episode_0013

Mira muttered in a low voice.

Minho felt pity as he listened to her sleep talk.

Love, it seemed, could be too deep for one’s own good. A year had already passed since Yunyoung’s death, yet Mira, in both reality and dreams, couldn’t escape his passing and continued to suffer.

Did Mira usually have dreams like this?

As Minho listened to Mira’s drunken murmurs in her sleep, his friend Yunyoung’s image seemed to emerge from the pitch-black darkness where nothing was visible.

As a friend, he had received so much help, yet he hadn’t done anything proper for Yunyoung in return. Therefore, he felt he had to at least take care of Mira, whom Yunyoung had loved.

Just then, a hand touched his face. Startled, Minho flinched. A sweet whisper came from beside him.

Mira, in her sleep, had reached out and caressed Minho’s face. It seemed she was stroking Yunyoung’s face even in her dream.

Minho decided to stay still until her sleep-talking ended. He hoped that even if it was just in a dream, she could meet Yunyoung and be happy for a little while.

It seemed she would quiet down again soon anyway.

Mira gently stroked Minho’s cheek and forehead as if touching a doll. Then, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him into a strong embrace.

Minho felt like he was suffocating in Mira’s tight embrace. Fortunately, her strength gradually faded, becoming just a gentle hug.

Mira stayed still for a while, as if feeling the warmth of the person she was holding, then spoke. Her tearful voice was mixed with both hatred and love for her beloved.

Minho, knowing she wasn’t talking to him, remained silent.

It was too long for mere sleep-talking, but Minho still thought it was just simple sleep-talking. However, Mira was now awake. She just wasn’t fully coherent.

The accumulated stress and fatigue from Yunyoung’s death over the past year, combined with her longing for Yunyoung and the lingering effects of alcohol, had caused her brain to become delirious. In short, she was not in a sound state of mind.

Mira continued to mistake Minho for Yunyoung.

Nobody, in common sense, doesn’t know that a dead person cannot come back to life. However, Mira’s cognitive abilities were extremely limited and degraded due to the aforementioned factors.

Therefore, because she was only thinking about what she wished for and desired, she couldn’t perceive that meeting the deceased Yunyoung was somehow wrong.

In her hazy state of mind, Mira firmly believed that the person in front of her in the dark bedroom was Yunyoung.

Her voice sounded like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

Minho, who initially thought she was simply sleep-talking and confused, realized something was wrong.

Since it was impossible to speak so elaborately while asleep, he realized Mira was now awake. However, judging by her actions so far, her mind seemed to be less than coherent than usual. Especially after drinking so much.

Mira spoke, holding Minho tightly.

How much she must have longed for him, to think that the dead had returned even while drunk. Moreover, Mira’s voice now carried an anxiety that her beloved would leave again. She was like a young puppy trembling, afraid of being abandoned by its owner.

She had finally reunited with the beloved she longed for, but Mira, terrified that he might leave again, was truly pitiable.

The room was dark, nothing was visible, and all he could perceive was the tactile sensation of someone lying beside him.

The lack of visual information likely also played a role in Mira’s delusion.

If he spoke, Mira might realize that the person beside her was Minho, not Yunyoung.

But Minho, knowing how desperately Mira longed for Yunyoung, couldn’t bring himself to speak.

It felt like a cruel thing to do to Mira. Even if it was a dream that would vanish upon waking, he didn’t want to interfere with Mira’s chance to meet Yunyoung, even like this.

That didn’t mean Minho was entirely calm. He was anxious and uneasy, wondering when this situation would be exposed.

Lying in the same bed with his friend’s girlfriend in a motel was wrong, no matter what excuse he made. Even close friends of opposite genders tend to cause misunderstandings if they stay in the same room, so how much different would it be for Minho?

If Mira were to realize the situation now…

If she realized that the person beside her was Minho and not Yunyoung, there was a high possibility that things would take a serious turn.

She might think Minho had brought her here with ill intentions… and in severe cases, it wouldn’t end as just a problem between the two of them; the police or judicial authorities might even get involved.

Minho decided to act cautiously.

Judging by Mira’s state, even though she was awake, her mind was not coherent, and it seemed she would soon fall back asleep. He planned to wait a bit longer, and once she was asleep, he would quickly leave the motel.

If he were to call Mira tomorrow morning and explain what happened, she would realize why she was sleeping in a motel, and there wouldn’t be any major misunderstandings….

Minho felt a soft sensation envelop his lips. For a moment, his eyes widened. He realized what had happened a beat later.

A breath carrying warm heat entered his mouth. Mira had initiated the kiss.

Minho momentarily lost his mind to the soft sensation and, dumbfounded, opened his mouth. He belatedly realized that he was kissing Mira, but he couldn’t easily pull away.

The kiss, tasted after so long, was incredibly sweet. The more they intertwined, the more it felt like they were being sucked into a huge swamp, unable to escape.

Minho’s mind began to waver at Mira’s soft and tender lips. Yet, Mira’s unilateral outpouring of kisses continued.

Before he knew it, Minho was also actively intertwining his tongue with Mira’s, kissing her. He unwittingly fell into this act of courtship, exchanging saliva and stirring inside each other’s mouths.

Wet smacks and deep sucking sounds.

Lewd sounds of mutual craving echoed in the room.

-1-

The next day, Mira woke up and was flustered by the unfamiliar room.

Her sleepy daze quickly vanished as she looked around the room. Although the curtains blocked some sunlight, there was enough light to see inside.

Mira’s anxious eyes darted around busily. With her lips pressed tight in tension and confusion, Mira gradually began to guess where she was.

A large bed for the size of the room, a TV, a refrigerator, a table, and a lamp. Mira had a good idea of what kind of place had such a structure.

It was a motel. Motels usually had similar layouts like this.

Mira’s complexion rapidly worsened at the fact that she was in a motel.

She couldn’t clearly recall what had happened last night. Her head felt heavy, and her stomach was nauseous.

Frowning and enduring the dizziness, Mira looked beside the bed. And she almost screamed without realizing it.

A man was lying in the same bed as her.

What’s more, he was semi-naked, with nothing on his upper body. Though his back was turned, his broad back and solid muscles clearly belonged to a man.

His lower body was covered by the blanket, so she couldn’t tell if he was naked from the waist down, but what this situation implied was clear.

The fact that she had slept in the same bed with some man.

Mira, turning her gaze away as if to escape the shocking truth, realized something else.

She, too, was naked, wearing nothing like the man.

Her chest and navel, which should have been covered, were completely exposed with nothing on, and her discarded clothes and underwear were strewn on the floor beside the bed.

Mira mumbled in a trembling voice. She was not in her right mind, overcome by anxiety and fear over the transgression she had committed.

She desperately wanted to find some clue to deny reality, but every situation before her forced her to face the harsh truth.

Even without memory, she could infer what had happened from the situation. But Mira couldn’t accept it, busy denying the circumstances.

Mira, muttering to herself, looked at the man beside her.

Who could it be?

Mira swallowed a breath and, with a trembling heart, tried to see the face of the person with his back turned. However, since he was lying facing the opposite way, she couldn’t confirm his face.

*Gulp.*

Mira, after swallowing once, carefully extended her hand and gently turned the other person’s shoulder towards her.

As the person who had been lying on their side rolled over, their face was revealed. At that moment, Mira’s eyes widened.