Legal Disclaimer
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 38 - An Unexpected Loss
38.1. The Burden of News That Comes Too Late
Ryu didn't know how to react at first.
Min-Jun's words seemed to have stopped in his ear,
without reaching the rest of his body.
"Passed away.
Three weeks ago."
His fingers tensed on the cell phone,
gripping it as if he could squeeze out an explanation that didn't exist.
The phrases were pieces of a cruel puzzle he didn't want to assemble.
"Ryu?"
His brother insisted on the other end of the line.
"Got it."
That was all he said before hanging up.
He stood still, in the middle of the room, cell phone still in hand.
His shoulders slumped, he clenched his fists on his legs and rubbed his temple hard,
as if trying to wring an explanation from the air.
The rain cried for him.
Outside, water pounded on the rooftops insistently, and inside,
the silence was dense, damp, as if the weather knew something inside him had just broken.
He closed his eyes.
"I didn't think she would leave without me being able to say....
Anything at all."
A sudden warmth rose in his chest, a mix of guilt and frustration,
as the feeling of being too late crushed him.
He sighed and thought with irony.
"Great... of all days, I get to receive news of international drama."
He sat on the edge of the bed,
leaning his body forward as if the weight of the news was pushing him down.
When Zayra arrived, she didn't greet him as usual.
Something in her body told her that something was wrong.
She saw him and didn't ask. She just walked in and, without a word, sat down beside him.
Ryu felt Zayra's closeness like an anchor.
He leaned back a little and thought.
"At least someone has the patience to put up with my tragic face."
***
A brief blink, a contained, almost imperceptible exhalation, allowed him to regain a shred of composure.
The silence was long, as if they both knew there was no urgency to fill it.
"She passed away,"
Ryu said suddenly, in a low voice, as if he himself was still surprised to say it out loud.
Zayra blinked. She looked at him gently, without touching him yet.
"Who?"
She asked carefully.
"My ex-girlfriend..."
He sighed, looking at nothing.
"Three weeks ago."
Zayra didn't say anything at first. She sighed and thought.
"May God have her in His glory. Now what am I supposed to do?
Giving my condolences would feel out of place."
She inhaled, truly not knowing what to do in such a delicate situation, so she chose to be quiet.
There were no condolences or unnecessary questions.
Just a slow movement.
She sat next to him and let her hand rest gently on Ryu's leg.
A gesture of life in the face of death.
He watched her gesture, measuring whether it would be appropriate at that moment...
He nodded slightly and allowed his hand to rest on hers, acknowledging the silent comfort.
He lowered his head.
"I didn't know. I found out today. And that was it. Nothing else.
No message, no warning. Just... that."
His face was pointed towards the window.
But it was as if Ryu wasn't looking, he was just in his mind.
"Is this what they call closing a chapter?
Because it doesn't feel closed.
It feels like a door slammed shut without a goodbye."
He didn't cry. But his eyes were fixed on an indefinite point, as if they couldn't find a place to rest.
For a moment, his whole world seemed to shrink to that single point.
The room, the rain, the distance... Nothing mattered more than that irretrievable absence.
And he finally said.
"She was a good person..."
He let his shoulders drop for a moment,
took a deep breath and squinted before speaking, as if every word hurt to pull from his chest.
"We didn't always do the right thing, but I loved her.
And even though we failed each other, she didn't deserve to die like this."
38.2 Memories of a Past Relationship
[Flashback]
Ryu in his car on the streets of Seoul, heading to his apartment.
His mother's call paralyzed him for a moment.
Her voice, firm but full of tension, echoed in his ear.
"Ryu... the money from the safe is gone. The last person who was there was Mara."
The world seemed to spin slower as he ran to the apartment.
When he opened the door, everything was silent. Ryu took a deep breath and saw Mara.
She was in front of the window, hugging herself, with red, moist eyes.
"Ryu... I'm sorry."
She whispered, looking at the city with tears in her eyes.
"There was no other way..."
He let his shoulders drop for a moment, feeling the most confusing mix of emotions, love, anger, pain, and guilt.
Ryu took a deep breath, clenching his fists on his legs, an attempt to hold on to what he couldn't change.
"No..."
He began, but his voice broke.
"Tell me it wasn't you."
She lowered her gaze, her hands trembling.
"My mother... if she didn't have the surgery, she would have died. My siblings... I had no other way out.
They didn't give me residency... I thought marrying you was the only way but that wasn't going to happen."
He sighed, his hands clasped tightly.
Said at last, in a low voice.
"I understand, Mara... but I can't forgive it.
I can't go back. My family... and I... everything that was trusted to you... is broken."
She fell to her knees, sobbing.
Ryu looked at her for one more second, his heart silently breaking.
He knew his love for her hadn't disappeared.
But trust, once broken, doesn't rebuild the same way.
For the first time, he understood that some wounds never heal completely.
You just learn to live with them and not repeat the same mistakes.
***
Then he remembered a casual message sent by a friend.
"Did you hear about Mara? She married an older, wealthy man ."
Ryu looked for her photo.
There she was, in an elegant dress, next to an older man who barely touched her with his shoulders.
She was smiling, but her eyes didn't hide the uncertainty and sadness.
He later learned that the man's fortune went bankrupt,
leaving her again in the same situation she had tried to escape,
and that her mother had passed away.
Ryu put the phone on the table, closing his eyes.
The "what ifs" didn't leave him.
"If I had done something different... if I had thought more calmly...
maybe I could have saved Mara and her mother without everything breaking."
But in that same instant, he shook his head.
"No... it wasn't just my fault."
Ryu clenched his fists on his legs, took a deep breath, avoiding looking at Mara's photo.
Even so, he knew the truth, he couldn't blame her entirely.
The hungry person forgets even the law.
And Mara had done what she thought was right in her desperation.
Her mistake and his had left irreparable scars.
That memory taught him not to repeat it, not to stay silent, to be more direct and decisive with those who truly mattered.
[End of flashback]
38.3 When She Is Present
Zayra listened to him in silence, respecting the pain, the past, the present.
"I didn't know her."
She commented at last.
"But the way you talk about her... I know she was important."
Ryu barely turned his face.
His tired, brilliant eyes sought Zayra's.
A slight tremor ran through his shoulders.
He had never let anyone see him like this.
His shoulders tensed and his jaw trembled slightly.
And then, as if his body understood what his mouth couldn't say,
he leaned back softly, resting his forehead on her shoulder.
Zayra didn't move.
She just slowly raised a hand and caressed his hair, once, twice,
with that kind of tenderness that needs no permission or explanation.
In that instant, Ryu felt that he could let go of all the weight of the past without losing dignity.
Zayra's silent closeness supported him more than any words.
"You're not going to tell me that everything will be okay, are you?" Ryu murmured.
Zayra shook her head with a quiet sincerity.
She responded with the frankness that characterized her.
"It would be easy to say, but I really don't know."
She sighed, took Ryu's hand to let him know he wasn't alone, and thought.
"I don't need to understand his pain to know that it's real.
He just needs me to stay."
***
A minute later, Ryu let out a sigh.
"Now I understand a little better what you said that day... about the past.
We don't choose it, but we carry it with us."
Zayra nodded, her head tilted against his.
"And sometimes... we just need someone to help us hold it."
A brief silence.
He remembered what he heard about the heat of Santa Cruz and barely formed an internal smile,
without saying anything.
Zayra looked at him curiously, but didn't dare to ask.
She looked at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the rain hammering.
Slowly, he leaned towards Zayra, and his hands rested on her shoulders.
Without a word, he pulled her towards him and they both fell softly onto the bed, settling in naturally.
For a moment, the room stopped feeling cold
and Ryu allowed himself to feel that life could be lighter, even if only for a moment.
Unintentionally, he thought.
"I need to feel her close... it allows me to let go of a little of what I can't put into words."
She remained still, letting him lean on her, feeling the warmth of his closeness.
Ryu closed his eyes for an instant, letting out a deep sigh, as if releasing all the contained tension.
He wasn't seeking comfort from her, but simply allowing himself to feel it, and for her to be there, silent, present.
Zayra looked at him sideways, a soft smile appearing on her lips,
understanding that there was no need to speak. In that embrace, there was no fear or need,
just a gesture that said more than any word.
"You're not alone. I'm here."