Me After Meeting You

Amber’s family had lived in this apartment for many years. In other words, their neighbors had essentially seen Amber grow up.

Amber knew the man who had opened the windows and yelled at them. He wasn’t too much older than Amber’s father, but he was technically from her grandfather’s generation. His favorite food from her parents’ store was their alkaline noodles.

His voice was very loud, shattering the silence of the night. It woke almost everyone in the apartment complex. Soon after the yell, Amber could see vague movement in the windows on the floors above and below his, and also from the rooms to his left and right.

Creaking sounds echoed in the night as Amber clutched at Ian. ‘Alright, I probably won’t be able to hide the fact that I found a dolt as a boyfriend and was kissing him in public.’

It was cold, and she couldn’t just stay curled up there without moving. Even if she didn’t freeze to death, something would happen to Ian. But since she was unable to push or lift him off of herself, she could only ask someone for help.

In the end, she decided to ask the person nearest to her, the old man who’d shouted at her. “I’m sorry, he’s drunk. Could you help me carry him into the car?”

Hearing her voice, the old man belatedly realized who it was. “Oh, so it’s Dr. Camille! Sure, give me a moment.”

Amber started sweating. Someone from the apartment above them quickly shouted, “It’s Dr. Camille? Dr. Camille, your boyfriend came looking for you this late?”

Amber felt that, despite her recent thick skinned behavior, she still wasn’t accustomed to this level of scrutiny. She buried her head in Ian’s shoulder, at that moment, she really wanted to fiercely gouge a hole in it.

‘Why did he have to harm her like that?’

She pretended not to hear any of the heckling, intending to run away as soon as Ian was dragged into the car. Then, whether or not she destroyed or abandoned his corpse would be up to her. But the old man who came up to help her was surprisingly enthusiastic.

When he noticed that his clothes were wet, he exclaimed, “Did he fall into a river? It’s so cold out that he might catch a cold. What are you thinking, dragging him into a car while he’s in that state? Go home! Go home and change his clothes for him.”

When he saw that Amber was unwilling to do so, he frowned. “Don’t get mad just because he’s drunk. The fact that he came to find you despite how drunk he is implies that you’re the only person in his heart. It’s just that this situation is quite dangerous. If he gets caught by the police, he’ll have to go to prison, and it wouldn’t be good if an accident happened either.”

He kept talking, his voice as loud as ever. Amber didn’t want to explain anything at all, because things would only become more muddled the more she tried. Ultimately, she clenched her teeth and smiled. “I’m very thankful for your help.”

The old man was surprisingly strong for his age, and was able to carry half of Ian’s body weight on his own. He even had enough extra energy to move around and feel Ian’s body. “Even though he looks skinny, he’s quite heavy and pretty solid! Your boyfriend’s physique isn’t bad.”

Amber didn’t know what to sav in response. She found the car keys still stuck in the car, and pocketed them as she turned the headlights off and closed the car door. With that taken care of, she silently helped carry Ian into her parent’s house.

Her parents had originally been sleeping soundly, but they were promptly awakened by the noise of three people entering the house. The couple climbed out of bed, and upon seeing the man that their daughter had picked up in the middle of the night, made identical faces that clearly said, “My goodness, am I blind?”

But the man helping them didn’t notice, and he started off by saying, “Old Lauder, I’m helping you bring your daughter’s boyfriend home. He’s drunk and his clothes are wet. You should quickly help him get changed.”

He actually very much wanted to study ‘Amber’s boyfriend’ some more, but was quickly yet politely sent away by Amber’s father.This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .

Once they closed the front door, Amber and her parents looked at each other, both sides unsure of what to say. After a while, her mother finally pointed a trembling finger at Ian, who was lying on the sofa. “What’s this? Didn’t you say that the two of you broke up?”

Amber coughed awkwardly. “This is a misunderstanding ….”

Her mother exploded. “Misunderstanding?!

If it were a misunderstanding, then why would he keep looking for you? It was him last time too, wasn’t it? He’s so drunk that he pounced on you as soon as he got in the door. Is he a beast, or is he a beast?” At this point, she even started scolding her husband. “It’s all your fault! Last time when I wanted to go see her, you wouldn’t allow me to, saying something about how she’s grown up and knows what she’s doing … Is this what knowing what she’s doing looks like? Sneaking someone into the house in the middle of the night.”

Amber and her father both ended up getting berated by her mother. After she calmed down a bit, they went to tidy up the place and sort out the aftermath. Her father first softly told her mother, “Now that it’s come to this, we might as well get him settled down. He’s as cold as ice. If he gets sick, he’d really blame our daughter then.”

Upon hearing this, her mother fell deep into thought. She fiercely glared at Amber one more time, and then went into Ruby’s room to look for some clothes that she could let Ian change into.

Amber just stood there obediently, her head bowed as she emanated remorse. But internally, she was thinking that it was good that Ian really wasn’t her boyfriend as his image had already been ruined in her parent’s eyes.

As for “dolt” becoming “useless dolt,” well ….