bdsm-fiction Chapter 54 It's so good to be seen!
Chapter 54 It's so good to be seen!
Back at his place, Jiang Yan pushed open the door to room 601 and turned on the light in the entryway.
Warm yellow light shone down, and the ethereal figure of Lim Yoona floated in from behind him, curiously looking around the small room.
Her gaze swept over the Marine Corps plaque on the living room wall, then lingered for two seconds in front of the banner.
She floated to the center of the living room and circled around. "So this is your house. It's much cleaner than I imagined. I thought a single man's house would have instant noodle boxes and smelly socks."
Jiang Yan ignored her, changed into slippers, went into the kitchen, and took out a packet of Shin Ramyun from the cupboard.
"Are you really going to cook ramen? Didn't you already have yakiniku (grilled meat)?"
The illusory image of Lim Yoona floated to his side, watching him tear open the packaging and throw the pancake into the boiling water. She crossed her arms in dissatisfaction, "And even if you wanted to eat it, couldn't you have just ordered some fried chicken delivery or something?"
"First, I hope you understand that we're having barbecue. Second, I want ramen, not fried chicken." Jiang Yan stirred the noodles with chopsticks, cracked an egg into the pan, put the lid on, and turned to lean against the stove to wait.
The illusory image of Lim Yoona knew exactly what he meant. It was that she was floating in front of him, which prevented him from eating much. But how could he blame himself for that?
Well, it's definitely my fault. Anyone would find it hard to eat if someone turned their back on them.
However, she wouldn't apologize to Jiang Yan, since that guy always had a sharp tongue and couldn't say a single comforting word.
She floated back to the living room and began surveying her "territory." After a while, she called out loudly, "Jiang Yan."
"Um?"
"Your room is so different from Kim Minjung's room."
Jiang Yan paused for a moment as he lifted the pot lid, then turned off the heat with a dark expression and poured the cooked ramen into a bowl.
The steaming hot noodle soup was rising in white vapor. He carried the bowl to the table, sat down, and picked up his chopsticks to start eating.
The illusory image of Lim Yoona tilted her head as she watched him eat noodles with his head down. The steaming vapor blurred his expression, but she felt that this man was much less guarded than he had been at the barbecue restaurant that evening.
Perhaps it was because he was back in his own home, or perhaps it was because she told him, "You are the first person who can see me," that he no longer treated her as a senior he needed to deal with.
"You're really strange."
The illusory image of Im Yoona changed her posture, resting her chin on her hands as she looked at him. "When you were chatting with Tiffany and the others at the barbecue restaurant, you were so polite, like a wooden doll. But you're not polite at all with me. You're such a good actor."
Jiang Yan bit off a piece of noodle, looked up at her, and said, "You're quite the actor, aren't you? You've been acting all high and mighty for years without anyone noticing."
"Didn't I say that no one can see me?!" the illusory Yoona said confidently. "You think I don't want others to find me? But who can see me? I've been calling out to my manager, my family, and my friends for three or four years, and they've never heard me once."
Jiang Yan picked up the bowl, took a sip of soup, put it down, and looked at her. "Then why don't you give up? No one sees, no one hears, so why keep shouting for so long?"
The illusory image of Lim Yoona paused for a moment, then slowly lowered her hand that was supporting her chin. She lowered her head and remained silent for a while before looking up, a serious expression appearing in her doe-like eyes for the first time.
"If I had given up, you wouldn't be able to see me today."
Jiang Yan looked at the semi-transparent outline of the illusory Lin Yun'er, and saw the thin line connecting her to her heart trembling slightly in the air. He suddenly felt that his cold words on the way had been a bit too much.
He put down his chopsticks, turned around, took a can of Coke from the refrigerator, pulled the tab, and placed it on the table in front of the illusory image of Lin Yoona.
"Here, take this. You can't drink it, but you can smell it."
The illusory image of Lim Yoona lowered her head, looking at the can of cola emitting cold air in front of her.
Carbonated bubbles made a very faint hissing sound inside the aluminum can.
She could smell the sweet aroma mixed with the spiciness of the ramen in Jiang Yan's bowl.
She reached out and touched the Coke can, but didn't touch anything.
But she still smiled, brought her face close to the jar opening, and took a deep breath.
"Mmm, it's iced, and it smells delicious."
Jiang Yan watched her move and stirred the bowl with his chopsticks a couple of times.
After he finished the last bite of noodles and the last sip of soup, and cleaned up the dishes, the illusory image of Lim Yoona was still lying next to the Coke can, her eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought.
Jiang Yan put the bowls and chopsticks back in the kitchen, then walked to the bathroom door, glanced back at her, and said, "I'm going to take a shower. Remember the first rule."
The illusory image of Lim Yoona opened one eye, lazily waved her hand, and said, "Arrass, arrass, I'm not a pervert if I don't peek at you taking a shower."
The bathroom door clicked shut, and the sound of running water filled the air.
The illusory image of Lim Yoona floated to the ceiling, lay flat, and spread out in mid-air.
She listened to the sound of water coming from the bathroom and looked at the old-fashioned ceiling light.
It's good to be seen.
Even being disliked, having rules imposed on you, or being called "ghost"—a rude term—is better than floating around alone.
She turned over and lay on her side looking at the closed bathroom door.
Jiang Yan is a soft-hearted person, but he pretends to be cold and ruthless.
Putting a can of cola in front of someone who can't even drink it, and then insisting that just smelling it is fine.
He said, "What can you do to me?" but still brought her home from the streets of Jiangnan.
The illusory image of Lim Yoona buried her face in her arms and chuckled softly.
"Pabu, Jiang Yan."
After a while, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, the door opened, and Jiang Yan walked out drying his hair. When he saw the illusory figure of Lin Yun'er floating on the ceiling, he paused in his tracks.
"...What are you doing?"
"Reflecting on life." The illusory image of Lim Yoona remained in a starfish position, her tone deep.
Jiang Yan draped the towel over his shoulder, walked to the center of the living room, and continued to look up at her: "What are you, a ghost, doing floating on the ceiling contemplating life?"
"I'm wondering why your ramen smells better than any I've ever eaten." The illusory image of Im Yoona rolled over, lying on her side, propping her head up with one hand, looking down at him. "And why can you see me?"
Jiang Yan walked to the sofa, sat down, picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and randomly selected a late-night rerun of a variety show.
"You've already asked that question."
"But you haven't answered yet."
Jiang Yan leaned back on the sofa watching TV, but the focus was clearly off the screen. "I don't know, I can just see it."
The illusory image of Lim Yoona floated down from the ceiling and landed on the armrest of the sofa next to him. She sat cross-legged and tilted her head to look at him.
"Have you ever considered that I might not be the only one like this?"
Jiang Yan glanced at her but didn't reply.
Ignoring the disdain in his eyes, the illusory Lin Yoona continued, "I mean, if you can see me, then can you also see other... um... other beings like me? Like souls?"
Jiang Yan put down the remote control and turned to look at her.
Warm yellow light shone through her translucent body, and her silhouette glowed with a faint silver-blue light, like a bioluminescent plankton in the deep sea.
Jiang Yan shook his head, looked away, and returned to the television. "Never seen this before. You're the first."
The illusory image of Im Yoona crossed her arms, tilted her head slightly, and looked smug. "You're quite lucky, the first one is a beauty of my caliber."
Jiang Yan couldn't help but let his lips twitch slightly.
"What are you laughing at?"
"I didn't laugh."
"You clearly smiled! The corners of your mouth were even turned up!"
You've misjudged.
"Hey, Jiang Yan, even though I can't eat or touch it, my eyes aren't blind!"