Chapter 28
Chapter 28
‘Today I’ll say it. I’ll tell him I’m sorry. I’ll ask him to tell me what I did wrong.’
She reflected deeply. She steeled her resolve. She would thank him for letting her keep their friendship, even like this. And she would clear the hard knot between them.
She went over the words one by one in her head. Then, out of habit, she replayed their many memories together. A faint sadness washed over her. And a strange fluttering she couldn’t name. It came like a wave and left one side of her chest damp.
Just like it had every time lately.
She curled her shoulders in and quietly held her breath under the water.
♥ ♥ ♥
She finished her bath and gathered up the courage she’d scraped together. She put on the clothes he’d prepared. Then she picked up the laundry she’d neatly folded outside the bathroom door.
“Huh?”
Where were her underwear?
The ones dirtied during s*x at school were gone. She’d hidden them carefully at the very bottom of the pile.
Maybe they got caught in the other clothes. She searched here and there. Shook everything out. Nothing.
‘Wh-What… where did they go?’
She was flustered, checking every pocket one by one. Then she heard a rustling sound from one side. She turned her head toward it without thinking. Vladimir stood close to the wall, his back to her.
He was taking down the papers from the shrine of horrors she’d tried so hard to ignore. One sheet at a time. His movements were careful.
“Vladi… mir?”
Her photos. The starting point of the conflict between them. His hands were gathering them into bundles tied with pretty ribbons. Stacking them neatly inside a large chest.
“What are you doing?”
Was he taking down the curse wall? Why all of a sudden?
“Ah, Milana. Sorry. I’m not done cleaning up yet.”
He’d meant to clear away the traces of his past stalking before she finished her bath. He was flustered.
“Just a little more. Wait for me. We’ll eat when I’m done.”
He’d planned to say, ‘I’m sorry for showing you this.’ But confirming with his own mouth that she’d rejected his feelings was not something he could do. He cut himself off. Then he slid the box of her hair and nail clippings out of her sight. The one that would seem the most grotesque.
“Sit at the table. The chef will bring the food soon.”
He spoke gently. Under his rough hands, another bundle of photos was tidied into neat angles. A mafioso who looked like he’d never touched such things in his life. Now tying cute ribbons around them. Milana knew from years of friendship. Vladimir the mafioso, and Bova the swordsman she’d known all this time, neither one was the type to care about tidying up.
“What are you… doing?”
And now this. Him cradling every little object with such care. It looked strange. This wasn’t just the dismantling of a curse shrine. She stepped closer, hesitant. Her brown eyes swept over the open velvet box he’d tried so hard to hide. The box with her nails and hair. Even at a glance, it was valuable. Beautiful craftsmanship with gold ornaments. Far too lavish for storing such trash.
“Milana, I know all of this might look horrifying to you. But…”
Her face had gone a little pale. He hesitated. Was it right to say this?
“…I know you’re scared. I tried to get rid of them somehow. But I can’t throw these away. So I’ll keep them somewhere you won’t see—”
“Why? So you can use them later?”
The way he handled them, like precious treasures. It confused her. Not at all like tools for a curse.
“So you can curse me again if I do something wrong?”
“What…?”
Curse?
The last bundle of photos slipped from his hands. The brown ribbon, not yet tied, came undone. Countless Milanas, the ones he loved so dearly, fluttered down. Dancing like petals to the floor.
‘What is she saying?’
She looked down at the photos of herself scattered like blossoms in the air. She spoke slowly. Emphasizing each word.
“I did something wrong… you hated me. So you were planning a curse…”
The words were so absurd he couldn’t believe his ears. His forehead creased. Had he misheard? He was sure something was wrong with his hearing. He was about to dig into his ear when she hit him with another uppercut.
“I did something wrong to you. And I’m stupid enough not to even know what it is. Begging you to be friends. …Shameless.”
The more comfortable and kind someone was, the more she should’ve tried. She hadn’t. She laughed bitterly. Confessing the self-reproach that had tormented her all this time.
“I was always grateful inside. But I never showed it. You did so much for me. And what did I ever do for you? The more I search, the less I find…”
Always buried in studies and scraping by. Only focused on keeping herself afloat. You gave me so much. I couldn’t give back even the smallest thing.
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