The Alchemists

The man looked at Rose with rounded eyes. He didn't want to harbor hope, but he couldn't help it. He really liked this girl. In fact, arguably, he experienced love at first sight when he saw Rose at the cafe in East Village that night.

When Rose turned and looked at him, it all happened like a slow-motion film. At that moment, he suddenly knew and was sure that this girl was the one he had been waiting for all his life.

He was never attracted to any woman, no matter how beautiful and smart they were. However, as soon as he saw Rose and then interacted with her ... it felt so right, and everything just clicked.

After he and Rose lived together and spent so much time getting to know each other, his feelings for her became even stronger and unstoppable.

So .. if Rose was talking about him, as a poor and simple man that she wanted to marry, whatever the reason, Rune felt so happy.

He didn't care if Rose had a relationship with a man named Leon. Whether it was a love relationship that had ended, or if Rose's feelings were one-sided, Rune was not bothered by it. To him, they were all insignificant.

The important thing was, Rose wanted to marry him. Rune believed that if given the opportunity, he would make Rose fall in love with him.

Uh .. wait a minute. Why was he thinking this far? Yes, Rose did say that she wanted to marry a poor and simple man, but she didn't necessarily say that it was him. 

Rune swallowed hard and scolded himself. Right now, he had to think about Rose, who was clearly sad. Wasn't he trying to figure out just now what had made Rose so sad that she wanted to drown her sorrow with so much champagne?

As Rose's future husband, Rune must be able to take care of his wife well. Therefore, Rune had to talk to Rose and find out what was in her heart.

"Rose, honey ... you said earlier that you can't pretend anymore. You're right. You shouldn't pretend. Pretending is tiring. Right now, you can just open up to me. Do you love Leon?" asked Rune in a soft voice.

He must find out who this Leon was.

Rose nodded, and her tears streamed down again. "I do. I do love you, Leon ... and I only want what's best for you."

Seeing Rose's deep sorrow, Rune felt like his heart was being torn apart. He could see how deep was Rose's feelings towards the man she called Leon. On the one hand, Rune did feel jealous, but on the other hand, he felt very sorry to see Rose so sad.

"If you loved Leon ... why don't you get back together with him?" Rune asked gently. Even though he really liked Rose, maybe he had even fallen in love with her, it seemed he would prefer to step back and let Rose return to Leon if it would make her happy.

Seeing Rose looking so sad made Rune feel heartbroken. He hated seeing her in tears. Oh, she looked so pretty when she was happy and in a good mood.

Rose shook her head, despondently. "I can't go back to you, Leon, because ... because you care more about status and wealth..."

Rune was stunned by Rose's statement. Did Leon come from a much more affluent and more respected circle than Rose's family and he considered the girl was not worthy of him?

If so, then Leon was such a jerk!

Now, Rune really wanted to teach the man a lesson by showing that he, who was the youngest son of one of the wealthiest families in the world, did not care about Rose' status and wealth.

He couldn't imagine any other family that was more powerful and richer than his family. So, Rune would be the right person to teach a man like Leon, who was so full of himself that he looked down on Rose just because she was not his equal.

"If Leon is more concerned with status and wealth, then you have to show him that you—

Before Rune finished his words, Rose had interrupted him.

"I will show him that status and wealth are NOT IMPORTANT. I will show that I am happy with just a poor and simple man. The poorer, the better."

Rune hiccupped at Rose's words. Jeez. Rose would actually do the opposite of what he thought.

At first, Rune wanted to suggest to Rose to teach Leon a lesson. Since Leon was so crazy about status and wealth, she could find a man who was much wealthier and more powerful than him. Someone like Rune Schneider.

However, Rose's mind worked in the opposite direction. The girl wanted to show Leon that she would be happy with a poor man.

In that case, this meant that if Rune wanted to get Rose, he simply had to keep acting poor. He couldn't claim to be the youngest child of the wealthy Schneider family. 

Rose was looking for a poor man. She was even willing to marry the man. The poorer, the better.

Subconsciously, Rune massaged his forehead. Everything that happened tonight was so confusing.

Did this mean .. he had to keep his disguise as a poor person in order to be with Rose?

Rune looked at the girl who was sobbing and he swallowed hard.

Okay. What Rose wants, Rose gets. He repeated his mantra for the night.

It was not difficult for Rune to keep pretending to be poor.

"Well, if that's what you want. You better marry a good man who will treat you with love and respect. Someone who only wants to make you happy. Wealth, power, and status are all meaningless," said Rune with understanding. "You made the right choice."

He kissed Rose on the forehead and tapped her on the shoulder. Ahh ... He thought he had obtained enough information tonight. He didn't want to make Rose feel sad if they kept talking about Leon.

He decided to stop there and wait for what happened the next morning. He was happy enough that Rose actually thought about marrying him.

Maybe they were truly fated. If, for example, Rose met another poor man who wasn't as kind or responsible as Rune, perhaps she wouldn't feel happy because the man didn't treat her well.

Rose's intention to take revenge on Leon by showing that she was happy with a poor and simple man would only backfire on her.

"W-wait ..." Rose suddenly pressed her lips, and her face turned pale.

"Uh .. what's wrong with you, Rose? Are you okay?" Rune became worried when he saw Rose coughing and pressing her lips. Before he could do anything to help her, the girl leaned down on the bed and puked.

"Rose !!"

Rune panicked. He had never experience handling a drunk girl before. Jeez ... now Rose's clothes, the duvet, pillows, and sheet were all dirty with vomit.

He couldn't let her sleep in her own vomit.

But it was oh so disgusting.

Rune didn't have time to even think about how disgusting it was to clean up someone's vomit. His mind went into panic mode because he suddenly thought about how he should change her clothes and clean her up.

Should he call a maid from the Linden's home to help him? But it's almost midnight.

He would be so heartless to call anyone at this hour to help him clean up a drunk girl and the bed filled with vomit.

"Come on, Rune. It's partly your fault too. You took her to dinner and bought the champagne. You let her drown her sadness in alcohol. You should take responsibility," Rune scolded himself.

Weirdly enough, Rose went back to sleep again, as if nothing happened.

Finally, after he was at war with himself for a few minutes, Rune decided to get a warm wet towel from the bathroom and cleaned up Rose's body from her vomit.

"I'm sorry... I am not a pervert.. I have to do this," Rune whispered over and over again, as he took off Rose's clothes so he could wash her up.

Gently and with great care, he wiped Rose's body clean. He then carried the girl to the small couch next to her bed and helped her get into fresh pajamas.