CH 73

Chapter 73: Starting Point (1)

Feeling a refreshing breeze, my eyes suddenly opened.

How long did I sleep?

I felt an incredible freshness.

As I opened my eyes and raised my head, the twins were each lying on one of my arms, fast asleep.

Carefully, I sat up and woke them up.

"Hey, wake up."

In this comfortable atmosphere, my body felt light as if it could fly.

There were no bitter emotions or tears, just a sluggish feeling.

I should have scolded them for playing around, but sometimes, having days like this wasn't so bad.

****

"Bye."

As I waved my hand, the twins obediently headed to the classroom to attend the afternoon lecture.

Perhaps it was because we had taken a walk. Unlike the morning, we were able to part smoothly.

They briefly glanced at Judy, who was standing behind me, but that was it. They didn't say anything to her. They entered the classroom quietly;

Soon, only Judy and I were left in the hallway.

Now, the moment had come.

The moment when Judy and I were alone.

I started feeling awkward for no reason and became self-conscious.

Judy, who glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, was staring straight ahead like a statue.

Her appearance made me laugh, and eventually, I burst into laughter.

Seeing me laughing openly, Judy blushed and glared at me. But she still didn't face me directly. It seemed like she was extremely shy.

It appeared she was more nervous than I had imagined, which actually helped me calm down.

It felt refreshing to see her in a completely new light, and I thought our emotions were flowing naturally.

After laughing as much as I wanted, I took a deep breath and spoke in a relaxed manner.

"Why were you so tense, Judy?"

"......."

She couldn't answer my question. Instead, her face grew even redder. It seemed like she was embarrassed by her own appearance but couldn't do anything about it.

"Will you continue to be like this even when we live together in the future?"

"....Uh."

She lowered her reddened face and turned her face away. It seemed like she didn't want to show her face to me right now.

Teasing Judy has always been fun.

It was enjoyable even on normal occasions, but now that there were mixed emotions involved, it couldn't get any more entertaining.

I purposely made loud footsteps and approached her with long strides.

Judy was taken aback and took a small step back.

Then I approached her even closer, and she moved away from me.

As I was about to take one more step closer, Judy spoke.

"You...!"

She seemed so nervous that she stuttered for a moment before loosening her jaw.

"You... You seem completely unfazed?"

"...No? Maybe a little excited?"

I said that because I thought she would show a more amusing reaction.

And as expected, she turned her blushing face and glanced at me.

After giving me a brief look, she quickly averted her gaze again.

"I-It's a lie. You don't seem affected at all."

"I'm a person too, Judy. Naturally, I feel awkward and excited."

"......"

"If I were just meeting someone for the first time, I wouldn't know, but… how can I be unaffected when I’m engaged with my friend?"

There didn't seem to be any point in hiding our emotions here. In fact, there was no need to hide them.

I was making fun of her, but when it came time to reveal the truth, I slowly leaned my back against the wall.

"...I feel nervous too. I'm just hiding it."

".........."

"It's sudden, isn't it? For both of us. We couldn't have predicted that we would end up like this."

"....."

"Well, of course, we joked about it before. I said that to enter the Ice family, I'll marry you. Right?"

".......".

"Can you say something, Judy? I feel awkward."

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

"If we... if we get married... Are you okay with that?"

I tried to guess the meaning behind Judy's question. Does she dislike this marriage? Or is it because she lacks self-esteem?

After contemplating it for a while, I gave up on speculating and answered honestly.

"I rather like it."

"....Huh?"

"Rather than being with someone I don't know, I prefer being with you, someone I know. Besides, your family is the Ice Family, right? It could bring peace between the families. Well, even if we set the family aside... I have no complaints because it's you."

"......"

"You?"

".......Huh?"

"What about you?"

I casually asked, but being nonchalant was just an act. I wanted to take center stage since she seemed embarrassed. Because if I also acted embarrassed, things would become more awkward. Plus, I thought the conversation wouldn't continue.

However, despite my attempt to remain cool, my heart was pounding fiercely. The more we talked, the more I started to feel the reality.

As long as she didn't say she didn't like me, it was almost certain that we would get married.

"......"

Judy muttered something.

"What did you say, Judy?"

“…I like it too.”

"......"

"......"

We fell silent at the same time with her response.

But even without saying a word, we had to put all our efforts into suppressing our emotions.

The excitement I felt for the first time in my life... And that tension. It was difficult to describe in words.

Unbeknownst to me, it seemed that I had developed feelings for Judy.

Since when?

From the moment I felt a sense of camaraderie with her as a fellow warrior? From the countless training sessions we went through together? From the times we exchanged silly jokes? From when we became a source of comfort for each other? From when we crossed swords and crossed paths? From the times we made jokes about marriage? Or perhaps from the moment we truly became engaged?

Expectations arose from this relationship with Judy rather than reluctance.

Unknowingly, the corners of my mouth curled up at Judy's words.

Judy, who had turned her back to me and took a deep breath, turned around as if she had mustered up the courage.

And then, this time, she took a step towards me and extended her hand.

She seemed to be asking for something.

".....?"

I used the back of my hand to cool my flushed cheek, raising a question mark at her peculiar behavior.

"What?"

"...We can't keep feeling awkward forever."

“…I can stand it. Aren’t you having a hard time?”

"Yes..."

"So what's with this hand?"

In response to my question, she took a deep breath, and her strangely puffed-up shoulders gradually sank.

Along with that, it seemed that her courage also disappeared, as her pupils began to shake and her head slowly turned away.

"...Give me your hand."

She muttered.

Again, a faint laughter burst out. Judy, as expected, only blushed at my laughter. There was no sign of her getting angry as she used to in the past.

Actually, this was how she truly was.

Initially, she had been just wary of me.

Looking back now, it seemed she was just inexperienced in forming relationships.

Just like what she was doing now.

"All of a sudden?"

"...Then what should I do? I don't know how to get rid of the awkwardness." She blurted out in response to my question. "And… well... If we keep doing this, wouldn't we eventually get used to it?"

"...It's not that I can't do it, but it’s a little embarrassing."

Even though I said such things, I didn't actually dislike the idea of holding hands with her.

In fact, I thought we were getting closer.

Thinking that my heart began pounding. And despite countering all her words, before Judy could say anything else, I reached out and took her outstretched hand.

"......"

Judy might not have shown it, but the moment my hand touched hers, it conveyed that she was trembling.

In any case, it wasn't right to keep making a woman feel embarrassed. Especially if she was going to be my partner.

Thinking of her as a partner, my heart skipped a beat once again.

It wasn't easy to believe that this person in front of me would be the woman I would spend my lifetime with: She would become someone who would understand and trust me completely, in a relationship where I would also support her.

Judy held my hand, and her face grew even redder. Despite being the one who suggested it, she seemed more flustered.

Finding her intense reaction cute, my mischievous side was triggered once again.

I released the hand that I held and interlaced our fingertips. I could feel Judy's fingers slipping in between mine.

"...Uh."

In the end, she couldn't hold back and turned her face once again. But she didn't let go of our hands.

I couldn't help but smile at her appearance. If there was any difference, it was that this time, I felt embarrassed to show my smile, so I turned my head as well.

Afterward, we didn't say anything.

Holding each other's hands, we simply stood there.

Whether it was my hand or hers, sweat started to form, making our hands moist, but neither of us let go.

As time passed sporadically, I caught glimpses of her looking at me, and she caught glimpses of me glancing at her.

How much more time had passed?

Although my heart still pounded, the atmosphere between us gradually became more natural as we grew accustomed to this feeling.

Despite Judy's rough suggestion, it was definitely effective.

The heads that were originally looking in opposite directions slowly began to face ahead.

Suddenly, Judy looked up at me.

I pretended not to notice and looked straight ahead.

Then, a moment of cold sensation passed by my neck.

It was Judy.

I looked at her, holding the place where she had touched me.

"...?"

"Oh, sorry."

"...No, but why?"

"...First remove your hand, Cayden."

"Huh?"

I followed her words and moved my hand.

Judy stared at my neck for a while and then asked, "Did a bug bite you?"

*****

Was it because of the kiss?

Keirsey was able to let Cayden go more easily to attend the class, even though she knew he would be spending that time with Judy.

Especially after they were engaged, it was really unbearable for her to leave them alone with each other, but every time she thought about the kisses they shared - the soft sensation of his tongue. His warmth. Those emotions - she relaxed a bit.

But only for a while.

As the class went on and their time together increased, her anxiety grew.

She started regretting leaving the two of them alone.

Although there was nothing she could do, she still disliked it.

The effectiveness of the kisses with Cayden was diminishing. She wanted him again, and she felt restless. If she could kiss him right now, she might be able to endure a few more hours, but that was impossible. So Keirsey started flicking her finger on the desk, impatiently.

When will the class end? It felt like it was taking forever to finish.

"-Well, that's it for today's class-"

At that moment, the professor announced the end of the class, and Keirsey's legs reacted immediately.

She wasn't the only one who moved.

Asena also stood up gracefully from her seat.

Though Keirsey didn't have time to wait for Asena.

She quickly got up from her seat and rushed towards the classroom door.

And as she swung the door wide open, she silently hoped that nothing had happened between them.

-Drrrk, bang!

But as soon as she opened the door, what she had to see was Cayden and Judy letting go of each other's hands in surprise.

Her heart dropped, and she burst out laughing.

How long had it been since they were engaged, and yet they were already holding hands?

It was the first time she had seen him engaging in physical intimacy with another woman.

And it shook Keirsey more than she had expected, to the point where her body reacted fiercely, as if her blood was boiling.

In contrast, she felt her eyes cooling down.

Unconsciously, her legs moved on their own, bringing her closer to him.

"Why did you open the door so forcefully, Keirsey?"

"...What were you doing, Oppa?"

"Huh?"

Keirsey squeezed her way between Judy and Cayden.

She placed her hands on his upper body and pressed herself against him.

"What were you doing?"

Cayden didn't answer and looked at a few students leaving the classroom.

"Keirsey, don't get this close to me in public-"

"It's not about other people. Focus on me, who is right in front of you."

"What?"

"Oppa... What were you doing with Judy?"

Her last words didn't sound like a question. Her voice came out firmly, more like a command to answer.

Cayden scratched his head and easily admitted it.

"...I was holding hands with Judy."

Keirsey's grip tightened. But Cayden didn't pay it any attention.

"We'll eventually get married, so what's the big deal about holding hands, Keirsey?"

"O-"

"Forget it, forget it. Why are we even having this conversation? It's over-"

"The conversation isn't over, Oppa!"

Cayden ignored her and changed the subject.

"How was your class today, Keirsey?"

But Keirsey didn't let go of the topic.

"Oppa, if you start holding hands with Judy from the beginning, how-"

Cayden interrupted her words once again and changed the subject.

"Oh, by the way, Keirsey, take a look at this. Did a bug bite me?"

"........"

And Keirsey, who had been trying to hold onto the topic, couldn't help but pause at his random statement.

Cayden was pointing to the kiss mark she had left behind.

"Did it bite you too?"

He asked, concerned.