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This light novel is inspired by the beautiful landscapes and cultures of Bolivia and South Korea. However, the characters, events, and situations portrayed are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is purely coincidental. This content does not intend to represent or reflect the historical, social, or cultural reality of either country. The author disclaims any legal liability arising from the interpretation of these elements.
Chapter 69 — Silent Lesson.
69.1. The Actions.
Zayra woke up early that morning.
She stayed still for a few seconds, watching Ryu sleep peacefully,
as if the world wasn't burning in her head.
For the first time since she met him, she felt something hard to explain... an emptiness,
a sting that wasn't going to vanish so fast.
Then she remembered his words.
"Are you sure? Aren't you confused by the situation?"
A sigh escaped her, and her eyebrow raised involuntarily.
"Seriously? Of all the possible answers, you had to blurt out that one, Ryu?"
She looked at him, shaking her head in disapproval.
"Right, because obviously,
I, a lawyer, independent, polyglot, with a master's degree...
am going to marry for financial interest in the 21st century."
She thought with a sarcastic smile barely sketched on her lips.
"Yeah, right. I must be absolutely desperate."
A small internal laugh vibrated in her chest, soft, almost sweet...
But underneath it burned that bitter blow only felt by those who have been rejected before.
She looked at him again.
Asleep, serene... true to himself.
"I'm sorry, Ryu. But not like this."
She thought, as the expression on her face hardened slightly.
With slow movements so as not to wake him, she got out of bed.
The decision was etched into her gaze.
Today she wasn't going to stay there.
Today she wasn't going to let that pain control her.
Today, she was simply going to disappear from his sight.
She closed the door behind her with a click that sounded more distant than metallic.
And just like that... she left.
***
Late into the night, she returned to her cabin,
her steps were firm and her silence even more so.
She didn't turn on any light;
she just dropped her purse and changed without thinking too much.
She didn't want to look in the mirror for long,
only enough to confirm that she was still herself.
From the closet, she pulled out the most striking red dress she owned.
As she adjusted the straps, her fingers trembled slightly, just for an instant, but her face remained impassive.
Then she grabbed a pair of high heels that struck the wood with a dry,
decisive sound, as if each sound solidified her resolve.
She carried the dust of the road on her skin and a contained fire behind her eyes.
She hadn't cried.
But inside... something had shifted.
Something had broken and re-set in a different way.
***
Just as she was about to leave, she stopped.
Her hand brushed against the doorknob.
When she opened it, he was there.
Ryu, arms crossed, jaw tense, brow furrowed.
And something else, a slight movement in his throat, as if he were swallowing something heavy.
The fingers of his right hand were tightly clenched.
"Where are you going?"
He asked in a low, almost challenging voice.
Zayra glanced at him, locking eyes with his for an instant.
She measured his reaction.
And with that subtle touch of sarcasm that only she knew how to use, she thought.
"Seriously? Now you're interested."
He held her gaze for only a second... but his blink was slow and heavy.
Implying that he had been waiting for her all day.
A cold flash crossed Zayra's face fleetingly.
And in her head, a clear idea:
"I won't give away explanations. Understand what you want."
"To a dinner."
She answered firmly.
The word was about to turn into an argument, but she raised her hand slightly,
a gentle gesture that said, stop, without needing to say it.
"Excuse me."
She added, dryly.
Ryu opened his mouth slightly, as if to say something... but immediately closed it.
Before he could respond, Zayra spun on her heels.
Every step towards the exit pushed her wounded pride to the surface.
The click-clack resonated loudly on the wood, marking her decision.
"I won't let him play with me. Let him understand that I am not just another option."
She thought as she walked away.
The fingers Ryu had crossed over his arm moved barely a millimeter,
an almost imperceptible gesture, but loaded with tension.
His foot took a slight step forward, as if his body had wanted to reach her before his mind.
He stood in the doorway, watching her leave.
His breath hitched slightly, with a contained sigh that never fully materialized.
His right hand clenched into a tight fist, as if trying to grasp something that was no longer there.
The silence settled between them, heavier than the night that surrounded them.
***
69.2 When Pride Speaks Louder Than Love.
He had spent the entire day without hearing anything from her,
and although he wouldn't admit it aloud, that silence had troubled him more than usual.
Even so, he was still convinced that he hadn't done anything wrong.
He hadn't told her he didn't love her either; he just wanted to be sure before taking such a big step.
"Why get so upset about that? Would anything have changed if I had told her... that? No...."
In his country, those words are not thrown around so easily.
The glass door was still vibrating when Zayra disappeared at the end of the stone pathway.
***
Ryu reached his cabin, closed the door, and sat on one of the sofas.
One second. Two. Three.
Only then did he exhale, very slowly.
As if letting out air was admitting something he didn't want to name.
His frown didn't relax.
Neither did his shoulders.
Because behind his eyelids, he kept seeing the red dress.
The line of her waist.
The sheen of her skin.
And her... walking away without looking back.
That hurt him more than he cared to admit.
A small sting beneath his ribs, sharp and ridiculous, yet so real he couldn't ignore it.
His fingers, which usually betrayed his secrets, trembled faintly but visibly.
"Where are you going?"
The question he had asked still echoed in his head.
He opened his eyes, and in the cabin, only an enormous silence existed, surrounding him.
A silence that was empty, raw... too honest.
Ryu looked down at his own hand; his knuckles were still white.
He didn't know when he had clenched them like that.
"Why didn't I stop her... and just stood there, like an idiot?"
Acknowledging that helplessness made him more uncomfortable than he was willing to admit.
It wasn't his style. It wasn't how he usually handled anything.
And yet, this woman had the absurd capacity to mess him up without even trying.
Ryu finally straightened up and took a few steps inside the cabin.
The stillness followed him, clinging to his heels.
Something heavy weighed on his chest.
It wasn't anger. It wasn't disappointment.
It was a confusing feeling, jealousy and wounded pride, and a strange fear he refused to face.
He pressed his lips together, took a deep breath, and rested his hands on the table.
He admitted it very quietly, almost as if it were unseemly to hear himself.
"I shouldn't have said it like that."
And there, without witnesses, without words, without Zayra...
He felt the situation slipping through his fingers, and that annoyed him more than anything else.