Chapter 137. Public(?) Relationship
Chapter 137. Public(?) Relationship
'...!'
My breath caught.
Laila had worn all sorts of outfits before—little events whenever we made love.
But this time was different.
"Fufu... how do I look?"
"..."
She held a lock of hair in each hand, a playful look on her face.
"I'm Santa, come to give a present to my good Hero?"
Just her usual hairstyle, parted to either side.
Simple, but...
A wild urge to tease her mercilessly surged up from somewhere deep inside me.
"Hero~"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Do pigtails suit me?"
I wanted to torment her like crazy.
But that wasn't something I could say out loud.
"Mmm... I guess I don't need an answer."
Laila's gaze slid down to my lower half, sticky and lingering.
"Just a moment..."
Laila pulled out two red ribbons, held one in her mouth, and began tying her hair up with the other.
Even while doing it, her eyes kept flicking toward me in blatant temptation.
It was like she was telegraphing, 'Can you really hold back?'
"Hehe... nicely tied?"
Twin tails tied into neat ribbon bows.
She walked over to me and spread her arms wide.
And in a teasing voice, she said,
"Hero, Merry Christmas~ Your present is me?"
"...I can do whatever I want with it, right?"
"It's a present... so it's up to the receiver, isn't it?"
Her eyes slid softly shut as her lips drew near.
─ Smack...♥
---
The suite room on the hotel's top floor.
Warm rays of light gently illuminated the sofa, the table, and the clothes and decorations scattered messily across the floor.
'Laila was still asleep...'
Laila was still lost in slumber, tucked inside the cozy blankets.
Azure locks of hair cascaded down over her fair, delicate shoulders.
I carefully rose from bed, making sure not to wake her.
'I won... I actually won...!'
Looking around at the disheveled room, the conversation from last night with Laila came back to me.
- Laila, you can do whatever you want with a present, right?
- Fufu, I said you can do as you please?
- Then... don't use your holy power. I want to tease you until I've had my fill.
At that reply, Laila hesitated for a moment.
But then she clenched her fists and nodded.
- Well... only for today, okay?
And then I truly and thoroughly made love to her.
I grabbed her twintails and used them in all sorts of ways...
The way she kept losing herself yet smiled coquettishly, still provoking me.
That was definitely a moment the word "adorable" simply couldn't fully capture.
"Kuhuhu... how can she be this pretty."
─ Rustle...
A rustling sound came from under the blankets.
Laila slowly rubbed her eyes and sat up.
With a face still not fully awake, she smiled drowsily.
"This is the first time I've seen you wake up this late, Laila."
"Th-that's because... Hero...! You wouldn't let me go, and kept...!"
Unable to finish her sentence, she pulled the blanket back over herself entirely.
But even the way she burrowed under the covers was unbearably cute.
"Even so, you really, really enjoyed it, didn't you, Laila?"
"D-don't say it...!"
I quietly stepped closer and pressed a short kiss to her forehead.
"Then, I'll go take a quick shower first, okay?"
"Mmhmm..."
I opened the bathroom door and went in.
The warm stream of water poured over my head, slowly washing away the fatigue.
But then, from beyond the showerhead, I heard the quiet sound of the door opening.
─ Creak...
"Hmm?"
Through the faint haze of steam, she stood there, tilting her head with a strange smile.
"Hero."
As I looked at her with a puzzled face, she grinned and continued.
"I believe... you told me not to use holy power only when I was a 'present', right?"
"...Huh? What do you mean by..."
In that instant, a gentle light spread across Laila's body.
Her body cleansed itself, returning to a refreshed state as it usually did.
'...??'
She walked confidently toward me and knelt down right in front of me.
Her eyes sparkled with a playful golden light.
"Right now... it's not a 'present', it's lovemaking between lovers, isn't it?"
─ Mwah♥
'Huh...?'
Laila took hold of something and pressed her lips lightly to it.
She looked up at me from below and smiled.
I... smiled back.
---
We barely made it on time, stretching the checkout time to its absolute limit.
This morning, just past Christmas, the hotel was still filled with a sweet afterglow.
Sparkling ornaments decorated every corner, and soft carols drifted through the air.
"I'll handle the checkout, so Hero, you rest for a moment♥"
"Yeah..."
I watched Laila head to the front desk, then flopped down onto a sofa in the lobby.
And then my eyes happened to drift to the couples around us.
'Everyone really gave it their all...'
The men.
Every single one of them looked haggard.
Rough, dull skin, dark circles, shoulders slumping with a subtle lack of energy.
"Hoon, last night was really amazing..."
And the women, in contrast?
Smooth, glowing skin, glossy hair, smiles overflowing with vitality.
One of them was even clinging to her man's arm with a completely refreshed expression.
The men looked at each other with somewhat vacant eyes.
And without a single word, they nodded.
A strange sense of kinship.
It was the gaze of war comrades who had survived the same battlefield, silently understanding everything.
'You all worked hard...'
At that moment, Laila came back after finishing the checkout.
"Hmm? Hero, are they acquaintances of yours?"
She tilted her head and asked innocently.
"No, I just... felt like they were comrades."
"Huh?"
Laila had a face that didn't quite understand what I meant.
But soon she smiled brightly and linked her arm with mine.
"Hero, shall we go back? To our home?"
I smiled at the way she subtly emphasized 'our home'.
"Yeah. Let's head back to our home."
At my reply, she beamed radiantly and squeezed my arm even tighter.
We headed to the parking lot clinging to each other like that.
The moment we arrived home, she immediately put on an apron and began preparing lunch.
"I prepared a hearty meal for my wonderful husband who's worked so hard~♥"
---
[ Author: Anonymous ]
[ Title: So when is this bastard coming back? ]
[ Content: (Break Notice) Bored as hell, you fuck ]
└ They're a couple, let them have some fun on Christmas, you dick
└ OP: But I was not a couple?
└ You're not the only one lol
└ I was not one either, you bitch
A Christmas break.
Song Hoon's streams were the type that brought one incident after another just when things grew boring.
It was only a one-day break, but his viewers waited for him desperately.
[ Author: Anonymous ]
[ Title: By the way, when are these two going public with their relationship? ]
[ Content: With a Christmas break, it's pretty undeniable, but I'm curious when the official announcement will drop lolol ]
└ I was curious too lolol
└ But honestly, even if they said, "We're dating!", people would just be like, whatever
└ Anyone but the Saintess, you bastard!!!! T_T
└ Who the hell were you? lololol
└ Chae-hyun, since you're the manager, explain this shit!!!
└ Saintess's Foot Wiper: Why were you taking it out on me, seriously. I was fucking pissed off too
└ ? You like Hero too?
└ Saintess's Foot Wiper: I want to hang out with big sis too...
While they were all chattering about Song Hoon.
[ Author: Anonymous ]
[ Title: Stream's on, let's go ]
[ Content: (Stream picture) Let's go, you viewers shameless enough to be shown anywhere, let's go ]
---
[ World's Strongest Hero : hihi ]
[Thought I was gonna freeze to death!! You bastard!!]
[The stream title is still cheeky as hell lolololol]
Whenever I turn on a stream after a break, the reaction was always fiery.
"Did everyone have a good Christmas? Did you have meals with your family, or date nights?"
[ Overflowing Holy-Power Pouch has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- You son of a bitch, isn't it polite to ask if someone IS a couple first?
"..."
A donation full of pent-up fury.
I was speechless for a moment.
"O-oh, well... did you have a meal with your family, then?"
[ Overflowing Holy-Power Pouch has donated 5,000 Watts! ]
- I live alone in a different city?
"Oh, man..."
[Lmao lol]
[Murasaki lol]
[Cut the bitching!!!]
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- big sis T_T_T_T I missed you so much
[big sis, what the fuck lololol]
[Chae-hyun, seriously, stop letting your feelings leak out everywhere!!!]
[Get this mod's circlejerking out of here!!!]
[The mod is her, though?]
[Ah]
Today, the day after Christmas.
"Hey, you, do you not have a job?"
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper : ... ]
The usual WWE.
I often hear news that Lee Chae-hyun was working hard.
It was just something I threw out there.
"Just kidding... Today is..."
That's when one chat message caught my eye.
[So are you two dating or what?]
"Right. I'm about to make a pretty important announcement..."
A famous streamer by name.
The Unknown Hunter.
An important announcement spoken by someone like me.
The chat was being spammed with goosebumps emojis.
─ Tightly...
Under the camera, I intertwined my fingers with Laila's and cautiously raised them up.
"Actually, we have been dating... Um... I should have told you all sooner, I'm sorry."
No matter how nonchalant I act, I was a streamer who broadcasts.
Because hiding something that's genuinely true was different from hiding something that isn't.
"Well, I'm sure some of you might be disappointed..."
But contrary to my worries, the chat was its usual self.
There wasn't anyone particularly angry or disappointed.
[Oh fuck, who didn't know that]
[Workplace dating trait) Even the copy machine knows lolololol]
[The Saintess's expression is fucking killer lolololol]
[Started streaming together, live together, spent Christmas together]
"..."
I looked at Laila's expression, and she wasn't nervous at all.
She was just looking at the camera with her usual smile.
"Fufu, anyway, that's how it happened, so please give us lots of support~"
"...?"
And here I thought I had been hiding it perfectly?