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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.
Chapter 29 — The Song He Didn't Want to Hear
29.1 Video Call with Siblings
Ryu slammed his laptop shut.
Min-Jun was being silly as usual, and his older sister,
though more sensible, had said something that stuck with him.
"Brother, I'm sorry. I'm not Latina. I can't tell you how to reach her heart.
I'll just say this, whatever you do, take it seriously. If you're not going all in, don't go at all."
Before that, the call had been chaos.
"Why are you so tense, Hyung?"
Min-Jun twirled his chopsticks like drumsticks, grinning mischievously, and winked quickly at the camera, as if trying to break the tension.
"You don't win a girl over by being extremely serious.
Laugh, joke... and if she doesn't fall for you, at least you'll have a good story."
Ryu sighed and rolled his eyes, half-frustrated, half-amused.
"We're not teenagers, Min-Jun... though sometimes I wish you were right."
Ryu took a deep breath, amused but frustrated.
He thought to himself,
"How can he be so carefree... and yet be right?"
Silence. Only the hum of the fan filled the screen.
***
"And what do you know?"
his older sister chimed in, with a cup of tea in her hand and an expression that was a mix of mockery and wisdom.
"Brother... you're in Bolivia. This isn't Korea. Here, women feel and express themselves differently.
There, they are direct, but they also have deep wounds.
Don't try to read them like an equation. Listen to her. Really listen."
"But I need to know what to do. I have one day.
Literally one day to do something before another guy pressures her for an answer to her confession."
"One day, huh?"
Min-Jun dramatically put a hand to his forehead, smirking maliciously.
"And what are you going to do, Hyung? Be a quiet, serious Korean guy?"
It won't work. You have to show her that you're irresistible... even, if it's just a little bit.
Ryu clenched his jaw, rubbing his forehead, and blinked slowly.
His mind was calculating.
"Okay, this could work... but I have to be careful. I can't make a fool of myself."
Min-Jun leaned back slightly, resting his elbows on the table, enjoying the sight of Ryu's furrowed brow.
Ryu's gaze got lost on the screen for a second, his shoulders dropping slightly.
"Well... maybe it's not as easy as you say, Min-Jun, but I'll make sure not to ruin it."
Min-Jun tapped the table, a mischievous, almost affectionate gesture.
Ryu tilted his head slightly, trying to read his brother's intention,
while his shoulders tensed a little from the mix of irritation and amusement.
His older sister sighed.
"You're not looking for a strategy; you're looking for courage.
And unfortunately, we can't give you that."
A silence crept into the moment.
At the end of the call, as his sister sighed and Ryu hung up,
he pressed his palm against the table for a moment, holding back his frustration,
and murmured to himself,
"Useless... but I love them anyway."
He stayed for a moment, staring at the ceiling.
He blinked slowly, taking a deep breath, as if trying to hold onto every thought before it escaped.
Something inside him wouldn't leave him alone.
The idea of losing her. Of her leaving with someone else.
Or not being able to tell her how he felt in time.
Maybe he needed another perspective... someone who spoke not from Korea, but from here.
He stood up, put on a white T-shirt, and left the room.
Night had already fallen over Warnes.
The humid, warm air seemed to envelop him in a calm that contrasted with his internal chaos.
He ran a hand over the back of his neck,
a small tic that appeared when his mind was spinning too fast.
He walked aimlessly until he heard a guitar in the main square.
Guitars, clapping, voices... and a familiar song.
29.2 The Advice of a Wise Man
"Niña Camba."
He frowned.
"That song again?"
He was about to turn around when an older man,
sitting on a bench with a guitar on his lap and a bag at his feet, gestured with his hand.
"Young man, come here. You look stressed. A beer?
Ryu hesitated for a second.
The man's accent sounded different, Andean, unhurried.
—Thank you —he finally said, sitting down with some distrust.
The man smiled, put his guitar aside, and handed him a can of beer.
Ryu blinked several times, as if he needed the bitterness to wake up his mind and calm his nervousness.
The can was unopened.
He opened it, took a sip, and the bitter taste made him pucker his lips.
"Love problems?"
The man said while tuning his guitar.
Ryu remained silent.
"I was like that too. When I was young.
I fell in love with a Bolivian woman who turned my life upside down."
The man laughed, shaking his head fondly.
Ryu turned his face.
"A Bolivian?"
"Yes. Camba or Colla... it doesn't matter. In this country, women have a different fire.
They love without filters. But if you don't react in time... someone else will."
The young Korean man said nothing.
He looked at the guitar, the people laughing, talking.
And suddenly everything seemed more difficult.
"And what did you do?"
"Easy. I told her I liked her. That I wanted to get to know her better.
I bought some flowers, something simple, and invited her out.
A month later, we were living together. A year later, we were married."
Ryu blinked.
"You were living together?"
His foot began to tap discreetly, a reflection of the restlessness he couldn't contain.
"Of course. Here, each couple decides their own pace. When you fall in love, you take the leap.
If you want to win over a Bolivian woman, you have to show that you're serious... but without suffocating her.
And you have to have character.
Bolivian women don't stay alone for very long, young man."
Ryu swallowed.
He thought of Sebastian and Yandé.
And he imagined, for a second, Zayra walking away from him. For real.
"And was it worth it?"
"Worth it?"
The man let out a chuckle.
"Every effort was worth it. She is my home. My north."
Ryu said no more. He just looked at his empty can.
With the can crushed between his fingers,
he understood that time was running out... and that one false step would lose him everything.