Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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Time passed slowly.
It wasn’t because Yoo Ha-neul disliked ‘Sara’.
Despite everything, Yoo Ha-neul still considered ‘Sara’ a friend.
It wasn’t just because of Sara’s request.
‘Sara’ was always there with Sara, and while spending time together, there weren’t any particularly bad memories.
Yoo Ha-neul still didn’t fully know what ‘Sara’ thought of her, but whether it was because of her own nature or for Sara’s sake, ‘Sara’ didn’t act too sharply when they were together.
…At least, that’s what she thought.
The reason it was in the past tense wasn’t just because ‘Sara’s’ attitude towards Yoo Ha-neul had subtly changed.
It was because of what had just happened, which gave Yoo Ha-neul a bit of insight into what ‘Sara’ might be thinking.
Perhaps ‘Sara’ was, Sara—
“…She asked you to be friends with me?”
‘Sara’ interrupted Yoo Ha-neul’s thoughts.
When she turned her head, she saw that ‘Sara’ was still looking out the window.
Even though she had been terrified of the rides and the haunted house, it seemed being up this high wasn’t as scary for her.
Well, the one who had enjoyed those two things wasn’t ‘Sara’, but Sara.
“Sara did ask me that.”
For some reason, Yoo Ha-neul answered somewhat curtly, unwilling to back down.
Yes, she knew.
She knew that her attitude wasn’t the best.
Still, no matter what, this was a rare chance to spend time ‘alone’ with Sara.
It wasn’t a long time, but how romantic was the place and moment?
Actually, ‘Sara’ had almost completely seen through Yoo Ha-neul’s thoughts a little while ago.
Part of it was wanting to experiment a bit, but more than that, she had wanted to use it as an excuse to do some things with Sara…
Recently, Sara had been slowly realizing the concept of ‘distance between friends’.
She hadn’t explicitly drawn the line, but physical contact between friends had become very natural lately.
Even without words, since Sara had been acting appropriately first, it took much more courage to go further beyond that.
Or maybe, a ‘justification’.
She didn’t want to cross that line without any justification and risk making Sara uncomfortable.
And that’s where the idea from the classroom incident came from.
She knew well that recreating that event was a rather petty thing to do.
‘Sara’ hadn’t acted that way out of a sexual interest in Yoo Ha-neul; she had only done it to bring Sara out.
Using that act for a ‘sexual reason’ didn’t feel right.
“But there are many different kinds of friendships.”
However, Yoo Ha-neul still couldn’t be honest in front of ‘Sara’.
Of course not.
While she didn’t know how others thought, Yoo Ha-neul perceived ‘Sara’ as different from Sara.
If Yoo Ha-neul wanted to, well, share love, of course the one she wanted was Sara, not ‘Sara’.
The person Yoo Ha-neul liked was Sara.
But this situation had now thrown a wrench into that plan.
If even a slight touch on the face was enough to make her switch personalities, what was going to happen after that?
“What a shame.”
While she was lost in thought, ‘Sara’ mumbled something.
When Yoo Ha-neul looked over again, ‘Sara’ was still staring out the window.
And then, as if talking to herself, she continued speaking.
“If her personality switches to me every time you try to kiss her, in the end, even if you kiss her for the first time, it’ll be with ‘me’. You won’t be able to kiss her.”
“…”
It was clearly a provocation.
Honestly, when thinking about it rationally, the same applied to Sara and ‘Sara’ sharing the same body.
No matter how much ‘Sara’ liked Sara, the two of them couldn’t do anything physically.
Mentally, maybe.
When thinking about it ‘rationally’, that was the case.
“If you two got married, I’d come along too. If you marry her, you marry me as well.”
But right now, Yoo Ha-neul wasn’t feeling very rational.
“…Why are you saying this?”
Yoo Ha-neul asked in a somewhat stiff voice.
“…”
‘Sara’ remained silent for a while before turning her head to look directly at Yoo Ha-neul and spoke.
“I’m getting greedy too.”
“…”
Hearing those words, a red flag went off in Yoo Ha-neul’s mind.
She knew that So-hee and Soo-ah had feelings similar to hers for Sara.
She was aware they were currently living together.
But even those two were just standing on the same ‘friend’ line as Yoo Ha-neul.
Sara had never shown sexual interest in any of the three people she hung out with.
But ‘Sara’ was a little different.
She had been with Sara from the very beginning.
Even though they didn’t communicate much or understand each other’s situations clearly, Sara genuinely cared for ‘Sara’.
The type of emotions they shared were quite different from the equal relationships Yoo Ha-neul had with So-hee and Soo-ah.
She knew it was too early to call it ‘love’, but she also knew that it wasn’t guaranteed that the feelings wouldn’t lead to love.
And besides, Sara and ‘Sara’ were beings who stayed together 24/7 in the truest sense.
“…Let me ask you something.”
“What is it?”
‘Sara’, who was looking oddly triumphant at Yoo Ha-neul’s stiff expression, responded.
“Do you really think Sara won’t hear what you’re saying?”
“If she could hear me, would I be talking like this?”
‘Sara’ boasted.
“When I’m on the surface, I control the body, but in the consciousness, I’m in charge. Sara hasn’t been here long. It’s easy for me to hide the conversation.”
Hearing ‘Sara’s’ smug explanation, Yoo Ha-neul quietly nodded.
“…I see.”
And she said that.
“So—huh?”
Just as ‘Sara’ was about to continue her boastful remarks, Yoo Ha-neul suddenly stood up, causing her to panic.
When she saw Yoo Ha-neul approaching her, she became a little scared.
“W-wait—”
She tried to get up and run away—
But unfortunately, they were in the cramped space of a Ferris wheel.
“Wait, what are you doing?!”
She struggled, but ‘Sara’ was much weaker than Yoo Ha-neul.
Their brief tussle soon ended.
It wasn’t exactly sitting in the seat properly, but the result was ‘Sara’ lying on her back on the floor with Yoo Ha-neul on top.
‘Sara’s’ hands were pinned above her head. On top of those hands, Yoo Ha-neul’s hands pressed down firmly.
Both of them were trembling slightly, indicating it wasn’t a position that could be held for long.
But that didn’t matter much to Yoo Ha-neul. It was only going to take a ‘moment’ anyway.
“You-you-you! You said you wanted to kiss her, not me!”
“Yes, I did.”
Yoo Ha-neul nodded seriously with a stern expression.
“And I thought about it. If ‘Sara’ came out when I tried to kiss her, maybe Sara will come out when I kiss you.”
“What kind of insane logic is that?!”
‘Sara’ thrashed, but her soft, muscle-less abdomen couldn’t lift Yoo Ha-neul off.
Yoo Ha-neul’s face got closer.
“And besides, you said kissing ‘you’ is the same as kissing Sara, didn’t you?”
Of course, if Yoo Ha-neul had been thinking clearly, even if she had come to that conclusion, she wouldn’t have acted so recklessly.
She would have realized that even though ‘Sara’ was in control now, she’d eventually return the body to Sara.
But Yoo Ha-neul wasn’t thinking clearly.
In other words, she wasn’t making a rational decision.
To ‘Sara’, the sight of Yoo Ha-neul’s intense gaze was terrifying.
“Hihi…! Wait a second…!”
Seeing Yoo Ha-neul’s face inching closer, ‘Sara’ was horrified.
“I-I was wrong! I know I said something rude! Let’s think rationally, okay?”
‘Sara’ shouted, almost screaming.
That’s right.
To Yoo Ha-neul, this was the moment just before her first kiss.
And for ‘Sara’, it was also the moment just before her first kiss.
Even if she hadn’t received proper sex education while locked up, she still knew what a ‘kiss’ was.
…At least, she knew it was something you did with someone you liked.
That’s why she understood how critical this moment was.
The Ferris wheel was still far from reaching the ground.
As Yoo Ha-neul’s face approached closer, until their gazes nearly met—
Just before their lips touched, ‘Sara’ felt her consciousness drift away from the body.
*
“….”
When I came to my senses, I was slumped over in the Ferris wheel seat.
“Ugh…?”
As I groggily opened my eyes and let out an awkward sound, I saw Ha-neul’s face looking down at me.
It was a very concerned expression.
“W-what happened…?”
I felt as if I had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep and woken up just as quickly.
Since we were still in the Ferris wheel, it hadn’t been long since Ha-neul had hugged me.
Did I pass out for such a short time?
“Sorry.”
Ha-neul suddenly apologized to me.
“Huh?”
When I asked, confused by the situation, Ha-neul continued with a guilty expression.
“It seems I was right.”
“Oh… Ah.”
And that’s when I understood the situation.
“You met ‘Sara’?”
“Yeah.”
Ha-neul nodded.
Really?
‘…Yeah.’
‘Sara’ responded, sounding displeased.
If I could see her face, I was sure she’d be pouting.
That was certainly good news.
Although I was a little startled by how quickly she took over, it was definitely better than having to sit next to Choi Na-kyung.
Now it meant that if Sara wanted to, she could come to the surface whenever she wanted.
“It’s okay. It’s a good thing.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
When I smiled and answered, Ha-neul finally lifted her bowed head.
…But.
I wonder if repeated exposure to stimulating experiences gradually makes them less stimulating?
If I ever need a more stimulating memory than this…
“…”
Well, it’s not something to worry about right now.
I decided to slowly come up with a plan.
Feeling the constant displeasure radiating from deep within me, I kept thinking even as I sensed Sara’s mood souring from the sudden switch in personalities.