Chapter 183

EP.183 What Are You Doing!? #2

Adeline was making the most exaggerated expression she could muster.

From my perspective, she was trying to look angry, but to me, she just looked adorable.

Alright, I need to act calm.

I gestured for Adeline to calm down and said,

“I just wanted to remove the tissue stuck to you.”

“Y-You could’ve just said something!”

“I just wanted to take care of you… I’m sorry.”

“Take care of me!? I’m not a child! Ugh, I take back what I said to Jihyuk yesterday! You were treating me like a kid too, weren’t you!?”

“That’s a misunderstanding. I just tend to look after people a lot.”

I made sure to show no hint of any ulterior motives, and Adeline pursed her lips.

I put on the most innocent expression I could and waited for her to speak.

After a moment of heavy breathing, Adeline’s expression softened slightly as she looked at me.

“I’m a grown woman. You can’t just touch my hand like that. It’s not okay. Please be more careful next time.”

She’s not a grown woman, just a bratty kid.

I obediently apologized to Adeline, who was giving me a cute scolding.

“I apologize for what happened earlier. I’m sorry.”

Then I continued,

“But there’s something I don’t understand. When I patted your shoulder last time, you didn’t say anything. Why are you mad now?”

“W-Well, shoulders and hands are completely different!”

“Hands? Remember when I grabbed your wrist at the amusement park to pull you away from the water? Don’t you remember?”

“……”

“And when we were eating tteokbokki, you started talking about the Bible and tapped the back of my hand first. Don’t you remember that? It was just today…”

“Haaa…”

Adeline’s eyes looked like they were spinning.

Her reactions were so honest and cute that it was fun to tease her.

“You didn’t say anything when I touched your head or patted your back, so why today…? You’re not thinking something weird, are you?”

“W-Weird thoughts!? What are you talking about!?”

“Sigh… Never mind.”

I shook my head with a sigh, and Adeline rummaged through her small bag.

She pulled out a mint candy.

Seeing that, I burst out laughing.

It was hilarious how she treated it like some kind of cure-all.

Adeline puffed out her cheeks and snapped,

“What’s so funny!?”

“Nothing… It’s just that you eat candy like it’s medicine… When you accused me of lying, you said you’d make me pay for it…”

Adeline’s face turned bright red as she stammered,

“I-I just eat it because it’s tasty, okay!?”

“Is that so? Give me one too.”

“No! This is mine, so go buy your own!”

“But I gave it to you.”

“Since you gave it to me, it’s mine now! Class is over for today! Take me home and then go back! I’ll decide the next class time, and Jihyuk, you should reflect… no, repent at home!”

I quickly covered my mouth.

“Hah…”

She’s demanding I take her home… Usually, when people get mad, they just say they’ll go home alone, right?

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Seeing my reaction, Adeline got even more flustered and put her hands on her hips.

“Are you making fun of me right now!?”

“N-No… Hah…”

“Ugh…! Hurry up and pack your Bible and chair! Let’s go home!”

Even though she was mad, Adeline was still pointing out everything I needed to do.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and completely lost it, laughing out loud.

Adeline glared at me as I laughed uncontrollably, but her threatening look had no effect, which only made it funnier.

“I’m going down first!”

Adeline, clearly annoyed, stomped out of the room, making loud noises on purpose.

Tears were streaming down my face as I wiped my eyes and cleaned up the room, still unable to stop laughing.

**

In the car on the way back to the annex.

Adeline was sulking, staring out the window.

I kept thinking about what happened at the study café and chuckled while glancing at Adeline.

Every time I did, Adeline hugged her bag tightly and looked uncomfortable.

She couldn’t say anything, but she also couldn’t stay silent, so she was throwing a tantrum like this.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat and apologized.

“I’m really sorry for everything that happened today. I apologize.”

Did my serious tone make her feel better? Adeline turned to look at me.

I glanced at her expression in the rearview mirror, and it seemed a little softer.

She looked at my profile and said,

“I’m the one who should apologize… I got too worked up… But I have something to say. I’m a saint in a high-ranking position. I’m also your teacher, Jihyuk, so I’d appreciate it if you showed me some respect.”

“I always respect you, Adeline.”

“Then why were you laughing at me?”

“I wasn’t laughing at you. Seeing you just made me feel refreshed, and I couldn’t help but smile.”

“My anger made you feel refreshed?”

“Not just your anger, but everything about you gives off a pure energy. It has a really positive effect on me.”

“……”

Adeline fell silent. A faint smile appeared on her lips.

She was happy to hear the compliment.

I continued,

“Thanks to you, I feel stronger. Thank you so much.”

As soon as I finished speaking, we arrived at the annex.

I parked the car at the entrance and smiled softly at Adeline.

“You’ve worked hard today.”

Adeline hesitated for a moment, then took out a candy and handed it to me.

“You did well in class today, so here you go…”

“It’s fine.”

“But you wanted it, right? I’ll leave it here, so eat it!”

Adeline placed the candy in the cup holder, got out of the car, and bowed her head.

“I’ll contact you! Drive safely.”

“Go inside.”

“Okay!”

Adeline, back to her lively self, quickly ran toward the entrance.

I waved as she went inside, then stepped on the accelerator.

Today was a really fun day. I couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

@@

Adeline sniffed the air as a savory aroma wafted through the living room.

It was the smell of bacon, which she loved.

“Are you home? Wash your hands. Let’s have carbonara. I’ll make it really good.”

Silvia said as she stirred the frying pan.

Adeline responded energetically,

“Yes, unnie!”

She went into her room, put down her bag, and rushed to the bathroom. While soaping her hands, she paused.

She stared at her right wrist for a moment and sighed.

“Phew…”

She was really startled when Jihyuk grabbed her hand.

Normally, she would’ve brushed it off, but after he said he liked petite women, it stuck in her mind… That’s why she snapped.

Honestly, she didn’t need to overreact like that.

Jihyuk said he liked petite *women*, not that he liked *her*.

She might’ve misunderstood… If that’s the case, then this whole thing was her fault.

After rinsing off the soap, Adeline lightly hit her head.

“Ouch…”

She hit herself too hard, and her temple throbbed.

But the pain quickly subsided. Her body was tough, after all.

Blessed by Rosario, she would fight demons and bring peace to Earth!

Pumping her fists in determination, Adeline was about to leave the bathroom when she paused.

She remembered what happened with Jihyuk. She hesitated, then dried her hands on the towel.

When she came out, Silvia, who was setting the table, looked at her and said,

“Did you wash your… Oh? You did? What’s the occasion?”

Adeline avoided Silvia’s gaze by rolling her eyes.

“I’m trying to wash them more now…”

Silvia sat down and stared intently at Adeline as she picked up her fork.

Adeline felt uneasy under that meaningful gaze.

“W-What…?”

“Adeline. Are you hiding something?”

“……”

“We promised to always be honest with each other, even before we came to Earth. Did you forget? I’m really hurt.”

Silvia slumped her shoulders and poked at the carbonara with her fork.

Seeing this, Adeline quickly stretched out her arms.

“U-Unnie! I was going to tell you!”

“Really? Then tell me.”

Silvia immediately smiled, and Adeline let out a shallow breath before speaking.

“Well, it’s like this…”

Adeline explained everything, from Jihyuk saying he liked petite women to what happened earlier that day.

After hearing the story, Silvia asked playfully,

“So that’s what happened… Should I teach Jihyuk a lesson? Break his arm or something?”

Adeline was horrified by the terrifying suggestion.

“Ahhh… Don’t do that!”

Silvia chuckled and tapped the table a couple of times, then suddenly turned serious.

“Just kidding. I heard your story, and as your friend, I want to give you some advice…”

Adeline was really happy that Silvia called her a friend.

Even though Silvia was four years older, she treated Adeline as an equal.

Sure, she sometimes played harsh pranks, but that’s what friends do.

Since Silvia was the person she trusted most on Earth, Adeline listened carefully.

“What is it?”

“First, when Jihyuk said he likes petite women… He might not have been referring to you specifically. He could’ve just been talking about his ideal type.”

“I thought so too.”

“But he might’ve been hinting at you. And I lean more toward the latter.”

“The latter…? So Jihyuk likes…?”

“Yeah. It seems pretty clear he’s interested in you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have touched you so much.”

Adeline tilted her head.

“But Jihyuk said he’s just the type to take care of people. The touching was because I asked him to…”

“I’m talking about yesterday and today. What he said yesterday, and how he removed the tissue from your hand today… That’s definitely showing interest.”

“Is that so…?”

“It’s just my personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. I don’t know much about relationships. I’ve never even felt anything sweet, let alone been in love.”

“Same here.”

Silvia slowly shook her head.

Then she smirked.

“But you got so mad because Jihyuk got to you, huh?”

“I-I was just really flustered at the time…”

“You still look flustered. Should we eat? The spaghetti’s getting cold.”

“Wait! Do you have any more advice? Like how I should act around Jihyuk from now on…”

“That’s for you to decide. If you follow my advice and end up with a result you don’t want, what then? You need to think and decide for yourself. You’re an adult, after all.”

“R-Right… I’m an adult…”

Adeline stabbed the center of the carbonara with her fork.

She twirled the pasta and took a big bite, savoring the salty, savory flavor that spread in her mouth.

“It’s so good…!”

“Glad you like it. And you’ve got cream around your mouth.”

“I’ll wipe it after I finish. It’ll just get messy again.”

“Go ahead.”

Silvia shrugged and started eating her carbonara too.

Adeline chatted with Silvia as they finished their meal, wiped her mouth carefully, and then went to her room and flopped onto the bed.

She patted her slightly bulging stomach and reached for her phone to play a game, but then paused.

She couldn’t stop thinking about how flustered Jihyuk had been earlier.

Silvia said Jihyuk was showing interest in her, but she also warned Adeline not to take it too seriously since Silvia had no experience with romance.

She also advised Adeline to think and decide for herself.

But Adeline was scared. What if her decision led to a big consequence?

‘What should I do…?’

After staring at the ceiling for a long time, deep in thought, Adeline decided she needed to talk to Jihyuk directly.

First, she needed to confirm things clearly.

She quickly sent him a message.

[Jihyuk! Let’s have class tomorrow! ๑•‿•๑]

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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