BTE (62) — The Nightmare Never Ends VII (Patreon)

Yuna couldn’t sleep, and not for a lack of trying.

She had tried to get in contact with her husband, or with anyone who might have an inkling to his current whereabouts or well-being, but she had no luck. The calls all went to voicemail. The phones, evidently, had been cut off.

So now here she sat, alone at the table with the small lamp lit. It cast a small ring of light across the floor and onto the shelves. Every other source of light had been turned off.

Yuna couldn't stop thinking about her husband and the people who might've been with him. She couldn't sleep. Not in this kind of atmosphere.

The only solace was that she was with her family. Hari and Nari were curled up in a corner of their own, softly breathing, their eyes closed. Yuhee and Bada were sharing another corner of their own, their hair a bit tousled up.

Myeong was asleep, under some sort of blanket Leandro resourcefully pulled out of his inventory. As far as she could tell, they had a draining conversation earlier. She deserved some rest.

As for Leandro. He was still standing, vigilantly. He had insisted that she and the others go to bed. She didn't like it, being the one who got to relax while a boy, who was much younger than her, stood watch for them, but he had assured her that it was fine, that he wouldn't need much sleep in the first place, that he needed the time to meditate.

It wasn't fine with her—but she didn't have much of a say in it.

She was tired as well, to be honest. With nothing else to do, she found herself looking at Leandro. Bad timing. The kid had turned around right as her eyes made contact with his face.

He spotted her and offered a smile.

Yuna looked up at him. The boy had gotten even more handsome than she recalled.

His smile was calm. There was a gentle serenity about his expression, which stood in creepy contrast with the ruthless efficient way he dismembered those monsters.

Yuna couldn't help but sigh, her voice heavy. "Leandro, come sit. You're making me nervous, standing there all alone." She gestured towards the seat across from her.

The boy glanced down, and quietly did as asked. 

“Can’t sleep?” He asked, his voice was soft yet clear. Oddly comforting. 

"A lot has happened..." Her eyes fell onto the table, onto her hands.

It didn’t sound like she would elaborate. Maybe she didn’t trust him enough to burden him with her concerns, or maybe she was the type to bottle it all up. Yuna remained silent, contemplative.

An observer would probably think they were stuck in an awkward situation. That they couldn't find any way to interact with one another. They would probably say she was a middle aged woman who didn’t know how to treat her daughter’s boyfriend—which, for the record, they weren't completely off-base.

"Leandro..." Yuna started, looking at him deep in the eyes. "Myeong told me about your father. I'm... so sorry..."

"Don't be." Leandro spoke. His eyes were as resolute as ever, his voice steady and calm. "I can't feel the grief right now, but I will grieve later, for the sake of the people that do. But I can assure you I will have my revenge—on everyone that participated in his death."

It made Yuna sigh again, but this time a little easier. She looked at Leandro with a calm expression. She didn’t doubt him, somehow. It was the knowledge that he had enough power to see many of those Galvathians dead. How far he’d go still remained to be seen, but his growth, from a human’s perspective, was nothing short of miraculous. "I can see why they love you, even if they aren't fully aware of it themselves."

Leandro raised an eyebrow at that.

She went on. "My daughter is usually a very shy girl, not like this. I never thought I'd see the day when she's so taken with another person." She shook her head, laughing lightly. "Hari can be a handful sometimes. I'm glad she's with someone she trusts now."

He chuckled slightly. "Is this your stamp of approval?"

Yuna crossed one leg over the other, staring at him in an inquisitive way. "Not quite. I'm relieved that my Hari will be safe in your hands, but from what I've discerned... you're having a little lady problem.” She tilted her head. “You're not planning on dating them all, are you?"

Leandro closed his eyes, his response delayed. "No."

She narrowed her eyes, scoffing. “You’re lying.” 

He looked away, sighing.

Yuna laughed quietly, and Leandro wasn't sure how to take her. Was she laughing at him or with him? Or at both of them, perhaps. He wouldn’t have known. "If I told you that I wanted to date them both, then what?" He asked.

She grinned at him, leaning in slightly. "I'll punch you. For Hari and Nari's sake. It might not sound like a big threat coming from an old woman like me, but believe me when I say it'll hurt."

"I'm sure it would, ma'am." He smiled. "And just so you know, I wouldn't force anything on either of them. I wouldn't even do that on anyone. I have enough self control."

Yuna looked at him in silence. She was looking for the sincerity in his words. 

“That you do.”

And she could tell. She could have found a hundred flaws in him, only to end up finding a thousand merits. ‘Myeong’s son is truly frightening.’ She’d even go as far as to say he was a freak of nature, but perhaps that’d be a bit unkind to the boy. 

He was simply remarkable. She couldn't deny that. 

A comfortable silence descended over them for a brief moment.

Leandro tilted his head. "Are you worried?"

Her expression turned a little darker. "Yes."

Yuna closed her eyes and tried to think. 

There was something very odd about Leandro, something that couldn't quite be explained. There was an indescribable atmosphere around him. He wasn't like any man she'd met before.

He seemed older, not physically—well, physically, he'd looked older as well—but older as in his demeanor, in his soul, his emotions.

It wasn’t what she had expected. Yuna recalled the things Hari had said over the phone, the way she had praised him. It was almost as if he was a god in human flesh.

Now that he was so close, staring at her like that, some tiny part of her might have agreed with that statement. He was the kind of person that made the air around her prickle uncomfortably, and he seemed to notice that too. He wasn't as tense around the girls, but Yuna felt as if she was walking on eggshells.

Might have been those creepy eyes—

His gaze suddenly softened. “You’re still hurt.”

It took Yuna a moment to understand what he meant. She unconsciously lifted a hand to touch her lips. She winced—it still hurt like hell.

"Stay still."

Hm?

Yuna blinked at him; she didn't even notice him move.

He reached his hand into his inventory and pulled out a cotton pad, a bottle of water, and what looked like antiseptic.

Her eyes widened a bit.

Leandro gave her a soft smile. "You're injured, and the girls would have my head if you're left hurting while I could do something about it. Do you mind if I touch your lip?"

Yuna found herself momentarily unable to answer, a little shocked. "Sure..."

"......"

With the pad dampened with water, Leandro gently dabbed away at her bruised, swollen lip. Yuna closed her eyes, her hands placed in her lap and squeezing slightly.

"You took that punch like a champ." He praised. "Your lip might swell up and be a bit tender for a day, but there doesn’t seem to be any serious internal damage, and I doubt you will get a scar. But do tell if I press too hard."

"I'm stronger than I look." Yuna said when Leandro pulled away, this time to apply the antiseptic to the pad.

"Is that so?" Leandro's words came with a small, quiet laugh. He brought the pad up again. "Hari Noona and Nari were really concerned about you."

"Mm. You must've been worried too. Thank you for that, though I don't understand why you're not resting." She couldn't help but notice his fingers were warm—he held her chin with a firm yet gentle grip, his touch steady. It was disconcertingly soothing.

"I don't really need much rest." He hummed, dabbing the pad on her wound. He was very careful, his touch unexpectedly gentle. "Besides, I figured the girls would feel much safer if they could sleep in peace while I watch over them. They're all spoiled."

Yuna gave him a long look. "That they are." She agreed, not sure how to react. 

He seemed completely indifferent to the situation they were in.

She couldn't fathom how someone could be this relaxed at a time like this, especially when the safety of people close to him was on the line.

She guessed it was an effect of the power he had shown. If he could cut off monsters' arms and heads without batting an eye, he probably didn't fear those things anymore. She would never know how it felt like, and she prayed that she never had to know.

“I wonder how you’ll get out of this mess.” Yuna exhaled, looking at him knowingly.

“Are you talking about the invasion or the girls?”

Yuna raised her head and looked into Leandro's eyes. He seemed amused and serious at the same time. She sighed and lowered her eyes again. "Both."

It didn't seem like he would reply to that, so she spoke.

"I know you're an extraordinary young man, and Hari's feelings for you... she wouldn't tell me anything at all. You see, even though I'm her mother, we aren't really that close, and this is partly my fault, I know. I haven't been home enough to really tell..."

Yuna looked a bit hesitant to finish.

"This is more of a reason for you to stay, don't you think?" He spoke softly, not really looking into her eyes; he was too busy disinfecting her lips. "You know... you're going to lose them, eventually. One day, you won't have time to even visit. They'll have their own lives, children, careers, friends, and you won't be as important anymore. That’s part of life, I guess. But you've been away so long, my mother as well. And she regrets it. Every moment she could have spent with me is gone, and it’s something that can’t be taken back. Some of the best years of your daughters’ life have been defined without your presence. Birthdays. Graduation. Nari’s debut practice. Every important milestone. But my mother did it for a noble cause... what's yours?"

"I just did what was best for them... me and my husband worked hard to get where we are. To give our family a better life. I don't regret it." Yuna said, finding the words bitter as they came out. "I don't think it's appropriate for someone as young as you to question my choices."

"I'm not questioning. I observe reality and try to give the best solution. I don't like regrets." Leandro's voice was neutral and devoid of emotion.

She looked down. "What makes you think you have the right to say that?"

"The girls. I won't say they haven't grown up to be great women without their parents. But there is something they can only get from you, not even a god can change that. What will happen if you're no longer here, what will you leave them?"

He asked the question calmly, as if it were a perfectly normal topic of conversation. He gently wiped the last dried blood away. "Aliens are tearing our world apart this very instant, all the wealth you and your husband worked for doesn't matter. It's all currency that doesn't work in the Tower. It can't protect you. It can't bring someone back to life. It certainly can't rewind time. All of your material possessions will fall into someone else's hands when you die. What can you leave the girls? Memories, probably. But that won't help them in the real world. That's what you're worried about, right? If your family can still make a living even after you and your husband are dead? If I wasn't here today, there'd be nothing left of you. They'd never know what happened to you. Whether you died, or if you simply took up and vanished, hiding away in some luxurious bunker without a word. No goodbye, nothing."

She was glaring at him now. She didn't appreciate his choice of words, and he had to admit—it wasn't something a mere kid should have ever been allowed to say. "Who are you to preach about life like some enlightened prophet? I am grateful for you saving our lives, Leandro. Truly, I am, but do you have any right to talk about this?"

He remained silent, and it irritated her even more.

"I love my children. You'll never understand. I didn't come back, it's true. But that's what was best for them, at least, that's what I thought. They had a chance for a better life, one without poverty, and I didn't want them to experience a life like mine. You may call it cowardice, I'm fine with that, but don't tell me I don't care about my own daughters, or that I haven't tried to help them in my own way."

Yuna finished her sentence and closed her mouth, but she still didn't like his expression, nor did she appreciate the way he looked at her. It wasn't pity.

"Well, now's not the time for you to fuss about money. What they need is safety and comfort. Will you be there for them to have it?"

She couldn't find the words to say.

He examined her lips, finding nothing else of note. "I'm sorry for preaching. I care about them, and perhaps I could grow to care more about you as well. But I am also a stranger that doesn't belong to your world. I can see this from your point of view. You've probably thought a lot about this before." He chuckled, not the least bit offended. "That's why you didn't want me to have any weird ideas about Hari Noona or Nari. I understand that, but now you know my worth. I told you that what they needed is someone who, come hell or high water, is always there to protect them. I'm not rich, but my integrity and power speak for itself. That is what your daughters need, and perhaps, that's what you need too."

“......”

Leandro slowly withdrew his hands, putting the used supplies away. "Feeling better?" He asked, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, as if they didn’t have a conflicting conversation. 

"It stings." Yuna's expression softened. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. "But yeah, it feels better. Thank you..."

"Good." Leandro said, getting to his feet. "You should get some rest, Auntie."

"...Mhm."

Leandro left after that. It didn't seem like he had much else to say.

Yuna stared after his back until it disappeared in the shadows of the pharmacy's aisles. She sighed again, shaking her head. She really didn't know what to make of him.