Leandro's eyes had always made Hari weak.

Whether they glinted with a coldness that was unbefitting his age.

Whether they warmed up, tender and bright like molten jade as she brushed his hair off his eyes; Hari loved doing that.

Or whether they gleamed with a fervent intensity like now—they still made her weak.

Like she was under his spell. It was hard to believe he was only a kid. Nari was a more proper image of what someone their age should be like.

Perhaps it was all a social construct, as Leandro would say.

"What's wrong? You're uncharacteristically quiet."

There was a towel around his neck, his fluffy, brown hair dripping with water.

“W-Well…” Hari scratched her cheek, feeling a little awkward. “Are you hungry, Leandro? Now that I think about it, it’s almost lunch time, isn’t it?”

Hari turned on her heel, trying to mask her emotions with a cute tilt of her head.

Leandro stepped closer. Too close. She could almost feel him breathing down her neck. Despite being a few years younger, Leandro was almost tall enough to tower over her.

An acute tingle jolted down Hari's body. Warmth pooled at the bottom of her abdomen like a roaring current of lava. She sharply drew in a deep inhale, forcing herself not to become flustered under Leandro's inquisitive gaze.

"I'm not particularly hungry right now, Hari Noona.” He crossed his arms. “Spit it out. You can't fool me. What happened? You look like you ate a sour lemon."

She heaved a deep sigh, and then, with all the hesitation in the world, she slowly reached for Nari's love letter inside her pocket. 'Why am I so anxious over a letter..?'

Hari swiftly presented him with Nari's love letter. "Leandro… this letter. It's... for you, actually. I'm not sure why, but—!"

'What am I babbling about..?' Hari bit her bottom lip to shut herself up.

Leandro's gaze flickered down at Nari's letter before slowly returning up.

“You don’t seem the type to pen a love letter.”

“I’m… I’m not the one who wrote it.”

He took the letter, eyes falling on the cursive ‘~N’ at the bottom.

Nari? So it was hers? His mouth twitched, amused and exasperated at the same time.

When he looked back up, Hari's eyebrows were furrowed in frustration. Her arms were crossed, and her cheeks were inflating in agitation like a pufferfish.

“Well…” Leandro hummed. “What do you think I should do?”

“W-Why are you asking me?”

“She’s your sister.”

“......”

Hari looked like a tiny, scolded rabbit.

Leandro rolled his eyes at her reaction and proceeded to open the letter. The least he could do, at the moment, was to properly read what Nari clearly took time writing.

He swept his eyes across each beautifully-drawn word. Nari had poured her heart into it. The paper was bereft of ink smudges or wrinkles. It was a perfect representation of how much care had gone into its creation.

> Dear future husband~

I think we should start our fairytale relationship the right way! We can begin our beautiful romance with the start of our epic kiss. And no, the one I gave you in your dream doesn’t count! We will need the real thing.

Once our lips meet, we'll be husband and wife forever! Our love will be bigger than anything in the galaxy! We'll live happily ever after, too!

From your cute princess... Nari!

<

‘Now, what do I do?’ Leandro stroked his chin in thought.

Both of them were in the full bloom of teenagehood. However, Leandro was anything but a teenager. If you took his previous life into consideration, his mental age was well over the three digits.

Of course, no one could possibly find out his ‘real’ age, but even if his new body made a relationship with Nari ‘appropriate’, he would deem it as wrong.

‘It’d be like dating a child… which, realistically speaking, she still is…’

At least, she was in Leandro’s eyes.

Hari was studying his face with the focus of a biologist examining the intricate details of a newly discovered species under a microscope.

With a quirk of his lips, Leandro re-folded the letter and shoved it inside one of his pockets. "Are you jealous, Noona?"

Hari blinked at him as she scratched the nape of her neck. "J-Jealous..?" Her gaze shimmied around the hallway, as if trying to find something to look at other than him. "W-Wha! I have nothing to be jealous about!" Her cheeks quickly morphed into a bright shade of crimson.

Leandro pursed his lips. He crossed his arms as he studied Hari with a cursory gaze.

Hari didn't return it though. She couldn't meet Leandro's intense stare for some reason. "Noona... look at me for a second."

"Huh? I-I…!" Her lips wobbled when she did. She caught his all-seeing green eyes and ended up helplessly succumbing under them.

“Stop staring.” He said, and she quickly averted her eyes. “This is serious. How should I handle this?”

It was not as if Leandro had a lot of experience with confession letters. In his centuries-old steep climb through the Monolith, the only time he received them was either in the guise of a threat or marriage proposals, way before he was labeled as a criminal.

Actually, even then they still continued to come.

Hari ran a hand through her locks, releasing a deep sigh that almost sounded painful. "W-Well... it would make her happy if you did reciprocate…" She was being unusually twitchy and nervous. "Y-You should be honest. That’s the best you can do."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Even if it ends up hurting her?”

"Oh..." Hari blinked up at Leandro, her smile shaking. "I think it's the right thing to do... umh... leading her on would only end up hurting her more, wouldn't it?"

"You're absolutely right." He paused, heaving a deep exhale. "Where is she? I'll speak with her as soon as possible."

"I think she's in her room."

Hari didn’t know how to feel.

Sad that her precious sister would get her heart broken. Relieved that Leandro would be ‘free’, so to speak. ‘They’re too young to date, aren’t they? It’s fine… isn’t it?’

He then added, a little wryly. "Noona, prepare some consolation ice-cream. I'll be back."

----------------------------------------

Leandro made his way to Nari’s room.

“Nari.” He called out, knocking lightly.

There was a stretch of silence that went on for about five seconds before a very shy ‘Come in’ wafted out. It must have taken her a lot of courage to express her feelings, even if it was on paper.

He had to choose his words carefully. Unfortunately, he couldn’t pen down a rejection. Some things had to be said face-to-face.

The hinges whined as Leandro pushed the door open. Through the widening gap, his eyes immediately fell on Nari. She was on her bed, stiff, her back turned to him. She was guarded, not daring to look into his eyes.

‘She’s like a kitten…’ It was not the first time he did that mental comparison. Nari had an uncanny behavioral resemblance to those cute felines. Sometimes, she’d brandish her hands at him as if they were paws. A very amusing sight.

“Nari…” Leandro called out again, but in a softer tone.

“Y-Yes?”

A massive blush spread across her face. Her dark eyes were bright and watery. ‘Vulnerable…’ He thought, preparing himself for the conversation ahead.

He walked over, slowly. A brusque movement would either scare her off or make her jumpy. In a way, he had to set up the stage. And to do that, he had to make her comfortable in her own habitat.

The moment he sat down, Nari hunched her shoulders, her hands resting on her lap, both of them clenched into fists. Leandro spared her a glance before he set his eyes somewhere in front of him. “You really like me, Nari?”

She probably didn’t expect him to be so blunt, but it was not in his nature to dance around a topic as serious as that. It wouldn’t do either of them any favors.

“I… really, really like you, Oppa.” Nari whispered, casting a quick look at him, to gauge his reaction.

Her words caused Leandro to smile, as he found it adorable. It was a schoolgirl crush. Puppy love. Nothing else. But, being at that tender age, where both heart and mind could get the best of her, the intensity of her emotions must have made Nari believe she was in love.

He nudged Nari with his elbow, teasing her. "So bold all of a sudden."

"Huh? B-But… the letter should make that obvious, Oppa." Nari fumbled with her fingers and averted her eyes from Leandro's warm stare, suddenly shy.

With a disarming smile, he gazed down at her and nodded. "Well, you sure made it obvious."

"E-Eh... so? Did you read the letter..? What do you… what do you think..?" She clenched her fists tightly as she kept her eyes locked with Leandro. "O-Oppa..!"

With a chuckle, Leandro nodded. "Yes... I did read it. All of it."

Nari quickly grew nervous, and asked. "So...?"

"First thing first, Nari—" Leandro rubbed the back of his neck, slightly scratching it, as he spoke in a hesitant tone. "Do you know what truly loving someone meant?"

“Of course!” Nari replied, huffing. “I-It’s when… you know…” She twiddled her thumbs, eyes scampering left and right. “... you want to hold hands with someone… kiss… and… and—”

Nari began rambling and making incoherent sounds Leandro could not possibly hope to decipher.

Leandro cocked an eyebrow, before he sighed at Nari's rapid, animated explanations on love, trying to downplay the awkwardness as he started to regret that his previous question came off a little like an attempt at seduction.

Then again, considering their ages, a conversation about love could be borderline flirty for their circumstances. Leandro blamed it entirely on Nari though. She seemed to have developed that mindset from watching romance TV shows.

Still, he had to admit that her naively, vivid explanation of love was oddly adorable.

Leandro tousled her hair with affection, his green eyes glinting warmly as he started speaking. "Nari." He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "True love is so much more than those shallow things." He clarified. "The thought of marrying someone… it should be because you have chosen that person to share your life with—and no other reason. Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Nari quirked her eyebrows in a thoughtful expression and hummed thoughtfully. "So… true love has to be mutual and both partners have to understand each other perfectly..? B-Because both are making the sacrifice, right?"

"That is correct." Leandro couldn’t believe he had to lecture someone hundreds of years his junior. 'Though it's understandable.'

"But I do understand you, Oppa!" Nari insisted, slamming both fists on her lap. "We... understand each other!"

"Do you?" Leandro then turned sideways on her bed to face her, drawing one leg up as the other hung off the edge and rested his chin on his hand. He wore a serious look as he began studying her. "Have you stopped to wonder what kind of things I like and dislike? What makes me tick? My dreams, desires? Have you done that?"

Nari made a sour pout. Then, she narrowed her eyes. “You like Bulgogi, reading, and meditating. You dislike unskippable NewTube Ads, overly complex toilettes, and people who wear socks with sandals. Your dream is to keep me and Unnie safe!”

‘Well… shit. She actually does know me.’

Leandro sat straight, rubbing his nape in thought. "True love is about dedication, understanding, trust… friendship. It shouldn’t be a spur-of-the-moment decision."

Leandro never felt like pursuing any sort of relationship after the events of his original dimension.

Hari. Nari. Two wonderful additions in his second chance at life. In a way, Leandro believed both were there to keep his heart from slowly turning into a shriveled husk of nothingness, and to give his soul something to care and live for.

'Can I reciprocate Nari's feelings…?' Leandro furrowed his brows at the thought. If that was ever something possible, it would definitely require some time down the road. Maybe. He couldn’t give Nari false hope either. He believed that the girl, if anything, should devote her feelings to something more genuine.

Nari bit her bottom lip, sounding almost accused. "It's not a spur-of-the-moment thing! I've known you for so long. I know what I want!"

Leandro slightly leaned backwards and crossed his legs. He threaded both hands on his lap and leveled her with a soft but determined look. "You don’t want this, Nari. It’s not the right time to think about such things."

She shook her head, dismissing Leandro's claim. "But I do!" She slammed a hand against her chest. "Oppa... you think too little of yourself. I-I mean... look at you!" Nari gestured up and down, signaling Leandro. "Handsome, caring... I-I even had a dream where you saved me from a giant killer-clown a-and—!" She trailed off, face bright pink.

“You’re too young and impressionable, Nari. I’m the only boy you’ve been hanging around. It might feel like love—and I’m not saying it isn’t. But there's a lot more to it. Love isn't just about one person. It's like a big puzzle with lots of pieces that fit together over time. You’re being disillusioned by your own unrealistic concept of it.”

Leandro paused to take a deep breath.

“I don't want to sound like I'm brushing off your feelings, but there's a whole world out there beyond us. Meeting different people, having different experiences—that's how you really get to know what love is about. It takes time and dedication.”

Nari chuckled, though there was no amusement. “You’ve made all this complicated speech to rationalize my feelings and turn me down. That’s very mean of you… Oppa.”

He grimaced internally at her accusation. Leandro believed he had said enough to dispel Nari of any sort of fleeting obsession.

Maybe he even sounded a bit condescending.

Nari glared at Leandro before her voice trembled, near tears. "Do I not... deserve a chance..?" Her big smoky-eyes brimmed with emotions, glinting as they swirled.

Leandro, even at his mental age, wouldn’t be immune to such puppy eyes.

He was too reminded of his actual sister, Esmeralda, who must have been mourning over his ashes right now. As hardened as he was, he could still melt under the right conditions.

And Nari, despite her young age, certainly knew the right conditions.

Leandro wanted to run, mostly to escape the emotional battlefield he put himself on.

"You deserve all the chances in the world, Nari. But I simply don't think I'm what you need... not right now."

His words were met with a teared up silence. He expected Nari to start sobbing but none came.

Nari narrowed her eyes as her lip trembled, quaking with sadness. It made Leandro want to rush in to soothe her, but he held back.

"Oppa...?"

"Yes, Nari?"

"......"

"Nari?"

"Get out, Oppa."

"......"

"GET OUT! Just... go away..!" She clenched her jaw, turning around on the bed so that he wouldn’t see her face.

Leandro dipped his head solemnly before he started standing, turning to leave. At the entrance of Nari's room he glanced back.

Just once.

Leandro wasn’t heartless. Nari was at the age where everything felt so big, and everything had such strong emotions attached to it. Love, pain—joy. The smallest things seemed like the end of the world.

For Leandro, rejection didn’t hurt as much, because he was centuries older than Nari.

He had all the emotional baggage to accompany that mature outlook.

Even though Nari knew nothing of love, and this was only puppy love at its peak, Leandro still felt slightly guilty. Nari's crush on him was like a starry-eyed, warm, comforting feeling. Something familiar. Someone she cherished and depended on.

‘Time will heal everything… hopefully…’