When the woman who introduced herself as Liliana saw that Damian did not respond to her handshake, she seemed to finally notice his missing right arm.
With a look of realization, she extended her left hand instead.
Damian shook her hand awkwardly.
They entered the café and took a look at the menu on the table before sitting down.
'You can order desserts in addition to drinks'.
Liliana shook her head at Damian's suggestion.
“I feel like it's a bit excessive for you to buy me candy too...hmmm...”
She thought for an unnecessarily long time, then narrowed her eyes at the list.
“...Are you sure there's nothing you want to eat?
If not, would you like to go to another café?”
Damian asked cautiously, and Liliana sighed and said,
“I want to drink coffee, but I'm afraid the caffeine is not good for my heart.
It makes my heart beat fast, doesn't it?
Honestly, I don't think I'll die from drinking a little coffee, but my aunt will scold me if she finds out...”
As Liliana struggled, the waiter behind the counter interrupted her nonchalantly.
“Ma’am, I see heart patients with the same problem once a week.
Unless you drink a lot of coffee, this won’t be a big problem.”
Liliana's face lit up.
"truly?".
"If you don't believe me, ask your doctor.
Being in front of a hospital, I get this question a lot, so I asked a doctor, and he said it's usually okay."
"Yes!".
Liliana waved her fist as if celebrating victory, then ordered without a care in the world.
“I'll have a hot vanilla latte then...”
Damien ordered a vanilla latte for himself and paid for it.
Meanwhile, Liliana had already sat by the window with a good view and was waiting for him.
As Damian sat in front of her, Liliana smiled and looked at him.
“Is your heart not well?”
Damian had been worried about Liliana's pale lips since earlier.
She must be in the hospital because she is sick, and it is normal for the patient to look sick, but he hesitated to ask about her condition.
But since Liliana brought up her heart condition first, he took the opportunity to ask her.
Liliana shrugged.
“Yes, well, that's how it is.”
“But is it okay for you to be out like this?”
"Hey, I'm not running a marathon or anything like that.
What's wrong with just sitting down and having a cup of coffee?"
Liliana laughed and waved her hand dismissively.
“The condition of your heart at this young age... is it congenital?”
Her expression turned to one of displeasure as she replied,
"I was born healthy, but I had an accident.
It was a near-death experience, and my heart stopped a few times, I think.
My heart hasn't been in good shape since then, so I'm getting treatment."
"Yes...".
Damian nodded briefly and continued,
"We have one thing in common.
I was born healthy but had a near-death experience that left me with side effects."
Liliana laughed, a sound escaping her lips like air from a balloon.
“Oh my God… After hearing that, I guess you didn’t bring me here with the intention of really flirting.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You don't have the talent to talk to women.”
"..."
Liliana clicked her tongue and shook her index finger, leaving Damian speechless.
It was a very bold statement to say to someone she had just met.
At that moment, the waiter brought them coffee, interrupting their conversation.
It took some time for them to talk again.
Damian, already a man of few words, was shocked by her comment about his lack of talent and remained silent.
In the end, Liliana, who was uncomfortable with this silence, broke it first while sipping her coffee.
“Um...this arm...is it also because of the near-death experience you mentioned?”
She wondered if it was rude to ask such a personal question so soon, but Damian brought up the incident first.
So I figured he wouldn't be too upset if I asked him further.
As I expected, Damian simply nodded without any apparent emotional distress.
“I lost my right arm and a quarter of my liver.”
Liliana furrowed her brows, expressing silent sympathy for his situation.
“What kind of accident?”
“A hand grenade exploded right in front of me.”
Liliana's face mirrored the expression on the previous doctor's face, she seemed to be contemplating whether he was a ghost or not.
"You're very lucky to be alive.
Don't people usually die in situations like this?"
"Yes".
“How did you survive?”
'I'm not sure myself.
I can only explain it as luck.'
“Huh...
You're really lucky.
But if you're in a situation where a grenade can hit you, does that mean you're a soldier?”
"Yes".
“No wonder the way you talk...”
Liliana nodded, and Damian tilted his head.
“Do my words sound like a soldier’s words?”
"It's not just 'like' a soldier, it's 'like' a soldier's way of speaking.
Your sentences always end with 'da' and 'kka.'" (Korean characters)
Damian briefly thought about whether he really spoke that way, then nodded in understanding.
“I didn't talk like this before, but I recently got out of the hospital, and maybe that's why.
I think I'll go back to my usual way of talking soon.”
“Were you discharged due to your injury?”
"Yes."
“Where did you fight?
Were there any situations that required our country to deploy troops...?”
“I was sent to Libya.”
“Ah, I see.
Were you a professional soldier?”
Liliana asked, and Damian answered with a slightly grim expression.
“It wasn't originally, but I was planning to stay in the army since I reached the rank of second lieutenant, but this injury forced me out of the service.”
After hearing this, Liliana put down her coffee cup and stared at Damian's face.
"Second Lieutenant?
I don't know much about the military, but you look young for this field...
How old are you?"
'I'm 21 years old'.
“Wow!
A second lieutenant at this age?!
You are not of the right age to graduate from the military academy?!
And you are one year younger than me!
This is impressive!”
Damian's facial expression hardened slightly at her reaction.
He's received a similar reaction before.
[You're one year younger than me...
That's impressive.]
“…My high rank is because I was able to start as a sergeant thanks to the military coursework I completed at the Advanced Academy.
Also, all of my superiors died in battle, so I was promoted quickly.
"I'm not particularly exceptional."
Damian forced the words out.
Liliana, who seemed to be unaware of Damian's complicated feelings, took a sip of coffee and shook her head.
“But they wouldn't have given you this position if you weren't capable of it, would they?”
“I'm not bragging, but I got two medals.”
“Really?”
While Liliana was laughing, Damian asked,
“Are you 22 years old, Lady Liliana?”
But Liliana's reaction was a little strange.
"So they say."
“…?”
“Either yes or no, what does ‘as they say’ mean?” While he was thinking about this, Liliana scratched her arm and said,
"And please, stop using the title 'Lady Liliana'.
I'm not a noble, so don't call me that embarrassing title.
Just call me Liliana."
If you think about it, she had been calling Damian by his first name earlier.
'What's up with this sudden proximity?'
'And she's 22 too...hmmm...'.
Damian found himself constantly looking for similarities between Liliana and Lentrae.
That was true, wasn't it?
They wore the same perfume, were the same age, and said things he'd heard somewhere before...
“And by the way, Lady Liliana...”
"Liliana."
"...Lady Liliana."
"Oh, please."
Liliana shook her head, and Damian asked a deliberately pointed question.
“What perfume are you wearing?”