"It's been a while since I've last seen you smile."
Amanda approached me after I came out of the room. Her face was unusually serious.
I turned to look at her while cocking my head.
"You think so?"
I never really noticed myself if I had to be honest...but it wasn't as though I was surprised by this development. There wasn't much to smile about.
Also, having had another attack just a couple of minutes ago, I couldn't really bring myself to smile.
"Here."
Amanda placed her hands on the edges of my lips and pulled them upwards.
"Much better."
She returned a smile herself.
Her smile was stunning. Enough to make anyone fall into a daze with just a glance. Well, anyone but me. I was pretty much used to her smiles by now. Well, for the most part. I wasn't exactly totally immune.
"Wwwamhat are you doing?"
It was hard to speak when she had her hands on my lips, pulling them up.
"Helping you smile."
"...What dwoes that have anything to do with the situation?"
"It doesn't."
Amanda let go of my lips.
"It's just that you look a lot better if you smiled a little more often."
Cocking my head even further, I eventually nodded my head.
"Well, sure, I'll try to smile more."
This wasn't too hard of a request. Not like smiling was that hard.
I smiled.
"Happy?"
"For what?"
"I'm smiling, aren't I?"
Amanda's brows furrowed.
"...No?"
"Hm?"
Amanda's reaction took me back.
"What are you talking about?"
Was she playing a prank on me? I could clearly feel myself smiling.
"Are you playing around with me?"
Amanda asked, inching closer to me.
I shook my head.
"That was what I was about to ask you."
Amanda's face hardened.
Her reaction took me aback.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Here."
out a pocket mirror and handed it
it from her hand
"...No way."
it was my
first glance, there didn't seem to be anything wrong
At first glance, though.
closer inspection, I realized
am I not
My expression...
It was stiff.
did not have a smile on my
'Just what in the...'
pocket mirror and handed it back to
"Thanks."
"Ren, what's going on?"
took the pocket mirror back and looked at
waved my
nothing to worry about. Just a little side-effect of practicing a certain art. I will be able
...That was a lie.
a result of the previous attack
just play this off as something like a side-effect of an
"If you say so..."
Obviously, she didn't buy my excuse, but as
"You hungry?"
my stomach and attempted to change the
"A bit."
about we go eat
"I wouldn't mind that."
"Great."
a bit and
"Come, let's go eat."
"Mhm."
***
the light breeze that was blowing across the grassland, the blades of grass that
field as their feet left behind shallow footprints. They moved in such a covert manner that they left no trace of
longer do we have to
breathing had become labored as she worked hard to keep up
down! I'm going to die at the
until she started swearing that Jin and Emma finally slowed
mercy. I'm about to die
on the grass and supported
first one to complain was Emma,
really blame us for going too fast. You were
know you guys were going
on her knees and she took deep breaths to try and steady herself. The two were moving at such a rapid pace that it was impossible for her to keep up with them. Despite the fact that she wasn't exactly a weak person herself—with her current rank being at —she was still a lot weaker than the two of them who were in
exhausted, and if not for them finally stopping, she would've already started puking on
never
her stomach and slumped back on
that she wanted. Following Jin and Emma seemed to be the best option, but that proved to be a
Jin, Melissa stared at the dark sky and waved her
won't be able to move for at least
fine. Not
"Me too."
responded as they exchanged glances for a moment. Melissa clenched her
I out of
lightly pinched her stomach and then lowered her head and allowed her hair to fall to the side of her face. Pondering over something,
sure
"Positive."
while he looked toward
this is the direction of where
Jin's speech halted.
his eyes suddenly squinted, and his expression changed. He quickly turned around and his figure vanished
"Hide, quick!"
"Wha-"
"No time for that."
Melissa by the arm and yanking her away, Emma turned around and followed Jin from behind. They saw a large
forward. Pressing his foot into the ground, Melissa felt a slight fluctuation in the air. His sudden actions aroused her
just as she was about to say something, she noticed something in the far distance. Her mouth instantly shut and her expression mimicked that of
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
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!