Chapter 48: If You Don't Tell Me, I'll Scream

"Eun-ha-ya, is it okay for me to come out?"

"Well, it's not like they grounded you or anything..."

Seeing Jin-wook after three days, he looked somewhat haggard for some reason.

As I brought my hand to his face with a worried expression, Jin-wook held my hand and brought it to his cheek.

"It's soft."

"It's rough..."

"No, to me, it's the softest."

Feeling the texture of my hand with his cheek like that, he held my hand and moved slowly.

He took me to a spot not visible from his veranda, sat me on a bench, and sat right next to me, sticking close.

Holding hands tightly and coming to a place where his parents' gaze couldn't reach, I wondered what he would do.

My heart started pounding on its own.

'Wh-What is he trying to do, bringing me to a blind spot like this...'

Of course, I didn't show it on the outside.

But finding myself glancing at Jin-wook and anticipating something felt somewhat funny to me.

Eventually, I burst into laughter. "Pfft."

"Why?"

"Nothing, just because."

I wrapped both my arms around the back of Jin-wook's neck.

When Jin-wook made a slightly nervous expression and demanded an explanation with his eyes as to why I was suddenly wrapping my arms around his neck...

Instead of answering, I did what he always did to me.

Slurp.

I approached him first and kissed him. Perhaps because things had built up a bit while he couldn't see me, Jin-wook wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

But there was one thing I really wanted to try on him today.

"...!"

Usually, Jin-wook and I only explored each other's lips.

But perhaps feeling a sensation other than lips, Jin-wook looked surprised and showed a momentary reaction as if to pull away.

But expecting this, I had wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and head.

'First time experiencing this, right?'

After making sure he couldn't run away, I licked Jin-wook's lips little by little with the tip of my tongue before letting him go.

Jin-wook was staring blankly at me with surprised eyes, wondering what he had just felt.

Probably right now, the corners of my eyes were curved more intensely than ever.

"Jin-wook, you taste good."

After licking my lips slightly, I smiled and spoke. Jin-wook was looking at me with a dizzy expression now.

"Y-You, you."

"Why? Surprised?"

Stuttering Jin-wook is cute.

If this were our rental room instead of our hometowns where our parents' houses are, I might have been swept up in the atmosphere and laid down leaning into his embrace.

It was truly regrettable that I couldn't do that.

"Ahem, but you didn't come all the way to my house just to do this."

"Yeah."

"What brings you here?"

"That day, I didn't hear your answer."

But this should work.

Smiling, I hugged his arm tightly into my bosom.

I lowered my body slightly and lifted my head to look up at Jin-wook.

"About organizing your feelings."

"T-That, right."

"Don't tell me you still haven't decided?"

I already answered you in a roundabout way.

Jung Jin-wook, you're mean.

How can you make a woman like me, who has always stayed by your side, wait even longer like this?

"Sorry."

"Jin-wook is a bad guy."

But, is this also part of your charm?

I don't know why that appearance of being indecisive and unable to make a decision when it's truly important feels so endlessly cute in my eyes.

"Can't you give me just one more day?"

"Are you asking me to wait more right now, Jin-wook-ah?"

"Suddenly coming and asking makes it hard to answer... a little."

Ah, cute.

Even if he's annoying when nagging usually, why do I want to devour him so much looking at him like this?

However, postponing the answer he couldn't give properly that day any longer seemed a bit unforgivable.

"Whoa, E-Eun-ha-ya?"

"Now, Jin-wook-ah. Where is your hand right now?"

I grabbed Jin-wook's hand and forced it inside my hoodie.

No, inside the bra I was wearing underneath. Then, wearing a playful smile, I spoke to him.

"S-Suddenly why the breast..."

"If you don't tell me right now, I'll scream. I'll yell that you forcibly kissed me outside like this and touched my breasts as you pleased."

"Hey, you!"

"So answer quickly. I really can't wait anymore."

Actually, since I'm an S-Class Hunter, the truth would be revealed anyway if we went to the police station.

It's a situation where I could be counter-sued and annoyed.

But when Jin-wook is wavering, I have to come out at least this strongly to catch his indecisiveness.

When I was debating whether to kill Elijah or not, you told me firmly not to kill her.

Why are you so uncertain when deciding your feelings for me?

...At this point, I resent you a little.

"Is it Like, or is it Love?"

"..."

"If you really can't decide, you can fondle my breasts once and then decide."

"...ve."

It was at that moment.

Jin-wook's hand flinched once, and a small word popped out of his mouth.

The flaw was that it was a voice so small even my hearing couldn't catch it properly.

"What did you say?"

"Hwang Eun-ha."

At that moment, perhaps unable to abandon his unique habit, Jin-wook blocked my lips again so I couldn't spout anymore nonsense, even though we had kissed so deeply earlier.

Only when his breathing became a little rough could we look at each other's faces again, seeing the line connecting us.

"Jin-wook-ah, avoiding the answer like this won't work."

People often express it like this.

If you want to choose a time to be with the person you like...

You'd rather spend their night together than their day.

"And even though I'm a former Hunter, I don't have mind-reading abilities, so I can't read your mind."

I was the same.

I want Jin-wook's days too.

But now, even if I don't have Jin-wook's days, I've come to want more of his nights.

"So answer me quickly. Am I a friend, or a lover?"

The final moment.

A short moment of waiting to hear that answer I couldn't hear before.

Until just now, I was fiercely urging him to answer quickly.

But I wasn't foolish enough to urge him for an answer even in this important moment.

"...Lover."

Rather, being able to wait with bated breath at the crucial moment was how I survived.

Well, not just that.

Because it was true that I visited abruptly, and I only waited because Jin-wook has a shy personality where he can't say such things easily.

"I'll go first. See you later!"

Then, Jin-wook quickly pulled out his hand that was gently touching my breast and fled the scene as if escaping.

But I didn't catch him and let him go back.

'He said lover.'

Because I felt such tremendous happiness at the word Jin-wook just said.

Just like Jin-wook, my brain's thought circuit completely stopped.

Until dusk fell and I received a hysterical call from Mom asking where I was and when I was coming home.

"Heheheh."

But even after returning home, I think I laughed stupidly by myself for a long time.

'Lover.'

How much did the image of Jin-wook saying that word hover in my head?

The image of Jin-wook shyly handing me those words while blushing was so precious I regretted not capturing it in a photo.

"Hihihi."

And as I sat alone on the sofa, hugging my knees and burying my face in the cushion sandwiched in between...

My parents were looking at me as if I were a crazy bitch.

"Honey, did something happen to her?"

"I don't know."

"But why is she sitting there giggling by herself like that?"

Later, they reached a conversation wondering if I finally went crazy and if they should take me to a hospital.

'Ah, wonder what Jin-wook is doing right now.'

If it were the rental room, I wouldn't be wondering what he was doing but just sticking next to him.

Come to think of it, if Jin-wook gets horny from now on, will he not hold back anymore?

What do I do then?

Since we already did it once, should I just stay still whatever he does?

No, if I look too easy, maybe I should play hard to get at least once.

"Hey, Eun-ha-ya. Did something good happen?"

"Yes?"

But perhaps I was rejoicing alone too much without minding my family.

Startled by my father's question asking what on earth happened, I raised my head.

Maybe because I was too deep in my delusion alone.

"N-No, nothing."

"Then if you're done eating, clear the table. Why are you sitting there laughing like a crazy woman alone?"

"Okay."

I think I was definitely out of my mind when I answered and stood up.

Normally, I would have cleared it away with telekinesis in one go.

But I stood up from the sofa and was moving the dishes by holding them in my hands myself.

"...Ha."

Of course, I realized it soon and cleared them quickly with telekinesis.

Even after entering my room as if escaping, I couldn't suppress the laughter leaking out by myself.

Giggling alone, wondering what Jin-wook is doing now, I picked up the phone I left on the desk.

[ Hey, wut u doin? ]

Of course, before pressing the send button, I wondered if sending this was right and hurriedly stopped my finger.

Was the period we spent as friends too long?

Looking at the letters that came out naturally without me realizing, I let out a small sigh, hurriedly erased them with the backspace button, and pondered briefly how to send it.

'First, let's not make it too excessive... Should I add a heart? No, that's a bit too much...'

The message decided after such deliberation was:

[ Jin-wook-ah, what are you doing? ]

It was a message I sent thinking it would be reasonably safe.

Why is even sending a Talk for the first time (as lovers) so fluttering?

Wondering if this was right, I rolled around on the bed alone, then seeing the phone vibrate, I hurriedly turned on the screen.

'What did he reply?'

The notification was, as expected, that a message had arrived from Jin-wook.

Unable to control my pounding heart, I opened the message window.