Date Me! - Chapter 15

“Hello?”

Ina, holding two bags of twisted donuts in her hands, greeted Juhee’s mother.

“Oh. Right. Ina, you’re here?”

“Yes.”

“Juhee is taking a shower right now, do you want to go wait in her room?”

“Sure. Oh, I bought some twisted donuts, please have some.”

As Ina held out one of the donut bags, Juhee’s mother smiled and peeked inside the bag.

“You bought a lot.”

“Yes. This place has really delicious ones. Please try them.”

“Alright. I’ll enjoy them. Thank you.”

Juhee’s mother placed the donut bag on the dining table.

“Stay and have dinner before you go, okay?”

“Yes! You know I absolutely love the food at this house, right? Hehehe.”

Juhee’s mother smiled, looking at Ina who was grinning like a mischievous child.

Imagining the delicious dinner, Ina hummed a tune as she went up to the second floor.

As she took out a twisted donut from the bag and headed towards Juhee’s room, she heard a noise coming from Juwon’s room across the hall.

“Huh? What’s that sound?”

Drawn by the sound, Ina walked to the front of Juwon’s room, and the noise became louder.

Putting her ear to the door, she heard bizarre monster-like sounds along with people screaming.

With widened eyes, Ina pressed her ear even closer to the door to listen, and her curiosity got the better of her as she knocked.

But it seemed like he couldn’t hear her, and only the screaming sounds continued to come out.

Being a horror movie maniac, Ina realized Juwon was watching a horror film and knocked a bit louder, driven by curiosity.

After a moment, the screaming stopped, and the door suddenly swung open.

Juwon looked down at the unwelcome guest at his door, frowning.

“What?”

Faced with Juwon’s chilly expression, Ina waved her hand and smiled awkwardly.

“Hehe. Hi? Handsome Juwon?”

Instead of answering, Juwon frowned and stared down at Ina.

His eyes seemed to say, ‘How dare someone like you interrupt my personal time?’

Ina flinched for a moment but stuck her head out, trying to peek inside Juwon’s room due to her unresolved curiosity.

However, with Juwon’s tall stature firmly blocking the way, it wasn’t easy to see inside.

“What do you want?”

Juwon asked, not relaxing his furrowed brows.

“Huh? Well… I heard something really fun coming from your room, so…”

“Something fun?”

Juwon said, narrowing his eyes.

“Yeah. I got the feeling you were watching an exciting horror movie.”

Juwon looked down at Ina with a ‘can you believe this?’ expression before opening his mouth.

“So what?”

“Huh?”

“So what were you going to say?”

“Oh, well… I was just curious about what you were watching.”

“A zombie flick.”

“A zombie movie?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, really? I love zombie movies too. What are you watching? What’s the title?”

Just then, the bathroom door opened and Juhee came out.

“Oh, Ina. When did you get here?”

Juhee asked, seeing Ina as she came out drying her hair with a towel.

“Me? I just got here.”

“But what were you talking about with Lee Juwon?”

At Juhee’s question, Juwon answered instead.

“Does this look like we’re having a conversation right now?”

“Then what is it?”

“Your friend is unilaterally interrupting my time.”

“Oh, come on.”

As she spoke, Juhee threw the towel, and it happened to land on top of Ina’s head, covering her face.

Juwon scoffed at the sight, and the startled Juhee quickly went over and removed the towel from Ina’s face.

“Are you okay?”

Juhee asked with an apologetic look, and Ina put her nose to Juhee’s hair, sniffing and asking,

“What shampoo do you use? It smells so good.”

“This? It’s a new strawberry scent. Smells nice, right?”

Juwon, who had been looking at Ina, unfolded his arms and said,

“You have a short attention span.”

“Huh?”

As Ina turned her head to look at Juwon, he grabbed the door and said,

“Now go play with Lee Juhee and don’t bother me.”

After the door slammed shut and the sound of locking was heard, Ina showed a crestfallen expression.

“What’s wrong? What were you talking about with Juwon?”

“Huh? Well… It seemed like Juwon was watching something fun in his room, so I was asking about the title.”

“Fun? He only watches gory stuff with blood splattering and people dying.”

“I like that kind of stuff too.”

“What?”

Juhee stared at Ina with wide eyes.

“You like horror movies?”

“Yeah. I’m a total horror movie maniac. Especially zombie films.”

“Wow, what a surprise! Our tastes are completely opposite.”

“You don’t like them?”

“I hate them. I despise blood and scary stuff. I never watch them.”

“Really? Then I guess we won’t be watching horror movies together. But can you ask Juwon later what he’s watching and let me know? Okay?”

“You have quite unusual tastes. Anyway, got it.”

Ina looked at Juwon’s room one more time with a disappointed expression before going to Juhee’s room together.

That night, after returning home, Ina searched for the drama Juhee had told her about at lightning speed and downloaded it.

Then, after making sure her parents were asleep, she lay on her bed, put in her earphones, and watched the drama.

The drama was full of suspenseful scenes from the very first episode and was so engrossing that she couldn’t take her eyes off it for a second.

After watching through the second episode, it was already past midnight.

“Wow, this is totally my style. How am I going to wait until the third episode comes out?”

Lying on her bed, Ina smacked her lips, feeling disappointed that the drama, which completely matched her tastes, was over.

Three days later, on Saturday, Ina, who had planned to study with Juhee, visited Juhee’s house again.

“Do you want to go up first? I’ll bring some drinks and be right up.”

At Juhee’s words, Ina went up to the second floor. As she was about to pass by Juwon’s room, she put her ear to the door just in case.

Hearing no sound from inside, Ina quietly knocked on the door.

After a moment, Juwon opened the door, saw Ina, and asked in a stiff voice,

“What? Again?”

“Hi, Juwon. How have you been?”

“It’s too short of a time to ask if I’ve been well, don’t you think?”

As expected, instead of a friendly greeting, Juwon’s words were biting. Ina lifted a bag full of snacks and smiled.

“I bought a lot of snacks. Want to eat them together?”

“You’ve been coming to our house quite often these days. Are you punching in for work?”

Responding to Juwon’s question with another question, Ina answered with a smile,

“Juhee and I are best friends. And well, I’m also coming to see your handsome face. Hehehe.”

As if he had heard enough, Juwon tried to close the door, but Ina quickly stretched out her foot to block it.

“What are you doing?”

Juwon frowned and looked down at Ina’s small foot blocking the door.

“You know… Juwon… You have a really big, high-end monitor in your room, right?”

“So?”

“By any chance, have you watched the third part of that zombie series?”

“Not yet.”

“Then, can I watch it with you later?”

“Why would I?”

At Juwon’s sharp reply, Ina flinched for a moment but soon smiled again with a ‘hehe’.

“My computer screen is too small, and… I have to watch it with earphones on so my mom doesn’t know, so it’s not as enjoyable. And we haven’t had a chance to become friends, so wouldn’t it be nice to watch a drama together and get closer?”

“Why would I?”

At Juwon’s repetitive answer, as if playing a recorded message, Ina stammered, trying to find something to say. Just then, Juhee, who had come up to the second floor, looked at the two of them.

“Huh? Ina. Why are you talking to Lee Juwon again?”

Juwon glared at Juhee, who spoke as if he were some bad virus.

“I told you before. Your friend is unilaterally interrupting my time.”

“Oh, come on! Are you going to keep talking to my friend like that?”

Juhee walked over with a tray of juice cups, forgetting she was holding it.

As a result, the two wobbling glass cups fell with a loud clatter as if screaming, and a small shard that flew from them grazed Ina’s cheek.

“Ouch!”

As Ina cried out and reached for her cheek at the sudden incident, Juwon grabbed her wrist.

“Oh no! Are you okay?”

The startled Juhee looked at Ina with widened eyes, and Juwon bent down to examine Ina’s cheek.

A small drop of blood had formed on the scratched cheek.

“Oh no! What do I do? It’s bleeding! I don’t know!!”

As Juhee made a scene, shouting enough to make even crows cry, Juwon frowned and said,

“Be quiet and clean this up quickly. It’s dangerous.”

Then, holding Ina’s wrist, Juwon led her to the living room.

Ina, who had been unexpectedly led by Juwon, stood there awkwardly. Juwon told her to sit on the sofa and brought out a first-aid kit.

As Juwon opened the box and took out ointment and cotton swabs, Ina said,

“Um… It just grazed me a little, so I don’t think we need to put medicine on it…”

Instead of answering, Juwon looked at Ina while dipping a cotton swab in the ointment.

“You’re a girl, aren’t you? It’s a wound on your face. And your skin is as white as rice cake, so it really stands out.”

“Rice cake? I like rice cakes…”

Juwon let out a small sigh.

“You really have zero focus, don’t you?”

“Hehe. I hear that often.”

Juwon shook his head and leaned towards Ina, gently rubbing the cotton swab on her cheek.

With Juwon’s face right in front of her, Ina found herself staring at his face without realizing it.

‘Wow. His skin is no joke either. Is he really a middle school boy? How does he not have a single pimple?’

Juwon, who had finished applying the ointment, turned his gaze and looked at Ina, who was staring at him intently.

Their faces were so close that their noses could almost touch, and Ina blinked in surprise.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

As Juwon spoke abruptly, Ina slowly raised her hand and gently stroked Juwon’s jade-like cheek.

At that sudden touch, Juwon’s eyes wavered.

“Your… skin is really nice. How can a boy’s skin be this good? What lotion do you use?”

Despite their faces being this close, all she could ask was what lotion he used…

Juwon raised his eyebrows like a seagull and abruptly stood up.

“Put the band-aid on yourself.”

Juwon tossed the band-aid onto Ina’s lap and was about to leave when Ina suddenly grabbed the leg of his pants.

Surprised by the unexpected action, Juwon turned his head and glared at Ina. Ina looked up at Juwon with the most adorable cat-like expression.

“What?”

As Juwon asked irritably, Ina pointed to her injured cheek and spoke with a pitiful tone.

“Juwon… I got hurt, so can’t we watch the third part together out of pity for me? I’ll sit quietly without making a peep. Please?”

Juwon closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again and looked at Ina.

Ina was looking at Juwon with an even more pitiful expression, her chestnut-colored eyes shining brightly.

After going through an internal conflict for a while, Juwon seemed to have reached a conclusion and said to Ina,

“…Come to my room at 3. But don’t say a word and no snacks.”

“But I bought a lot of snacks.”

As Juwon’s eyes turned into sparrow eyes, Ina quickly saluted and answered,

“Understood! No snacks! I’ll sit quietly like an invisible person!”

Instead of answering, Juwon glanced at Ina with a displeased look and left the living room.

As soon as Juwon left, Ina immediately stood up and did a joyful hula dance.

And so, from that day on, Juwon and Ina’s joint viewing of the zombie drama began.

Male lead is a Divorced Husband

She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”

Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.

After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.

She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.

But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…

Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!

――

This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!

The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.

That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”

Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”

The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”

That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”

Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”

The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.

Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.

“She was originally a ‘she’!”

At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.

The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”

[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]