put his arms around her shoulders because she was so cute and lovely, answering quietly with a nasal voice.
Sina glared at him when she went into a nearby cafe, ordered a warm drink, and came back.
"Why?"
"How can Lumiere be so calm?"
"What?"
"I'm the only one crying like this."
Louis smirked.
"How long have you been back?"
When asked by Louis, Sina frowned and said, "About three months?"
Louis replied quietly.
"I've been waiting twenty years."
I've been like a stalker for the past year.
Tears welled up in her eyes again, so Louis smiled and reached out his hand and rubbed it around her eyes.
"Don't cry."
"I'm tearing up."
Sina grumbled like that. When the bell rang and returned with the drink, Sina stared at her cafe latte and asked carefully.
"Then······· Lumie········?"
"Louis."
"Louis?"
"Ludwig Vladimirovich Ivanov. The full name is this, but it's annoying, so just Louis."
"Are you Russian?"
"My father."
With a grin on his face, Louis clasped his chin. It was good to talk like this now. No matter what she said, she would feel good.
"Lumie Louis, it's amazing that the names are similar."
"It's fate."
Sina blushed at his words. She lowered her gaze and faced him again.
"What happened?"
"So-"
I've already practiced dozens or hundreds of times what to tell her. So, with some skill, Louis was able to talk.
"I thought it was a death flag."
Like this when we meet again.
Louis laughed because he now understood what it meant by Sina's murmur.
"No, but the death flag was really right, wasn't it?"
Sina had a strange face at the remark. Louie looked at her like that and asked carefully.
"There you go."
"Huh?"
"Do you like me?"
"Huh?"
What do you mean? As she looked at him, Louis blushed and lowered his gaze.
"No, you know what. My face is different from when I was Lumiere. What if Sina had a better face."
Sina opened her eyes wide and laughed. I like the voice and appearance of laughing out loud, so I somehow see it even though I am shy.
"I don't care what you look like. Lumie is Lumie." Sina spoke and laughed.
"No, is it Louie now?"
"Is Lumiere still more comfortable?"
At Louis's question, Sina frowned and shook her head.
"No, I'll call you Louie because we've met again for a long time."
"I'd appreciate it."
As Louis nodded, Sina held both hands and closed her eyes.
"I'm going to pray for the happiness of Ran Unnie for the rest of my life. Make a lot of money, Unnie. Just walk on the flower road."
Louis laughed at the murmur of Sina.
"My master will be happy."
There's Eustaf on her. He's a man who would do anything if Ran wasn't happy. A different kind of human being from one's own The only thing that bothered me was my sister, Lily.
I hope she don't feel guilty.
He sincerely hoped that she would be happy there because he was happy here. Then Lumiere slipped away and said.
"And now that Sina's an office worker, right? Weekend off?"
I'm asking you to check even though I already know.
"Yes, ah. What about Louis?"
"I'm a student."
Sina's eyes widened as she grinned. She looked blankly at him and shouted.
"Are you that old?"
At the moment, attention was focused around Louis, and he motioned to lower his voice. Sina's cheeks turned red. I didn't know if it was because of shame or excitement, but it was.
"Then, then what? How old are you? How much younger than me? Are you a high school student? It's not like that, is it?"
I can't buy a minor at all. With a desperate face, Louis laughed.
"I'm a grown-up. Now I'm a sophomore."
"I see..... I see..... So you're going Louis ······?"
"Yeah, right? How does it compare to the life of the Knights?"
"Suddenly, I felt real. Louis is in the army. The army. You're really here. Really."
As she was beautiful in her bewitching speech, Louis reached out and caressed her cheek lightly.
"Why, whyy?"
"Because you're pretty."
"Lumie, no, Louis, come to think of it, I think it was this personality."
Blushing her cheeks, she didn't avoid his touch.
Touching her soft cheeks, Louis lowered his hand satisfied. Sina looked at the hand with a sad look and murmured.
"What should I say around me? If I suddenly have a younger boyfriend."
"You're capable, aren't you?"
At Louis's grin, Sina opened her eyes round and laughed. The two sat down and talked until the coffee was empty.
The story of Lazia was endless because it was never told to anyone.
Sina hesitated as the night got dark and he looked forward to her in front of the house.
"Why?"
"What if it's all a dream?"
Seeing her anxious face, Louis leaned down and kissed her cheek lightly.
"It's not a dream."
Sina looked at plastic bag and said, "If you're going to do it, do it right."
Louis burst into laughter and bowed down again. My lips touched gently. I could smell the coffee I drank earlier. I slightly pulled her lips, touched them, and my tongue came slightly between my open lips, touched them, and went out. Like eating ice cream, the lips melted gently.
I thought his arms around my waist would strengthen and the kiss would get deeper, but it was over.
'What is this?'
Sina stared blankly at Louis.
'Who's so good at kissing?'
Louis approached and asked, "One more time?" so Sina almost nodded without realizing it. But this is in front of the house and someone might see it.
It was already too dark a kiss to do on the street.
"Next, next time."
At Sina's words, Louis laughed and released her hands and came down the stairs.
"Good-bye."
"Yes."
Sina began to laugh as she entered the front door of her apartment. The corners of the mouth and cheekbones hurt. She closed her eyes again and wished Ran happiness.
Because you're sure of our happiness.
< THE END >