Chapter 33: Ideal Type?

 

“Huh?”

 

Eun-ha was staring at me with wide eyes.

 

I thought it would be an appropriate question given the atmosphere, but maybe I jumped the gun too quickly.

 

Well, her side was the one who had already asked me first, so I shouldn’t worry too much.

 

“Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

 

“Hm? Seems like a reasonable thing to wonder. If it’s a difficult question, how about another one? What kind of guy do you like, Eun-ha?”

 

“Wha—?! What kind of guy do I like?! That’s basically the same context!”

 

“Well, I thought you might have an ideal type in mind.”

 

“Uh... well... you see...”

 

Look at her, stumbling over her words.

 

She was so cute, I even wanted to bite her.

 

“Someone who’s very kind?”

 

“Isn’t that a bit too vague?”

 

“Uh... then someone with manners!”

 

“Uh-huh. What about appearance?”

 

“Ap-appearance?! Uh... I don’t really care that much...”

 

Eun-ha subtly avoided my gaze. She was so adorable that I couldn’t help but tease her.

 

“Come on~ You must have thought about it at least once.”

 

“So what kind of girl do you like?”

 

“Me? Hmm. If I tell you in detail, will you also tell me in detail?”

 

Eun-ha seemed to contemplate my proposal for a moment.

 

Still, in the end, she nodded and looked directly at my face.

 

“Alright. I’ll be specific, too. You go first.”

 

“Where should I start? I did say it’s vague, but I also like kind girls.”

 

“Mm-hmm. Anything else?”

 

Eun-ha nodded vigorously.

 

“It might be a cliché, but I’d like someone whose smile is pretty.”

 

“What do you mean by ‘a pretty smile’? You’re even more vague than me.”

 

“Hm— I’ll explain in detail if you give me a little smile?”

 

“How can I just smile on command... Make me laugh.”

 

Eun-ha looked at me with a puzzled expression.

 

If it was so easy to be funny just because someone told me to be, I would have been called witty by now

 

“If there’s anything I can do, I’ll try it.”

 

“Hmm, then poke your left cheek with your index finger.”

 

Not a difficult task at all.

 

Without hesitation, I poked my left cheek with my left hand. I was utterly expressionless, but Eun-ha cracked a half-smile.

 

“Pfft-! You actually did it?!”

 

“Eun-ha, go look in the mirror with that exact expression.”

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

“Because your ‘smile is pretty’~”

 

As soon as I finished speaking, the smile disappeared from Eun-ha’s face. Her cheeks gradually turned red, and she walloped me with a cushion lying on the sofa.

 

“Agh! Why did you suddenly hit me?”

 

“When I think about it, you’re always teasing me whenever you get the chance! You had it coming!”

 

So Eun-ha was the type to resort to violence when she was embarrassed.

 

Well, it was not like it hurt that much, but I couldn’t keep taking hits. I swiftly grabbed her wrist as she swung her arm forcefully towards me. However, this action caused her to stumble towards me.

 

“Huh?”

 

With a light thud, Eun-ha fell into my arms, and I caught her head instinctively.

 

It was an unexpected accident, but Eun-ha’s face was buried in my chest.

 

For a fleeting moment, I noticed that her hair smelled of the same shampoo I used. It was a scent that made me want to gently hold her head, which was buried against my chest.

 

One second, two seconds... Eun-ha showed no signs of moving away from me.

 

It seemed like she was keenly feeling the rhythm of my heartbeat.

 

“Eun-ha... maybe you should get up now—”

 

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

 

“Agh! You scared me!”

 

Eun-ha screamed and pulled away from me, retreating to the edge of the sofa and bowing deeply in apology.

 

“Sorry, sorry! I was just so startled! I apologize! Did I make you uncomfortable?!”

 

“There’s no need to bow like that! Calm down! If anything, it was better!”

 

Eun-ha lifted her head in surprise, only to immediately bow down again when she caught sight of her flushed face. I wanted to pat her disheveled hair which seemed to express her embarrassment. Figuring she wouldn’t be mad, I cautiously reached out.

 

My hand lightly touched the top of Eun-ha’s head. She flinched slightly but didn’t lift her head, so I gently stroked her hair. Her strands were incredibly soft, just as I had always imagined I’d find them if I ever got the chance to touch them.

 

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s fine. Lift your head up.”

 

Only after I said that did Eun-ha slowly lift her head. She pulled at her own hair as if desperately trying to hide her expression, then glared at me, muttering.

 

“Pervert.”

 

“Pe, pervert?!”

 

“You’re randomly stroking a girl’s hair. That’s creepy!”

 

“Well, if you ask whether I’m innocent or creepy, I’d say I’m definitely on the creepy side.”

 

“Whaaat?! It was a joke!”

 

“So was mine—ouch!”

 

Eun-ha threw a cushion at my face. Her reflexes were top-notch. She’d be good at video games. And yet, the way she threw it so cautiously, worried that I might get hurt, was incredibly cute.

 

“That’s unfair! I want to stroke your hair too.”

 

“No, no. It’ll mess up my hair.”

 

“Like you care. You barely do anything to it anyway.”

 

“Sometimes, Eun-ha, your logic leaves me speechless.”

 

“I’m generally quite rational! It’s just that you keep teasing me all the time!”

 

“Exactly. Your reactions are just too entertaining for me to stop.”

 

“Ugh! Enough with the sweet talk, just let me touch your hair!”

 

Eun-ha was still hiding her expression behind her hair. I could have simply let her touch my hair, but I wanted to tease her a little more.

 

“Then shouldn’t I get a hug from Eun-ha~?”

 

“That—that was an accident!”

 

“Just because it was an accident doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, right?”

 

Eun-ha glared at me even more icily. Fair enough, maybe pushing it that far was a stretch.

 

“Do you want a hug...?”

 

“What?”

 

“Do you want to hug?”

 

“Uh?”

 

I looked at Eun-ha, thoroughly flustered.

 

What’s going on? Would she actually let me hug her if I said I wanted to? Is that even okay when we’re the only ones here?

 

Isn’t physical contact usually off-limits in a flirty but not officially dating relationship?

 

With those thoughts lingering, I looked at Eun-ha. But then she slowly let go of her hair and spoke to me.

 

“I was joking too...!”

 

“Huh?”

 

“It was a joke! You started it with your joke!”

 

“Ah, I see. So you can dish it out too, Eun-ha...haha.”

 

A joke, she says? With that expression?

 

I felt like she would’ve let me hug her if I’d actually said I wanted to. Did I miss my chance? Now I was filled with regret.

 

Just when I thought the atmosphere was becoming a bit awkward, I heard the laundry machine’s end cycle sound.

 

“Ah? Looks like the laundry is done.”

 

“I’ll go take care of it. It has a dryer, can I use the quick-dry setting?”

 

“Yeah, sure. You can handle it alone?”

 

“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

 

I rushed into the utility room as if fleeing the scene.

 

I promptly took out the laundry and stuffed it into the dryer. After setting it to quick-dry, I just slumped down.

 

My heart felt like it had taken a beating. Eun-ha was more of a wildcard than I’d expected. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down going forward.

 

“It’ll take 25 minutes,” I said as I emerged from the utility room.

 

“Yeah, even on quick-dry, it takes some time.”

 

“Do you do a lot of chores at home, Eun-ha?”

 

“Mhm, my mom and dad are usually busy and not home.”

 

“Don’t you get lonely?”

 

“Hmm... I can’t say I don’t, but it’s okay.”

 

Seeing Eun-ha sitting alone on the living room sofa tugged at my heartstrings. I wasn’t sure whether to describe it as endearing or something I wanted to protect. All I knew was that I didn’t want Eun-ha to be lonely by herself.

 

“So... we never did get to watch TV, huh? Haha.”

 

“Ah, but didn’t you not tell me what type of guy you like, Eun-ha?”

 

“I did tell you. I like someone who’s kind and polite. You didn’t get specific either.”

 

“But I did say I like girls who have a pretty smile. At least tell me something similar, won’t you?”

 

“Are you that curious?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Eun-ha got up from the sofa and walked over to me. She then raised her hand to the top of her head and extended it horizontally in front of her.

 

“Hmm— I would like a guy who is taller than me.”

 

“Well, I’m certainly taller than you.”

 

“Is that so? Does that make you my ideal type, then?”

 

Eun-ha looked up at me with a radiant smile.

 

Lately, Eun-ha seemed to be growing more assertive.

 

What’s gotten into her?

 

“Han-gyeol.”

 

“Yeah? What’s up?”

 

“I like guys who are considerate and well-mannered.”

 

“Got it.”

 

“Got it?”

 

“Yeah, got it.”

 

“What are you going to do now that you know?”

 

Eun-ha seemed to be thoroughly enjoying teasing me. I couldn’t meet her eyes directly as she leaned back, tilting her head side to side with a playful expression.

 

I lightly flicked Eun-ha’s forehead with my finger.

 

“Ugh— what are you doing?”

 

“You were teasing too much.”

 

“Tit for tat. Your turn, Han-gyeol.”

 

“Haha, alright.”

 

I exposed my forehead to Eun-ha, ready for my own flick. But she clenched her teeth and tensed her fingers, visibly applying force.

 

“Eun-ha—! I went easy on you!”

 

“There’s no such thing as ‘easy’ in a flicking game! One flick deserves another!”

--- The End OF The Chapter ---

 

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