Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 260
Chapter Title: Date (2)
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"Time flies when you're having fun," as they say.
We went to an arcade, bought silly headbands, and laughed and chatted until, before we knew it, the sun had set.
The amusement park, now cloaked in darkness, twinkled with beautiful lights, like stars embroidered on the night sky.
“Haaah.”
Isabella, gazing at the sparkling park with a dreamy look in her eyes, let out a short sigh.
“It's... almost time to go back.”
A bittersweet smile on her face, Isabella tapped the ground with the tip of her shoe, clearly reluctant to leave.
We'd been so caught up in the fun that the park's closing time had snuck up on us.
“I had so much fun today, Oh-jin.”
Isabella turned to Oh-jin with a bright smile.
“...”
Gazing at her beautiful smile, which seemed to illuminate everything around her, Oh-jin pressed his lips together.
His eyes were filled with conflict.
With a short sigh, Oh-jin took her hand and pulled her along.
“We still have thirty minutes. Let's go on one last ride.”
“Huh?”
Isabella stared at Oh-jin, her eyes wide.
Without waiting for her answer, Oh-jin headed toward the outdoor section of the park.
He was heading for the Ferris wheel, an indispensable staple of any amusement park date.
“Oh, the Ferris wheel?”
Even Isabella, who had never been to an amusement park before, seemed to know what it was, nodding with a bashful smile.
“Hehe. I didn't know you had such a romantic side, Oh-jin.”
She gently rested her head on his shoulder as she held his arm.
Oh-jin looked at Isabella, her head resting on his shoulder, with a complicated expression.
The words he should have told her since the start of their date—no, perhaps even long before that.
It was time to face the things he'd been avoiding, the things he'd pretended not to see.
“The Ferris wheel is now departing~!”
The Ferris wheel started moving with the attendant's cheerful shout.
The night sky was draped in darkness.
A river of starlight flowed across the land below, as if the sky had been turned upside down.
“...It's beautiful.”
Isabella said in a dreamy voice, looking down at the beautiful lights beyond the window.
“...”
“Oh-jin?”
“Isabella.”
Oh-jin, who had been wrestling with his thoughts in silence, finally spoke in a low voice.
“You already know this, but I'm dating Ha-eun.”
He was enjoying this date with her only because Ha-eun had given her permission.
Normally, he wasn't in a position to be on a carefree date with her.
“I'll figure out a way to get the thirty billion. So, from now on...”
“...You're saying it'll be difficult for us to go on dates alone, aren't you?”
Isabella nodded with a faint smile.
She had known from the very beginning.
No matter how much love she sent his way, his heart would always belong to Ha-eun.
There was never any room for her to squeeze in between them.
But.
But.
But.
“Is it... really impossible?”
Isabella's shoulders trembled.
She gazed at Oh-jin with tear-filled eyes.
“Isabella?”
“Is there no space left in your heart for me?”
She carefully reached out and placed her hand gently on his chest.
A warm touch.
The sensation was like a feather tickling him, and Oh-jin flinched involuntarily.
“...Isabella.”
“I know that Ha-eun will always be first for you.”
When he saved her and was trapped in the Devil's Nest.
Isabella had resolved to become his number one.
But that firm resolve lasted only a moment.
No matter how blatantly she tried to seduce him, his gaze was always fixed on Ha-eun.
Right.
It had been impossible from the start.
Becoming his number one.
“It's okay if you don't date me.”
*Drip, drip.*
Clear tears streamed down her cheeks.
“It's okay if you don't hold me, or kiss me.”
She pulled on his arm, as if pleading.
“Can't you just... allow me to be by your side?”
“...”
Oh-jin's expression hardened.
Who was he to make her feel this miserable?
“Isabella, you could find someone much better...”
“I don't need anyone else!”
She cried out as if wailing.
“The only hope I have left... is you, Oh-jin.”
It had to be him.
She couldn't live without him anymore.
That day.
When she heard his sweet lie in the collapsed mansion.
When the seed of hope named 'Oh-jin' sprouted in her heart, which had been as dry and withered as hay.
She had already fallen for him, irreversibly.
“...”
Oh-jin watched the crying Isabella, his lips sealed shut.
*Throb, throb.*
A corner of his heart ached as if being pierced by a sharp needle.
Hadn't she asked if there was a place for her in his heart?
It was an ironic question.
Because Isabella's presence had already firmly taken a place in his heart.
‘I...’
What should I do?
How can she, Ha-eun, and I all be happy?
-*It's still common for Italian nobles to have more than one wife.*
For a moment, Roberto's words flashed through his mind.
Oh-jin let out a dry laugh and shook his head.
It was a ridiculous thought.
Even if he was okay with it, there was no way Ha-eun would be.
Think about it the other way around.
If Ha-eun said she wanted two husbands, could he accept that?
‘Absolutely not.’
Yet here he was, thinking about having two lovers for himself.
It was an incredibly selfish thought.
“H-Ha-eun said she was okay with it.”
“What?”
Oh-jin's eyes widened at Isabella's words.
Isabella blushed and clutched the hem of her clothes.
“Back when you were trapped in the Devil's Nest... I asked her. If it was okay for me to like you.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she would follow your decision.”
“...”
My decision.
Oh-jin looked at Isabella with trembling eyes.
“What about... your heart, Oh-jin?”
Isabella looked at him, her eyes filled with tension.
She gently tugged on his clothes and continued in a tearful voice.
“Am I... not allowed to be by your side?”
His head felt like it was burning.
The throbbing pain in his heart spread throughout his body.
Where his heart was leading him.
His honest feelings were.
“I don't want to let either of you go.”
Call him selfish.
He didn't care if they called him shameless trash.
Ha-eun and Isabella.
He didn't want to let go of either of them.
He wanted to hold them both in his hands.
“That's how I honestly feel.”
“O-Oh-jin...”
Isabella trembled, looking at Oh-jin.
It was hard to contain the overwhelming emotions.
Just as Isabella stood up to embrace Oh-jin.
“But.”
Oh-jin shook his head, stopping her.
He had revealed his honest feelings, but.
“I have to talk to Ha-eun first.”
Even if she said she'd follow his decision, it wasn't something he could decide without consulting her.
Just as his feelings were important, so were Ha-eun's.
If Ha-eun rejected a relationship with Isabella, he would have no choice but to turn Isabella down, no matter how much he wanted both of them.
“...I understand, Oh-jin.”
Isabella sat back down and nodded.
“I'll talk to Ha-eun.”
“I should be the one to...”
“No. I'm the one coming between you and Ha-eun.”
Isabella shook her head with a faint smile.
She didn't know yet whether Ha-eun would give her permission or not, but.
“For now... just knowing how you feel is enough.”
Isabella smiled her most lovely smile and took Oh-jin's hand.
The mere thought that there was a place for her in his heart made her own heart pound as if it would burst.
‘Come to think of it, this is rather strange.’
To feel this happy just because a man who already has a girlfriend told me he likes me too.
If it were happening to someone else, she would have scoffed at how pathetic it was.
“Hehe.”
But what could she do?
Whether she was first or second.
He'd said he didn't want to let her go.
Isabella couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning up, her shoulders hitching with suppressed laughter.
“...”
This is cheating.
Oh-jin muttered to himself as he moved closer to Isabella.
“Oh-jin...?”
He gently took her chin, her eyes widening, and pressed his lips to hers.
“Mmph!”
The breath from her nose tickled his lips.
She froze, her eyes darting around, not knowing what to do.
But that only lasted a moment.
“Hahmm...”
Isabella wrapped her arms around Oh-jin's back and carefully slipped her tongue between his lips, like a sparrow pecking at seeds.
Just as the sweet kiss was deepening.
*-Thunk!*
The Ferris wheel came to a stop.
“Ah...”
Isabella let out a sigh full of regret and looked at Oh-jin.
“Ahem. L-Let's get going. It must be closing time.”
Oh-jin stood up, his face flushed.
Isabella followed him, her head bowed as if to hide her own red face.
Was it because it was nearly closing time?
There was no one else around.
“Um... O-Oh-jin.”
Isabella carefully tugged on the hem of Oh-jin's clothes as he walked ahead.
“Yeah?”
“Th-There's no one around.”
Isabella glanced at Oh-jin and scurried over to his side.
“Before we leave... p-please kiss me one more time.”
Isabella stood on her tiptoes and squeezed her eyes shut.
“...”
How could he possibly resist such a devilish temptation?
Oh-jin swallowed hard and gently pulled Isabella in by her waist.
Just as the distance between them closed to a fist's width, just as their lips were about to meet.
*-Slither, slither.*
As if.
An eerie sound, like a snake moving, echoed through the air.
“So... here you are.”
A low, sunken voice.
Oh-jin turned his head at the sound of the voice, which echoed dreamily, as if drunk.
The empty amusement park.
From the dark shadows, a woman in a black dress staggered out.
“I was looking for you.”
Her walk was stiff, like a broken wooden doll.
Cassia stared intently at Oh-jin with lifeless eyes.
Flicking a long, snake-like tongue, Cassia radiated a suffocating killing intent.
“Why are you...”
Why was Cassia, who should be in South America dealing with the Musca faction, suddenly here at an amusement park?
And.
‘That's...’
Oh-jin's eyes fixed on Cassia's forehead.
In the center of her forehead, a black gem the size of a thumb was embedded in her flesh.
It was a gem he had never seen before.
“...Ah.”
Oh-jin wasn't the only one who was surprised.
Isabella's eyes shot wide open when she saw the staggering Cassia.
“Cassia... sister?”
She looked on with disbelief.
Staring at her own sister, who had gone missing ten years ago.