Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━
I let out a small laugh at her expression, and Sara glared at me.
I had gotten used to that face by now, so it didn’t scare me anymore.
No, knowing her inner thoughts, it was more accurate to say it was kind of cute.
After all, even if we’re both women, it’s not common to touch each other’s chests.
If it happens, it’s usually in a relationship beyond friendship.
…Although, since I was wearing that Renaissance-style dress from last time, even if her hand brushed against my chest, it would touch the thick lace before anything else, so there wasn’t much of an issue.
“Anyway!”
Sara, clearly feeling awkward in this situation, suddenly yelled.
She pointed her finger right in my face and said,
“If I don’t like something, I’ll say it! So stop jumping to strange conclusions on your own and blaming yourself! That’s all I wanted to say!”
“Alright, alright.”
I smiled as I answered, the worries I had been dwelling on earlier vanishing thanks to her.
Feeling a little more at ease, I plopped down on the bed.
Sara quickly scurried over and sat next to me.
“….”
“….”
We both sat in silence for a while.
“…By the way,”
I was the one to break the silence.
Even though Sara had said it was okay, that was only about what I had done to her body.
It didn’t cover the people around her.
Friends were just friends, so there wasn’t much to say about them, but the situation with Yang Hye-in was different.
…Those who had clearly wronged Sara.
I wondered how she felt about them.
“What do you want to do about all this?”
“….”
At my question, Sara fell into thought without answering.
Since she appeared calm on the outside, I felt somewhat relieved, but I still couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
After all, this was about the reason Sara had once given up on her life.
“…I’ve been thinking about this whole thing, too,”
Sara finally spoke after being lost in thought for a long while.
Her gaze was fixed straight ahead.
Even as she spoke, it seemed like she was still mulling things over.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
Sara nodded and then turned to look at me.
Her face didn’t show any deep anguish or pain.
Instead, she seemed confused.
It was as if she didn’t know what to think or how to act in this situation.
“I’ve never really talked to people much before… So I don’t know what to do with those who wronged me, or with people who apologize to me.”
“But you haven’t even received an apology yet.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what Yang Hye-in was thinking, but she did seem to want to apologize.
The problem was that she didn’t seem to know how to go about it.
I was angry when I first heard about it, but after calming down and thinking it over, it seemed like she wanted to handle the legal matters first and then apologize properly.
I didn’t know how she had been before, but now she was clearly on Sara’s side.
“That’s not what I meant right now.”
“…Sorry.”
I apologized to Sara, who was pouting a little, and she let out a deep sigh.
“But… I can’t keep relying on you every time something like this happens.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“….”
Still looking displeased, Sara said,
“The reason I’m leaving things to you right now is because this is ‘your life.’”
Oh, right.
The reason I was in control of this body at the moment was because Sara had said this was no longer her life, but mine.
That was why I was handling the relationships I had built.
However, the situation with Yang Hye-in…
Although my actions had played a part, the root cause lay in Sara’s original life.
Of course, all those connections had been made without any regard for Sara’s wishes.
Most of them had been caused by Choi Na-kyung.
…And the emotions I felt every time I got near Choi Na-kyung were tied to Sara and Choi Na-kyung’s past.
“…This is my life.”
Sara spoke with some difficulty.
“At the very least, I need to take responsibility for my own life. I can’t leave everything to you.”
“….”
That was definitely the answer I wanted to hear.
It was what I had wanted to hear, but…
“…Will you be okay?”
I didn’t want to hear it in this situation.
I had hoped she would say she wanted to return to her life in a more normal, happy circumstance.
Hearing this now felt like I was just passing on the difficult parts.
“You idiot. What are you even thinking?”
“Huh?”
Sara snapped, almost as if she had read my mind.
“Of course I don’t want to do this. Most of my past is filled with things I hate. But if I don’t deal with this, I can’t keep living this life.”
Sara turned her head away again, resting her elbow on her crossed leg and her chin in her hand.
After hesitating for a moment, she continued,
“…I like the life I have now. My friends are nice, I can eat whatever I want, I’m getting healthier… And….”
Her voice grew quieter and quieter until, by the end,
“…And I like this too.”
I could barely hear her.
“Huh? Sorry, I didn’t catch that last part.”
“Anyway, I said I like it!”
When I cupped my hand to my ear and asked her to repeat herself, Sara shouted.
“Anyway!”
She yelled once more,
“So this time, I’ll help out!”
She declared with determination.
“Help?”
At my question, Sara took a deep breath and exhaled it all at once, then said,
“Just let me have the body for a little while. Don’t misunderstand. Once everything’s settled, I’ll go back inside.”
“…Will you be alright?”
“Of course I won’t be.”
Sara turned her head sharply as if she were sulking.
“…But this is something I have to handle. And….”
She placed her hand over mine on the bed and added,
“And no matter where I go, you’ll be with me, right?”
“…Yeah.”
I nodded.
“….”
“….”
We sat in silence for a while again.
“Oh, but to switch bodies again, we’ll have to ask Ha-neul for help. Are you okay with that?”
“Did you really have to bring that up now!?”
*
“Uh, Ha-neul?”
“Yeah?”
Sunday morning.
Though the situation had been a bit awkward yesterday, Ha-neul had kept her word and stayed the night.
As usual, she would probably eat dinner before heading home today.
So, we had some time alone.
But…
The problem was the favor I needed to ask her—something I couldn’t exactly do in front of others.
Even if it didn’t involve an actual kiss, it was still something that came very close to one.
Moreover, just getting our lips near each other might not be enough.
To trigger the strongest memories and emotions, we’d need to press our bodies as close together as possible.
…And I really didn’t want to do something like that in front of the others.
Yes, sure, Sara and I had climbed on top of Ha-neul right in the middle of the classroom.
Even So-hee had witnessed it when Sara did it.
Our friends knew it was to recover lost memories, but they didn’t know about the personality switching.
…But precisely because of that, we couldn’t let them see it again.
If they saw us in that position now, when I had already regained my memories, they might seriously misunderstand.
I didn’t mind, but I didn’t want Sara or Ha-neul to be put in a difficult situation.
That’s why I had deliberately chosen this early morning time to talk to Ha-neul.
Even So-hee, who usually stuck to me like glue, wasn’t around this early.
There were things she had to prepare for her maid duties.
And I had already told Soo-ah to go take a bath first.
Since I had helped dry her hair last time, she didn’t find it suspicious and went off to the bathroom without question.
Of course, I didn’t have a lot of time alone with Ha-neul, so I had to act quickly.
…Even though describing an action that involved pressing our bodies together and almost kissing as something as casual as a bathroom visit was unsettling.
So, I hurriedly spoke to Ha-neul.
“Ha-, Ha-neul. Well, it’s just that….”
“Yeah? What is it?”
…I tried to get it out quickly.
…But, you see.
In my previous life, I had been too much of a coward to even confess to a girl.
And now, there was no way I’d have the courage to say, “I want to press myself up against you and nearly kiss you.”
That was way too much.
Sure, someone might say it was nonsense considering how desperate I was back then, but…
That time, I hadn’t said anything.
I had just acted.
Since I hadn’t properly formed relationships with people yet, I acted without thinking beforehand, and that’s how I managed to get through it.
But if I had been required to say something like ‘hold me’ at the time…
…I never would have been able to do it.
Not to mention, what I originally intended was just to stay close, but it was Ha-neul who took the lead later on, moving my body this way and that.
So I kind of had an excuse.
“Well, I talked with Sara last night, and it seems like we need to switch places again….”
“Oh.”
At least I managed to force the words out.
Ha-neul seemed to understand immediately, looking blank for a moment before saying,
“Alright, I get it!”
She agreed without hesitation.
Thank goodness.
Ha-neul is so nice.
Ha-neul walked over to the bed and plopped down on it.
The bed was wider than a chair, so I’d probably have to bend my knees to climb onto Ha-neul, but whatever.
I was just grateful she agreed so easily.
But just as I was moving toward her, I froze in place at her next action.
Ha-neul, sitting on the bed, suddenly lay back and sprawled out on the bed.
“Come on, hurry up!” she called out.
“….”
Um…
If I get on top of her now, it’ll look like I’m completely covering her on the bed…