Chapter 16
From the morning, she had received an unwanted gift.
At noon, Pierre had come and caused chaos.
And now, even her appointment had fallen apart.
She had waited so much for today.
Everything was ruined. She did not even know where it had started.
“Haa…”
A heavy sigh came out from deep in her chest.
I’m tired.
For the first time since coming here, she truly felt exhausted.
I’ll just go back, wash my feet, and sleep.
Just as she turned to leave, a rustling sound made her stop.
As if drawn by something, Sienna walked behind the tree.
“…Dan.”
When their eyes met, he waved awkwardly.
He looked sleepy, as if he had dozed off for a moment.
Rubbing the sleep from his face, he stood up.
“Um. Good evening, Sienna.”
But as he lowered his hand, his expression suddenly stiffened.
“Are you alright?”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
Dan pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped her cheek.
Only then did she realize—tears were already falling.
“Ah… why am I like this?”
She smiled awkwardly and wiped her tears.
But as if something inside her was broken, the tears would not stop.
He hurriedly caught her hand as she rubbed her cheeks.
“Don’t smile.”
“……”
“You don’t want to smile right now.”
“……”
“Just cry.”
“I’m fi—”
She thought she was fine.
Or at least, she wanted to be.
But she could not finish the sentence.
“Are you really okay?”
His unusually deep black eyes looked straight at her.
At that question, fear finally rushed in.
The fear she had been too scared to even think about.
Sienna tightly grabbed Dandelion’s sleeve.
Her fingers clenched hard.
“…No. I’m not okay at all.”
Her nose stung, and her whole body trembled.
Holding onto his sleeve, she burst into tears like a child.
The tears only stopped when the sky had fully turned red.
Leaning against the tree, the two of them sat in silence.
Only then did embarrassment wash over her, and her face grew hot.
As if sensing her feelings, he stayed quietly by her side.
It was awkward and embarrassing—but after crying, she felt lighter.
Sitting like this, feeling the breeze together, her worries and anger seemed to fade away.
“It’s nice.”
At her honest words, their eyes met.
She gave an awkward smile and quickly looked forward again.
