My Idle System

But are rebuttal words enough? No.

Then what should he say more?

Christian felt the current situation was becoming too out of hand, leaving him at a loss for words.

Then there was Eva, who, upon noticing that Christian seemed to have something to say and was clearly displeased, while he also seemed to have other thoughts. But, because it was her who had crossed the line, he hesitated, finally acknowledged that maybe she had gone a little too far. So she said,

"Sorry, sorry, don't give me that look; I was just joking."

"We can consider ourselves even with this!"

While Christian stared at her blankly, questioning her sense of humor, Eva began to feel that perhaps they were too different for it to really be even. However, she thought that maybe she could make it up to him later, so she continued.

"But you actually misunderstanding me as the Olivia's older sister."

"Do you believe yourself when you say this?"

Christian, being questioned again, especially on this topic, felt as if he couldn't be more innocent and thought internally.

'But I really misunderstood it at first! If not for looking at Olivia's social media account and seeing the word "Mom," I wouldn't have actually known.'

'But even if I said this now, would it change anything?'

In the end, Christian gave up on questioning or replying to her, and noticing that Eva still had words lingering on her lips, he sighed and fell silent, opting to just listen for now.

Eva, still looking into Christian's green eyes, and being too close to him, felt that something was amiss as she noticed that his expression was somewhat wrong. Still, she continued.

"See? Even you are finding it hard to admit it now."

"Like really, something so blatant, how can it be misunderstood?"

"So, it was very clear to me. No, it actually couldn't be any clearer, that you knew I wasn't her older sister; even your reaction confirmed it."

"Regardless of anything, Christian, everything between us, you were the one who started it."

"Misunderstandings and the like, don't expect me to correct anything."

"I have always gone along with you, with what you said."

"So, you are the one who determined, what is happening."

"And also, why didn't you tell your older sister the truth?"

Asked about his sister, Christian flinched; even he was not comfortable with this one question. He felt like it was already too much for his sister, despite not knowing everything, if she knew even this one detail, he didn't know how she would react. He still wanted to confirm many things before it all came to light in the end.

So, against Eva's question, he replied concisely this time.

"That was because I would have had to explain even more things then."

And Eva was just as concise in her counter.

"Then simply explain them. Why are you making things so complicated?"

Being given words by the person who are complicating things herself right now, Christian took a deep breath, exhaling his turbulent emotions. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them again.

In the end, he stayed silent, feeling that the topic had been steered too far away, and what he truly wanted were other things.

He was waiting, just curious to see where Eva was going with the conversation this time.

And Eva didn't disappoint him; she opened her small mouth again, seemingly having suppressed all her feelings before and now eager to release them.

"Look, you're staying silent now."

Moving in her position even more, Eva came closer to him until their bodies were touching, even a little too pressed. She adjusted the angle of her sitting, making their legs seemingly become tangled, to face him directly, then placed her arms on his shoulders and said.

"Christian, at our first meeting, why did you bring up my daughter's name? Do you know?"

'Oh, so now she's just admitting it directly!' While Christian had this fleeting thought, Eva didn't stop.

"Because you had already constructed an image of me in your head back then and compared Olivia with it."

"Despite the fact that we didn't know each other at all back then."

"Actually, even until today, I'm still discovering new things about you."

"So, did you know me perfectly back then?"

"But your behavior proves otherwise."

"In the end, everything was based on your assumptions, and I'm not obliged to behave according to the image you have of me in your head."

Sighing as she delivered the last sentence, Eva continued to gaze into Christian's eyes, which had now become calm, even serene. She felt he looked even more handsome like this. However, knowing she still had some words left to say, she pressed on, trying not to be distracted by the unexpected sight before her.

"You know, Christian? Just as you have an image of me in your head, I also have an image of myself in mine."

"And I like to stick to that image."

'I was raised like this, and even if I didn't like it before, I don't plan to change anymore!'

Seeing his questioning gaze, as if he were hearing something incomprehensible, Eva felt a little funny, but continued nonetheless, knowing she still had not said everything.

"I could be wrong, I know."
Discover exclusive tales at m,v-l e|m'pyr

'More like my family was wrong, of course.'

"But I like myself like this."

'I have come to accept myself like this. Is that a problem?'

"Why should I change?"

"Should I change to become the person you like, or should you learn to love my true self?"

"It has a clear answer this time, doesn't it?"

'I hope it does, after all, I want you to accept me with all my flaws, just as I'm doing the same with you.'

While saying everything she had, Eva closed the distance between herself and Christian even more. Her arms, which she had previously just draped over his shoulders, were now wrapped around his neck, crossing together. With her face now very close to his, each of their breaths brushed against the other.

And Christian, with just Eva's face in his sight, didn't know what to focus on—the conversation or the sinful body now gluing to him.

He felt that the situation was too stimulating. His eyes moved all around, but there was nowhere to rest their gaze except on her face—her white skin, small nose, and long eyelashes. Looking into her enchanting eyes and at her inviting lips, he felt a strong urge to steal a kiss and silence her.

In the end, he stayed put, but he decided that today would be the day he had his first kiss, after she finished speaking.

As for Eva? She felt like the temperature in the cinema hall was rising. Then, seeing Christian's cheeks take on a slight blush affirmed her thoughts. However, sensing that she had arrived at the most important part, she knew she couldn't stop here. So, she didn't mind the distraction and continued.

"In the end, maybe you didn't realize."

"But I have never refused your advances."

"It's you who defined our relationship."

"And it's also you who, until now, have not expressed your feelings clearly."

"So, the reason we stopped at this distance is solely because you didn't take any further steps forward."

'Well, now that there's clearly no more space between our bodies (or, just a little?), should we keep moving forward from this distance, going forward?'

'More importantly, now even with your words, you're trying to chip away at my resolve and will? Do you really want me to take action that badly?'

Christian, feeling even more tempted by Eva's words, felt like he cursing, and, unable to stay silent any longer, he finally opened his mouth, with a warm breath escaping as he spoke.

"Okay, I was wrong."

'I won't win this argument with you anyway.'

"But then, what about now?"

"I clearly took a step forward, right?"

Eva, who had a serious vibe around her despite the current position of their bodies, being questioned about the current development rather than the past event, made her feel her nerves calm down.

And as she calmed down, she felt that she was clearly too caught up in her emotions.

Her small mouth curved into a beautiful smile, a smile that Christian felt was the best he had seen to date.

As she finally said.

"Actually, now things have changed."

"Had you approached me with a different method from the start, our relationship would have been different."

'We wouldn't be sitting this close together, actually, as I would have likely asked about the price you wanted in exchange for helping me.'

"It wouldn't have developed to this extent."

"But now things have changed."

'You want me after all, right?'

'Actually, now that I'm already this glued, this close to you, maybe you already have some parts of me. If my heart is one of them, I don't know, though.'