[Side Story] Wind Flower (5)
The soft light of the full moon seeps through the fluttering curtains.
Ed’s face, looking up from the darkness, is infinitely serious. He seems to be deep in thought as always, but… no matter how rational and rational a man is, he has his limits.
Patience is bound to run out at some point.
Ed Rothtaylor’s patience and self-control may be considered superhuman, but they are by no means infinite.
Yenika whispers with the intention of striking a final blow to the faltering reason. I’m okay.
That warm relationship where each person understands, cares for, and embraces each other is beautiful. But let’s not think about such complicated things for now. It’s time to graduate from the flower field in a fairy tale full of beauty.
An illustration from a children’s book that Jenica read when she was young.
A refreshing story that ends with a handsome prince rescuing the princess, lifting his bangs and giving her a cute kiss. Just a kiss like that was enough for Yenika to let her imagination run wild as she pounded the pillow and pressed the blanket… but she
had to realize that the kiss in reality was completely different from the story in the children’s book, which was cutely drawn in a cute watercolor style.
As Ed’s calloused hand brushed her forehead, Yenika had nowhere to hide anymore. I could no longer hide my trembling eyes and flushed cheeks, so I had to wait stiffly for Ed’s next move.
Is this what a fish on a cutting board feels like?
Now I’m in a strange state where I can’t help but be guided by a man named Ed Ross-Taylor. Even the strange sense of immorality that comes from being ruled is a new world for Yenika.
Ed Rosstaylor was equally nervous. It’s not that he doesn’t have experience with women, but this situation of directly touching an innocent and lively girl like Yenika… encourages a different kind of hesitation.
Thoughts about whether this could be okay were constantly gnawing at my head… but no matter how rationally I looked at it, there was no reason why it shouldn’t be like this.
Yenika herself said it was okay, and Ed himself had already declared that he was trash, and the villagers…even Yenika’s family were nodding their heads.
The hand that goes down Yenika’s forehead and sweeps down her jawline… It’s okay to extend it a little further down. There is no one in the world who can stop the movement of those hands.
If there’s no one to stop you, you just keep going. Ed swallowed his dry saliva, which was unusual for him, and gently kissed Jenica while rubbing her shoulders.
My lips were on fire.
To that extent, the surface of Yenika’s skin was completely heated. Has shame reached its limit?
It wasn’t our first kiss. However, kissing in this situation and atmosphere is a completely different experience from briefly touching lips at camp.
Illustrations in children’s books cannot be compared to reality. Just by touching the surface of the lips, Yenika had to experience a trembling whole body and a sticky feeling in her chest.
Love between a man and a woman is not just filled with heartwarming scenes like holding hands and smiling at each other in a pretty pansy flower field.
Rather, the creepy feeling of entering a forbidden area is closer to the essence.
For the first time in her life, Jenica experienced such a feeling.
Ed’s mouth leaves and Yenika gasps, waiting for Ed’s next move.
Just as Ed’s hand was about to go down little by little and head toward the next bend… Yenika couldn’t hold back and raised her voice.
“Ed… that…”
From this point on, the meaning of skinship itself changes.
In the situation just before that, Yenika barely managed to make her voice sound like she was struggling.
“Can I ask a really pathetic and stupid question…?”
“now…?”
“Uh, yes…”
Ed paused for a moment and nodded quietly.
“Ed… am I the first?”
I couldn’t help but gasp for a moment at the question that seemed to pierce my heart. In a situation like this, when a question like this comes in, no one has no choice but to stop and think.
Ed was the same way. I thought about thinking about it for a while, but in reality, the option of ‘thinking about it’ is no different from the worst. This is because the answer is likely to have arrived at the point where you thought about it.
There was no reason to lie to Yenika, and the atmosphere could only get weirder if she showed her strange consideration… For now, Ed shook his head.
“Ugh…”
That short answer must have been such a shock that Yenika held back tears. In fact, there is nothing that can be said about Yenika.
Ed met Yenika after he entered Sylvania Academy, and what Ed’s life was like before that is completely beyond Yenika’s control. In fact, it’s the same after that as well.
As a duke master, he must have lived a life completely separate from Yenika. From Yenika’s perspective, Ed’s life before entering school is purely a realm of imagination.
So I can’t say anything to Ed, who just shook his head. But I can at least ask for a favor.
“I’m saying this is my first time…”
“…”
“Ed has to take the lead… I’m really… my hair is white… I’m not sure about anything…”
Yenika said. Although it was said with pure intent, he had no idea how much meaning it meant to the other person.
Do whatever you want, I will follow. There was no man who could maintain patience in front of this.
Ed’s hand went down along the curve. Yenika closed her eyes tightly and steeled herself. After that, things progressed as if it were a breeze.
As Ed’s hands became busier, Yenika’s voice rose in response. Sometimes we lusted after each other intensely, as if this moment was a waste, and sometimes subtly, as if this moment would continue forever.
Holding each other in one’s arms, making eye contact, and touching each other’s skin.
For Jenica, who has no experience with the opposite sex, every little action seems like crossing a forbidden line. It’s the first time I’ve hugged the solid, heavy man’s size and body with my entire body, and even when I feel his hands flowing softly like water along my skin and his breath close by, the feeling of resistance as if I’m doing something I shouldn’t go away doesn’t go away.
It is only after Jenica touches skin so closely that she realizes the difference between Ed and herself even more clearly.
Not things like status, personality, background, and values… but a more wild and primal difference. His heavy hand movements, strong arms and legs, a height that is at least a span taller, and a body that cannot be embraced even when hugged tightly. His body, which was completed after repeated periods of steady survival, is clearly compared to the brittle, thin and white limbs of Yenica.
The kiss was repeated a few more times, but the more I did it, the more my heart beat. Whatever it is, you really have no adaptability at all when it comes to doing things like this. I realize that fact.
I can’t get used to every single movement of my hand, every kiss, every breath, every warmth. Every time, as if it was the first time, her heart was pounding and it pushed Jenika as if she was going to faint at any moment.
Ed was well aware of that fact, but he was no longer in a position to look after Yenika’s situation.
Even though he was busy, he lifted Jenica’s bangs once in a while and gently made eye contact.
Every time that happened, Yenika still couldn’t adapt and tried to avoid her gaze with an embarrassed expression. Still, Ed did not give Yenika any more room to escape.
Taking the time to make eye contact with each other once in a while gave them a chance to regain their composure… but it had the opposite effect for Yenika. Meeting Ed up close and face to face is something that requires a lot of mental strength.
Watching Yenika close her eyes tightly and then try to make eye contact again became so fun that I got to the point where I tried it half as a joke.
At this point, Yenika was already half-conscious.
Even if you raise your voice while feeling Ed’s touch, you take a break for a moment and make eye contact and look at each other or hug each other and gently support each other without saying a word.
When Ed used strength, she held on, and when Ed stroked her, she just felt the warmth and played with his hands, going back and forth between tension and relaxation.
And what was surprising was that he was enjoying that feeling quite a bit.
Even though my arms and legs were not tied, I felt something welling up in my chest just by moving as instructed without being able to do anything.
When Ed patted her head and hugged her again, Yenika realized. This is a feeling of happiness.
It might be a bit rough to express it in a general way, but other than that, I had no vocabulary to express this feeling of satisfaction that was blooming in my heart.
Yenica Palover is feeling happy right now. It was not a simple satisfaction of desire, but an unreasonable feeling of positivity and hope for life.
This is what spending the night together was supposed to be like.
It is a process of reaffirming the value of one’s life by relying on someone’s warmth, rather than satisfying one-dimensional desires such as seeking only each other’s warmth in a messy place.
It is a confirmation that you are not alone. Whether the road unfolding is a flowery road or a thorny road, there is someone next to me who will walk hand in hand with me.
It wasn’t a life full of sunshine. In fact, there were more dark days after entering Sylvania.
The anticipation that weighed on my shoulders, the magic circle of Glaskan that filled the sky, the memories of crying in a broken nail pipe, the cries of Seong Chang-ryong that roared with the will to burn the continent, and the sound of Friede’s heartbeat that covered the sky above Aken Island are all full of scars. The will that broke through the hordes of monsters.
And at the end, the loneliness of Yenica Palover, who endured it while bleeding, crying, and gritting her teeth.
Even if you can’t make up for those cold days, there is someone by your side who will understand.
Yenika suddenly shed a few tears as if confirming how great happiness it was.
“…Are you okay?”
“I’m not crying because I’m scared.”
“…then?”
“just.”
Even when people are happy, they cry. I realized such a new fact.
Jenica looked up at the corners of her mouth as she felt Ed’s thumbs brushing around her eyes.
Has the tension finally eased?
Ed nodded and pushed the large pillow at the edge of the bed under Yenika’s waist.
Because of the upright back, the posture seems to be that of proudly pushing the body upward, which seems to emphasize the curves of the body for no reason. It was something she could get used to, but Yenica still blushed and held her breath.
Ed brushed his chin once and then supported Jenica’s waist with both arms.
It was obvious what was going to happen next, but in reality, the body wasn’t important. Suddenly, the connection of the mind rather than the body was giving the two people greater satisfaction.
Sharing a sense that each other cherishes one another is one of the greatest happinesses a person can feel.
The thoughts that Jenica had in her heart as the long night continued were the same. Will such a happy moment ever come again in my life? The joy and regret were swirling at the same time.
After that, Yenika just held the pillow tightly as if it were her lover.
Clutching the pillow under your waist tightly, or lying down in your arms and burying your face, or supporting your body with your arms, or resting your back on the back of your neck and looking at the sky… So, a long time passes and you
make various movements. While getting drunk, Yenika realized two things.
One was that his body was not as flexible as he thought, and the other was that there was a limit to Ed’s stamina, which seemed to last forever.
Is the end coming soon? When Ed stroked Jenica’s cheek once and made an appearance that seemed to give strength to her abdomen, Jenica hugged him tightly by the shoulder.
I was wondering if this man was going to run away somewhere, so for now, I wanted to hold him tightly in my arms… That’s why Jenica wanted to bury her face in Ed Rosstaylor’s wide chest until the end.
*It’s quiet yet full of energy.
It may be a contradictory expression, but there is such a strange feeling at dawn in a mountain village.
Although the majesty of the mountain range could not be seen due to the fog rolling down the ridge, the noise of daily life occasionally echoed through the village.
From the time when even the sun was asleep, this village began preparing to move.
Tobacco smoke drifts up, but soon, caught up in Merilda’s kick, it disappears in a flash.
Merilda, who was looking at the mountain scenery from the roof of the hotel, came out early in the morning and looked down at me, who was smoking a cigarette, and smiled mischievously.
[You look tired~]
I was sitting quietly on the tree stump in front of the accommodation, listening to the sound of insects in the early morning, and was about to say something, but stopped.
Yenika is completely lost and asleep. After covering myself with a blanket and going outside, I saw people leaving for work as early as 5 o’clock.
“You also have a very mischievous side. “Merylda.”
[What a new thing~. ]
Merilda jumped down from the roof of the dorm and landed on the floor, pressing down on the hem of her skirt that was blowing in the wind.
He brushed away his white hair, which was tied back, and then came behind me, lowered his posture, looked up at my face as I was smoking a cigarette, and said teasingly.
[Trash~]
I was about to say what I should accept, but I thought it would be better not to deny it, so I stayed quiet. Since this was instigated by Merilda herself, she probably would not have much of a say.
[I don’t want to neglect Jenica and I don’t want to put a burden on her… I will admit that you did your best to take the position and line you could, but…]
Merilda sat down on the tree stump next to me and skirted around her. He spoke while fluttering his hem carelessly.
[The other women are nodding their heads when they tell them to do whatever it takes, whether they get involved or not… Yenica may have had even more trouble ahead of her…]
“Hey, dude.”
[You don’t know what’s going on in the world~. One day, you may suddenly open new eyes. ]
Merilda smiled as if she didn’t hate it and played a prank on me by sending out wind magic and scattering my tobacco smoke.
I knew that it was a spirit with a playful nature, but it seemed to be in a better mood today.
The reason was understandable.
“Anyway, we need to start investigating Tyrkalax. “I have to finish quickly and return to Aken Island.”
After lighting all the tobacco, I rubbed the fire out and talked.
Merilda, who was listening to those words, spoke again with a faint expression on her face.
[ I know that? ]
“what.”
[ In this area, the pansy flowers blooming along the mountain ridges are called wind flowers. ]
“okay?”
The wind blew. It is a cool breeze at dawn.
The cool breeze blowing down the mountain ridge is always refreshing.
With her pure white hair flowing, Merilda quietly looked up at the wide-open mountain ridge.
[Why do you think they call it that? ]
“Because it’s always swaying gently in the wind?”
[Similar, but subtly different. ]
The wind wolf spoke softly with that lonely face he occasionally made.
*“Can I get you something to drink?”
On the way up after smoking the first of the year, the hostel owner kindly asked me a question. I said thank you, went up the shabby stairs, and opened the door. Maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep much last night, but I felt like lying in bed a little longer.
Yenika must have just woken up and was wiggling her toes.
It seemed like he was watching me while burying himself under the blanket, as if he was embarrassed to show his face. It was the so-called wise man time.
I sat down on the bed across from me and put the water kettle on the nightstand.
Then, I poured a glass of water into the cup, took one shot at a time, and put it down.
“…”
There was silence for a moment.
In the silence that followed, after some time, I decided to raise my voice again.
“Hey Yenika.”
Yenika’s body trembled greatly as she tiptoed her toes, wondering what was so surprising about just one name being called.
And the way he carefully stuck his head out from under the blanket looked just like a squirrel hiding in a hole.
“I have to go investigate.”
I felt sorry for Yenika, who was shivering under the blanket, so I decided to give her an excuse to come out.
Because once you have something to do, you have no choice but to do it even if you don’t want to.
Jenica pulled out her face from the blanket wrapped around her body, turned her head, shook off her stray hairs, and answered with difficulty.
“Oh, okay…”
His voice was completely out.
It was worth it.
