***

‘There must be another way.’

Leticia breathed heavily, and tucked the gift farther into the corner. She couldn’t afford to wear that now. She was eager to find another way.

Alone in the room, Leticia seriously pondered how to overcome this crisis.

No matter how much she thought about it, there was only one way.

“I’m really not scared.”

“Leticia.”

“I misspoke when I said I was scared.”

At dinner that night, Leticia confessed her feelings without concealing anything. She’d never had a disagreement with Enoch, but she was still nervous while talking to him, and glanced over at him.

Leticia was embarrassed that she had trouble figuring out how to speak to him, but Enoch nodded and said he understood perfectly. Leticia was inwardly relieved to see this.

But that night, Enoch hugged her as usual. It was so light that it felt empty.

They didn’t even hold hands, they just slept.

“….”

Only then did Leticia realize that Enoch thought she meant something else.

Eventually, she had no choice but to find another way.

Since then, she would slightly touch his chest before going to bed, and even showed clumsy temptation, such as rubbing her hands down his back. It was funny to say that it was temptations, but Leticia tried in her own way.

However, Enoch only looked at Leticia as if she was cute, and didn’t react in any way. Rather, he treated it as if he was watching a child’s sloppy prank.

As none of her methods returned a desired result, the direction of her anger poured on the innocent Enoch.

‘You’re only two years older than me!’

It was unfair and upsetting when he treated her like a child.

‘Do you think you married a child? You’re acting like you married a child!’

When she looked at Enoch, the words traveled all the way up her throat, but Leticia tried hard to hold it in. She couldn’t spend her precious time getting emotional.

In the end, Leticia decided to be more active in her approach.

“Are we just sleeping today as well…?”

That night, she whispered while hugging Enoch harder from behind. She purposefully used a voice that sounded as pathetic and languid as she could manage.

Enoch turned gently and brushed Letisha’s hair back.

“Are you sleepy?”

“Yes, let me sleep.”

She burrowed deeper into Enoch’s arms, and rubbed her lips on his neck. At that moment, Enoch seemed surprised, and gently rubbed Leticia’s back.

‘No way…’

She hoped it wouldn’t be, but her uneasy hunches were always right. When she slightly raised her head at the sound of Enoch’s regular breathing, she found that he’d fallen asleep while hugging her. He had such a gentle look on his face that it was hard to imagine his usual cold and sharp impression.

“Are you sleeping?”

She tapped Enoch’s cheek with her finger, wondering if he really was. She even stabbed his side, but there was no response.

“….”

As Leticia watched Enoch sleeping soundly, she could only think of one thing.

Tonight was ruined as well.

.

.

.

“You’re usually so quick-witted!”

The next morning, while Enoch was out for a walk, Leticia angrily slammed Enoch’s pillow on the bed. She resented that he didn’t know how she felt this time.

In fact, she knew Enoch hadn’t done anything wrong. However, she was going crazy from being unable to reach him with her heart.

Now she had to go beyond shame.

‘Should I give up like this?’

Leticia fiercely licked her lips, and put the gift box she’d been rejecting loudly on the table.

“Okay, good.”

Let’s see who wins.

***

Everything he did with Leticia was a first for him. First crush, first love, first date, and first kiss. There was nothing that wasn’t his first time.

So he was worried inside, and wondered if he was pushing his feelings on her.

Fortunately, Leticia always returned a bright smile to him, perhaps of the same mind. Enoch was very relieved inside and revealed his heart without hiding anything.

However, he realized after a while that he had been mistaken.

It would be a lie if he didn’t have expectations for the first night. But as always, Leticia’s feelings were more important than his expectations.

As he approached, Enoch carefully asked Leticia, whose head was bowed shyly.

“Don’t you like it?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, I’m just a little scared.”

When he saw her blue eyes trembling, he thought he was wrong.

He’d poured out his feelings unilaterally.

Enoch liked her so much that he couldn’t control his emotions. Because he’d loved Leticia so much, he’d made her nervous. He abhorred himself for not controlling his greed, even though he said he’d protect her no matter what.

After that, Enoch was careful.

He didn’t want Leticia to have no choice, but to accept his feelings. However, the situation never flowed the way he wished.

“Are we just sleeping today as well…?”

As soon as he closed his eyes while forcibly asking for sleep that wouldn’t come, his heart dropped like a thud at the voice he heard behind him. Soon after, he couldn’t breathe when her thin arms hugged his waist.

Enoch barely swallowed a sigh, and turned around. His eyes met Leticia, who naively looked up at him as if she knew nothing.

‘I’m going crazy.’

He was resentful to see Leticia approaching him without knowing how he felt, but he couldn’t push her away because she was still lovely.

“Are you sleepy?”

“Yes, let me sleep.”

Let me sleep.

Enoch’s body hardened as he felt the sweet whisper of her voice, and the movement of her small lips on his neck.

‘If you knew what I was thinking, you’d want to go to sleep right away.’

Enoch struggled to suppress his greed, and patted Leticia’s back because he couldn’t express the feelings in his heart.

Until then, he hadn’t noticed what Leticia was thinking.

It was around the time when they had only two days left before they returned.

“This…”

What Leticia handed over was none other than a blindfold. Suddenly, he looked up as if he was wondering what it was, but Leticia just beckoned for him to put it on.

“You’ll be using it for a while.”

It reminded Enoch of the day he proposed marriage. He remembered that moment, and he smiled without realizing it, then asked.

“Is this a gift?”

At that time, he’d used a similar blindfold to lead Leticia to the four-leaf clover field.

He asked if it was for a similar reason, but Leticia just stared at him instead of answering.

“Oh, a gift… It might be a gift.”

“What?”

Somehow, her words were strange. Enoch didn’t ask outloud, but asked with his eyes instead.

Leticia just gave him a knowing smile instead of answering.

“If you wear it, I’ll give you a present.”

“I can’t wait to see what the gift is.”

Enoch sat on the bed, and quickly put the blindfold on.

He couldn’t help but ask if it was a gift. He thought that he would take any gift that Leticia was willing to give him.

Perhaps his heart had reached her, a laughter-filled voice was heard in his ears.

“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but I don’t think you’ll hate it.”

“….?”

What kind of gift was it?

He was curious, but decided to endure it, and wait until Leticia told him to take the blindfold off. However, he couldn’t stand the sound of footsteps and rustling around him, so he asked.

“Can I take it off now?”

“Not yet.”

Even though he was sitting still on the bed waiting, he really wanted to take the blindfold off. So Enoch held his hands tightly, and tried to wait patiently. However, there was still nothing he could hear other than the sound of Leticia’s footsteps.

‘What amazing things did she prepare?’

His expectations soared before he knew it, and he unconsciously burst into a smile.

At that moment, he sensed her in front of him. Before he could ask if he could take the blindfold off, he felt a small touch at his collar. As soon as he raised his head, he felt her undoing the button on his shirt. Surprised, Enoch grabbed Leticia’s wrist.

“What are you doing now?”

“Stay still.”

“Leticia, wait a minute.”

As soon as he sensed that something was strange, Enoch immediately took the blindfold off.

What he saw in front of him was Leticia wearing a slip that revealed a lot of her pale skin.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait…!”

He thought he’d seen it wrong, and covered his eyes with the back of his hands, which kept blinking. However, he could see Leticia slowly approaching him through his fingers.

“You don’t believe me when I say I’m not scared.”

Leticia approached him, and placed her hands on his shoulder so that she could confine him. As she lowered herself onto his lap, Enoch couldn’t hide his confused expression as she closed the distance so that he could barely breathe.

“I believe you, so please get out of my way…”

He managed to pull himself together and tried to soothe Leticia. However, her white hands slowly caressed his shoulders, and pushed him onto the bed. There was no time for Enoch to feel embarrassed, as he felt a small weight settle on him.

When he raised his head in surprise, Leticia had climbed onto his thighs, and looked at him explicitly. White and slender limbs, and petal-colored hair that flowed around her shoulders. Her blue eyes shone as if she wouldn’t back down until she had her way.

“Don’t provoke me.”

“No.”

“Please, Leticia…”

He begged earnestly with a strained voice.

Enoch’s mouth went dry, and hid his face with both hands because he didn’t think he could fill his greed with just the sight of Leticia. She’d jumped him so fast that his heart ached even as she looked down at him quietly.

“I told you, I’m not that innocent.”

Enoch’s shoulders trembled at the soft kisses that covered the back of the hands covering his face. Leticia burst into laughter at his appearance, and kissed his hands harder this time.

“I want to know you, and how you want to have me.”

“Leticia, please…”

“I’ll tell you too. How much I want to have you.”

Enoch, who’d been clenching his teeth, quickly inhaled and raised his upper body. Leticia was still sitting on his thighs, so his gaze locked with hers right away.

“If you’re going to regret it, quit now.”

“I won’t regret it.”

Now that she wasn’t scared, Enoch grabbed her cheeks and kissed the ends of her ears lightly.

“Okay, good. I’ll tell you.”

Enoch took off his white shirt all at once, as if I had lost. However, a fierce smile spread across his mouth. Now he wouldn’t stop, or back down.

“What I thought while I was looking at you.”

He’d been trying so hard to be kind.

“How much I love you.”

If she wanted to know how much he loved her, he would have let her know.

Whether it was with his heart, or his body.

***

Leticia couldn’t get out of the bed until they went home. If she tried to get out of bed for a moment, Enoch hugged her waist and pulled her back into bed while saying that he hadn’t told her yet how much he loved her.

Since then, she hadn’t slept well and Enoch had haunted her in bed.

The only way to escape was to wait for the day they would return. Even on that day, Enoch suggested that they spend another night there. They barely returned after Leticia almost begged.

“Did you enjoy your honeymoon?”

“You…!”

Leticia, who returned from a satisfactory honeymoon, complained to Keena who’d come to visit as soon as she’d returned.

“Do you know how surprised I was because of you?”

“Why?”

“Why? It’s because of that weird gift!”

“Oh, did you like it?”

It was just a moment before Leticia was about to raise her voice when Keena shrugged her shoulders lightly as if she’d just understood.

“What? So, you didn’t like it?”

Even though she was complaining, Keena still asked why Leticia looked as if she was at her wits end. Leticia thought she’d bought it to tease her, then noticed that it was prepared with more sincerity then she’d thought, so she relaxed a bit.

“Don’t give me such a gift again.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“That can’t be true.”

“It’s because you don’t know. Those things are popular these days.”

Keena boasted that she’d barely managed to get the gift too. However, Leticia, who was listening quietly, asked with a displeased look.

“Where did you buy something like that?”

“A new store has opened nearby…”

Keena suddenly stopped talking, and looked closely at Leticia. Her gaze seemed as if it were trying to find out what the intention was behind her words.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Hmm…”

Leticia faltered back in a nervous mood, but Keena’s lips went up more and more.

“You liked it, didn’t you?”

“What? It’s not like that!”

“Is it not?”

“….”

Keena folded her arms, and looked down with a winners smile, daring Leticia to deny it.

Leticia avoided her gaze, and eventually asked.

“So, where did you get it?”

Keena laughed out loud at the sight of Leticia acting as if she hadn’t lost, then told her where she bought it.