Ch.173Side Story) Dream of China (7)

“…I must have misheard just now, right?”

“No, you heard correctly. I have no reason to lie in the first place.”

His expression was so calm as he said it that Irene thought she must have misheard.

He said he was interested, which meant… Suddenly feeling her face flush hot, Irene pulled up the blanket from her stomach to cover her face and backed away slightly.

“Um… you know I don’t know what to say when you suddenly say something like that, right?”

“Is it that surprising that I’m interested in you?”

“Yes! No, why would you suddenly say something like that in this situation? You were looking out the window. I was drunk and passed out, and you brought me here in your car, and then suddenly you’re interested—”

“Shh.”

Soo-hyun looked around and moved closer, pressing his finger firmly against Irene’s lips.

Since her voice was loud, he worried that if Soo-jin woke up, they wouldn’t get proper sleep trying to explain the situation.

Irene’s body squirmed in surprise at the rough sensation on her lips, but Soo-hyun, quietly surveying their surroundings, seemed completely unbothered.

“Um… Mr. Soo-hyun?”

Soo-hyun’s freshly washed body was filled with the scent of skin lotion.

The scent was so intense that it made her dizzy for a moment, blurring her vision,

but Irene forced herself to clear her foggy mind and timidly pushed against Soo-hyun’s chest.

“W-what are you doing suddenly coming so close?”

Is it wrong to suddenly come close? He tilted his head for a moment, then poked Irene’s reddened cheek and smiled slightly.

He liked how she got embarrassed just from being a little close. Was this what people called cute?

With this new and strange feeling, he made an odd expression before finally getting off the bed and slowly spreading out a blanket.

His silent blanket-spreading looked like he was planning to sleep on the floor.

Since she was the one imposing, she wondered if she should be the one sleeping on the bed.

But thinking a bit more, something occurred to her, and Irene frowned as she slowly opened her mouth.

“…So, am I sleeping here?”

“You can sleep in another room if you prefer, but you didn’t say anything.”

Hadn’t she naturally been lying on the bed from the beginning? Since he couldn’t sleep well anywhere but his own room,

Soo-hyun had no choice but to sleep here.

Irene didn’t seem inclined to leave the bed, and he absolutely had to sleep in this room.

Irene looked dumbfounded at his words. Come to think of it, there was the option of sleeping somewhere else.

It was a spacious house, so there must be at least one guest room with a bed.

But she wasn’t sure if there was any need to sleep elsewhere.

After all, Soo-hyun was the one who brought her to this room, and she had just been lying there.

It was quite a shameless thought, but Irene collapsed back onto the bed and squeezed her eyes shut, pretending her head was still dizzy.

“…I think I’m still not over my hangover. I can’t even walk.”

“Then you’d better sleep there. You need to leave early in the morning, right? It would be troublesome in many ways if my sister caught us.”

“Come to think of it, is your sister somewhere else?”

“She should be sleeping in the other room by now. I told her to go to sleep. I came back quickly, thanks to someone.”

Despite the pointed remark, Irene couldn’t bring herself to object. After all, she was the one who suggested drinking,

and she was the one who got drunk first and ended up here. So she lowered her head, and Soo-hyun turned off the light and lay down on the floor.

“Oh, you can use the bed, you know.”

“I’m fine. It’s not like I’ll get hurt sleeping on the floor for one night.”

“…Hmm.”

As she rested her head on the pillow again, the thought that this was Soo-hyun’s usual pillow made her head spin.

A place that should only smell of fabric softener seemed to have a slightly different scent, and come to think of it, this blanket was what Soo-hyun used to sleep under.

In that situation where her face felt like it might explode from blushing, Irene chose to give in to her instincts.

Sniff, sniff, she smelled the blanket with a strange expression. It seemed odd for it to just smell like fabric softener…

it felt a bit… strange. Whether it was because she was drunk or just the situation itself was strange.

Emboldened by more courage than usual, Irene’s actions grew increasingly daring, to the point where she buried her nose in the pillow.

“Phew!”

Her body stiffened at the sudden loud exhale, but seeing no reaction from Soo-hyun, she quietly sighed in relief.

The more she thought about it, the more perverse her behavior seemed. He had kindly brought her here when she was drunk,

and here she was, sniffing his pillow and blanket.

For someone who prided herself on being a violinist, this was such an embarrassing act that she felt a sense of guilt at behaving so contrary to her usual self.

“…Pervert.”

Irene, not hearing the voice that suddenly came, was still hugging the blanket.

She was trying to feel the barely perceptible warmth by pressing the blanket close to her body.

But when Soo-hyun quietly muttered again, Irene’s face turned pale as she slowly turned her head toward him.

“Pervert.”

“Eek!”

“I didn’t know you had such a hobby. Why are you smelling someone else’s blanket?”

“Uh, um… that’s… I was just… I thought it smelled like sunshine. It’s not the misunderstanding you’re thinking—”

“That’s a blanket I’ve never used. Who would give a guest a blanket they’ve used before?”

As Soo-hyun lay back down and closed his mouth, Irene’s face turned tomato-red and she began kicking the blanket with her feet.

Thump, thump, the blanket flew into the air, creating a breeze across the bed.

‘I’m crazy, I’m crazy!’

She was just curious and tried it once, but she never imagined she’d be caught right in the act.

What would he think of her now? She had just heard him say he was interested in her…

She suddenly feared he might report her to the police tomorrow. But since Soo-hyun still said nothing,

Irene cautiously peeked her head over the edge of the bed and opened her mouth carefully.

“…Are you asleep?”

“No, I’m not.”

She was momentarily surprised by his answer with his back turned, but reassured, Irene lay back down on the bed.

All she could see on the ceiling was the turned-off light. But just being together gave her a strange sense of security, so Irene continued speaking.

“I’m sorry. What I just did wasn’t intentional. Really… I was just curious and smelled it once.”

“It’s fine. I’m not angry. And if I were in your situation, I would have been curious too.”

For a moment, Irene didn’t understand Soo-hyun’s words, but after some time passed, she blushed furiously and sat up.

“A-are you a pervert?”

“Didn’t you do the same thing? I’m just saying I would have done the same out of curiosity.”

“B-but you and I are in different situations. Is doing something knowingly the same as doing it unknowingly?!”

“Did you really do it unknowingly?”

“…Uh, umm… ah…”

Unable to lie when asked if she had done it unknowingly, Irene fumbled for words and flopped back onto the bed.

If he put it that way, it only made her look strange. After all, she was the one who had done wrong,

and even talking about it like this was strange. She probably looked like a weird person to him now.

Regretting her actions, she blurted out with a whatever attitude.

“Fine, I was just curious and did it. I wondered if it was the blanket you use, so I just smelled it once!”

“That’s fine then.”

Soo-hyun chuckled softly at Irene’s angry response.

He had never thought it was unpleasant in the first place, so her answer that she did it because she wondered if it was his blanket actually pleased him.

Was it strange that he felt relieved? Or was Irene strange for doing such a thing?

Thinking it wouldn’t be bad for strange people to meet each other, Soo-hyun quietly pulled up his blanket to cover his heated cheeks.

Seeing Soo-hyun cover himself with the blanket, Irene bit her lip slightly. It looked like he didn’t want to talk anymore.

But feeling that she couldn’t clear up the misunderstanding if she fell asleep now, she poked Soo-hyun’s back and moved her lips.

“…Will you hate me? For acting like that.”

“Would you like me to hate you?”

Who would answer yes to that? As Irene poked his back hard and shook her head,

Soo-hyun turned around to meet her gaze. Behind her disheveled white hair,

her distinctive blue eyes looked so clear. Those eyes that had shown him kindness from the first time they met,

the feeling of being drawn to them like fate. The feeling of being pulled toward them as if he had seen them in a past life. He wondered if it was because of those eyes.

“If I don’t hate you, do you want me to like you?”

It was a question that suddenly left her speechless.

Not understanding Soo-hyun’s intention in asking such a thing out of the blue, Irene just opened and closed her mouth, completely frozen.

After their gazes had been locked for a while, with Irene still unable to say anything, Soo-hyun brushed her hair aside and continued with a smile.

“I’m joking. You don’t have to take it so seriously, but it seems you did.”

“…W-what’s that supposed to mean?”

As Soo-hyun turned his back again, Irene touched her hot cheeks and also turned away, fuming.

She didn’t like how he played with her feelings. She had no idea what kind of answer he was expecting.

Still… there was one thing that bothered her.

“…How long are you going to keep talking so formally? You can speak comfortably to me now, you know.”

She was bothered by Soo-hyun’s attitude of always using formal speech with her.

It felt like he was drawing a line, preventing her from getting any closer, and she didn’t like that.

When Irene asked, Soo-hyun tightly gripped his pillow and quietly muttered.

“Someday… I’ll speak comfortably.”

It was just that now, if he did, he felt he might fall for her beyond the point of no return.

If he didn’t apply the brakes himself, he feared he might charge forward, ignoring all signals. That was what Soo-hyun feared.