Chapter 76
Chapter 76
Date? Date! - 3
****
“….”
“….”
-Munch munch.
-Nom nom chomp chomp.
-Rustle, clink.
Underneath the music, which felt unusually sweet today, Tae-jin and Renia ate their hamburgers in silence.
The sound of unwrapping the burgers, the chewing sounds escaping their closed lips, the clinking of the drink cups…
Only sounds other than their voices filled the air.
An awkward yet comfortable atmosphere.
A stiff yet soft tension.
A ballad playing at just the right moment enveloped them, keeping any intruders at bay.
As the surrounding noise faded and the presence of others receded, a silence descended, just for the two of them.
“…Is it good?”
Renia asked shyly.
It was the first time she felt this flutter in her chest, a sensation like being tickled all over with a blade of grass.
Tae-jin replied with a playful smile.
“Yeah. It’s the best hamburger I’ve ever had.”
It was the same menu as always.
The same hamburger they always ordered for delivery.
But Tae-jin said today’s was the best, and Renia knew what he meant, but…
“Oh, well, maybe it’s because… we’re eating it at the restaurant… Freshly made… straight from the source…?”
She pretended not to know, deflecting his words.
She was just embarrassed.
Embarrassed that she understood his meaning, and embarrassed that she couldn’t hide her smile.
And she was teasing him back, annoyed that he was playfully trying to peek into her heart.
“Is that so?”
Tae-jin chuckled and took a big bite of his hamburger.
He found Renia, pretending not to know even though he had seen through her, quite cute.
“Then, that must be it. Today’s a good day. Let’s finish eating quickly and go on more rides…!”
Renia nibbled on her hamburger, taking tiny bites.
Normally, she would have taken large bites, but not today.
She didn’t want to blemish this perfect day. From the moment they left for Neverland, every ride, even the familiar hamburger, had been perfect.
If someone asked her to pinpoint exactly why this day felt so perfect, she would have been speechless, but strangely, it was just a continuous string of perfect moments.
She, who hated waiting, enjoyed standing in line with Tae-jin, their bodies leaning close together.
Sometimes, the wait was even more enjoyable than the rides themselves.
It was a magical day that made even the things she disliked enjoyable.
And knowing who was casting this magic made Renia happy.
As a summon, she had always been the one casting magic for her masters.
The beginning of this summoning was no different.
She had used her sincerity, effort, and loyalty as ingredients to cast magic for her master, Han Tae-jin.
But at some point, things began to change.
He began to cast his own magic.
He suggested they drop the honorifics, asked to call him by his name, and encouraged her to act and think freely.
Unlike her previous masters, who enjoyed being served, he chose respect over servitude and insisted on equality instead of subservience.
At first, she was taken aback.
It was the first time someone had insisted on equality with her.
And that bewilderment turned into a fresh shock and a flutter of excitement.
All sentient beings desired to be treated well and respected, to boost their self-esteem and feel superior.
But Tae-jin was different.
He treated her, a being summoned to serve and respect him, with respect and kindness.
That made Renia curious about him.
At first, she was curious about his mission of [Salvation], but now she was curious about [Han Tae-jin] himself.
And that curiosity gradually turned into affection, and once rooted, that affection blossomed endlessly in her innocent heart, like fluffy clouds.
Being with him made her feel shy, and meeting his gaze made her involuntarily look away.
And strangely, her heart would pound.
This flutter in her chest was a new sensation.
Even though she avoided his gaze, she couldn’t help but look at him.
It was an addictive pull.
And that pull gradually turned into desire.
She wanted to hug him, kiss him again like they had before, and even fall asleep beside him.
These were desires she wouldn't have dared to entertain if they were in a master-servant relationship, but because they weren't, these desires bloomed.
But soon, Renia became depressed.
The more she was drawn to him, the more her desires grew, the closer their inevitable parting felt, even though it hadn’t arrived yet.
She was a being who had to return to Drogfia eventually.
She would have to return to her planet, whose distance from Earth was unknown, and wait indefinitely for her next summoning.
Even if she were summoned to Earth by another master, she couldn't seek out her previous master, because it was forbidden.
In other words, once this summoning mission was over, it would be a permanent farewell.
So, she had no choice but to continuously suppress the budding feelings in her heart.
A cruel fate, a harsh destiny.
Blaming fate, she had to tear down the bridge of their impossible relationship herself.
What choice did she have?
It was an unavoidable fate, and it was her mission for her planet Drogfia and the Succubus clan.
However, she desired to conceive a child who could inherit her unspoken feelings and through whom she could remember him.
To have intercourse with him through shared dreams and receive his seed.
Once her summoning mission was over and the countdown for her return began, she could secretly enter his dreams while he slept, receive his seed, and return the next day.
Everyone did it.
She was certain that Tae-jin, a being superior to any master or human she had ever met, would provide excellent seed.
But she didn’t want to do that to him.
She didn’t want to sneak away like a thief after secretly taking part in what would be their first shared dream and intercourse, conceive his child, and run away.
This was also a desire.
To have a shared dream after telling him about it, their relationship would have to progress further.
Her heart was complicated.
Two conflicting desires and sadness clashed and intertwined, making her already complex feelings even more tangled.
The desire to have him, and the sadness of not being able to.
The desire to receive his seed, and the sadness she would feel afterward.
The two desires and two sorrows were in a stalemate, unable to carve a path, and Renia, unable to choose, could only vaguely hope that time would provide a solution, that a way would eventually appear.
She hoped the magical days she was experiencing wouldn’t end.
And that magic…
…just cast another spell and stirred up her heart.
“I liked everything today.”
“The beautiful weather.”
“The thrilling rides.”
“The delicious cotton candy.”
“And even this moment, waiting for our hamburgers.”
Tae-jin’s words affirmed that her happiness wasn’t an illusion or a magic trick, but something real.
And finally,
“You too.”
As Tae-jin confessed and looked at her, the magic momentarily dissipated, and her tumultuous heart calmed and cooled like a snowfield after a blizzard.
Her heart stilled.
Her mind cleared.
And in that clarity, she realized.
How foolish she had been.
How foolish she had been to fan the flames of her futile desires and fret over needless fears without even knowing if Tae-jin liked her.
And…
How foolish it was to be paralyzed by fear and not even try.
Tae-jin’s words, “You too,” made her realize this.
Her needlessly complicated feelings vanished, and a single path opened up in her mind.
Renia smiled.
At the end of that path, she saw Tae-jin.
All her conflicting thoughts disappeared, and a single word surfaced in her mind.
And Renia, instinctively, blurted out that word.
Without a second thought.
“I like you too.”
By the time she realized she should have thought it through, it was too late.
Renia’s heart fluttered again.
But this time, it was a different kind of fluttering.
Closer to trembling.
“Ah, um, w-well, I mean, master..no, Tae-jin… I like you… as a person… I, I mean…”
A moment later, Renia fell into a coma-like state, unable to even remember what the hamburger tasted like.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“I like you too.”
A silence followed her confession.
But it was a pleasant, heart-fluttering silence.
Renia’s face was so red, a passing apple farmer might have reached out to pick her, exclaiming, ‘Now that’s a ripe one!’
If she looked in a mirror, she wouldn’t just see red…she’d see a face about to explode.
Renia shyly lifted her head.
Even though her face was crimson, she didn't avoid his gaze any longer.
“Do… you have any wishes?”
Renia asked.
As Tae-jin thought about a wish, Renia spoke in an almost apologetic tone, quickly spilling excuses.
“I mean, um, thank you so much for bringing me to the amusement park today, so, I wanted to repay you somehow… I mean, not as a summon, but as a woman—No…! I mean, I just wanted to do something nice for you, because I’m so grateful. Today was really wonderful.”
If it was repayment from a summon to her master, he might have refused, but if it was simply an expression of gratitude, there was no reason to decline.
After a moment of thought, he made a simple request.
“Kiss me.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[T/N: let’s fucking goo……..]