For a long time, he stared at her pale cheeks and lips, then tilted his lips as if he were possessed. It was a mistake caused by a vague urge to kiss her. The lovely olive-colored eyes smiled without fail... and he tried to hit her, but instead opened them wide.
A hair-pulling pain surged across the back of Aaron's head. For real.
"Dad!"
Leila's new scream was heard.
"Ugh!"
Aaron, who was surprised by the sudden tilt of his head, was dragged a few steps in an instant. Ben was grabbing the back of his head and pulling it. Aaron's center of gravity was shifted backwards, and he was in an awkward and comical position, unable to move.
“Ah, be, Mr. Ben. Now, just a moment. Just a moment, let go of this...”
“No way! No way!”
Aaron, who had been dragged along, met eyes with the sad-looking Leila and pretended to blow her a kiss with his hand. Leila, who had been stamping her feet, burst out laughing.
“It’s unpleasant to see you treat my hair like that. If it weren’t for Leila’s father, I wouldn’t have stayed still either.”
“Go fuck yourself!”
“Dad, that’s too much. You wouldn’t have to be that mean to Aaron.”
“Be quiet!”
“Aaron is such a good person, he treats me well too...”
Aaron covered his lips with his finger and smiled, saying, "Shhh." Leila didn't have to complain. Leila just had to smile. If he got scolded instead and hated instead, that would be enough.
Today was a really nice autumn day, walking along the Denara River.
Leila said, walking with a skipping pace.
“Hmm, I guess autumn is almost over already.”
Aaron, who was walking a few steps ahead of Ben and Pedro, looked back at Leila.
At this time of year, the canyon is covered with fallen leaves soaked in rain.
When the wind blows, the hem of her old, stained skirt flutters. Leila’s dark brown hair covers her cheeks. Her fingertips, as she sweeps them up, are a beautiful apricot color. The yellow-brown mud road, the white and black gravel road, the river, the ridge where the majestic mist rises... All of these things become meaningless supporting roles for her alone.
In a moment where all the clocks were painted in watercolor, only she was added like an oil painting. The most beautiful landscape painting in the world.
There was such a beautiful place.
Leila said she was going to meet Penny and headed to the <Livestock Feed Farm> store. She said she was planning to look around the market. Aaron was led by Ben to Walter's General Store. Walter's General Store is famous for having the most diverse items in Casnier.
The glares he had to endure while walking were quite harsh. Every time, Aaron would adjust his hat again with a habitual hand. It wouldn’t necessarily cause any trouble if it were revealed that he was from Dubliners, but it couldn’t hurt to be careful.
Inside the general store, Walter, Kane, and Kane's wife, Mrs. Bree, the milkmaid-she was said to have a terrible habit of drinking-were already swirling drinks and chatting. Ben walked briskly over, claimed a seat, and sat down.
Walter noticed Aaron standing in front of the door and pretended to know.
“What, you came in with that Dublin guy?”
Kane, who was already so drunk that his neck turned red at the mention of the Dublin guy, grimaced and glared at Aaron.
“What’s making the alcohol taste bad?”
“Hey, don’t stand there like an idiot. Sit down!”
Ben shouted. Walter glanced at Ben with an uncomfortable look on his face due to the sudden addition of an intruder, but Ben didn't even pay attention.
“Give that bastard a drink!”
“What? You’re actually going to get that Dublin guy to sit at the table?”
“Isn’t that the kid who made a deal with you! Why are you pretending to be here now?”
“Hey, kid, where did you get the money to drink?”
“ Give me a glass!”
A hair-pulling pain surged across the back of Aaron's head. For real.
"Dad!"
Leila's new scream was heard.
"Ugh!"
Aaron, who was surprised by the sudden tilt of his head, was dragged a few steps in an instant. Ben was grabbing the back of his head and pulling it. Aaron's center of gravity was shifted backwards, and he was in an awkward and comical position, unable to move.
“Ah, be, Mr. Ben. Now, just a moment. Just a moment, let go of this...”
“No way! No way!”
Aaron, who had been dragged along, met eyes with the sad-looking Leila and pretended to blow her a kiss with his hand. Leila, who had been stamping her feet, burst out laughing.
“It’s unpleasant to see you treat my hair like that. If it weren’t for Leila’s father, I wouldn’t have stayed still either.”
“Go fuck yourself!”
“Dad, that’s too much. You wouldn’t have to be that mean to Aaron.”
“Be quiet!”
“Aaron is such a good person, he treats me well too...”
Aaron covered his lips with his finger and smiled, saying, "Shhh." Leila didn't have to complain. Leila just had to smile. If he got scolded instead and hated instead, that would be enough.
Today was a really nice autumn day, walking along the Denara River.
Leila said, walking with a skipping pace.
“Hmm, I guess autumn is almost over already.”
Aaron, who was walking a few steps ahead of Ben and Pedro, looked back at Leila.
At this time of year, the canyon is covered with fallen leaves soaked in rain.
When the wind blows, the hem of her old, stained skirt flutters. Leila’s dark brown hair covers her cheeks. Her fingertips, as she sweeps them up, are a beautiful apricot color. The yellow-brown mud road, the white and black gravel road, the river, the ridge where the majestic mist rises... All of these things become meaningless supporting roles for her alone.
In a moment where all the clocks were painted in watercolor, only she was added like an oil painting. The most beautiful landscape painting in the world.
There was such a beautiful place.
***
Leila said she was going to meet Penny and headed to the <Livestock Feed Farm> store. She said she was planning to look around the market. Aaron was led by Ben to Walter's General Store. Walter's General Store is famous for having the most diverse items in Casnier.
The glares he had to endure while walking were quite harsh. Every time, Aaron would adjust his hat again with a habitual hand. It wouldn’t necessarily cause any trouble if it were revealed that he was from Dubliners, but it couldn’t hurt to be careful.
Inside the general store, Walter, Kane, and Kane's wife, Mrs. Bree, the milkmaid-she was said to have a terrible habit of drinking-were already swirling drinks and chatting. Ben walked briskly over, claimed a seat, and sat down.
Walter noticed Aaron standing in front of the door and pretended to know.
“What, you came in with that Dublin guy?”
Kane, who was already so drunk that his neck turned red at the mention of the Dublin guy, grimaced and glared at Aaron.
“What’s making the alcohol taste bad?”
“Hey, don’t stand there like an idiot. Sit down!”
Ben shouted. Walter glanced at Ben with an uncomfortable look on his face due to the sudden addition of an intruder, but Ben didn't even pay attention.
“Give that bastard a drink!”
“What? You’re actually going to get that Dublin guy to sit at the table?”
“Isn’t that the kid who made a deal with you! Why are you pretending to be here now?”
“Hey, kid, where did you get the money to drink?”
“ Give me a glass!”
'This guy is funny,' Walter muttered with a completely unsmiling face, nodding to Aaron.
Aaron bowed politely.
“My name is Aaron Jenner.”
Walter snickered, and Ben gave him a pitiful look. Kane pouts his lips in a way that is not appropriate for his age and keeps glaring at Aaron, but his wife, Bree, has already lost consciousness and started taking off her clothes. While Kane wrestled with Bree’s arm, Aaron held his position as if he were air. He could tolerate this level of disregard.
Until the day he leaves this place, it's just one of the many things he has to overcome.
***
“Leila, why did you buy so much?”
“It’s a pain to go outside when it rains. Penny, you don’t know because you live near the city.”
It was a rural place, but Leila made an unnecessary show of sarcasm, saying, 'I live in a more rural place.'
“You were the one who said it was annoying to have to come out often for storage, weren’t you?”
Penny glanced at Leila with a suspicious expression.
Penny grew up with Leila since she was a child. Most girls her age got married or moved to the big city to find new jobs, so they were almost like best friends.
After spending so much time together, Penny sometimes develops a strange intuition about Leila, and today was no exception.
'Why is this kid so excited?'
Penny, her eyes sparkling, clung to Leila's arm and whined.
“Leila, what’s up? Are you feeling better? You seem to have gotten prettier, or what? Yes?”
“It exists, but don’t teach me.”
“Oh, what is it!”
“If I teach you, you’ll spread rumors, right? Who is the most talkative person in Casnier?”
“Could it be me?”
Leila, who was bending down to examine the celery, cabbage, and carrots on the shelf, laughed out loud.
“What’s up, Leila? It’s been a while. Something good has happened?”
Andrew, who sometimes worked as a janitor at the <Livestock Feed Farm> store and did other odd jobs for Casnier, came up to her with a gruff expression. He had a rather shiny hat on his head that looked expensive. Penny's eyes widened, and she ran to Andrew.
“Wow, Andrew, that’s cool. What’s that hat?”
“Hehe. Right? I earned some money this time and bought a new hat. Does it suit me? Does it suit me? It suits me!”
“How much did he give you?”
“17 silver!”
“Oh my god, are you wearing something that expensive on your head?”
Andrew couldn't stop himself from being smug at Penny's honest and candid reaction of surprise, and lifted his chin. Leila clicked her tongue. Andrew was eighteen, a year younger than Leila, and he was simply a child to Leila. He had been pestering her whenever he had the chance, which was really annoying.
“This is just the beginning, Andrew will soon become a legendary rich man! But what good is it for our Leila?”
“Who is our Leila?”
Leila raised her eyebrows and snapped sharply. But Andrew was more persistent than Penny in some ways. What was there to do with him? She asked for a bunch of sunflower seeds and a carrot with lots of roots, and took out a coin. Andrew came up behind Leila and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Our Leila, you’re so pretty, pretty, and pretty again today!”
Leila turned her head slightly and answered with a kind smile.
“Andrew! Today is another day of disgusting, disgusting, and disgusting! Will you get out of here?”
Finally, Andrew cried. That was the most annoying thing about Andrew. He would grumble and groan like that, and then, after saying a few harsh words, he would start crying like the saddest person in the world. What do you want me to do?
Penny comforted Andrew, who was crying sadly.
“If you cry like that, I don’t know what to do, okay? Andrew, you idiot Andrew, stop crying. You’re a loser.”
“Why Leila always, why... why always!”
After crying and ignoring the stares, Leila and Penny ended up dragging Andrew into a corner of an alley.
“What am I lacking? I have a lot of money now! Marry me!”
Leila crossed her arms and made a sad expression. I really want to marry you after seeing you like this. Did I get shot in the head? A reproach rose to her throat, but Penny quickly shook her head. In the end, Leila had to speak more gently than usual.
“Sorry, Andrew. I know you’re a really good idiot, but I already like someone.”
“You lied like that before, too!”
“How do you know it’s a lie...”
She turned her head with a strange feeling and saw Penny blinking and pretending not to know anything.
'It doesn't help, anyway!'
Leila swallowed a sigh. She glared at her. You have to hand over the cookies. She doesn't know if Penny understood.
“Anyway, really. We’ll meet again in the next life.”
“You should have just been honest with me! Why would you hate me? I’m rich now! I’ll take responsibility for you!”
“No. How can I be more honest than I am now?”
Leila spoke confidently, without a hint of guilt. Previously, she had lied just to get him off, but this time she was sincere. She loved Aaron so much that she couldn't stand such a snotty look.
“Yes? Are you serious?”
Penny chimed in. Leila replied blandly, 'Then you think you're lying?'
Penny hesitated for a moment over whether or not this was just a show to get Andrew off her.
Actually, shr would have thought it was nothing special under normal circumstances, but the strange redness of Leila's cheeks and earlobes and the slightly raised tone when she said, "I like someone," were unfamiliar.
'No way.'
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