One Hundred Years As An Extra

Kaichen approaching Dalia and igniting the magic deep within him to create bracelets on both of her wrists had been… impulsive. Kaichen gave up trying to understand his feelings. With her, his feelings were always mixed and confusing. Unpredictable. Dalia’s existence did that to him.

Her actions were unpredictable to him. But, recently his feelings towards her have been unpredictable as well. The emotions within him that dominated over his rational thought embarrassed him greatly. As he let go of her thin wrist, he clicked his tongue in regret.

His instinct urged him to put his lips on her wrist and kiss it. He wanted to lick it. What would it taste like? He wanted to have a taste of her. He assumed she would taste sweet. He was aware that his thoughts sounded like that of a madman. But he couldn’t forget the feeling of her skin on his palm. Soft and delicate.

I must be out of my mind, thought Kaichen. He thought it was fortunate that Dalia’s eyes were lowered and couldn’t see him be this flustered. His mind was haywire. Meeting her alone here in the garden made him very impulsive.

The nape of her neck was visible as she had her head lowered to look at the bracelets. He wanted to kiss it and leave a trace. D*mn it! Kaichen could not control his thoughts. He felt the heat course through him. He felt a stirring in his lower body. For the first time, he felt grateful that he was wearing a wide and billowy robe. Otherwise, he would have been exposed. He had no choice but to leave. His body was betraying him. He didn’t want to be exposed.

Kaichen wished she would leave. While thinking of complex magical modifiers to distract himself, practically running away, he looked at her waving at him. Why was she smiling so sweetly?

He was angry at himself for thinking she looked lovely. He was annoyed at himself. That smile drove him crazy and she had no idea. If his past rational self could see him now…

What should I call this? Why did she appear in front of me again and confuse me? Kaichen thought it was because she had changed. He had seen her struggle, and recover. His resentment and anger was replaced by empathy and compassion. His irritation with her was replaced by his yearning for her. He had hated her arrogant smile before. But now, he could spend all day looking at her laugh and smile. He had hated her voice which had been the cause of his trauma. But now, he could listen to her all day.

His chaotic thoughts raged in his mind as he got himself ready to go out and waited for her at the parlor near the front door. When she alighted from the stairs, he couldn’t take her eyes off her. She had cut her hair into bangs and her cheeks were a little red. How is she so beautiful? Her eyes which were a bit slanted set his heart racing. He wished he could kiss that little dot on her cheek.

Kaichen wondered if he was going crazy. The kind of thoughts he had of her which excited him and got him all heated. Is this just human desire? He gritted his teeth. His heart was already pounding. He felt like it might beat right out of his chest. It was a good thing he chose to wear a robe. It would be easier to hide the… shameful thing.

He wanted to laugh out loud. He was using his magician’s robe to hide his desires. I am certainly going crazy. It would be another sleepless night today. With that, he walked out of the entrance towards the town of Acrab with Dalia by side.

“Teacher, this is the largest square in Acrab,” said Dalia, showing him around. “See that bridge over there? I used to visit that place a lot. That was also I found you when you broke the time magic.” He tried hard not to pay too much attention to her reddish lips that chatted on.