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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 59 — An Unforgettable Date
59.1 A Day for Her at the Ecological Park
After days of intense emotions and legal processes.
Zayra felt a bit worried about the number of things that were pending.
Ryu, in his silence, had planned something not jewelry or speeches,
but a corner of the world where her soul could breathe.
However, inwardly, he felt very uneasy.
He gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
His knuckles tensed until they turned white.
He took a deep breath.
Control was not always as simple as he thought.
He told himself that this shouldn't be difficult.
Still, his fingers trembled on the wheel.
His gaze shifted to Zayra, who was observing the landscape with the window slightly open, calm and suspecting nothing.
He tried to smile, but the smile barely formed before fading.
Suddenly, the following words crept into his mind.
"What if it's not the right time?"
He looked at the road, analyzing that thought, and out of nowhere,
he remembered a square and an old man with his guitar who had commented to him.
"Bolivian women don't wait; if you don't take care of her,
someone else will."
A shiver ran down his spine, and although he didn't want to admit it,
he knew very well that there were other men interested in Zayra.
He cleared his throat and told himself.
"It is the right time."
He swallowed, adjusted his posture in the seat, and pretended to look for something on the dashboard just to distract himself.
He couldn't remember the last time something took away his control.
Zayra, for her part, was in her own world,
analyzing the laws, she had read the day before.
***
The ecological Park, full of greens and lively sounds, welcomed them with a calm that seemed to have been waiting for them.
This day had no written promises or rehearsed choreographies.
Just two hearts walking among trees, orchids, birds, and memories...
Zayra was marveling at the orchid greenhouse, and she suddenly commented,
"Ryu, did you know that there are over two thousand species of orchids in Bolivia?"
He was always surprised by her natural ability to enjoy nature so much.
She was smiling, looking at an orchid that cascaded down like a pink waterfall with yellow spots.
"It's been so long since I've been here, Ryu. I love this place... thank you for bringing me."
She said suddenly, turning towards him.
And before he could answer,
Zayra leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.
Ryu stood motionless.
The world stopped for a second, and he only felt the warmth she always unknowingly awakened.
He blinked, surprised.
He hadn't seen it coming.
It wasn't the first time she had closed the distance, but this gesture was different.
He felt the warmth of the contact longer than expected, lowered his gaze, trying to control his body, which wasn't obeying him.
When he looked up again, Zayra had already moved a few steps away, observing a Lengua de suegra plant,
more than two meters high, as if nothing had happened.
That was her.
She entered without warning, moved something inside, and kept going, leaving a silence heavier than a thousand words.
Ryu approached her, a bit shy, and said.
"I'm glad you like it."
She looked at him gratefully, and together they walked among tall trees and colorful flowers.
***
Birds sang and a waterfall murmured in the distance, while Zayra watched a group of animals.
"Did you know they care for endangered animals here?
It's like a little paradise for them."
"I imagine so. It's beautiful."
He replied.
She gently took his hand, a simple gesture, but full of tenderness.
He looked at her, surprised, though he didn't pull his hand away.
His gaze dropped to their intertwined hands and then returned to her with a soft, genuine expression, almost invisible to others.
He slightly relaxed his shoulders and nodded barely, accepting that he couldn't always keep all his barriers firm.
She added.
"Thank you, for everything you've done."
He nodded, and they sat together, surrounded by crickets and the wind.
Ryu relaxed and, for the first time, let the wind do the rest.
Nature had never seemed so alive to him.
She had connected him with a different way of looking at the world: more alive, more human, more real.
It was as if through her, he could hear the pulse of the earth itself.
Since he met her, Bolivia was no longer just a dot on the map.
It had history, aroma, and meaning.
As he watched her, he thought.
"Zayra... This day with you has reminded me how important you are to me."
59.2 Combination of Art
The afternoon began to slide into golden hues when they arrived at the Ateneo del Campo.
An iron sculpture in the shape of a rider and his horse greeted them at the entrance, shining under the setting sun.
Inside, fountains murmured with the sound of running water, mixed with the aroma of freshly roasted coffee.
Ryu got out of the car first and extended his hand to her.
She accepted his gesture with a calm smile, observing the surroundings.
The place was a perfect fusion of art, nature, and calm.
He watched her walk among the trees; time, for an instant, seemed to stop.
"This place is better than I remembered..."
She commented, looking up at a vine climbing the walls of the place.
She wondered how Ryu knew this was one of her favorites.
Although she suspected Camila helped,
she appreciated that he took the time to know her tastes and looked at him touched out of the corner of her eye.
He noticed she was moved by the way she looked at him, and trying to conceal the slight tremor in his hands,
he cleared his throat and said.
"I knew you would like it."
They walked along a stone path that led them to the art gallery,
a small room that combined natural light with the aroma of polished wood.
Replicas of Van Gogh and Las Meninas hung on the walls,
but what caught Zayra's attention the most were two specific paintings.
In the first, a woman from behind showed a floral tattoo that extended from her neck down her back,
barely covered by a transparent cloth.
In the second, a feminine figure held a layer of tulle that revealed the drawing of a flower on her leg.
Zayra stopped, mesmerized.
"What beauty..."
She whispered, without taking her eyes off them.
"They seem to breathe."
He watched her in silence.
His eyes rested on the way she smiled at each painting, especially those done by Bolivian artists.
Perhaps that was the true beauty.
He contemplated her.
That purity was what had brought him there.
What he couldn't leave behind.
***
They continued to the café area, where the sound of the espresso machine filled the air.
The baristas worked with an almost artistic precision: measuring, frothing, pouring carefully.
On a nearby wall, it read:
"Barismo is also art."
Zayra smiled as she read it.
"They're right. Everything here feels... made with love."
They ordered two coffees and sat next to a fountain surrounded by flowers.
The murmur of the water blended with the soft background music, a melody that seemed to float among the trees.
Zayra took a sip, enjoying the taste, which was intense and sweet at the same time.
"Thank you so much; I will never forget this day."
She expressed, laughing softly.
He looked at her in silence.
Every place she liked seemed to reflect her: natural, sincere, and full of life.
But he didn't say it.
Instead, he looked away toward the sky.
The hour was approaching, and with it, the weight of the hidden ring he carried.
Zayra noticed something.
Ryu's gesture had changed.
His fingers were intertwined with hers, but they were cold.
For the first time in hours,
Ryu allowed the shadow of uncertainty to reflect in his eyes,
though he immediately concealed it behind a mask of firmness.
He knew that the calm he projected was the last refuge before letting everything out.
She looked at him curiously, without asking.
She had learned that when Ryu is silent, something is bothering him, she thought.
"Sometimes, it's best to let him breathe."
The wind blew gently, moving the leaves and reflecting the light of the sunset on the fountain.
There was something different in the air, a calm that barely disguised the inevitable.
Ryu slipped a hand into the pocket where the ring was waiting...
And the world seemed to hold its breath.