Telling him to hand everything over to her to decide... that was obviously just Kiana speaking out of anger.
Shu was such an idiot! Since when did the standard for a human life become "if you can't achieve your goal, then just die"? Forcing someone to do something they didn't want to do...
That shouldn't exist!
Granted... ugh, Kiana couldn't preach any grand philosophies.
She knew she lacked deep worldly experience. She barely understood her own life, and she still had plenty of her own confusions and doubts.
What is right? What is wrong? It wasn't her place as a seventeen-year-old beautiful girl to dictate those things, was it?
But eventually, every child has to submit their answer sheet to the world—Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here?
That is the true coming-of-age ceremony, and it's a question Kiana was fully prepared to spend her entire life answering.
Even though she couldn't see the complete answer yet, she had at least formulated a basic verdict.
Shu is an idiot!!
Idiot, idiot, idiot...
Kiana puffed her cheeks out in anger.
Living entirely for the sake of someone else...
Who actually dies just because someone else leaves? Does he think he's in some melodramatic romance novel?
You want me to play the main character, right?
Fine! I'll grant your wish!!
Nearly driven insane by Shu's actions, Kiana had spat out that long, aggressive tirade almost as a punishment, though she regretted it almost the instant the words left her mouth.
But she was genuinely so angry! So, she kept her cheeks puffed out, glaring fiercely at Shu, fully expecting him to argue back, or even yell at her.
Handing over everything to someone else... didn't that mean he'd basically become her subordinate? A little shadow forced to follow her around forever?
She had made it sound so terrible. Shu was definitely going to explode with anger...
Wait!!
Kiana's tense expression suddenly froze.
This is Shu! Is this idiot really going to get angry enough to argue with me over something like this?
Would he?
"Okay."
He wouldn't!!
"Eh?!!"
The sharp and brilliant Kiana felt a pang of utter defeat, realizing she had miscalculated horribly.
"No..." Things were going off-script. Kiana dropped her fierce expression, awkwardly trying to backpedal. "I think you should... you should be angry right now..."
Shu didn't say a word. He just smiled, looking perfectly relaxed. Like a condemned sinner who had finally had his shackles removed, he made absolutely no effort to hide his profound sense of relief and comfort in this moment.
Kiana pouted, wanting to struggle a bit more, but the look in Shu's eyes was so incredibly gentle it could melt away any emotion.
Just looking into those eyes forced Kiana to swallow the words she had prepared.
After a flurry of conflicting thoughts and several evasive glances, Kiana finally let out a resigned sigh and let go of his collar.
The Kiana who had been practically bristling with aggressive energy just moments ago completely deflated. She lowered her head and whispered her most sincere apology.
"I'm sorry..."
"Mm."
Kiana's face scrunched up like a bitter melon. She knew Shu was using this expression to trap her.
So evil. He's actually using my own ultimate weapon: The Super Pout!
But since she had already started, Kiana just closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and began machine-gunning apologies at him.
"It was wrong of me to leave without saying goodbye! I'm an idiot. I should have discussed something like that with you, but I was selfish and made the choice all on my own..."
"Mm." Shu smiled softly and gave a slight nod, the movement so small it seemed like just the natural swaying of his body.
"And... I shouldn't have yelled at you just now... Was my attitude really bad?" Kiana peeked up at him guiltily. Seeing that he was still wearing that calm, faint smile, she felt even more insecure.
Wow, Shu is so scary like this! He's even scarier than he was after we got jumped by those guys!
Back then, Kiana knew she was going to get yelled at, and she acted scared, but she also knew she had thick skin. A few harsh words wouldn't break her.
Would Shu actually hit her? Even her own mom had never hit her!
Ugh... honestly, even if Shu did hit me, it wouldn't be a big deal. He's mad, and I'm pretty durable. A beating is nothing.
But right now... was Shu actually angry or not?
Angry, not angry... Kiana wasn't really afraid of either. What she was terrified of was that Shu had gone insane from anger, or that his brain had short-circuited and he was going to do something drastic.
He-he-he-he-he... he actually dared to try and overdose!
If he dared to swallow pills today, tomorrow he might try playing tug-of-war with a ceiling beam using his neck. The day after that, he might go to the roof to check if he had invisible wings. And the day after that, he might throw a party at the bottom of the river...
How is this okay?!
"Uhh..." Kiana waited for a long time, but Shu didn't make a single sound. Unable to handle the "cold shoulder" anymore, she lifted her head and offered another awkward apology.
"I really am so sorry..."
"Mm."
"...Can you please say something else?"
"Hm?" Still smiling, Shu tilted his head, using the simplest gesture to express his confusion... or perhaps, to prompt Kiana to say exactly what she wanted to hear.
Kiana caught his drift immediately. He wasn't even pretending. He looked entirely like a man submitting to his fate, waiting for her to dictate terms.
Kiana was certain that whatever she said next, Shu would just parrot it back.
"Then... it's okay?"
"It's okay." Shu smiled as he delivered the answer, exactly as Kiana predicted.
For a moment, Kiana didn't know whether she should sigh in relief or not. Getting exactly the answer she anticipated made her feel weirdly stifled.
"Ugh..." Kiana's face fell, letting out a long, heavy sigh. But a second later, she reached out, grabbed Shu by the shoulders, and shook him vigorously.
"NO—! This is not how it's supposed to happen!!"
"You're supposed to be super shocked that I'm here! And then, instead of reflecting on my mistakes, I'm supposed to turn around and yell at you!
"You're supposed to angrily demand to know why I left without telling you! You're supposed to think I didn't respect your choices, or that I didn't respect you as a person, and then we get into a huge, angry argument!
"You're supposed to use your scary scolding powers to yell at me until I cry for being so selfish! And then you make me apologize, and then you forgive me... or, well, you don't have to forgive me...
"Anyway, the point is, after all that, we team up again, smash through all the obstacles, and escape from this place together!"
But Shu just kept smiling. He looked at the girl whose fantasies had seemingly been shattered. The light sparkling in his eyes was more prominent than ever before.
It wasn't until the sighing Kiana finally noticed the glints of light in his eyes that she stopped.
She fell silent for a long moment. Slowly, almost as if she were trying to deceive herself, she leaned in closer, watching as those specks of light spilled from Shu's eyes, tracing long, shimmering paths down his cheeks.
Oh...
He's crying...