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This light novel is inspired by the beautiful landscapes and cultures of Bolivia and South Korea. However, the characters, events, and situations portrayed are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is purely coincidental. This content does not intend to represent or reflect the historical, social, or cultural reality of either country. The author disclaims any legal liability arising from the interpretation of these elements.
Content Warning: This chapter contains sensitive and potentially disturbing themes. Reader discretion is advised.
Chapter 48 — A Different Reality.
48.1 Minutes that Weigh More than Silence
The sound of the leaves rustling in the wind wasn't enough to calm his mind.
Ryu closed his laptop and placed it on the table with more force than necessary.
The thud echoed louder than he intended.
He stared at the closed lid for a few seconds, surprised by his own impatience.
He stood up and walked toward the cabin window.
The sky was beginning to darken.
It was eight o'clock.
The reflection in the glass returned a face he barely recognized.
Serious, but with tight lips, as if he were holding back something he didn't know how to name.
In his mind, he repeated.
"Just a little longer.
She must be busy."
***
He took his glass of water, drank it slowly, and looked at the clock again.
He was uncomfortable feeling this way.
He didn't want to seem controlling, but something in his chest tightened.
Almost twenty-four hours had passed since they slept together, and tonight also seemed like one he'd spend alone.
However, something more unsettled him, though he didn't know what.
Zayra hadn't called since early in the morning.
She had sent him a brief message to say everything was fine,
that she was still with her friend, and she would try to be back in the afternoon.
Since then, silence.
That silence wasn't empty; it was noise.
A noise that crept into his thoughts and disrupted them without permission.
He looked at his phone again.
No new messages.
No missed calls.
"If she's not back by ten, this is no longer normal."
Muttered.
He ran his hand over the back of his neck,
aware that no one here would interpret his worry the way people did in his own country.
Then, decided to leave the cabin to clear his head.
***
He walked to the garden but found no solace.
The breeze no longer felt warm.
He paced a few times.
Then sat in the hotel lobby,
on one of the wicker sofas with hand-embroidered cushions.
The place was calm, but his chest was not.
Tried to read, he couldn't.
Tried to work, even less.
Tried to convince himself he shouldn't worry...
But it was already too late.
At exactly ten o'clock, he decisively picked up his cell phone.
He dialed.
Dead line.
Zayra's phone was off.
***
He felt a hollowness in his stomach.
For a moment, the absurd image of Zayra in danger crossed his mind.
He sharply dismissed it.
The throbbing in his temple became clearer.
Fear, anger, helplessness... everything mixed together.
He thought about calling Camila, his siblings, even his parents, but he stopped himself,
breathing as his mentor had taught him to maintain calm.
He repeated the breathing three times, the method his mentor taught him to keep calm before a difficult negotiation.
But this time, it didn't work.
"Trust her."
He told himself.
Even though building a company was easier for him than giving control of his heart.
"She knows what she's doing."
But inside, something was breaking.
***
It was ten-thirty when he heard footsteps in the hallway.
He looked up.
And there she was.
Zayra, wearing the same clothes as the day before, her hair slightly messy, her face tired, and her eyes heavy.
She carried her heels in her hands, as if she hadn't even had time to breathe.
And before he could speak, she said.
"Sorry for not calling. My phone died, and I couldn't charge it until now."
He didn't move.
He wanted to say something, anything, but relief closed his throat.
Sometimes, silence was the only form of gratitude he knew.
48.2 — Refuge at the End of the Day
Zayra left her heels by the door and sank into the small armchair in the cabin.
Ryu followed her in silence.
He didn't know whether to speak, hug her, or just stay close.
The distance between them was short, but it weighed on him like miles.
He didn't know how to comfort her, as it was the first time he had seen her so vulnerable.
His throat tightened.
It wasn't fear or doubt, but the confusion of seeing her like this,
so human, so far from the woman who always spoke with firmness.
For a moment, he wished he could carry some of her exhaustion,
even though he didn't know how.
***
She ran her hands over her face.
"It's been a horrible day."
She finally said, in a low voice.
Ryu sat opposite her, keeping his hands clasped,
restraining the urge to intervene.
Zayra looked up, her eyes shining, not from tears, but from contained anger.
"I forgot how draining it is to fight for a police report... and how cruel the system can be.
She arrived with bruises, and the police officer didn't want to take her statement."
The mere recollection made her clench her fists, fueled by the rage she felt.
"Only after I reminded him of the law did they send a decent officer.
Hours passed before they took the report."
Ryu just watched her.
In his country, he would have kept his distance, respect demanded silence.
But at that moment, something in his chest revolted.
He wanted to tell her he was proud of her, that she wasn't alone, and yet the words wouldn't come out.
So, he just looked at her, trying to make his silence enough.
A sarcastic, frustrated laugh escaped Zayra, and she continued.
"There was no forensic doctor! I had to cross the city, dealing with traffic and chaos."
Ryu frowned.
He understood the words, but their emotional weight was hard for him to believe.
In his country, systems didn't fail like that.
It was hard for him to accept that, in this country, injustice seemed like an everyday occurrence...
And that she accepted it with such composure.
"That is... absurd. How is that possible?"
He murmured with a lump in his throat.
She looked at him with relief, as if sensing that someone understood the ridiculousness of the situation she was recounting,
and she went on.
"It is.
Sometimes, this country is like that, slow and full of procedures."
She sighed and continued to recount.
"I couldn't leave her alone.
Her mother arrived late, and we still had procedures at the prosecutor's office."
He nodded slowly, understanding the weariness in her shoulders, in her voice, in her soul.
For the first time, he saw that strength could also show up exhausted, messy... and still admirable.
She wasn't just strong; she was brave in a world that gave her no quarter.
Her struggle confronted him with the comfort of his own order, and unintentionally, it changed him a little.
She moved closer to him and said, with a shaky sigh:
"Thank you for understanding."
For an instant, silence filled the place.
Suddenly, Zayra leaned forward and rested her forehead against his chest.
Ryu hesitated for barely a second, then hugged her.
He didn't say anything.
He just held her.
He didn't think about protocols or boundaries.
Only about the trembling of her shoulders under his hands.
He couldn't remember the last time he had held someone like this.
Their breaths synchronized.
In that moment, protecting her was all that mattered.
It was the first time his instinct had defeated his reason.
With both arms, with his whole body, with that tenderness of his that didn't know how to use words, but knew touch.
She closed her eyes.
"I just want to be with you tonight."
She murmured.
"You are."
He replied in a whisper.
What followed was not a conversation, but a subtler language.
Ryu stroked her hair, she let his fingers search for hers.
And in the midst of that closeness, that relief after a long and cruel day, their lips met.
It was a slow kiss, without urgency.
Neither was seeking answers.
Just rest.
And in that shared silence, he discovered that he could also love without understanding everything.
A kiss that tasted of comfort, of gratitude, of home.
And then there were no more words.
The rest was shared silence.
A promise made of glances and caresses.
An intimacy that didn't seek the body, but the tired soul of the other.
A refuge.
Outside, the wind changed direction.
Ryu didn't notice it, but something was about to shift in his path,
something that would force him to see the world through new eyes.