Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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I didn’t usually memorize the names of flowers.
I knew flowers that were famous and often seen in everyday life, like cherry blossoms, roses, tulips, carnations, and forsythia, but I was mostly ignorant about other flowers.
But still, I liked looking at flowers.
Even though I didn’t go out of my way to see them, there were times when I would unintentionally stop to admire the colorful flowers displayed in front of a flower shop while walking by.
I never thought of actually buying them, though.
I had only ever bought carnations a few times to give to my parents.
Because of that, I didn’t know the names of most of the flowers in the flower garden.
But I liked them.
The flowers were beautiful.
Click.
I heard that sound and instinctively looked up to see So-hee pointing her smartphone camera at me.
“Oh, uh, just, you looked pretty.”
When our eyes met, So-hee awkwardly smiled and lowered her phone as if embarrassed.
Well, I didn’t mind being photographed.
It’s only when strangers secretly take pictures of me, like last time when it was in the news, that I don’t like it.
But I don’t mind if my close friends take my picture.
It’s not like I think it’s absolutely wrong to secretly take pictures.
I just feel personally uncomfortable with it.
‘Still, I don’t like it when strangers do it.’
Sara, inside me, said.
There was a faint sense of fear in her voice.
…Then, I’ll be more careful about that next time.
Seeing that I didn’t say anything, So-hee, perhaps misunderstanding, quickly chose the photo she had just taken and showed it to me.
In the picture, Sara was captured sitting crouched in front of the flower bed, quietly gazing at an unknown flower.
It certainly looked picturesque.
Perhaps because of the bright sunshine and clear weather, the photo turned out very vibrant.
“How is it? Not bad, right?” So-hee asked, checking my reaction, and I nodded.
“Ah.”
Next to us, Soo-ah clapped her hands and spoke.
“Then, let’s take a picture together. We haven’t taken a group photo until now.”
Ah.
Now that I think about it, she was right.
For all the time we spent together, we didn’t take many pictures.
Maybe we hadn’t even thought about it.
“That sounds good.”
Ha-neul nodded eagerly.
“Yeah, let’s do it,”
I said as I stood up.
“Let’s take a picture together.”
*
As usual, when these things come up, taking just one picture wasn’t enough.
It seemed like, until now, they had been holding back because of me, but So-hee, Soo-ah, and Ha-neul all wanted to take a picture with me one by one.
“Okay, I’ll take the picture.”
At the count of one, two, three, Yang Hye-in moved her fingers, and a click sound came from the smartphone.
Except for the selfies we took ourselves, all the other photos were taken by Yang Hye-in.
We took pictures with me in the middle, arms linked, then switched positions and took another one, and only after everyone had taken their turns were they satisfied.
Well, I’m sure they’ll want to take more photos elsewhere too, since I gave them permission.
Thankfully, Sara didn’t seem to mind taking pictures.
“…”
However, just as we were about to move on, I felt an odd sense of emptiness.
It was like the feeling you get when you leave a place and suddenly realize you forgot something, like your pocket feels empty.
I only realized what that feeling was when I stepped away from the flower bed.
“Miss Yang Hye-in, aren’t you going to take a picture?”
I asked absentmindedly.
Our group stopped in their tracks.
“…”
Yang Hye-in looked at me a bit stiffly.
With her taller height and her stern expression, she looked a little intimidating, but in reality, she wasn’t much older than me.
Besides, she was an employee, and I was her employer.
Ah, right, this was the first time I had called her by her name.
I had always found it awkward to call her by her name, so I avoided calling her at all.
When I did, I just called her “maid.”
But I couldn’t exactly call her that outside, could I?
After all, even So-hee was technically my personal maid.
“…Won’t you take a picture?”
I asked again.
After a moment of hesitation, Yang Hye-in nodded.
“I’ll take one.”
Her voice sounded slightly tense for some reason.
*
Surprisingly, the amusement park, which was carved directly into the mountain, still had more places to go.
The Ferris wheel, which could be called the trademark of this amusement park, was even higher than the flower garden, which was already on relatively high ground.
Well, it made sense.
The higher a Ferris wheel is, the more expansive the view.
It would be almost rude to not ride the Ferris wheel on such a clear day.
In the world I came from, the Ferris wheel at the local amusement park had stopped operating due to old age, but that didn’t seem to be the case in this world.
According to the description, the old one was torn down and rebuilt in almost the same shape.
With the group having so much money, such things seemed to be done without much thought.
Unsurprisingly, there were tons of people who had the same idea as us, and there was a long line of people waiting to ride the Ferris wheel.
Luckily, since people kept boarding and exiting, the line moved relatively quickly.
This time, I ended up riding with Ha-neul.
Yang Hye-in said she would wait outside, but since we had come all this way, I felt it would be wrong to leave her standing there alone, so I insisted we ride together.
As a result, we split into two teams.
The maximum number of people allowed in one Ferris wheel cabin was four, and since we were five, we decided to split into groups of three and two.
I thought it might be less awkward if I joined Yang Hye-in’s side, but for some reason, the group insisted that I be in the group of two, and we ended up splitting that way.
The method we used to decide teams was flipping our palms over.
So, I ended up riding with Ha-neul.
“…”
“…”
Hmm.
It felt a bit awkward now that it was just the two of us.
Sitting across from each other in the cramped Ferris wheel cabin made things a little uncomfortable.
What should we talk about?
Come to think of it, we hadn’t watched a movie or TV show together before.
We had never even discussed what kinds of food we liked.
Somehow, we ended up hanging out and playing together, but we still knew very little about each other.
…No, wait.
There was one thing that only the two of us shared.
In fact, that was the reason why I felt a bit awkward in this situation.
Ha-neul was the only person who knew I wasn’t really “Sara.”
To be exact, she was the only one who treated me not as a “memory” but as a “separate personality.”
The last conversation we had when we were alone had been about that, so I didn’t know what to say here.
“Is ‘Sara’ still with you?”
Ha-neul asked while I was debating what to say.
When I turned my gaze from the window, Ha-neul was staring straight at me.
“Yeah, she’s still with me.”
I felt a mix of relief that I didn’t have to break the awkward silence and discomfort at having this kind of conversation.
“I see.”
Ha-neul mumbled, then asked,
“Can I sit next to you?”
“Huh? Of course…”
I started to say, but I was startled by the discomfort that rose from deep within me.
Uh… Why is Sara reacting like this to Ha-neul’s words?
But before I could dwell on that feeling, Ha-neul had already sat next to me.
Right next to me.
“So, I’ve been thinking.”
“Uh, yeah.”
It was hard to look directly at Ha-neul’s face.
Our shoulders were touching.
If I turned my head, our noses might brush against each other.
“Sara’s memories change when she experiences strong emotions, right?”
“Well, yeah…”
At least, that’s how it had been so far.
If there was a better way, I would definitely prefer it.
“And the strongest emotions Sara feels come from meeting the chairman of the Eugene Group, right?”
“Uh… Yeah, but…”
While speaking, Ha-neul moved even closer to me.
Since I was desperately looking out the window, I couldn’t see her expression.
The uneasy feeling inside me kept growing.
Maybe Sara didn’t like physical contact with others that much?
One of Ha-neul’s arms went behind my back.
Her other arm came around in front of me.
Ha-neul pulled herself right up against me, holding me with her arms like she was hugging me.
“Uh, uh, Ha-neul?”
“So, I’ve been thinking that maybe there’s another way to switch between you two.”
“…Huh?”
That one sentence made my embarrassment vanish.
Because it was a shockingly bold statement that blew all my other emotions away.
“How…?”
I unconsciously turned my head, and I almost brushed lips with Ha-neul.
Her face, flushed red, was right in front of me, gazing at me.
“Ah, um, uh…”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
“If strong emotions cause the switch,”
With each word, Ha-neul’s breath touched my skin.
Her face was so close that all I could see were her deep eyes.
“Then maybe we just need to create those strong emotions, don’t you think?”
Inside, Sara’s unease had grown to the point of bursting.
“Uh, uh, wait…”
Ha-neul’s face came closer.
Once again, our breaths mingled—
*
—I returned to my body at a moment I didn’t want to.
“…”
“…”
Yoo Ha-neul’s face, which had been leaning toward her, stopped abruptly.
“…It’s you.”
The arms that had been wrapped around me quickly released.
Yoo Ha-neul immediately moved away, creating some distance.
It seemed like a display of discomfort toward physical contact, but I didn’t particularly care.
“…Were you using that as an excuse to try and kiss me?”
“…No, I was genuinely curious if it would work.”
“You must be disappointed that it did.”
“…”
Judging by her silence, she seemed genuinely disappointed.
Honestly, I was surprised too.
I didn’t expect being that close to her to trigger a “strong emotion” for me.
…Though the type of emotion I felt was different from what they felt.
While they felt excitement and embarrassment from being close to Yoo Ha-neul, the emotions I felt while sitting close to Yoo Ha-neul were… embarrassment and frustration.
The emotions were directed inward.
“…”
“…”
Having unintentionally discovered another method, we sat in silence for a while, each looking in opposite directions.