Chapter 438: Imperfections Make One Beautiful
Chapter 438: Imperfections Make One Beautiful
Mika honestly felt pity seeing her like this.
He could see how much she didn’t want him to see that part of her body.
The way she tensed up, the way her eyes darted away, the way her entire being radiated shame and vulnerability.
But he knew he had to.
Not just because he wanted to see it himself—though he did.
More than that, she needed to know.
She needed to understand that every part of her body would be loved by him.
That there was no need to feel ashamed of anything. Not a single scar, not a single mark, not a single imperfection.
So he ignored her protests.
Slowly, deliberately, his hands moved toward her third tail.
Astrid saw where he was going. Her eyes went wide with horror.
"N-No." She whispered. "No, Mika, please—please don’t do it! I beg you! Don’t do this!"
But Mika didn’t listen.
His fingers found the very base of her third tail and rubbed gently.
"Ahhh—!"
The touch alone made Astrid shiver all over, a full-body tremble that started at the base of her spine and radiated outward.
While she was distracted by that sensation, his other hand brushed aside the thick fur at the base.
And there, instead of flesh and skin like one would expect on a tail—instead of the natural connection between body and appendage—there was metal.
A small, intricate contraption, silver and gleaming, attached to Astrid’s body at the base of where her third tail should have been.
The tail itself—the beautiful, fluffy tail she had been using all this time was connected to her by this metal device.
Astrid too realized what he had found. She opened her mouth to speak, to beg, to do something—
But before she could, Mika let out a soft sigh.
He twisted a small mechanism on the metal contraption.
And pulled.
Click.
The tail...came off!
Just like that.
Her third tail—the bushy, fluffy, beautiful tail that had been swaying behind her moments ago—detached completely.
It came away in Mika’s hand like a toy, like a simple accessory that could be removed at will.
Like a butt plug or some kind of appendage that wasn’t truly part of her.
What remained was...strange.
And adorable.
Between her fourth and second tails, there was now a small stump.
Barely an inch or two tall, thin and tiny compared to the majestic tails on either side of it.
It looked almost comical in its smallness—a little nub where a magnificent tail once stood.
Mika stared at it for a moment. Then a gentle, loving smile spread across his face.
This was what remained of Astrid’s third tail.
The tail she had cut off herself, all those years ago, in a fit of rage and grief and desperate self-hatred.
The tail that no amount of healing magic could reattach, because her own body had rejected it.
The tail that was now just...a stump.
Everyone in the family had been so concerned about how she would handle this.
How she would cope with having only six tails.
But Astrid had always brushed it off.
"I don’t care." She would say, her voice flat. "I’m glad I have one less tail. Makes me less like those monsters."
But everyone knew the truth.
Everyone knew she was devastated.
She had loved her tails. All of them. Each one was precious to her. And losing one—especially in such a traumatic, self-inflicted way had left a wound that went far deeper than the physical.
So Mika had done something.
Even back then, young as he was, he had created this.
A prosthetic tail. A marvel of engineering that moved and acted just like her real tails, that could be detached and attached at will.
A replacement that looked exactly like the original, that no one would ever know was fake unless they looked at the base.
And now the stump was revealed.
Mika looked up at Astrid and saw that she had gone completely silent.
Her face was buried in her hands—no, she had stuffed her face into a pillow, hiding from him completely.
Her ears were flat against her head, pressed down in that telltale sign of extreme distress.
Mika shook his head slowly.
He understood, as this stump was her deepest vulnerability.
Before, she had possessed this beautiful, majestic tail that she was so proud of—the one she showed off to everyone, the one that made her feel special.
And now, all that remained was this tiny, insignificant nub.
She was intensely sensitive about it. Ashamed of it. Inferior because of it.
No matter who it was—her mother, her sisters, her aunts, even Mika himself—she refused to let anyone see it.
She would rather die than have someone look upon this mark of her brokenness.
That’s why she had protested so much.
That’s why she had begged him to stop.
And now that he had seen it, she couldn’t even speak to him anymore.
Mika looked at her hiding there, her face buried in the pillow, her body curled up as if trying to disappear entirely.
Mika smiled gently.
He reached out and patted her butt.
"Come on, Astrid. Come on. Don’t try to hide from me."
No response.
He patted again, firmer this time.
"There’s no need to hide your face and look away like a little girl who’s scared of ghosts. Come on, just look at me."
She pressed her face deeper into the pillow.
And seeing that words weren’t working—he decided actions maybe would.
So, to evoke a reaction, he moved his hand from her butt, sliding it slowly toward her most intimate place.
His finger brushed against her entrance, making her entire body jolt.
"If you don’t look around..." He said calmly. "...I’ll tease this tiny hole until you’re a mess. I’ll spread it open, stick my tongue inside, and keep going until you’re drooling and crying and begging me to stop."
"And I promise you, I won’t stop no matter what you say."
Her body shook at his words. An instinctive reaction, a shiver of anticipation mixed with fear.
But still.
She didn’t look.
Mika sighed. Then he had an idea came up that he knew would work
He pulled out his phone, opened the camera, and zoomed in on the tiny stump.
Click!
The sound of a photo being taken.
Astrid’s head snapped up so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MIKA?!" She shrieked, panic overriding her shame. "WHAT ARE YOU TAKING PICTURES OF?!"
He held up the phone casually, showing her the image on screen.
"Of your third tail stump, of course."
Her heart stopped.
"Not only do I want a picture of it so I can look at it from time to time." He continued smoothly. "But I’m thinking of sending it to others as well."
Her face went pale.
"I’m also thinking of putting it on a postcard. You know, for festivals."
"Imagine sending that to your aunts on some holiday occasion. ’Happy Winter Solstice! Here’s a picture of Astrid’s adorable little stump!’"
Hearing this horrible threat, tears welled in Astrid’s eyes.
Real tears.
She looked absolutely devastated.
"Please, Mika." She whispered, her voice cracking. "Please don’t do that. You know how much that—how much this means to me."
"I-If anyone else were to see it—even my sisters, even my mother—I don’t know what I would do. I-I really don’t. So please don’t send it anyone!"
Mika looked at the tears threatening to fall.
At the desperate, pleading expression on her face.
He sighed and put the phone down.
"Fine. I won’t send it to anyone else."
Relief flooded her features.
"But." He continued firmly. "You have to stop hiding. You have to talk to me properly. Even if the topic is about this."
He reached out and gently caressed the stump.
"Ahhh—!"
Astrid’s entire body jerked. A small whimper escaped her lips.
She wanted to say no. Wanted to refuse. Wanted to crawl back into her shell and never come out.
But the threat of those photos—of her deepest vulnerability being shared with everyone she loved loomed over her.
She had no choice.
"Fine." She whispered, nodding weakly. "Fine. I won’t hide away. I won’t try to escape you or anything like that."
"So please—there’s no need to send that to anyone else."
Mika smiled and put his phone away completely.
Astrid watched it disappear, and then her face crumpled into an expression of utter defeat.
"Why..." She whispered, her voice small and broken. "Why are you bullying your big sister like this?"
She looked up at him with vulnerable, glistening eyes.
"I know in the past, I caused you a lot of trouble. I dragged you around everywhere. I put makeup on you when you didn’t want it."
"I even woke you up in the middle of the night because I didn’t want to go to the bathroom alone."
She sniffled.
"I’ll admit—I was quite a nuisance in the past."
Mika snorted. "Just in the past?"
She blushed. "Fine, fine. In the present too. I admit I still give you problems. I’m stubborn and difficult and I don’t listen."
She bit her lip, pouting at him with that same vulnerable gaze.
"But still—there’s no need for you to bully me in such a horrible manner!"
"You know how sensitive I am about this part of me. And here you are, teasing me about it, threatening to show everyone, touching it like it’s nothing."
Her voice cracked.
"This is too much. Even for you, Mika. You’re being too much of a bully right now!"
Hearing this, Mika couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
And instead of responding with words, he leaned forward—closing the distance between them until his face was inches from hers.
Before she could react, he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.
Astrid’s eyes went wide.
"Come on now, Astrid." His voice was warm, affectionate. "I’m not trying to bully you. I just wanted to see that cute little stump of yours. There’s nothing wrong with that."
She immediately looked away, a deep pout forming on her lips.
"You’re lying. You’re definitely lying, Mika. There’s no way what you’re saying is true right now."
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye—a shy, vulnerable side-eye.
"After all, there’s no way you would find such an ugly stump hanging off my butt cute. You probably think it’s weird. An anomaly. Maybe even a tumor."
Her voice dropped.
"You’re probably disgusted looking at it."
Mika shook his head gently.
"Not at all, Astrid."
He reached out and cupped her face, turning it back toward him.
"Instead, I sincerely think it’s one of the most beautiful parts of your body."
Astrid’s breath caught. For a moment, she almost believed him.
The sincerity in his eyes was so overwhelming, so genuine—
But then she shook her head, denying it.
"No. No, you’re lying. That’s such an obvious play."
She pulled back slightly, her expression growing more vulnerable.
"Just think about it, Mika. Once, right there, I had such a beautiful, long tail. A tail that everyone admired. That everyone wanted to touch and feel. It was majestic and proud and perfect."
Her voice cracked.
"And now? All that’s left is that weird little thing sticking out of me."
She bit her lip, tears threatening again.
"It’s like...it’s like having a massive, beautiful oak tree in your garden. The one you’re so proud of, the one everyone comes to see."
"And then one day, it falls down. And all that’s left is that ugly stump at the bottom."
She looked at him, searching his face.
"How do you feel about that, Mika? How do you feel about such a loss?"
Mika nodded slowly, acknowledging her pain.
"I understand. I really do. This stump is a reminder of your trauma. Of your tragic past. Of something you don’t want to think about."
She nodded, sinking further into her negative feelings.
"And I also understand that you used to have a proud, beautiful tail there. And now it’s gone, and you feel terrible about it."
She looked down, unable to meet his eyes.
But then Mika smiled.
A warm, genuine, utterly sincere smile.
"But let me tell you something, Astrid. You losing your tail doesn’t make you any less of who you are. In fact..."
"...it makes you even more beautiful."
Astrid’s head snapped up, shock evident on her face.
She hadn’t expected him to say something so blatant. So counter to everything she believed. For a moment, she wanted to protest, to tell him how ridiculous that sounded.
But then she saw his eyes.
The sincerity in them.
The absolute conviction.
And for the first time, she allowed herself to believe it might be true.
"Why?..."
She whispered, hope creeping into her voice despite herself.
"Why would you say that, Mika? Isn’t losing something precious from your body supposed to make you less valuable than you were before?"
Mika nodded thoughtfully.
"You’re right, Astrid. If anyone were to lose some of their most attractive features—their lips, their eyes, their nose in some accident—they would definitely be less attractive than they were before."
"Their value, as you put it, would go down."
Her face fell.
But then Mika gently brushed her hair back, his touch tender and loving.
"But you’re different, Astrid. You’re completely different."
Her eyes shone with renewed hope.
"Usually, a person has a few things about their body that they’re proud of. Things they think others find attractive. Things that give them confidence."
"And when they lose those things, they fall into despair. They feel like they have nothing left to show off, nothing that makes them stand out."
He shook his head sadly.
"And that’s a pitiful situation to be in."
"But you?" He leaned closer, his face inches from hers. "You’re different, Astrid. Do you know why?"
She gulped, her heart pounding.
"Why, Mika? Why am I different?"
His eyes were the softest she had ever seen them.
"Because you’re perfect, Astrid. You’re utterly, completely perfect."
She gasped.
"Unlike others, who have imperfections all over their bodies—whether it’s their height, or acne on their skin, or being cross-eyed, or having weird-looking ears, or balding—you have none of that."
He gestured at her, as if presenting a masterpiece.
"Look at yourself. Your face is flawless. Your body is sculpted like a goddess. Your skin is radiant. Your eyes are captivating."
"Everything about you is perfect. There’s literally nothing anyone could say wrong about your appearance."
Astrid’s heart was racing at an unbelievable rate.
"You’re like a goddess descended from the heavens into this mortal realm. Perfect through and through."
His smile became even softer, even gentler.
"So when a person like you—someone who literally has no imperfections—actually gains an imperfection, like losing a tail and being left with a stump, something beautiful happens."
He leaned even closer.
"It creates contrast. Between the perfect parts of you and that one imperfection. And that contrast gives off this intoxicating feeling."
"Like the heavenly realm and the mortal realm have combined together to create something that doesn’t belong in this world—but also has enough connection to a humble mortal to make it real."
He cupped her face again.
"You are the perfect blend of perfection and imperfection. So, the fact that you lost your tail, that the stump remains—it doesn’t make you any less."
"It makes you even more valuable."
"Even more unique."
"Even more beautiful."
Astrid forgot to breathe.
The words were so bold, so shocking, so completely unexpected that she didn’t know what to say.
Finally, she managed to whisper, her voice barely audible:
"Really, Mika? Do you really think I’m even more beautiful than I was before I lost my tail?"
Mika looked at her with such understanding, such depth of feeling.
"I honestly don’t know how others feel about this, Astrid."
"Maybe they would say you look less beautiful."
"Maybe they would say you’re ugly now. Less than you were before."
He placed his hand on his heart.
"But if you want my opinion—my honest, genuine opinion—then here it is."
He held her gaze.
"I think not only are you even more beautiful than you were when you had that tail. I think every single day—every single day you live your life—you grow more and more beautiful. Just by being you."
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