NN 07

Chapter 7 Him Walking Away Awkwardly

Only after arriving in front of the chapel did I check the time.

I was twenty minutes earlier than expected. There were still forty minutes until practice started. Had the choir members already arrived?

Just like last time, there was a notice in front of the chapel’s main entrance stating that access was restricted.

To insist that I was conducting student research, I pulled out my scholarship receipt again.

“Miss, what are you doing?”

At that moment, I heard the security guard’s voice behind me. Of all people, it was the same guard as last time.

I had already been kicked out once. Would the same method work again? I swallowed hard and cautiously held up my student ID. The security guard frowned deeply and spoke firmly.

“Outside visitors are not allowed inside the chapel right now. I’m sorry, but please come back tomorrow during the hours when entry is permitted.”

Damn. I was stuck.

If I couldn’t get into the chapel, how was I supposed to approach Elias? Should I just wait in front of the King’s College dormitory or the Mathematics Department building?

The Mathematics Department building was an hour’s walk even from King’s College, and since he was a PhD student, there was a higher chance that he lived outside rather than in a dormitory. It wasn’t a good plan.

If it wasn’t during practice, approaching him at the year-end performance would also be difficult.

The King’s College Choir was practically made up of local celebrities, going beyond just being associated with the University of Cambridge. Dozens of cameras came in for broadcasts and recordings.

I stood still, looking into the eyes of the security guard who was looking down at me, and thought about how to overcome this situation. If I had several bodies, I could simply stand at every entrance and figure out which routes the choir members used.

“For student research purposes… Um…”

I tried again, but there was no way it would work. The guard pointed toward the main entrance of King’s College.

I walked away slowly and went a little farther from King’s College. Then I plopped down on the ground and hugged my knees. The security guard looked at me and shook his head.

Carl Jung, a psychiatrist and psychologist, was treating a patient whose therapy was making no progress when he heard a tapping sound and opened the window.

A golden beetle was attached to the window.

Coincidentally, the patient had just been talking about receiving a golden beetle from someone in a dream.

Jung caught the beetle and handed it to the patient.

“Here, this is your beetle.”

The patient was deeply shocked at that moment, and the incident became a major turning point in the treatment. This anecdote is considered the origin of the principle of synchronicity.

Unexplainable coincidences can break down even the strongest walls of reason.

Just like my reason was collapsing right now.

I sat on the roadside and waited aimlessly for ten minutes.

Then my mouth naturally fell open at the sight unfolding before my eyes.

A line of choir members wearing white robes was walking over from the direction of the main King’s College building.

Was this the very principle of synchronicity discovered by Carl Jung, or Leibniz’s pre-established harmony?

For the first time, I truly felt what it meant to be a trick of fate, and goosebumps rose all over my body.

I immediately stood up.

I could see today’s target following at the very back of the choir.

His long, confident strides were so precise that they were pleasing to the eyes. He was so tall and broad that the takeaway coffee cup in his hand looked like a little yogurt bottle.

My legs had gone numb from sitting in an uncomfortable position for so long. I limped toward Elias.

Perhaps sensing someone approaching, he turned his head toward me. He stared at me for a moment before tilting his head.

“Hello. Is there something you need from me?”

A sentence with a perfectly fitting grammatical structure flowed from Elias’s mouth like a song.

At that moment, I became certain that he was from London. His pronunciation was close to standard British English, with a distinct accent.

“Yes, I came because I have something to ask you.”

I quickly closed the distance between us and looked straight up at him.

Pre-established harmony ultimately spoke of necessity without causality.

Was this sense of inevitability I was feeling right now something belonging to the world? Or was it merely my own illusion, my confirmation bias?

Well, it didn’t matter right now.

My priority was turning him into a subject for my biological experiment and a target who could make me feel sexual desire again.

“What is it you want? If you’re asking me out again, I’ll reject you in advance.”

I took another step toward him.

Unable to hide his discomfort, Elias subtly stepped backward.

“You’re too close.”

“Yes, I am asking you out again.”

“Why on earth are you doing this to me?”

“I feel like you’re my destiny, Mr. Elias.”

“You said your name was Sarang, right? Unfortunately, I’m not a believer in destiny.”

“That doesn’t matter. Please give me a little of your time. Ten minutes. Just ten minutes. Please talk to me alone.”

“I believe I’ve already given you about two minutes.”

“This is all part of my research for the advancement of human culture. Please help me.”

Elias let out a short sigh, pulled back his robe, and checked his wristwatch.

Then he immediately turned around and approached the Latino man who had bought coffee last time.

Without saying a word to the Latino man, he handed over the coffee he was holding and walked back toward me.

“Ten minutes. That’s all. Let’s go to that bench.”

Elias walked past me and went ahead.

I hurried after him.

There was nowhere to sit between the inner main gate of King’s College and the chapel.

The lawn was also off-limits.

Because of that, we had to walk for five minutes to reach the bench beside the main King’s College building.

My feet hurt because of my shoes, and the awkwardness made me feel like I was going to suffocate and die.

How was I supposed to walk properly when walking side by side with a man?

The fact that I had no data on that also contributed to how vague and uncomfortable this moment felt.

After awkwardly wandering along, we finally reached a bench covered by the building’s shade.

Without even looking at me, Elias took something like a wet wipe out of his pocket.

He pulled one out with his long fingers and suddenly began wiping the bench.

I didn’t know whether the rumors that Elias hated women were true, but he was definitely a germaphobe.

I had noticed it.

As expected of me.

He wiped only enough of the bench for himself to sit down.

Then, without even looking at me, he took out another wet wipe and began wiping his hands.

Thoroughly, even underneath his fingernails.

He was so meticulous that anyone watching him might have thought he was a doctor about to perform surgery.

I quietly sat down beside him.

Only after finishing his brief cleaning did he neatly place his hands on his knees and finally make eye contact with me.

Every single one of his movements was awkward, like a child doing exactly what a teacher told him to do.

“I don’t understand what good ten minutes of conversation will do. As I said before, I have no interest in wasteful social activities such as dating.”

Elias snapped at me in a sharp tone.

At that moment, I finally realized something.

When he had said that I smelled like pig manure, he hadn’t been insulting me.

He had simply been informing me.

Now, his personal hostility and irritation were practically pouring out of both his expression and his tone.

And I was supposed to seduce this man?

Was that even possible?

I was nervous.

Was I just going to embarrass myself for nothing?

What if he even sued me?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through my mind.

But I had already finished my research.

I had also listened to the advice of an experienced person.

Knock, and the door will be opened.

I took a deep breath and began undoing the buttons of my blouse.

“What… What are you doing?”

Elias looked horrified.

I hurriedly placed my hand on his thigh.

He had been about to jump up from his seat, but he suddenly froze in place as if he had been hit by a tranquilizer dart.

He was neither fully standing nor sitting, stuck in an awkward position.

There were only eight buttons on my blouse, and I had undone four of them.

With the hand that wasn’t holding his thigh, I pulled open my collar and clearly exposed my collarbones.

Then, just as the average-height man had taught me, I brought my elbows together to create cleavage.

When my mother used to go to Zumba classes, her friends would tease her, saying, “The cow lady has gone wild!”

I took after my mother a lot.

In short, I had fairly large breasts.

I glanced down.

The soft masses of flesh were gathered together like a baby’s bottom.

Thanks to my smooth, soft skin, even I thought they looked quite tempting.

I raised my eyes and met Elias’s gaze.

His blue eyes shook violently from side to side.

The thigh where I had gently placed one hand seemed to have grown a little warmer.

“What on earth are you doing…!”

“I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable, but did you perhaps feel sexual desire?”

“What? Why are you asking that?”

“My thesis is about the social discourse surrounding human physical depravity and the sexual desire that constitutes that depravity. From my perspective, you are the purest signifier of desire that activates that discourse, you see? I want to make you, Elias Montague, the muse of my thesis. I’m asking because mutual consent is important for something like this.”

Thud.

The moment I finished speaking, Elias grabbed both of my shoulders.

The grip was so powerful that it felt as if my bones and joints were going to separate.

“Ow! That hurts! This really hurts!”

When I screamed, Elias released me in confusion.

His face was twisted in shock.

“Um… There is no longer any reason for us to continue this conversation. Please don’t ever speak to me again.”

Leaving only those words behind, Elias stood up.

Then he immediately walked toward the chapel.

His back and knees were still bent, and he walked with an awkward, strange gait.

“Was he really that uncomfortable…?”

Whatever the case, I had missed my chance to have sex.