PLUTO English Translation

19 (BOTH LYING?)

The party is over. Everyone waves goodbye and smiles at us as we get in the car. I haven't met up with my friends for years since the incident. Seeing them again allows me to recharge. It's as if I've reawakened my true self.

"I'm so full. The food here was great."

The petite woman gives me a thumbs up and shakes as if she has goosebumps.

"It's so delicious, I couldn't stop eating. I must have gained weight."

"You don't have to worry about your weight because you already have a girlfriend."

"Ah. True. I have a girlfriend."

"We're you pretending to have a good time?"

The petite woman, who's laughing merrily, pauses and scrunches her face.

"What do you mean pretending?"

"Like, maybe you don't want me to worry that you can't get along with my friends. It's okay, you know? You can be yourself. I would understand. My friends are from a completely different world than yours."

"How is that?"

"Well..."

I shrug.

"Our way of life, the language we use, the food we eat... You only have rich friends, most of whom have a social status. But my friends..."

"Crazy. Don't think too much. For me, we're all human beings. Your friends are cute and relatable. I like them, though they seemed tense at first. Maybe it's because the first restaurant was... You made the right decision to change it. Otherwise, I don't think your friends and I would've gotten so close this soon.

"Close?"

I laugh. But when I think about it, she's right. My friends, except for Pang, approached Metavee and talked to her like they'd known her for ages. Especially Bow, who sang a duet with her nonstop, though she complained that the lawyer sang out of tune and rhythm.

"Please invite me to meet your friends again. It was so much fun. No one bragged about their wealth."

"What's there to brag about? We are all poor. I paid for today's meal."

I sit with a hunched back.

"I used a credit card to withdraw cash and pay for it."

When my younger twin wakes up, she'll kill me. But I will kill myself before she can do that, I swear.

"You're so poor. How did I get myself such a poor girlfriend?"

"You've been fooled."

I turn the car into Metavee's house. As soon as the car is parked, the petite woman starts sulking
because she doesn't want to go inside.

"I don't want to go back into my square room."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"You're not afraid anymore?"

"If you're with me, I'm not afraid."

The petite woman smiles until her face is all crinkled. I look at her looking at me, asking for my tenderness, and feel acute aggression towards her. Yet all I can do is bite my lips and help her out of the car.

"You will get bitten by mosquitoes taking a walk this late at night."

"It's okay, I have you."

"There are also ghosts at night."

"It's okay, I have you."

"Maybe thieves too."

"It's okay, I have you."