A hand reached out to grasp the handle.
The doorknob turned with a click, followed by the scraping creak of the door being pulled open.
A familiar face appeared.
Enmie stepped into the room, turning around to shut the door behind her.
Ersak stared at her, totally confused.
The girl slid onto the bed and threw her weight back onto the mattress, letting out a heavy sigh, “Whew!…
I’m exhausted!…” Looking at her awkwardly, Ersak snapped, “What’re you tired for?
I’m the one who ran until I literally saw heaven…” Suddenly, his eyes widened as if realizing something, and he pressed further, “Wait, I remember earlier…” Before he could finish, Enmie cut him off, “You blacked out.” “Huh?
Blacked out?” Propping her head up with her hand, she flicked her gaze toward Ersak.
The scene from this afternoon flashed back—Ersak collapsing face-first right in front of her.
“Yeah.
You passed out from sheer exhaustion.
Lucky for you, nothing’s wrong.” Enmie rolled over onto her stomach, stretching her body as she let out a long breath, “Haa~…
I didn’t expect you to be this weak.” Hearing her words, Ersak flinched.
His voice dropped into an irritated, low tone, “Forcing me to run a thousand laps in such a short amount of time…
the fact that I even finished proves I’m stronger than most people!…” Enmie went completely still, shooting him a look of pure disdain.
“Oh, really?
Is that so?
Wow.
I could probably finish that run in a few minutes.” Speechless, Ersak let out a deflated sigh, “If you can actually do that, you’re definitely not human…” Enmie stared at him, then flipped over and sat straight up.
“You’re the one who’s unusual here.” Closing her eyes, the girl tilted her head slightly.
She ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing out the slender strands of bright red locks.
Grumble…
Suddenly, a loud growl echoed from Ersak’s stomach.
Enmie opened her eyes, looking over at the teenager, who stood completely frozen.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
Ersak hesitated, his eyes darting away awkwardly.
“Uh, well…
I mean…
yeah…” “Sigh…” Letting out a breath, Enmie slid off the bed and walked forward.
“Fine.
I’ll go grab some food for you.
Just sit tight.” The bedroom door clicked shut, leaving Ersak entirely alone as the oil lamp cast quiet shadows across the room.
He looked down at the clothes he was wearing.
Reaching out, his hand gripped and then released the edge of the blanket.
He tilted his head up, fixing his focus on the large window at the far corner of the room.
Bright moonlight flooded through the glass, throwing the sharp silhouette of the window frame onto the wooden floorboards.
Outside, the dark shadows of birds swooped past, gliding across the reflected light on the ground.
Ersak stood up from the bed and walked over to the glass.
His silhouette cast a long shape inside the room, his deep blue eyes reflecting the brilliant moon hanging in the night sky.
He pressed his hand gently against the windowpane, a sudden chill transferring straight to his skin.
He pulled his hand back.
The blurry handprint printed on the glass slowly faded away, disappearing completely.
As he placed his hand right back onto the cool glass, his thoughts began to race, “What am I even doing here?…
Why am I here…
doing things like this?” Bringing both hands up to rub his eyes, he exhaled heavily, “Haaaa!…” He stopped rubbing, his eyes snapping wide open as his body gave a sudden shudder.
Inside his mind, a final thought echoed, “What is going on?…
Everything is just too strange…” Ersak’s pupils trembled.
“I’m just being dragged along, completely unaware of what on earth is going on!…” Inhale—!
Exhale—…
Closing his eyes, he let out a long breath, forcing everything around him to quiet down.
He opened them again, looking down at his own hand.
He pressed it back onto the glass and dragged it down.
A harsh, screeching squeak cut through the absolute stillness of the room.
His hand slowly stopped.
Ersak lowered his head slightly, his hair swaying over his face.
Inside his mind, a thought surfaced, “I wonder how Tenzin is doing right now…” A stark white scene flashed across his mind—a young boy wearing a long robe covered in strange symbols, holding both hands out in front of him while muttering something under his breath.
Ersak closed his eyes, pulling his hand away as he turned around.
“It’s ridiculous.
It’s bad enough that I’m a prisoner of war now, but I don’t even know why I was dragged all the way here…” He sat down on the bed, the mattress creaking softly under his weight.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
Ersak flinched, snapping his head up.
Enmie stood right in the doorway, staring at him.
Etyna peeked out from behind her with a bright smile, holding a steaming bowl of food in her hands.
“Food is here!” The bowl hit the wooden table with a soft thud.
The three of them sat down, and Ersak pulled the food closer, staring at it before he began to eat.
Enmie watched him dig in, her face twisting into a judging expression.
“You know, people usually say ‘remember the source when you eat the fruit.’ Where are your manners?” Etyna let out a forced laugh, tilting her head toward Enmie.
“Ha, ha…
I don’t think that’s exactly how the saying goes, is it?…” Ersak looked up, closing his eyes briefly.
“Thanks.” The bowl was filled with rice, vegetables, and small meatball pieces, with thin wisps of steam drifting up into the air.
He glanced to the side and noticed a pair of wooden chopsticks.
A look of blank surprise washed over his face as he thought, “Oh, chopsticks.” Ersak picked them up, lifting a steaming meatball close to his mouth.
He blew gently on it, scattering the smoke, before popping it into his mouth and chewing.
Etyna clapped her hands together, smiling excitedly.
“Tomorrow is my first official day teaching.
I can’t wait!” Propping her head up with her hand on the table, Enmie looked at the enthusiastic girl, teasing, “Oh!
Our little teacher is finally going to teach!” Etyna nodded vigorously.
“Yep!
I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.
Just wait until tomorrow comes, I’m gonna show those students what respect looks like!” Ersak’s eyes went wide as he continuously stuffed rice into his mouth without saying a single word.
Watching him, Etyna broke out in a sweat, her excitement instantly draining away.
“Hey, hey…
you could technically be considered one of my students, you know…” Ersak blinked, snapping out of his daze.
With a completely blank, expressionless face, he stared at Etyna.
“Huh?
What do you want me to do?” Etyna utterly collapsed, turning to stone.
“Eh?!…
E-eh?!…
Ugh~….” Sitting right next to her, Enmie panicked, breaking out in beads of cold sweat as she let out a forced laugh and shook Etyna’s shoulders.
“C-come on…” Clutching the fabric of her shirt over her chest, Etyna smiled through her tears.
“You’re the first person to ever treat me this coldly…
I might be a teacher, but I’m still young, and I have feelings too…” Etyna slumped backward.
Enmie panicked even more, grabbing her and shaking her wildly.
“Eh??
Etyna, are you okay?!
Don’t faint on me!” Ersak stared at the two of them, his mouth still stuffed with rice.
Narrowing his eyes in utter confusion, he felt completely speechless as he thought, “What the hell is going on here??
Did I do something wrong?…”