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Chapter 275: Never stopped smiling [4]

There was no large break.

The play continued where it left off. As the lights turned on, Aoife and Julien appeared to be facing each other at what appeared to be the entrance of the Academy they were attending.

Wearing a small cap and long black robes, they both held onto a small rolled-up paper.

It was the day of their graduation.

[Why are you still here?]

Aoife\'s eyes narrowed in annoyance as she addressed Julien who stood on the opposite end with a smile on his face.

[Can I not be?]

[....Leave me alone.]

[You still haven\'t smiled.]

[Ugh.]

Aoife visibly shuddered, mimicking the expression of some of the people in the audience. [You\'re being creepy. Can you just leave me alone?]

[Haha.]

Despite her warnings, Julien didn\'t seem to take them to heart as he scratched the back of his head and laughed.

His laugh was so simple and yet so carefree. He was like the polar opposite of her who never smiled or laughed.

He was like the sun, and she was like the moon.

[I\'ll leave you alone if you smile. How about it?]

[.......]

Amelia stood in silence as she looked deeply at the annoying man before her.

The audience had been there the entire time. They could feel the frustration that she felt. Until the last days of the Academy, he did nothing but stare and pester her.

\'Smile for me.\'

..... You lied, didn\'t you?\'

\'Why are you avoiding me?\'

\'Let\'s talk.\'

It got to the point where the audience was starting to dislike him.

Can\'t you just leave her alone?

Why is he so creepy?

Don\'t tell me this is a story about a crazy stalker... A lot of weird thoughts started to circulate

in the minds of the audience members as they started to doubt the script.

Especially after seeing just how insistent the male lead was being.

[Are you not going to smile?]

They wouldn\'t be surprised if she rejected him again, but contrary to their expectations, Aoife didn\'t reject him like she usually did.

[Haa...]

Rather, she sighed in resignation.

[....Do you really want to know?]

As she addressed him, her expression turned slightly serious. It was enough for Julien to drop his silly facade as he nodded.

[Yes.]

[....]

Aoife stood in silence before looking around. Then, beckoning him, she led him toward a park where the two sat.

[....]

[....]

It was silent from that point as the two sat on the opposite end of the bench. Neither one spoke as they seemed to be waiting for the other one to start, but neither did.

In the end, it was Aoife who spoke first.

[Have you ever heard of the Affection Distortion Disorder?]

It was at that moment when everything froze as all attention shifted in Julien\'s direction.

Subtly, the corner of Julien\'s mouth stiffened as he stopped moving. His eyes, staring deeply in Aoife\'s direction turned blank for a brief moment.

The audience members felt their hearts sink slightly.

What\'s going on?

Eventually, Julien\'s face returned to normal as he slowly nodded.

[....I\'ve seen it in the newspaper before. It\'s a rather rare disorder.]

[It is.]

Aoife gently leaned her head back as she looked up above.

Toward the lights of the stage.

[We are all born with the ability to feel and perceive emotions. Anger, sadness, love, surprise, fear, and joy... The ability to feel such emotion is what makes us human. Usually, we\'d feel them endlessly until the end of our lifespan. That is of course unless you have Affection

Distortion Disorder.]

With a gradual softening of her expression, Aoife closed her eyes.

[Certain emotions are like a poison to us. The moment we feel them, we start to lose our lives.

In my case...]

Aoife stopped, her expression changing slightly as she pulled the corner of her lips.

[....Joy is like a poison to me. The more I feel it, the more my lifespan decreases. Some are affected more than others while for others it is a lot milder. In my case, it\'s moderate. So long as I don\'t feel joy, I should be able to live a decent life. At least, that\'s what the doctor said.]

[Is that why you don\'t smile?]

[Why else?]

Finally, Aoife turned her head to look at Julien.

[I\'m only doing what I\'m doing so that I can live longer. Why do you think I don\'t talk to

anyone?]

[Were the teachers aware?]

[Yes.]

[Oh.]

From that point on, Amelia went on to rant about her situation.

[It\'s because the teachers were aware that I was able to live smoothly. If they forced me to interact with others then it would\'ve been quite difficult. I can\'t get attached to people.]

The audience heard all her complaints.

[If I get attached then the likelihood of me becoming happy will increase. I can\'t have that.]

Julien just sat next to her and listened to all her rants. As he listened to her, a soft voice echoed

out around the theater.

It reflected Julien\'s inner thoughts.

<I never forgot that moment... Thinking about that conversation, I could only recall myself thinking; \'She must really be lonely.\'>

[The doctor said that this is for me. So that I can live a full life.]

[And you\'re fine with that?]

[...Whatever keeps me living longer.]

Aoife shrugged while leaning back. She appeared rather relaxed, and as Julien stared at her,

his expression softened.

But he soon lost his smile as his eyes fell on the expression she was making.

<The face she made back then never truly left my mind. It was the first time I had seen

someone make such a sad face. That was also the second time she lied to me.>

[So... is that what you\'re going to do from this point forward? Get a job, stay by yourself, and

repeat this endless cycle?]

Aoife paused, turning her head slightly to look in Julien\'s direction.

Eventually, she made a face.

[What else?]

[....Do you like to have no dreams at all?]

[Dreams?]

Pondering for a moment, Aoife\'s hand twitched before she shook her head.

[No, I don\'t.]

<Again, she lied.>

[....]

Following her response, Julien stared at her in silence. It was a silent and uncomfortable stare

that prompted Aoife to look away as she started to fidget to herself.

[What?]

[....Do you really have no dream?]

[That...]

After a brief hesitation, she shook her head again.

[No.]

She seemed adamant about not saying anything, and despite Julien\'s gaze, she didn\'t budge.

Eventually, Julien smiled and stood up.

[I see... That\'s a pity.]

[What is?] Aoife looked up as Julien lazily stretched. Gazing into the distance, he glanced at her from the

corner of his eyes.

[You.]

[Uh?]

For a brief moment, Aoife seemed stunned. So was the audience. For him to be so brazen...

As expected, Aoife\'s face grew red as she stood up fiercely. She looked ready to throw hands at

him but stopped the moment she heard his voice again.

[That dream of yours... I wanted to see you achieve it.]

[....]

It was at that moment that she froze.

As if she had not expected such words to come out of his mouth, she appeared to be at a

complete loss for words.

At the same time, Julien\'s gaze softened further.

<I think I must\'ve been crazy back then. Proposing to help her achieve her dream... Wasn\'t

that like telling her that I wanted to help her lose her lifespan?>

<It was so irresponsible for me, and yet, thinking of the face she made back then... I found myself unable to stop myself from saying those words.>

<Thinking back, my actions back then were probably a mistake.>

[....]

As an awkward silence descended on the two of them, Aoife\'s lips eventually parted open, a

slight tremble coming out of them.

[W-why? Why would you want to help me?]

[....Isn\'t it obvious?]

[Uh?]

Aoife slowly raised her head to look at it.

It was at that moment that she noticed the bright smile on his face. Then, as if he was saying

the most obvious thing, he said,

[I just want to see you smile.]

Clak!

The scene stopped there as the second Act comes to an end.

Just like the first Act, there was a brief thirty-second interlude before the start of the next act.

All eyes were now focused on the stage as nobody spoke a single word.

In their minds, the conversation from the previous Act replayed in their minds. Most

particularly the last smile by Julien.

It was so bright and so carefree...

With just a smile, he was able to capture the attention of all those present. Something about it

made those watching feel light.

.... It was a wonderful smile, and they suddenly started to understand him a little.

Especially when they recalled the expressionless look on Aoife\'s face.

Would she also be able to smile like that?

The play continued.

It was now Act 3.

By now, all attention was drawn to the play.

[By the way, I forgot to ask...]

Standing before a tall building, Aoife pursed her lips before turning her head to stare at

Julien.

[...What\'s your name again?]

[Uh?]

Stunned, Julien almost tripped. However, he was soon able to recover as he covered his

throat.

[David.]

[Such a simple name?]

[....You can blame my parents for it.]

[Oh, yeah.]

Awkwardly scratching the back of her head Aoife, no Amelia swallowed her saliva as she

shifted her attention back to the building before her.

There, her attention fell on two words.

\'Theater Academy\'

Immediately, some of the audience members understood what was going on.

\'Ah, so she wants to be an actress?\'

"That must be her dream.\'

\'.... How ironic.\'

Indeed, this was Amelia\'s dream.

In her seventeen years of life, acting had always been her dream. Her character held a strange

resonance with Aoife who also wanted to act.

Their motivations were different, but at the same time, standing before the building before

her, Aoife could feel herself grow nervous.

It was as though she was actually there and what she was seeing wasn\'t a projection.

She was immersing herself in the act.

....Gradually, she was starting to embody the essence of Amelia.

But could the same be said for Julien?

From the corner of her eyes, she spotted him standing beside her.

[Acting, huh... I didn\'t think this would be your dream.]

He was currently reciting his lines. His tone was smooth, and his breathing was even. So far, it

was perfect.

.... Almost perfect.

It wasn\'t obvious to the audience, but Aoife could see it.

Julien...

He was struggling.

Though everything about his acting was perfect, Aoife could see a natural rejection in his

eyes. He was uncomfortable.

All that smiling, and lightheartedness...

His mind was rejecting it. Aoife could see it.

But he didn\'t stop. He continued to act.

As if he wanted to see this through to the end, his acting became even more fluid. Before Aoife

knew it, his image started to distort in her mind.

.... It wasn\'t long before she found herself standing with a complete stranger.

As he turned his head and their gazes met, Julien, no, David cocked his head slightly as his lips

trembled. His eyes, which had been full of hesitation a moment prior flicked as Aoife could\'ve sworn she saw stars twinkle in them. Then, with a high pitch, he went on to grab her hands with anticipation. [You won\'t be mad if I tell you I\'m excited, right?! I can\'t wait to see your performance!]

Everyone could see the visible excitement on his face as he spoke. It started to rub off on them

as Aoife felt a lot of gazes suddenly fall on her.

It made her feel pressured.

But at the same time, she felt the beat of her heart increase.

[Let go...]

Pursing her lips, she pulled her hands away from David\'s grip before heading toward the door

of the building.

As she did, in a quiet voice. One that resembled a whisper, she said,

[....But don\'t get your hopes up. I\'ve never acted before.]