Chapter 319
Let’s Do a Task Together
With her eyes closed and a Pepero in her mouth, Olivia pouts her lips towards me.
Her bright red face comes into view.
It’s November, and with early winter settling in, the sun has already started to set in the afternoon.
A chilly breeze wraps around my body.
My brain has frozen.
I thought I knew all the clichés of light novels.
But a Pepero game on the rooftop?
And it’s a traditional Korean thing?
I could never have predicted such absurdity.
I’m flustered.
What the heck am I supposed to do?
And who came up with the ridiculous idea of tying Pepero Day and Pepero games together?
Is there really someone who thinks this is like a couple-cluster game from the early 2000s reality shows?
[Partner. Is there really such a tradition in Korea?]
The Black Prince speaks in my head.
‘No way.’
It can’t be true.
This has to be 100% Bella’s doing.
I never thought a distorted Korean culture injection would cause such chaos.
[······Still, partner. A gentleman should know how to tell a little white lie for the sake of a lady’s dignity. What would our beloved younger sister think if you said that here? Hurry and play along.]
The Black Prince’s serious voice echoes in my mind.
I’m not on board with his constant gentleman-lady talk, but I don’t want to ruin the mood by saying this isn’t Korean culture.
If it were any other heroine, maybe, but not for Olivia.
She’s the one who has helped me the most.
She’s been by my side the longest.
I can play along with this much.
[Partner. Why are you just sitting there? Is my gaze bothering you? If that’s the case, I’ll go underwater now. Hmph.]
I hear the sound of the Black Prince holding his breath as his presence fades away.
Looks like he’s hiding inside Durandal.
Olivia’s blushing face comes into focus.
As a light novel heroine explicitly labeled as a “beautiful girl,” her pretty face rivals that of any celebrity.
If it were before I was reincarnated, I probably wouldn’t even have been able to talk to her.
Feeling self-conscious makes my face heat up.
My heart’s racing for no reason.
So, a Pepero game, huh?
If she wants to, I guess I have no choice but to go along with it.
But she knows the rules for the Pepero game, right?
I nibble on the chocolate part of the Pepero.
The sweet chocolate flavor envelops my mouth.
I munch on the chocolate.
“······!!”
Olivia’s flushed body trembles.
As I keep nibbling on the Pepero, my lips slowly move closer to hers.
My breath brushes against her.
Before I know it, the evening glow is fading in the sky.
In the sky.
The moment Olivia’s face turned as red as the evening sunset.
I snapped the Pepero right in front of my lips.
“Phew.”
That was a close call.
I pull away from her.
“Is it over now? The Pepero Game.”
I hold up the Pepero, now shrunk to a mere snack-sized piece.
At my words, Olivia opens her eyes.
Her blue irises waver.
Tears gather at the corners of her eyes.
Wait, tears?
“······Sniff, hic······. Hic hic······.”
Olivia hangs her head low.
She buries her face in her hands and starts to cry uncontrollably.
This is awkward.
Did I do something wrong?
The rules of the Pepero Game were supposed to be like this, right?
“Hey, Olivia. W-What’s wrong with you?”
I said, bewildered by the sight of Olivia sobbing bitterly.
Olivia wipes her tears and with a trembling voice says,
“Y-You. D-Did you hate… h-h-having a kiss with m-m-m-me so much?!”
Olivia whimpers, her face all red.
A kiss?
Wait, did she think that’s what the Pepero Game was about?
Olivia raises her head.
With her swollen red eyes, she looks at me.
Tears pour down from her blue eyes relentlessly.
Even though we’ve spent a long time together, this is the first time I’m seeing her cry like this.
A part of my heart feels a prick.
“Y-You kissed other people. But why won’t you kiss me?! I’m your loyal maid!”
Olivia shouts, squeezing her eyes shut.
Other people?
Is she talking about Rin, Aris, and Evangelin?
Was she jealous because of that?
Just then, Olivia leaps into my arms.
In the cold early winter breeze, I can feel her warm body temperature.
She thumps my chest while shouting,
“I… I… Uuuhhhhh… Forcing a lady to say such embarrassing things first… Y-You are truly a clueless, mannerless peasant and a royal idiot!”
Olivia rambles on with a tear-streaked face, her cheeks flushed.
So, to sum it up…
Does she want me to kiss her?
Thinking back, while Olivia has kissed my cheek before, I have no recollection of us actually kissing each other on the lips.
But kisses with Rin and Aris happened because of those damn lucky scenario events typical in light novels.
Never have I kissed them out of my own will.
So then…
If that’s really what she wishes for.
A multitude of memories with her flash through my mind.
The time she challenged me to a duel right after we enrolled.
When she came to visit me when I was sick and declared herself my loyal maid.
When I accepted her offer at the beach park overlooking Tokyo Bay.
The time we conquered ruins together at Ground Zero.
Imgan School, summer school, fiancé battles, culture festivals, school trips, even the Sports Festival.
Having spent such a long time with Olivia.
If it’s her, fulfilling such a small wish shouldn’t be a problem.
Since without Olivia’s help, I wouldn’t be who I am today.
Thinking that, I embraced her trembling waist.
“Ugh?!”
Olivia flinches.
With my other hand, I grab her chin.
Her face turns crimson.
Thump.
As I became conscious of Olivia’s face, my heart started racing uselessly against my will.
Slurp.
Olivia’s eyes close.
Her eyelids are red and puffy from tears.
In that state, I pressed my lips against hers.
A soft sensation brushed against my lips.
*
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Olivia’s heart races.
Her face turns beet red.
Olivia’s head goes blank.
A kiss.
That was indeed the ultimate goal she had wanted.
That’s why, when we played the Pepero game and I didn’t kiss her, she burst into tears out of disappointment and frustration.
She knew she wasn’t being honest with herself.
She also knew that asking for a kiss under the pretext of a Pepero game was nearly an act of desperation.
But still, deep down, she wished for me to acknowledge her feelings.
Besides, hadn’t she already kissed Rin, Aris, and Evangelin first?
She had a right to receive a kiss too.
Olivia thought so.
But the moment the kiss she longed for actually happened.
Her mind went blank.
Her heart started racing wildly like it was broken.
Her face turned bright red.
The kiss, which felt endlessly long, finally ended.
My lips left hers.
“Is that enough now?”
Kim Deok-Sung asked, turning his head with a slightly trembling voice.
“…… Hmph….”
Olivia turned away.
Under the chilly wind on the rooftop in early winter, her flushed face didn’t feel cold at all.
Thump, thump.
Her heart raced uncontrollably.
Olivia touched her lips with her hand.
She still couldn’t believe it.
That he, who never initiated any skinship beyond a certain line with all the heroines, had kissed her first.
She still felt the lingering touch of his lips.
‘W-Wait, did I just have my first kiss?!’
First kiss.
With someone she liked.
Olivia’s cheeks burned.
‘They say the first kiss tastes like lemon…’
But it wasn’t.
Her first kiss tasted sweet like chocolate and fluffy like cotton candy.
Just then, as Olivia was lost in the afterglow of her first kiss.
“… The rule of the Pepero game is that once you kiss, you’re out.”
Kim Deok-Sung said quietly, turning his back.
“And Pepero Day is a day for exchanging Pepero, not just playing games.”
At his words, Olivia’s face turned red once again, this time with a different emotion.
“Uuuhhh…”
Her lips poked out in a pout.
It had been such a nice moment.
Here she was soaking in that heart-thumping, fluttering feeling, and he had to douse it with cold water.
“You idiot, moron, sea cucumber, sea squirt, anemone! The biggest fool in the universe!! Can’t you read the mood?! We didn’t need to have this talk right now!!”
Thump.
Olivia shouted, placing her hand on her chest.
Unbelievable.
How could he say such a thing…
“Uuuhhh, I’m the fool for expecting anything from you! A-anyway! You stole my first kiss, so… you’ve taken the lips of the esteemed and noble Bonaparte princess, so…”
Olivia’s face flushed.
Her heart pounded hard.
“So from now on, you’re responsible for everything! Got it?!”
“Since it’s like this, you have to take full responsibility from now on! Got it?!”
Olivia’s finger points at Kim Deok-Sung.
It wasn’t something she expected an answer to.
He would just dodge it anyway.
Just…
It was a petty remark made out of frustration at him breaking the sweet atmosphere for once.
Just as Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, she heard Kim Deok-Sung’s voice in her ear.
“…That’s the plan.”
Olivia’s eyes widened.
The plan, huh?
“I’m planning to take full responsibility. So from now on, don’t play hard to get, and if you want something, just say it honestly.”
With that, Kim Deok-Sung spoke while still turned away.
His usual tone, but his words were sincere.
Olivia’s eyes grew wider at his statement.
Her hand resting on her chest grabbed her shirt collar tightly.
“Then I’m going ahead. Don’t stay out in the cold, and you should come in quickly. You’ll catch a cold.”
As he said this, Kim Deok-Sung opened the rooftop door and hurried down.
Thud.
The rooftop door shut.
As she was left alone, bathed in the moonlight hanging in the center of the night sky, Olivia bit her lip.
“All of… Responsibility…”
Olivia mulled over Kim Deok-Sung’s words.
Thump, thump.
In the now quiet rooftop, her heart raced wildly on its own.
*
That day.
With the rooftop incident wrapped up, Pepero Day concluded uneventfully.
She received Yoo Se-Ra and Evangelin’s Pepero upon arriving at her accommodation.
Evangelin’s Pepero was surprisingly deliciously ordinary.
It didn’t seem like she had made it herself.
With such doubts, November passed.
Finally, December approached.
The end of the second semester.
The last month of the year.
And it wouldn’t be complete without the biggest holiday in December, Christmas.
The hot topic of December was…
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung. The dating candidates for you within the academy are currently the hottest issue. The validity of the nomination rights is this year, and it’s clear you’ll use them on Christmas…”
Damn it, that was me.
More precisely, I was the one who had to nominate a dating candidate.
Looking at the snow falling heavily on the school grounds in December, I clutched my head at Han Seo-Jin’s report.
[Hahaha. Partner. Let’s do our best!]
I could hear the Black Prince’s cheer echoing in my head.
Now it was a problem to nominate someone with a dating ticket for Christmas.
The other eliminated heroines probably wouldn’t like it much.
That said, I couldn’t nominate everyone either.
There wasn’t even a candidate that would persuade everyone.
I should have torn up that damn nomination right then.
I never dreamt I’d understand the nonsensical ideals of a damn light novel protagonist wanting to protect everyone’s feelings.
Should I just rip it up after all?
As I pondered over this.
“Is there something you’re troubled about?”
I heard Han Seo-Jin’s voice.
Wait, a candidate that would convince everyone…
Maybe.
I turned my head.
There stood Han Seo-Jin.
Ash-gray hair, black eyes.
Yeah, if it’s her…
If it’s someone all the heroines bizarrely admire without jealousy.
If it’s someone who doesn’t have a particular relation with me yet.
It could convince everyone.
With this brilliant idea in mind, I handed the dating nomination right to Han Seo-Jin and said, “Han Seo-Jin. How about we work on something together?”
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