Date Me! - Chapter 25
Ina’s heart grew heavy as they drove to the restaurant.
It was because although she had agreed to watch the movie, she had not anticipated going to a restaurant at all.
Ina’s heavy heart became even heavier as they entered the restaurant after arriving.
This sophisticated and stylish restaurant was one that she had seen on TV before.
Not only was it expensive, but it was a famous restaurant where you had to wait at least three weeks to make a reservation.
It was a mystery how Siwoo had made a reservation here, but more than that, it was nerve-wracking and burdensome to come to such a famous place that couples would visit for their anniversaries with just Siwoo.
After following the staff who guided them and taking a seat at an inner table, Siwoo smiled leisurely and opened the menu.
Ina also opened the menu and looked at the options, but due to her nervousness, she couldn’t focus on the words.
“How about this menu? An acquaintance who has been here before said this course is pretty good.”
Siwoo pointed to the top steak course, the S course, and spoke.
Ina’s eyes widened as she unconsciously glanced at the S course.
It was a high price that would make even Shim Bong Sa’s eyes pop out.
As Ina’s mouth opened involuntarily, Siwoo gave a gentle smile.
“I really wanted to try this course. Let’s get this one. Okay?”
At Siwoo’s words spoken in a playful voice like a whiny child, Ina nodded.
It was an unforgettable price, but it also seemed silly to say no.
“O-okay. Let’s get that one.”
“Great. Then I’ll order.”
As Siwoo called the staff and placed the order, Ina brought the glass of water to her mouth.
Her throat had been constantly dry from the nervousness since earlier.
After a while, the staff brought out bread and butter served on stylishly designed plates.
The smell of the bread was incredibly savory, but perhaps because she was nervous, Ina’s salivary glands didn’t react much. Then Siwoo picked up a piece of bread and handed it to Ina.
“Ina. Try it. They said the bread here is delicious too.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
Ina awkwardly reached out and took the bread.
Watching Siwoo take a bite after spreading butter, Ina also lightly spread some butter and took a bite. The rich aroma of butter subtly spread in her mouth.
“It’s good. Right?”
“Yeah. It’s tasty.”
Ina nodded with an awkward smile at Siwoo’s words.
After observing Siwoo taking another bite of bread, Ina carefully spoke.
“But Siwoo. Isn’t a meal too extravagant? I never thought we would come to a place like this.”
At Ina’s words, Siwoo immediately showed an apologetic expression.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I made the reservation without asking for your opinion, right? Did it…upset you?”
Surprised by Siwoo’s words, Ina waved her hands frantically.
“What? No, I didn’t mean I was upset, what I meant was…actually, I’ve seen this place on TV before. I saw that it’s a restaurant couples often visit to celebrate their anniversaries.”
Ina glanced around and continued speaking with an embarrassed expression.
“And it seems like almost everyone here right now is a couple….”
“Ah, so…are you perhaps feeling burdened?”
Siwoo asked with a faint smile.
“Huh? No, rather than feeling burdened…I thought this was a place you should come with your girlfriend.”
The faint smile spreading on Siwoo’s face quietly disappeared.
“Well…it’s not like you have to come with a romantic partner to eat something delicious.”
As a bitter expression appeared on Siwoo’s face as he said that, Ina quickly responded.
“Huh? Th-that’s true.”
“I put in quite a bit of effort to make this reservation…since we’re already here, let’s just enjoy the food.”
At Siwoo’s playful smile as he spoke again, Ina felt a little guilty.
“Yeah. Okay. Let’s do that.”
After a while, the staff brought out the appetizers, a seafood platter and chop salad.
Even without tasting them, they looked like dishes where two people could eat until one of them died without realizing it.
However, even with the high-priced food in front of her, Ina’s heart didn’t move much.
Somehow, it felt like Ina’s 29-year culinary life, which had never stumbled before, was recently straying off in strange directions.
As Ina unknowingly tried to let out a big sigh, she quickly shut her mouth, conscious of Siwoo in front of her.
Although Siwoo had spoken playfully, thinking about how much effort he must have put in to make a reservation at this restaurant, Ina thought she should at least pretend to enjoy the food even if she didn’t have an appetite.
As Siwoo urged her to try it, Ina picked up a fork and sampled each dish a little.
Both dishes were excellent, proving that this was indeed a famous restaurant.
“How is it, do you like them?”
When Siwoo asked, Ina nodded and answered.
“Yeah. They’re both so delicious.”
“That’s a relief.”
Siwoo smiled brightly with a crescent-shaped smile.
After a while, the main course, the steak, came out, flaunting its fantastic medium-rare appearance.
Ina’s heart, which had been unmoved, flinched slightly at the high-quality visual of the steak.
And as she looked down at this famous steak that people would wait three weeks to eat, the thought of Juwon, which she had briefly forgotten, floated up.
She remembered eating steak with Juwon in Samcheong-dong last week.
At that time, she was so nervous because of Juwon in front of her that she couldn’t taste the steak at all, and she was anxious that Juwon might hear her pounding heartbeat.
Of course, she was nervous now too, but the nature of the tension was different from what she felt when she was with Juwon then.
Back then, it was a tension where all her attention was focused solely on Juwon right in front of her, but now it was a tension she felt because it was burdensome to be at such a fancy restaurant with Siwoo.
As she was feeling a clearly different tension, Siwoo’s voice was heard.
“Ina. You’re not eating?”
“Huh?”
As Ina raised her head and looked at Siwoo, he was looking at her with puzzled eyes.
“Oh, yeah. I should eat. I’ll enjoy it.”
Ina picked up a knife with an awkward smile.
As she cut the meat into small pieces, Ina thought of Juwon again.
‘It’s the weekend, I wonder what Juwon is doing now….’
After a while, when they finished eating the dessert that came out as well, Siwoo picked up the check.
“Huh?”
Ina was startled and reached out to Siwoo who had taken the check.
“Siwoo. The amount is too much, so let’s split it in half.”
At Ina’s words, Siwoo smiled and said,
“No. I wanted to come here and made the reservation, so I’ll pay.”
“What? No. It’s too much for me to freeload? Let’s just split it.”
Then Siwoo rested his chin on his hand and stared intently at Ina.
“Ina. I’m not that incapable of a man. I can afford this much.”
“Huh? No…you already treated me to a movie, and it doesn’t feel right to also freeload such an expensive meal.”
As Ina hesitated and spoke, Siwoo cleared his throat and playfully said,
“Hmm, this might sound a bit obnoxious…Ina. I make more money than you think.”
“Uh…what?”
As Ina’s eyes widened and she stared at him, Siwoo chuckled.
“So I can treat you to this much. I’m paying for this, okay?”
Before Ina could say anything, Siwoo got up and went to the counter.
Ina hurriedly got up and quickly followed him, but Siwoo was already casually making the payment.
Ina let out a groan and gently bit her lip.
“Shall we go?”
Ina looked at Siwoo, who was smiling after finishing the payment, with an apologetic expression.
“I think you spent way too much money….”
“It’s okay. I wanted to come here, so I suggested it.”
“Still, I feel really bad….”
“Then how about you buy me a delicious cup of coffee?”
“Coffee?”
“Yeah. Let’s go near your neighborhood and have a cup of coffee.”
Ina followed Siwoo, who started walking toward the parking lot, with an awkward expression.
* * *
After a while, the two headed to the neighborhood where Ina lived and entered a nearby coffee shop.
After placing their order, when the vibrating bell rang, Siwoo went and got the coffee.
“Here you go.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
As Ina touched the warm coffee cup and felt the warmth, Siwoo looked at her and quietly opened his mouth.
“Hey, Ina.”
“Yeah?”
“Actually, there was something I really wanted to tell you when I met you today.”
At those words, Ina’s Adam’s apple gulped and went down.
She didn’t know what he was going to say, but somehow it felt like he was going to say something surprising.
“Actually, I never imagined that we would meet again like this after 12 years. Plus, the two of us weren’t even close enough to properly talk to each other back in school.”
“…Yeah. We weren’t.”
Ina nodded slightly.
“Well, even though we weren’t close back then, I was so happy and glad to meet you again like this after 12 years.”
“Yeah. I was really glad to see you too.”
Strangely, the words ‘I was glad’ didn’t come out easily.
“So I thought, let’s slowly become close from now on and make up for not being close back then.”
“…Yeah.”
“If we meet often, eat together, have a drink or two, and become close like that, so by the time you feel comfortable with me…I was going to tell you then.”
Now that it seemed the core of the conversation was coming, Ina swallowed her dry saliva once.
“That I really liked you back then.”
Ina’s surprised eyes widened.
It felt like something huge had fallen with a thud in her heart.
Looking at Ina, who had frozen in surprise as if a pause button had been pressed, Siwoo gave a faint smile.
“You’re surprised? Well…you wouldn’t have known, so of course you’d be surprised.”
As Ina’s startled face turned red, Siwoo gazed at her with a gentle look.
“Seo Ina, you were my first love.”
Ina’s mouth opened wide at the unexpected bombshell statement.
Ina’s thought process shut down at Siwoo’s series of confessions.
“Ah…I-I-I was your first love?”
As Ina spoke, blinking rapidly like a buffering robot, Siwoo laughed softly.
“Sorry. I dropped too big of a bomb without even turning on my hazard lights, right?”
“Huh? Ah…n-no, it’s not that, I’m just so surprised.”
“Yeah. Of course you’d be surprised if a classmate you weren’t even close with suddenly says ‘you were my first love.’ I would be too. Sorry.”
“Oh? Ah, no, you don’t have to apologize…I’m just so surprised that I was your first love.”
“Why? What’s so surprising about it?”
“Huh? You were popular among the kids and such a bright kid back then. But I was…a very dark and gloomy kid then. So I’m really puzzled that you liked someone like me.”
Siwoo rested his chin on his hand and gazed at Ina intently.
“You were so pretty back then…you didn’t know?”
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
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