004 - No Choice

"Duna," said a woman wearing a green coat and a military hat. The nametag on her chest reads Zudith Velten.

"Y-" Before I could say anything, Oskar's voice was heard.

"I told you she wasn't ready," Oskar said.

"What else can we do? Kylian is waiting for her."

"..."

"Just ignore him, he can't just do whatever he wants." Oskar sounded annoyed.

"I know, but we have no choice."

"Can I take a shower first?" I asked, already able to know what Zudith's purpose in coming to see me.

"Yes, take your time."

As soon as I got the answer from Zudith, I rushed to the bathroom. I left the door open because I knew Oskar and Zudith were still arguing in front of the house.

This reminds me of when I was a teenager. My father and mother often had big fights. I didn't know whose side to take, so I always tried to avoid their arguments and do what I could for myself. Even though in the end, I don't have a place that I can call home.

After changing clothes, I put all the IDs I had into a small bag, from the main ID card to the WSS and JPN mercenary IDs.

"I'm ready," I said. "Where are we going?"

"..." Oskar was seen crossing his arms over his chest.

Zudith sighed. She seemed exhausted after arguing with Oskar.

"Sorry for disturbing you so early. We are going to our mercenary building."

"Oh, okay." I nodded and closed the door.

"Is the place far?" I asked.

"No, we'll walk there. Oskar said you had memory loss."

"Well, that's how it is."

"Don't worry, I'll show you some important buildings in our mercenary territory." Zudith smiled enthusiastically.

"Thank You."

I thought Zudith was in a hurry, but in fact, she took me around and explained things. Now I feel like she did it on purpose.

Zudith said, "Okay, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. You have to remember that we will always be on your side," while patting my shoulder.

I didn't understand what she meant, but I followed her into the main building of the WSS mercenary. It could probably be called an office, but it looked like a bar cafe on the inside.

"You finally came," said a man sitting in the front row.

I remembered, the man was the one to whom I had given CPR. I am grateful that he is safe, but why is the atmosphere in this room so uncomfortable?

"Is he Kylian Arthur?" I asked to make sure.

Zudith nodded. "Yes."

"Damn you, Duna doesn't even know your name." Oskar cursed in a high voice. Kylian Arthur just stayed where he was.

And that's how it all happened. Oskar was furious, but in the end, Arthur took me away.

Back to the present. After a long drive, I finally arrived at Kylian Arthur's military residence. The building looks sturdy and has 2 floors with 1 medium-sized balcony.

The marble floors and furniture inside the house looked shiny. I'm sure it must have cost a lot of money. The house wasn't very big, but it was definitely much bigger than Duna's house.

Kylian said, "This is my room," after he and I entered the room. This was the first sentence he said to me since he had been silent the whole trip.

"Oh." I responded shortly.

Kylian threw himself onto the bed after putting his hat and coat on the table.

"..." After a few moments of silence, I walked over to him. The yellow-haired man looked like he was fast asleep.

And now what should I do? He didn't say anything before. It felt like he was not much different from Duna's diary. Unclear, but also clear at the same time.

I took a deep breath and looked around the room. There were two doors in this room. The door in the middle is the bathroom, and the door next to the bed is locked.

"Doesn't he have any food?" I simply complained.

Luckily, the door to this room was unlocked, so I could explore the kitchen and living room. Still no food. The fridge was even emptier than Duna's. I missed the pile of snacks in Duna's cupboard. Her house really pampers an introvert like me.

"Eh, what is this?" I asked when I saw a blue tote bag next to the dish rack. Inside was a carton of eggs and a plastic bag filled with rice.

The corners of my lips lifted. I felt like I had seen a treasure. Even though Kylian doesn't have a rice cooker at home, I am grateful because I was born Asian and was trained to cook rice on the stove during my Community Service Program in College.

After washing the rice 3 times, I boiled it in the kettle until the water reduced, without forgetting to stir it occasionally. I couldn't find any strainer cloth in the kitchen, but at least I found a multi-purpose steamer. After the steamer was hot, I put the uncooked rice into the pot.

And that is it. While waiting for the rice to cook, I cooked a fried egg and fried the thick leftover boiled rice from the kettle.

"What are you doing?" Kylian asked as I finished putting the cooked rice into a large bowl.

"You're awake?" I asked, a little surprised. Suddenly I felt ashamed for using his kitchen without permission, but I am his legal wife, but since when did I get married to him? Ah, my feelings are so messed up.

"..." Kylian was silent and just staring at me.

"Let's eat, aren't you hungry?" I asked trying to lighten the mood. "I only found rice and eggs, so I can't cook anything else."

Kylian asked, pointing to the tote bag next to the dish rack, "Did you cook the rice from that tote bag?"

"Yes, is that wrong?" I asked as I handed him a plate.

“No.” Kylian took the plate I offered him. “I got the rice while I was patrolling the JPN district. I couldn’t cook it so I just left it there.”

"Oh, I see." I started eating the rice and eggs on my plate.

Kylian said, "Didn't you have memory loss? Turns out you can still cook," almost making me choke.

"Ah, I just did it."

"It tastes good. Like the rice I usually buy at restaurants," Kylian said with a big smile.

"You seem to eat at restaurants more often than you cook for yourself."

"I don't have time for that."

"Oh..." I looked at Kylian. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, just ask."

"Why did you marry me?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to marry me? You even kissed me a few times," Kylian said casually.

I was at a loss for words. At that time I was just talking nonsense to keep Kylian conscious, but I didn't expect Kylian to be serious about it.

"I didn't kiss you, I just did CPR."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"...."

"You want to know what happened?" Kylian asked after finishing a full bowl of rice on the table. He completely finished it even though I only cooked a few eggs as a side dish.

"Yeah, I'd like to know," I said as I ate the rest of the rice and eggs on my plate.

"This..."