WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 401: Change & Read Messages
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#Change (18)
Anne, who had been staring blankly, suddenly grabbed Gyeoul. The second kiss was rougher than the first. One of them was clumsy, and the other was desperate. But that only made it better for feeling each other. Her trembling breath, stopping now and then before rushing out, tickled Gyeoul's cheek. Anne, stripped of all composure, tasted richly human, like hazelnut. Thought meant nothing. Gyeoul quietly closed his eyes.
How much time passed while they forgot the world?
Gyeoul slowly ended the kiss. Like waking quietly from a long, deep sleep on some lazy weekend morning, on dry sheets in a sunlit bed. Everything outside Anne returned like birdsong heard through sleep. Gyeoul gently pushed her away.
"Just a moment, Anne."
"...Ah?"
Anne, weakened by the length of the kiss, pulled away as Gyeoul pushed her. She blinked, then looked confused. She looked like someone who had been so absorbed in sensation that she had even forgotten herself. She needed a little time to gather her thoughts. When she finally came back to herself, she looked at Gyeoul with confusion still lingering in her eyes.
"I... I didn't misunderstand something, did I?"
"No. Of course not."
Gyeoul shook his head.
"It's just that I still have something left to say."
"Something to say?"
Before the puzzled Anne, Gyeoul calmly caught his breath, then slowly knelt on one knee. Anne realized what it meant and covered her mouth with one hand. Her widened eyes, her gaze that seemed unable to believe this was real, fixed on the ring Gyeoul held out. For a moment, she looked like she had forgotten how to breathe.
Gyeoul looked up at her and said,
"Actually, I wondered whether I should prepare a different ring."
This ring had originally been a prop prepared for Kurt Lee. It was a luxury piece, its platinum rim layered with bands of pure gold in different widths to emphasize the color contrast, with elegant engraving and tiny jewels scattered so they became part of the design. Its beautiful design suited anyone, regardless of gender, but...
"I thought something like this might be something I had to choose myself, sincerely. Something that would suit you best."
Gyeoul had believed, no matter when it happened, that he would one day propose to Anne. So this hesitation had been in his heart since last fall.
"But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find an engagement ring with deeper meaning between you and me than this one. The time I spent with you is inside it. We probably started liking each other around then. We just didn't realize it at the time. Not me, and probably not you either."
Anne listened with bated breath, her eyes quickly growing wet. Gyeoul smiled gently.
"You are my first love."
"..."
"I'll say it again. I love you, Joanna Gibson. I want to stay with you for a long, long time, loving you like I do now and being loved by you. I don't want to wait anymore. I don't want to hesitate anymore. So I'm asking you with all of that in my heart."
At last, the moment had come.
"Anne, will you marry me?"
Even for Gyeoul, these were words he had held back for a long time, so he could not help the slight tremble in his voice. His heart pounded even though he already knew the answer. Anne shed tear after tear and barely managed one damp word.
"...Yes."
Gyeoul slipped the ring onto her finger. The spring sun shimmered over the first joint of her ring finger. Anne pulled Gyeoul into a breathless embrace as he stood. The third kiss tasted of tears soaked in happiness. That soft saltiness felt endlessly sweet to Gyeoul.
After their lips parted with their breaths, Anne leaned against Gyeoul for a while. Like someone who could barely stand. Extreme emotional elation and nerves stretched taut had drained all her strength. The body heat against him was hotter than usual.
"How about sitting down for a moment?"
Gyeoul held Anne by the waist and led her to a roadside bench. The Potomac River opened up ahead, and the shade of cherry blossom trees spread overhead, making it the perfect place to catch their breath. The flowing river was beautiful, sunlight breaking into countless pieces on every gentle ripple. It was a cluster of stars scattered at midday. In the quiet, the sound of an airplane engine passed by. Given the times, the international airport across the river was no longer as crowded as it used to be.
A long while later, Gyeoul toyed with Anne's hand and said,
"I'm sorry."
"...?"
"I wish I'd prepared a better proposal. But considering how long you've been waiting, I thought it would be better to end that wait even one minute, even one second sooner."
"Of course."
Anne answered at once and wrapped her arms around Gyeoul's neck. Several short kisses followed. With her forehead resting against his, she smiled and gave a small shake of her head.
"What are you sorry for? This was the best moment of my life. I've never experienced anything like it. I only feel grateful to you, Gyeoul. You have no idea how happy I am right now."
Then she gently bit her lip. After hesitating over something, she began again.
"Still, if there's something more I want... will you do it for me? Whatever it is."
"As much as you want. If it's something I can do."
It was surely something Gyeoul wanted too.
"...Come with me."
Anne grabbed Gyeoul by the wrist and headed to her car. She gripped the steering wheel hard, her gaze lowered, then, when she heard Gyeoul fasten his seatbelt, roughly shifted gears and stepped on the accelerator.
Before long, her driving, showing all the skill of a seasoned investigator, brought them to a hotel near a riverside pier. When they got out of the car, she handed Gyeoul a large pair of sunglasses. She likely did not want a precious day like this turned into cheap gossip for the lowest kind of media. The hotel employee at the lobby desk looked flustered before Anne's sharp tone and suffocating mood, and handed over the key.
In the room they entered, Gyeoul and Anne kissed without either one having to go first. They savored each other fully, indulging through every sense. Gyeoul flinched for brief moments now and then, but they were exactly that, brief, and there was nothing like revulsion in them.
Then a ringtone sounded. It was Anne's phone. She tried to ignore it, but whoever was calling did not give up after one try. At last, Anne took out the device with a rare look of irritation and checked the screen. The caller was none other than the FBI Director, Ernest Dean.
Well, she had left during work hours.
In the end, Anne took the call. Gyeoul thought her eyes looked familiar. It was the same thirsty, expressionless look he had seen once before.
Before the Director could even ask where she was, Anne cut him off in a flat voice.
"I'm busy right now. I'll contact you later."
「What? Busy? What the hell-」
Beep. After ending the call one-sidedly, she yanked the battery out as if tearing the device apart, then threw it aside without looking. She did not care about the hard sound of it hitting something and rolling away. Anne pushed Gyeoul with her fingertips and sat him on the bed, then stood in front of him and untied the hair she had bound up. After sweeping it back with both hands, she looked at Gyeoul with longing eyes and said,
"I can't hold back anymore. You feel the same way, don't you?"
Gyeoul quietly nodded.
#Read Messages (18)
「NationwideSlaveShowoff: Hmm. The channel suddenly got quiet... These dumbasses must have crashed again because their lewdness went out of control.」
...
「NationwideSlaveShowoff: Is it still not back to normal?」
...
「NationwideSlaveShowoff: No, how damn horny did these bastards get that they still haven't come back online? I've already replayed it twice.」
...
「NationwideSlaveShowoff: Sigh... These lust-crazed demon bastards. They'd definitely go hoeeeeng even while reading a Han Gyeoul X Trickster doujin.」
...
「NationwideSlaveShowoff: Whatever. I'll just send stars...」
...
<SYSTEM MESSAGE: A Teletype module operation error #ErrorCode_0xc00000fe9 caused by emotional overload has been detected from multiple users connected to this broadcast channel. There is a possibility (#Null!) that malware was distributed by a specific user. In accordance with Afterlife Insurance operating rules, message transmission and reception will be restricted until the security inspection is complete.>
...
<SYSTEM MESSAGE: Malware found: 0 cases. Active_X compatibility normal. No traces of firewall intrusion. Security inspection complete. The channel will be restored shortly. 3, 2, 1. >
[まつみん-nim has gifted 442.99 stars.] [NationwideSlaveShowoff-nim has gifted 1,000 stars.] [まつみん-nim has gifted 707.1 stars.] ... [まつみん-nim has gifted 1153.06 stars.] ... [まつみん-nim has gifted 0.817 stars.] ... [まつみん-nim has gifted 1995.63 stars.] [Владимир-nim has gifted 100,000 stars.] [Red October-nim has gifted 300 stars.] [Baldy47-nim has gifted 1,000 stars.] [まつみん-nim has gifted 777 stars.] [Cthulu-nim has gifted 1 star.] ...
「AekDda: Lmaoooo, Matsuming!」
「PooDongDong: Has Matsuming lost her mind? lol. What's with the number of times she's sending stars?」
「MagnaCarta: Matsuming, get a hold of yourself ;_;」
「MagiNori: And in the middle of that, is Vladimir-brother really sending 100,000 stars...」
「NitrogenPack: It's not even surprising anymore. Last time, that person dropped seventeen million in one shot.」
「conservative_extremist: That time was fucking insane lol. The majesty of ShitGyeoul, earning more money in one go than the deposit balance of most B-grade subscribers lol. Everyone, this is how you earn foreign currency lol. Look at this ShitGyeoul bastard raising national prestige with one round of sex. SSS-tier.」
「100MillionDEBT: Why do you keep calling him ShitGyeoul on such a good day?」
「まつみん: Yes. Shut up.」
「Red October: ...?」
「Meussiel: Huh?」
「BlackCat: Meow?」
「NitrogenPack: What? Is this a Teletype error?」
「conservative_extremist: No, wait... Did the sushi girl just cuss at me? For real? Not some hilarious hidden camera prank? Not an impersonator? That Matsuming? Cussed?」
「まつみん: Yes.」
「conservative_extremist: Holy...」
「まつみん: I'm in the middle of feeling moved, so stop ruining the moment with your dirty-minded attitude. You speak so rudely to our precious Gyeoul every single time! You wicked Ilbe bug!」
「conservative_extremist: ...」
「AppleFanboy: Ilbe bug lololol. Ungak lololol. Matsuming suge lololol.」
「HellExpert: It's fucking hilarious that our conservative_extremist went quiet lol.」
「BlackCat: They say after three years at a village school, even a cat can recite poetry, and Matsuming, who has been in this channel for a long time, has become quite an excellent cat, meow. To borrow that dummy's expression, her Korean patch is SSS-tier, meow. Watching a dumb dog shrivel up is always enjoyable, meow.」
「MeomMummi: Hey, this dog listening to that feels offended...」
「doomchitdoomchit: My god. The strongest being in eastern Joseon has even absorbed western Japan's idiocy. Who can stop that now? We're all finished. Humanity has neither dreams nor hope.」
「Nyarlathotep: Ahh, this is what they call chaos.」
「conservative_extremist: All of you shut the fuck up.」
...
「Red October: Don't bully that commenter too much. That conservative_extremist talks like that, but looking at how they're still in this channel, that commenter is probably just habitually rude because of what they have always done. Deep down, that commenter is a core fan of Han Gyeoul too. If not, it would have been normal for them to move to another broadcast channel ages ago. It's been boring as hell all this time. If you weren't a fan, you couldn't have endured it. I don't know what's wrong with me, but even while it was boring, I liked it. They're probably the same.」
「conservative_extremist: No? Wrong?」
「BlackCat: Barf, meow. A blackened dummy getting embarrassed isn't even a little cute, meow.」
「conservative_extremist: I said no, you dumb bitch.」
「Red October: But seriously, the people here now don't watch any other channels at all anymore, do they? Is it just me?」
「conservative_extremist: No? It's just you?」
「richdog: What do you mean no? lol. I searched the chat records and you even said this is the only channel you subscribe to on Afterlife Insurance lololol.」
「MorningChamIsul: Dumbass lol. You can't even lie if you're stupid lol.」
「conservative_extremist: Fuck, why the hell are you searching someone else's records? Isn't this a privacy violation? Can I sue over this?」
「HardGay: This guy... is looking sexy today.」
「MorningChamIsul: October's right. Today's broadcast was good, sure, but once it ended, I suddenly got scared.」
「BigBuffetBoy86: What are you scared of?」
「MorningChamIsul: A lot of things. What if Han Gyeoul cuts off the broadcast? What if he goes to Ground Zero and dies? What if he can't come to this world anymore... I feel like I'm way too addicted to Han Gyeoul's life.」
「MorningChamIsul: Someone told me before I'd end up like KILL.」
「MorningChamIsul: I'm not joking. I think I really did.」
「MorningChamIsul: Lately, I wonder what's left of me without Han Gyeoul. Even when I'm not connected, the life here never leaves my head. Sometimes I even unconsciously think I'm Han Gyeoul.」
「conservative_extremist: Are you stupid?」
「HellExpert: I'm not that bad, but I can relate a little.」
「conservative_extremist: Are you stupid too?」
「Don't_NickPun: I get it. You need something in your original life to maintain yourself.」
「conservative_extremist: Oh, come on.」
「まつみん: I was really grateful that Gyeoul didn't disable worldview disclosure. It couldn't have been an easy decision.」
「conservative_extremist: What kind of bullshit is that?」
「まつみん: Honestly, earlier was very satisfying, but at the same time, I felt a little sorry for Gyeoul too. There were moments when he flinched just a little. I think it was probably because of the trauma he mentioned before. How reluctant must a person like that have been to undress while we were watching?」
「まつみん: This is just how I feel, but I think Gyeoul is being considerate of us.」
Footnotes:
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