Your Eternal Lies - Chapter 80

After Epilogue: Their Summer (2)

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Instead of saying hello normally as soon as Rosen arrived at Primrose, she liked to hide somewhere in the garden and sneak up on Ian and surprise him. He was never as surprised as she wanted, but it was fun to see a slight crack in that blunt expression.

“Don’t scare me.”

“No. I mean, it’s fun. You’re not very surprised anyway.”

“My heart stopped.”

“No, you don’t look surprised at all! You didn’t miss me, did you?”

“I missed you.”

Ian seemed to like when Rosen joked around. He gave her a bright smile whenever she unexpectedly popped out of the garden. Then he lightly lifted her up and gave her a spin in the air.

Did he like this kind of mischief more than she thought?

Rosen thought so at first, but it seemed not. He had a straight face when Henry played the same trick as her.

When Ian lowered her back to the ground, Rosen grabbed the hose and sprayed him with water. He silently held her until his clothes were all wet, and then started fighting back when she was about to lose her strength.

Rosen screamed and ran between the streams of water which made the heat of the day evaporate. Ian always stopped before her lips turned blue, worried that she might be cold, and took her to his room and wrapped her in a blanket. But the water gun fights that Henry and Layla had when they visited were sometimes more fun. Layla was always serious about the game, and Henry attacked her with great sincerity.

But it was rare for Rosen to lose to Henry. It was because Ian, who had been watching them through the window before she turned into a drowning mouse, kicked Henry and carried her inside the house.

Rosen kissed Ian on the cheek as he carried her into the house.

“Amazing.”

“What?”

“Just everything. Everything is amazing.”

In fact, it was only a very short amount of time that Rosen had Ian face-to-face. He was infinitely familiar to her, yet a stranger. Sometimes he looked more like a statue than a real person. Sometimes he wasn’t human.

For a while, Rosen touched his face while he slept next to her, wondering if her reality of living with him was actually a dream.

So, the process of getting to know what kind of person Ian Kerner really was fun.

Rosen remembered the first time he had actually spent the night with him.

She hugged him and kissed his body. He let her do whatever she wanted. Of course, Rosen was ecstatic, but after a while, she felt strange. He flinched every time his clothes came off, but he never lifted a hand.

He just looked at Rosen quietly.

-Why don’t you touch me?

-…I think you prefer me not to.

-…

–You liked it?

-Don’t you want to touch me?

-Can I touch you?

-If you don’t like it, you don’t have to. I know that men have different tastes. It’s weird. When you lie down like a corpse, and the other person-

Rosen couldn’t finish talking because Ian swallowed her lips. His hand soon slipped under her shirt. Rosen laughed because it tickled her, then she laughed because it was really funny. His hands were more urgent than she thought.

-You want to sleep with me? Since when?

-I think I’ve been wanting to touch you for a very long time…

-…

-Actually, I don’t know.

Rosen laughed and hugged him. She wanted to live according to her true self.

‘Why do smart people think such stupid things? Ian Kerner needs to know how amazing he is to be alive and moving in front of me.’

Rosen also watched Ian, fearing that he would get bored with such a trivial daily life. Well, she couldn’t say it was 100% her responsibility, but it was her fault that he abandoned everything and came to this island. So, when she asked him with a worried face if he wanted to return to the mainland, he rather asked back.

-Why do you ask such a thing? Did I upset you? Then tell me. I won’t know if you don’t tell me.

There were more things Rosen didn’t know than she thought. She had nothing more to say on her part, so she couldn’t inquire further.

Ian was a man of few words, and Rosen could not quite fathom his intentions.

‘I’m happy, is he happy too?’

He sat her on the bed and was going to prepare lunch.

To live the same daily life as usual. Rosen quickly grabbed him.

“Let’s do something different today. It feels like every day is the same.”

He raised his eyebrows and made a puzzled expression. When Rosen suggested doing something else, she couldn’t come up with anything different. It was only natural. The things to do on this small island were limited, and Ian was a veteran pilot who must have experienced all of the world.

Rosen shook her head and shouted.

“Picnic! Let’s go on a picnic!”

It was an idea she came up with, but it was too cliché. She wanted to fit in a bit. He nodded, but it was only after he finished making the sandwiches and put them in a basket that he took her hand and went out.

Primrose Island had distinct seasonal changes. The scenery changed colors, but each was so beautiful that it was impossible to pick one of them as the best. Summer here was green and pleasant. You could smell the greenery everywhere on the island, a thick scent of grass on the breeze.

They went up the hill overlooking the sea. In the winter, when there were only dry reeds, flowers were now in full bloom, and every time the wind blew, they swayed like yellow waves.

“Huh? It’s the officer!”

“The witch is here too! She must have come today.”

The children who were playing in the flowers spotted them and came running with joy. Rosen laughed, but Ian made a puzzled face. He didn’t hate children, but he never got along well with them. Children were afraid of him because of his stiff expression.

However, the children of Primrose, who had nothing to fear in the world, were different. The kids here didn’t bother him at all. That casual attitude seemed to embarrass Ian. Rosen giggled, then knelt down to meet the children at eye level.

Today, for some reason, the children came running excitedly and then stood in front of them and hesitated. They seemed to be curious about something, but they were passing the question on to each other, saying, ‘You ask’.

So Rosen asked first.

“Do you have any questions?”

“You know, I have a question.”

“You can tell me.”

The girl in the front stepped forward. She looked at Ian and Rosen, then asked shyly.

“Why are you two living together? Are you married?”

Rosen was momentarily speechless. She turned and looked at Ian. He, too, seemed to be embarrassed.

Rosen cleared her throat and answered calmly.

“It’s similar to that. That’s why we live together.”

“Are you just friends?”

They were never just friends. Rosen smiled and shook her head. The child easily understood.

“I see! Then you are lovers.”

Rosen nodded her head coolly this time. Among the crowd of children, someone triumphantly shouted. This time it was a little older kid.

“Look! I told you they weren’t just friends. Tommy was wrong this time! Friends don’t go around holding hands like this. My mom said that the two like each other and that she can bet all her fortune on it!”

“Where did you first meet?”

“On a boat.”

“Wow, how romantic!”

Ian hardened when he heard that. Yes, it was very romantic. It couldn’t be more romantic than that. Rosen laughed looking at him.

“Does the witch love the officer?”

“Yes, I love the officer very much.”

Rosen quickly replied to Ian, who was standing by, listening. In order not to make eye contact with the children, Ian had been keeping his eyes up at the sky. But the mischievous children couldn’t leave him alone. The children dragged Ian down and sat him on the grass to interrogate him.

“Does the officer love the witch too?”

“Ian, do you love me?”

Rosen waited for his answer, her eyes shining just like children’s. Actually, she didn’t expect much. He wasn’t smirking enough to confess his love to her in front of the kids. He was such a boring person, he wouldn’t even kiss her lightly when people were watching or when they were out.

That attitude probably confused the villagers.

So what she was doing was just to make fun of him. It was always fun to see him flustered without much emotional change.

He couldn’t overcome the repeated interrogation and reluctantly nodded his head. Rosen couldn’t even speak.

The children screamed ‘He loves her!’ and clapped their hands together.

“Then let’s have a wedding!”