Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 51

[Translation By Divinity]

Two weeks had passed since Damian’s surgery to implant the prosthetic connector in his right arm.

During that time, Damian visited Asher every few days for minor adjustments to the incomplete prosthetic. Finally, Asher showed Damian the finished mechanical arm, declaring it complete. However, the surgical site where the prosthetic connector was implanted needed to fully heal first.

Attaching the prosthetic before complete recovery could lead to infection due to its weight, so Damian had to wait a few more days.

And finally, today, Damian visited Asher’s workshop, ready to have the prosthetic attached. Asher, still as grumpy as ever, greeted him and immediately attached the prosthetic without any explanation.

Damian stared at the mechanical arm attached to his body, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity. Although Asher had shown him prosthetic samples before, seeing one attached to his own arm was quite strange and fascinating.

It still didn’t feel real that this would be his arm from now on. The prosthetic was made of cold metal and reinforced plastic, and due to the materials, it was inevitably heavier than his original arm. This made his arm joint feel a bit stiff.

“How does it feel?”

“It feels unfamiliar.”

“Can you move it?”

At Asher’s question, Damian tried to bend his arm. But to his surprise, the prosthetic only twitched once.

“It’s not moving properly.”

Damian looked at Asher, wondering if something was wrong, and he shrugged.

“That’s normal. I told you, you need rehabilitation training to move it freely. You don’t know how to use the arm yet, so even bending it is difficult. And your nerves need time to adapt to the prosthetic.”

“But can I move it at all?”

“Of course. If you diligently do your rehabilitation, you’ll be able to move it like a normal arm within a few weeks, at the earliest.”

Asher replied confidently. But Damian felt a sense of awkwardness, as if something foreign was attached to his arm, making him feel encumbered. He couldn’t move it as he wanted, so he felt lost about how to handle it.

Even though the prosthetic was connected to Damian’s nerves, it was limited to motor functions. He couldn’t feel any sensation when he touched it, which made it feel even more foreign.

It seemed like it would take some time for him to get used to the prosthetic.

Asher watched Damian struggling to bend his prosthetic fingers and asked,

“By the way, are you going to your rehabilitation sessions regularly?”

“Yes, I just came from the hospital today.”

“Good. Then work hard on your rehab. That’s it for today.”

Asher stood up without hesitation, and Damian grabbed him, looking bewildered.

“What? Is that it? You just attach the prosthetic and I’m done?”

“What else am I supposed to do? I’m a prosthetic craftsman, not a rehabilitation specialist. You have to do the rehab yourself. The hospital will teach you everything you need to know during your rehabilitation training.”

“But shouldn’t you give me some advice or something…”

Asher’s face twisted in annoyance at Damian’s words.

“If you train with effort and determination, you’ll be able to use it.”

“…”

Damian learned that he shouldn’t expect anything beyond prosthetic-related answers from this man. He sighed softly and gathered his belongings, standing up.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Okay, take care. You probably won’t know if there’s anything to adjust right now anyway. Contact me immediately if you have any problems during your rehab.”

“Alright.”

“I should head home too. Ah, I’m exhausted from staying up all night. I need to go home, shower, and sleep.”

Asher stretched and let Damian leave first, then followed him out of the workshop. Damian bowed his head and started walking towards the tram stop, and Asher followed him two steps behind. Damian looked back at him curiously, and Asher said with a tired face,

“Are you taking the tram? I’m taking it too.”

“Ah, I see. We must be going to the same stop.”

They stood side by side at the tram stop, waiting. Neither of them was particularly talkative, so a comfortable silence settled between them. But they weren’t the type to enjoy chatting with others, so they didn’t find it awkward.

When a tram arrived at the stop, Asher checked the number and said to Damian,

“My tram’s here, so I’ll be going now.”

“I need to take this tram too.”

“Really?”

Asher and Damian sat side by side on the tram. Silence fell between them again as the tram headed towards their destination. After about 30 minutes, they were approaching the stop where Damian had to get off.

He stood up and said to Asher,

“I’m getting off at the next stop. I’ll see you later.”

But Asher also stood up, looking at Damian with a puzzled expression.

“Really? I’m getting off here too. What a coincidence. It seems like you live close to my place.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know we were neighbors.”

Damian and Asher got off the tram together, just as they had boarded it together. Damian said, feeling a bit suspicious,

“My place is that way. Which way are you going, Asher?”

“…Mine is that way too.”

An awkward silence briefly fell between Damian and Asher.

“What a coincidence.”

“Indeed.”

They walked with some distance between them, even though they were going in the same direction, not interested in making small talk.

“Do you also turn right here, Asher?”

“Yes. I’m crossing the crosswalk here. You too?”

“Yes.”

They walked along the same path and finally stopped in front of a 10-story apartment building with a cafe on the first floor.

“This is my place.”

“This is my place.”

They spoke simultaneously and looked at each other. Asher raised an eyebrow. Damian asked Asher for confirmation.

“Just to be sure, do you live in the boarding house on the top floor?”

“Yes.”

“…Are you the housemate I haven’t seen for a month because you’ve been out all the time?”

“And who are you? The new housemate who moved in while I was gone?”

“I moved in recently. A few days before my surgery. By the way, I’m using the room opposite yours.”

Damian opened the door and entered. Annette, who happened to be home, saw them and smiled.

“Oh my, Asher. You met Damian? Have you introduced yourselves?”

“We have.”

Asher replied nonchalantly and was about to go upstairs. Then they heard footsteps quickly descending the stairs.

“Damian!”

Lilliana, halfway down the stairs, grabbed the railing and spun around with the momentum, ready to greet Damian. But she stopped short when she saw Asher standing next to him.

“Mr. Asher?”

At Lilliana’s appearance, Asher looked back and forth between Damian and her.

“What? Why is she here?”

“She’s one of the new housemates who moved in while you were gone.”

“What? He’s the one living in the room diagonally across from mine? The one who’s never home?”

“Seems like it.”

Asher, having grasped the situation, looked back and forth between Lilliana and Damian again.

“Wait, you two said you weren’t a couple, but did your relationship change while I was gone?”

“No.”

“No.”

They both answered almost simultaneously. They didn’t want to be misunderstood as a couple living together. Besides, she had someone she liked. It would be disrespectful to that person too.

“We’re just friends.”

Damian’s additional explanation seemed to put Asher at ease, and he nodded.

“Oh, I thought… That’s good. I hate being stuck between lovey-dovey couples. It makes me want to puke.”

‘What a nasty personality.’

Lilliana narrowed her eyes and glared at Asher, while Annette scolded him,

“Asher, please stop talking like that. I told you to watch your language.”

But Asher completely ignored Annette’s nagging and asked Lilliana,

“By the way, what was your name again?”

“Lilliana Carnell. I live diagonally across from you, Mr. Asher.”

Lilliana extended her hand, and Asher shook it briefly before trudging up the stairs.

“I’m going to shower and sleep now, so please be quiet.”

Lilliana and Damian nodded at his request, but he didn’t even look back. Shortly after he went up to the 10th floor, they heard the sound of a door opening and closing.