The streets were illuminated by streetlights and car lights. Inside a moving taxi, Adro watched the business from the window. "What's that large vehicle?"
Grace, who was lost in thought while staring out the other window, leaned over to see what Adro was pointing at. "Oh, that's a bus."
"I saw many of them on the road. They carry a lot of people who often get on and off at the roadside," Adro observed.
"Buses are a common mode of transportation used by the residents of Torben. You can travel to almost anywhere by bus," Grace explained.
Adro furrowed his brow. "Are bus fares cheaper than taxis?"
"They are. But buses are often crowded, and they only stop at designated stops, so it's easier and more comfortable to use a taxi."
"Why do we always use taxis then?" Adro raised an eyebrow.
"Well... that's because my ankle is injured. On the other hand, I'm also not sure you would be comfortable squeezing into a bus," Grace explained.
"Since we don't have abundant money right now, when your ankle is healed, we should use the bus for the future. You don't need to worry about me. I don't mind being in a crowd. And, now that I have money, I'll also help you with living expenses and reimburse all your expenses for me," Adro said.
"When my ankle is fully healed, you might have already returned, so you don't need to think that far ahead. I'm sorry, but why do you always talk as if … you won't go back to your place?" Grace asked softly, her face slightly downturned.
"Why do you always talk as if I'm about to leave?" Adro retorted.
Grace looked at Adro with wide eyes. Then she cleared her throat. "My … my grandmother once said that if we want something, we must believe that it will happen."
"May I ask you something, Grace? Can you explain why you seem so eager for me to leave?" Adro inquired.
Grace quickly shook her head. "I… I don't mean it that way."
"But you seem like you do," Adro said.
"I was just... I was just trying to encourage you to always be optimistic." Grace explained, feeling cold in her fingers.
"Grace, for this time, I'll overlook your thoughts about me because we've just met. But let me make one thing clear to you: I'm not the type of man who needs to be worried about or encouraged to think optimistically. I've led and won many wars and am the future king of a kingdom. Therefore, please don't judge me arbitrarily."
Seeing Grace look stunned, Adro took a deep breath before exhaling. He didn't understand why he suddenly felt somewhat irritated, making him scold like this.
"I apologize for making you uncomfortable. I shouldn't have pressured you like that," Adro said as he ran his fingers through his hair from his forehead to the back. "I don't know what got into me."
"I didn't mean to judge you. I just… I just want to be useful rather than constantly burdening people," Grace muttered, hanging her face down.
Adro stared at her in silence, clenching his jaws.
"All this time, I've always been a burden to my friends. When Sarah eventually left, I realized that her influence on me was greater than I thought. I realized that all this time, I might have taken up a lot of their time and attention, but I was never useful to them. But your presence makes me feel needed. For the first time, I feel useful as a human. But lately, I realize that our positions have switched. I feel that now I depend on you and start to bother you," She continued.
"Grace, I don't mind helping you at all. You've helped me a lot; why shouldn't I help you a little?" Adro replied.
A thin smile formed on Grace's peachy lips. "It's embarrassing to admit, but I think you might be feeling sorry for me and feel indebted to me to the point of setting aside your goal to return."
"Grace Menken," Adro grabbed her shoulders. "Listen. I want to be honest with you that all this time, I've been holding myself back. We are strangers who met by accident, but I have to stay at your house and ask for food, so I keep maintaining my behavior and respecting you. But I can't stand it anymore if you keep doing this. Who are you to dare to imagine what I'm thinking in your head? Who are you to have the right to make decisions for me?"
Grace pondered, staring at Adro, who was fixing a stern gaze on her.
"Please don't think about me as you please just because of your personal feelings. I may be staying with you, but your background and life experiences have nothing to do with me. Even if I don't want to go back at all, it's my choice, and it has nothing to do with you. The only thing you're entitled to do is let me stay at your home or kick me out onto the streets. Do you understand?" Adro continued.
With both shoulders still in Adro's grip, Grace nodded. "I … I understand. I'm very sorry." Then she bit her lower lip and slowly moved her body back to release herself from that grip.
Silent filled the gap between them. With little shaking eyes, Grace glanced at Adro. "I-I apologize for my impudence and for making you uncomfortable. I won't-"
"Can you please stop apologizing?" Adro asked, leaning back and holding his forehead with his hand.
"I … Yes, I can." Grace nodded. Her cold hands clenched on her thighs.
Adro glanced at the girl beside him, his brow still furrowed. He had never acted like this toward a woman. Was it because he had never spent as much intense time with a woman in his life? But why did he feel like this now? He couldn't even explain the feelings that made him lose control like this. No. He didn't even understand what he was talking about!
What was Grace doing to him? Would he experience something similar if he lived with another woman?
***
Her hand hovered in front of a bedroom door handle. After arriving home, Grace went straight to her room and didn't come out. She wasn't sulking, but she felt awkward after what happened in the taxi.
For hours, Grace tried to reflect on herself based on all the sentences Adro had uttered. That man was right—she shouldn't make one-sided judgments about what he was thinking. Adro, who was helpless in this foreign world, made her thingking of presumptuously took full responsibility for him.
However, on the other side, there was a reason that Grace never told anyone. She was worried that Adro would postpone his intention to return just out of pity and a sense of indebtedness to her, but she was more afraid of the feeling of loss she would experience when he eventually left.
Living with a sense of security dependent on others made Grace even weaker. Sarah's departure felt like a whip that tore her skin. If she let herself depend on Adro, what would happen to her when he had to leave, just like the others?
"Why do I have these thoughts and feelings? I'm just making my own life difficult."Grace banged the back of her head against the bed's headrest several times.
All this time, she had never fought with Sarah or Bella because she would give in to any argument or quarrel. Now, after realizing her mistake, she didn't know how she should act when facing Adro. This must be the negative side of having a roommate.
Her foot felt heavy just to step out of her room into her own living room. From the sounds behind the door, she was sure Adro was busy in the kitchen. Nevertheless, she couldn't continue to lock herself in her room.
'Come on, Grace. When will you stop avoiding problems? When will you learn to face your fears? Don't you want to be independent?'
The bedroom door opened, and a girl clad in a gray shirt stepped out. The first thing Grace immediately noticed was a pair of crystal blue eyes staring at her from the kitchen counter.
Blinking her eyes, Grace felt her lips glued tightly together. However, Adro's facial expression was not as she had imagined. He looked at her as warmly as ever, as if nothing had happened between them.