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“Of course it matters. Yuri, you and I…”
“Childhood friends? Isn’t that just ridiculous? We were just two orphans, born in the same place, that’s all.”
“Yuri...!”
“Please, Elena.”
Yuri sighed, cutting her off.
“Ten years.”
“…”
“It’s been ten years. You left for the Dersia magic tower ten years ago. I don’t know how you remember me from back then, but I’m… not the same person you remember as a ten-year-old kid.”
It was true. The orphan Yuri that Elena once knew was long gone. The person sitting here now was Lee Soo-hyuk, wearing Yuri’s skin.
Of course, that wasn’t what he meant. He was just laying the groundwork for a worst-case scenario.
"Please."
Yuri hid his desperation as he gazed at Elena. She looked dazed, as if in shock.
Seeing her expression made him feel a bit guilty, but it couldn’t be helped.
Even though Yuri's original personality was rude, there was no reason for the current Yuri to be that way too. People’s personalities could change over ten years, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t say something nice if he wanted to.
But he didn’t. He hoped Elena would cut ties with him, to leave behind the friend who had turned into trash. He wished she would walk away in disgust, severing their connection for good.
“…”
Elena stared at him without speaking. It looked like she was getting angry. Yuri, sensing this, opened his mouth again.
“Go back.”
He wanted to make it clear.
“You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll live my life, and you can just…”
“Live your life?”
This time, it was Elena who interrupted.
“And what kind of life are you planning to live?”
She moved her hand, placing it over the scar at the center of his chest. Her lips twisted as she spoke.
“The Black Serpent? When I first heard the name, I thought it might be some dark martial arts sect. But after looking into it, I realized it wasn’t even that. Yuri, you should’ve joined a proper dark sect instead. At least then you might have learned some low-level martial arts technique.”
The Veil of Deception was working perfectly. Elena couldn’t sense any energy coming from Yuri.
“Ten years? You’re right, Yuri. Ten years is a long time. I’ve changed, and so have you… But, you know,”
Elena sighed as she withdrew the hand she had placed on his chest.
“After meeting me for the first time in ten years, do you really have nothing else to say?”
“And what about you?”
Yuri countered.
“If you hadn’t shown up like this, maybe I would have said something different.”
Elena blinked a few times before stepping back with a short sigh.
“You’re right.”
Elena nodded with a calm expression. She removed the wide-brimmed hat from her head and bowed to Yuri.
“I was being rude. I came here suddenly, broke down your door, and scolded you without considering your feelings. I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t say that to get an apology.”
“Yuri.”
Elena raised her head.
“I’m going to take you with me.”
“What?”
“Even if you don’t want to, I won’t listen. I made the decision the moment I read Mr. Gordon’s letter. I’m taking you with me.”
Her voice was firm, without hesitation. As she looked around Yuri’s small room, she continued speaking.
“Out of this tiny room. Out of this rural village where you have nothing, and nothing to do. I’m taking you away.”
This was the worst.
“That’s what I’ve decided.”
Elena hid the trembling of her fingers by clutching her hat tightly. She suppressed the feeling that she might burst into tears.
Her clothes, too extravagant for the countryside. Her spotless shoes. The very image of the “city” that Yuri had once dreamed of with her as a child. Standing with her back to him, Elena bit her lower lip.
“Why?”
Yuri couldn’t understand Elena. In the last ten years, she had never once visited him. They’d only exchanged the occasional letter. While some of those letters contained her concerns for him, he never imagined she would act like this.
He dug into his memories of the past. The days at the Oldor Orphanage. Yes, he could admit it. Back then, Elena and Yuri had been close. If anything, Yuri had acted like her "older brother."
Before Elena had discovered her talent for magic. That orphan girl, who had not only magical talent but also a pretty face, was often bullied by the other children.
Yuri, as a kid, was a troublemaker from the start, showing early signs of rebellion.
Whenever Elena was bullied, it was Yuri who stepped in and knocked the other orphans down.
“Is it because of that?”
“That was over ten years ago. Or was it because I had nearly died a month ago? Could that really be it?”
“tell me”.
“Had hearing that your childhood friend barely escaped death been such a huge shock to you?”
“Why? Why would you do this?”
Elena turned her head sharply.
“Because I can’t leave you behind.”
Her face showed a stubborn determination as she said it.
