Sister-in-law | ryeji

[04] The Shopping.

[YEJI]

I could feel my heart beating fast in my chest, I didn't know why I was acting this way. With my eyes closed, I could only hear Ryujin's breathing. I felt her take her arm and leg off me, her movement was slow, as if she was trying not to wake me. The mattress shook as she moved on the bed, I lay still, undecided what to do. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and found her lying on her side. Because her back was to me, I could not check whether she was awake or not. I waited for a long time to get out of bed, got up slowly and left the room, closing the door carefully. I walked quickly to my room and locked myself inside. 

My heart was beating fast in my chest, I knew that this situation had only happened because I didn't think it could happen. Now it was a matter of praying that she was asleep when she got off me, without it looking like I had spent the night in her bed. I felt like a child who had done something very wrong and prayed that her parents would not find out about it. I wouldn't know how to face Ryujin if she had realized what had happened in her room, it was really embarrassing. I wondered what my reaction would be if I found a woman, who is almost a stranger, in my bed, I would probably make a scandal. I would want the person to explain herself. I was too anxious to go back to sleep, yet I lay in bed and waited for daybreak. 

I was alert when I heard the alarm clock go off, turned it off, and got out of bed still wondering what had happened. I thought about asking them to serve me breakfast in my room, but I couldn't know like a coward. I could not imagine what I would answer if Ryujin questioned me about what had happened. When I reached the dining room, she had not yet come downstairs, I sighed with relief. I sat down at the table and poured myself a cup of coffee, I was distracted when I started to hear footsteps coming from the stairs. I didn't look, but I knew she was coming down to feed. Suddenly the footsteps stopped, and I wondered what she was doing, but even though I was curious, I didn't look in her direction.

Silent as a cat, she entered the room where I was standing, my heart beating fast in the building when Ryujin greeted me saying good morning. I greeted her by watching her sit down in a chair without needing me to tell her to do so. Like the day before, she was hiding behind her hair, keeping her head down. This made me more comfortable, for the first time I didn't find that attitude strange, I was grateful that she wasn't looking at me. I could feel how hot my face was, it was probably as red as a shrimp. I ate quickly and left the table and headed for the office, just waiting for Ryujin to finish. 

I had been busy all day, to avoid running into her, I went out for an unnecessary round of the farm. I arrived after lunch, Ryujin had already had lunch without my presence. I didn't mind his attitude, after all, I was the one who was late. Still avoiding meeting her, I spent the rest of the day at the office, asking one of the maids to bring me a snack. When it was time for dinner, I decided that I was tired of hiding. Maybe I was exaggerating, nothing much had happened, it was all a big misunderstanding. I find Ryujin already seated, waiting for the food to be served. We ate in silence, it had only been two days that she was here, and we already had a routine, even if unplanned, of meeting during meals. 

We finished and went to our rooms without saying a word. I lay on my bed and wondered if Ryujin would have another nightmare during the night. But the question that kept hammering in my head was if she started screaming again, should I go there to see what was going on? My head hurt to think, I was undecided what to do. I was startled when I heard someone knocking on the bedroom door, all the employees had already gone to rest. I rolled over in bed, my eyes wide with wonder if she was the one on the other side of the door. And now what? I wondered what to do as I stared at the closed door. The person outside knocked again, I got off the bed and walked slowly to the door.