...
"Everyone is cleared!"
Instructor Kim Soohyuk's firm voice echoed throughout the training camp, like thunder marking the end of a storm. Immediately, the metallic sounds of swords ceased, movements froze, and the cadets began to relax their postures, panting, covered in sweat and dust.
I lowered my training sword with a slight sigh of relief that the lesson was finally over. Not because I was tired, or anything like that, after all, it would be impossible for me to get tired during something as simple as training like this. But perhaps because of the thought of almost boredom?
"Sigh!"
I looked at Rachel, standing in front of me, as still as a real statue. She too relaxed at that moment, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh, and lowering the foil with a graceful movement, the precision of her gestures always impressing me, as if every little action was the result of years of impeccable discipline.
His blue eyes met mine for a moment. There was something there, not just coldness or formality, but a serene calm, a quiet respect...
She clearly liked having trained with me. Even if we rarely exchanged any words during those long hours of dueling.
It wasn't for lack of desire, either on my part or hers, at least I didn't think so. It was just the way Rachel was: focused, meticulous, completely immersed in every detail of her technique. And out of respect for that, for recognizing the intensity she put into every step, every movement, I chose to speak as little as possible.
I didn't want to break her concentration. I didn't want to interfere in the only thing that seemed to be hers, hers alone, where she was neither princess, nor symbol, nor burden.
Just Rachel.
A girl who still found herself trapped in words, and whose only means of freedom was when she trained, when her body spoke for her, with precise, silent movements, more sincere than any sentence she could say.
"See you later Theo, thanks for training."
Rachel's farewell was brief.
"No problem, see you!"
I watched her walk away, her foil carefully put away, her steps light as if nothing had happened, but I knew that what was going through her mind was deeper than any training we could do. Every movement, every drop of sweat, was an attempt to be what her title demanded, trying to exceed the expectations of others.
She gave me one last look, a slight nod, and headed towards the exit of the training ground. I stood there for a moment, watching her from behind, still reflecting on how much she really hid behind that facade of perfection and control.
"Tsk! Your eyes will fall out if you keep staring at her like that, Theo."
Nayun's voice sounded close to my ear, full of humor and a hint of teasing.
I turned around calmly, even though I already knew it was her, her "sneaky" approach would have worked on anyone... Except me.
Nayun stood with her hands on her waist, that typical cunning little smile on her face that she always displayed when she was about to tease me. Her eyes, as lively as ever, alternated between me and the direction in which Rachel had left. There was a twinkle in them. A playful glint.
And something else. A slight jealousy that she clearly couldn't hide.
We started walking towards the exit.
"It's hard to believe what you said about her and Yeonha."
Nayun's voice lost its playful tone from before. Now, there was a soft, melancholy weight to her words, like drops about to fall from a branch at the end of a rainstorm.
She walked beside me, but this time she didn't turn, she didn't look for my eyes. She just kept looking ahead, as if the road could distract her from what she was feeling.
This morning, when I finally plucked up the courage to tell her about my other life, about the world I lived in before this one, I also told her, little by little, fragments of the futures of some of the girls I was interested in...
Not everything. Just enough for her to understand... Or at least try to understand why, even now, I had feelings for people I shouldn't have, since I was dating her.
"A girl who has accepted loneliness as a good companion..."
My voice came out low, almost like a thought slipping through my lips.
Rachel. Always so pragmatic, so firm... But who carried that heavy silence that no one was able to notice, a girl who longed for a friend.
"...And a girl who cares more about what other people think than what she wants..."
Yeonha. The girl who always does everything right for others. Who showed off an impeccable image to the world. Who measured every word, every step, for fear of showing weakness... Making her hide even her true feelings in a mask of false expression.
"Hah! You're in trouble, Theo!"
Nayun's voice came with a tone that was half teasing, half amused; she was clearly trying to lighten the mood.
"Now that you've decided to row more than one boat, be prepared to keep them in the waves to come."
She patted me lightly on the back, a mischievous smile on her lips.
As if to say: "Good luck, silly."
"Uh?!"
Since when did Nayun become an encourager in love?
...
While Theo and Nayun were still leaving the training camp complex, Rachel Elizabeth Louise, who had left as soon as training was over.
was standing in front of a vending machine.
She repeatedly pressed the drink button, hoping that fate would be more generous to her than Korean technology.
'Ah! Why don't you come down. I just want a water... I'm dying of thirst.'
In the morning, her personal maid recommended that she bring at least two bottles of water in her bag, but Rachel thought it unnecessary, saying that one was enough.
'Urg I always complicate everything. Just like when I try to dress myself.'
Being independent wasn't an easy task when you were surrounded by perks from an early age.
Every step outside the bubble was a challenge.
From carrying your own backpack to dealing with a simple vending machine.
Being independent... It seemed so easy in the books, in the stories she had admired as a child.
But in reality, it was a different battle. A much lonelier one.
"Clunk!"
The dull metallic sound echoed in the small opening of the machine, followed by a faint muffled "thud" as the bottle finally fell into the lower compartment.
Rachel blinked in surprise. Then she smiled. It was small, almost invisible, like everything she allowed herself to feel.
She bent down and gently picked up the bottle. The water was cold, just the way she wanted it.
She opened the bottle and brought it to her lips.
"Aaah! That's good!"
She whispered to herself, in a low, relieved tone, as if that little moment of private victory had been worth more than any ceremonial trophy.
The water ran down her throat with an invigorating coolness, washing away the accumulated heat from training and, along with it, some of the tension she always carried on her shoulders.
'It's a good thing Theo didn't see that side of me. It would have been too embarrassing.'
Speaking of Theo, Rachel found herself lost, remembering the training session they'd just had.
She remembered how his eyes had followed her intently throughout the fight, without arrogance, without superiority. A presence that demanded nothing of her, just accepted her as she was, with her silences, her calculated gestures, her flaws hidden under layers of discipline.
Rachel sighed, looking again at the bottle in her hand, now almost empty.
"He's incredible..."
...