By Zephyria 
“Yeah, I didn’t cry. You didn’t cry.”
As I mumbled with a nasal voice, Kyle wiped my eyes and cheeks with his hands. I quietly felt his warm touch before opening my mouth.
“You did that back then too. When I whined, you would always soothe me like this.”
“No, you didn’t whine much back then. You just stumbled around with a smile.”
“When I said I was working without getting paid, you said you’d scold that bald guy at the charcoal shop for me.”
I lifted my head from Kyle’s shoulder. My eyes grew hot again, making a mockery of his diligent wiping.
“So, is that why you kept wanting to go there?”
“That too, and I also wanted to see the place where you lived when you were young. It’s a bit of both. Stop crying.”
“How do you still remember that? I just said it while I was a little drunk.”
“I have to remember it even more because you said it while drunk. You don’t usually say things like that. In that sense, I should get you drunk periodically from now on.”
Kyle started joking again. Whenever I seemed sad or in a bad mood, Kyle was always like this. He would shake my mind with ridiculous nonsense. So, even when I was about to get sad, I would quickly cheer up.
“You become incredibly honest and cute when you’re drunk. You’re cute now too, of course, but it’s a little different when you’re drunk. It’s funny how you try so hard to walk on your own while staggering, but then you slowly cling to me. And it’s fun how you smile like a fool whenever our eyes meet. Ah, I want to get you completely drunk and do whatever I want.”
No, when you think about it, it wasn’t so much that I cheered up, but rather that all my worries became meaningless because it was so absurd.
Kyle did his best to cheer me up by rattling off all sorts of nonsense until we arrived at the Greenhouse. Fortunately, he became quiet once we entered the Greenhouse.
“It’s the same here.”
As Kyle said, the Greenhouse looked exactly as it did before we left. The stone tower we had built before, the swimming pool, the structure, and the types of plants. Even the bedding I had awkwardly placed was still there.
However, it wasn’t dusty or neglected.
“I was going to give the Talim to Nasser since we wouldn’t be coming often.”
Kyle, who had been scanning the Greenhouse, looked at me.
“I shouldn’t give it away. This is the first home you cultivated.”
I nodded at his words.
“That’s right, this is mine.”
I didn’t want to give it to anyone else because Kyle had given it to me. Even if we had to leave it empty for a long time, as Kyle said, I wanted to keep it.
“Should I hang the chandelier I bought last time here?”
It was such an incompatible combination that I couldn’t answer easily. Kyle took me to the small stone tower, noticing my obvious dislike.
I brushed back Kyle’s forehead and hair and asked.
“About the name you gave the bird earlier.”
I quickly changed the subject, afraid he would keep talking about the chandelier.
“Was that the name you wanted to give the bird you received from Mahir when you were young?”
Kyle’s eyes widened at my question.
“How did you know?”
As I expected.
He wanted to raise it, he wanted to take care of it properly until the end, so he looked up related information and even named it, but in the end, he let it fly into the sky. What was young Kyle thinking as he watched the bird fly high into the blue sky?
“I just had a feeling.”
“That’s amazing. How do you always know so well?”
Kyle, who was kneeling in front of the stone tower, muttered happily. Kyle began to clumsily stack small stones one by one next to it.
“Agnes is the name of a famous Saintess from ancient times. She was so beautiful and wise that she was loved by God. The bird I received from Mahir was a fully grown falcon. As soon as I saw it, it was so dignified. So, I couldn’t just give it any name.”
Until now, I had been constantly imagining escaping from the Imperial Castle with young Kyle.
Since we were both young, there would definitely be many difficulties, but I thought that if we overcame them together, relied on each other, and loved each other, it would be better than back then. So, I kept thinking that it would have been much better if we had met even a little earlier.
But my thoughts changed more and more. Not when we were young, but I wanted to go back to the past right now and meet young Kyle. Not the younger me who couldn’t do anything, who was dirty and weak, but the me of now.
Then I could block all the rain and wind that tormented you. I could always hold you so you wouldn’t fall. I could let you raise as many birds as you wanted, and I could make you laugh as much as you wanted without having to be cruel.
“Ophelia said the world is currently being destroyed. Isn’t there a way to stop it?”
Kyle asked, focusing on stacking stones. He managed to succeed up to three stones, but he kept failing on the fourth.
“Maybe there is.”
“Then maybe we can save the world from destruction?”
“We?”
As I asked, bewildered, Kyle raised his head and looked at me.
“If we wander around the underground Ruins, we might find a way to put the misaligned gears that Ophelia mentioned back in place.”
Honestly, it seemed impossible, but I didn’t care about that.
“That’s right, maybe we can.”
“I think I saw something similar in a book when I was young. Something about a hero defeating the Demon King to save the world.”
It sounded like a nonsensical and childish fairy tale that only children would read. But somehow, my heart was pounding at that absurd story.
“We’re not defeating the Demon King, but we’re still protecting the world, so it’s similar. We’re like a hero couple.”
Kyle’s voice gradually became smaller, and now he was completely silent. After concentrating, he finally succeeded in stacking four stones, and now it was time to put the fifth stone on top.
Protecting the world…
“…”
My whole world is all around you.
“Ah, done.”
Although it was much smaller, Kyle succeeded in stacking five stones, just like the one I made.
“The peace of the family…”
Kyle, who raised his head, smiled and was about to say something to me, but he trailed off. It was because I was crying again.
“Why are you crying again?”
“I just got something in my eye.”
My voice was so hoarse that I couldn’t even speak properly. Kyle, who was looking at me mumbling with a sob as if he was dumbfounded, stood up, supporting himself on his knees.
Then he hugged me again and kissed my eyes, cheekbones, cheeks, and lips indiscriminately.
“Is it because we came home after a long time? You keep crying.”
“I told you I wasn’t crying.”
“Yeah, you didn’t cry. Anyway, stop crying now that you’re a hero.”
“What hero? That’s childish, really. Are you a kid?”
At my words, Kyle suddenly pulled away from me and said as if he was wronged.
“Come to think of it, my 20s just disappeared? 5 years sick, and 5 years in the Primeval Forest just passed by… No, am I thirty now? That’s ridiculous. I haven’t even lived for many years.”
“Age doesn’t really matter now.”
“That’s true, but… The hero in the fairy tale was in his 20s.”
“No, why are you suddenly talking about heroes since a while ago?”
“Anyway, we’re people who can save the world. Or maybe not, but…”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked at Kyle, who shrugged his shoulders.
“What kind of hero says it can’t be helped? You have to say you’ll save the world without giving up until the end.”
My world is all around you.
In a place where you can reach out and grab it, in a place where your gaze lingers, at the foot of where your steps reach, I have built the whole world.
Without you, my world cannot exist.
“Still, we have to give up if it’s dangerous. My goal is to live with you for a long, long time. Anyway, let’s try to save the world as long as it’s not dangerous.”
Kyle held out his hand as if asking for a favor. I burst out laughing in absurdity. I pulled his neck and kissed his sweet-smelling lips and said.
“Okay.”
“I like it too.”
“I love you.”
Therefore, our journey is ultimately a journey to save the world.
Side Story End for All Your Unbeautiful Things
No sharing, it’s not hard to keep it for yourself
Please protect the precious Tokki