Ren didn’t show much change in expression. It was the usual poker-faced look he often had.

For some reason, Sharati, feeling a sense of crisis, quickly raised her head.

“……It’s not like that! Ah, no!”

Without even listening to Ren’s words, she immediately denied.

For some reason, her heart felt uneasy in a different way than a little while ago.

Ren’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Calm down.’

Whenever Ren mentioned Ashu or got involved with him, Sharati often became sensitive, complicating the situation with personal emotions.

‘And it involves the kids, right?’

The children in Sediafia village had rich imagination and a unique way of thinking that could go in unpredictable directions. There was a possibility that they had exaggerated Ashu’s confession.

‘So, what should I say?’

It was too embarrassing to tell Ren that she received a love confession from Ashu, and she especially didn’t want to let him know. She hadn’t revealed the long-held feelings to Ren and didn’t want to confess to another man just because of an unjust situation. Above all, she felt unfairly wronged.

‘Originally, I should have met Ren first and confessed!’

If she had met Ren first, not Ashu, things might have been resolved by now, but unfortunately, everything was already entangled in various ways, making it noisy inside.

First, she had to explain to Ren to avoid any strange misunderstandings.

“I met briefly while receiving a flower bouquet as a thank-you.”

“-He proposed.”

Cough! Startled Sharati covered her mouth and coughed falsely.

Ren looked down at the flower bouquet he took from Sharati.

The scent of the flowers was too strong. Even though Sharati was right in front of him, he couldn’t smell her signature herbal fragrance. The fragrant flower scent felt unpleasant to Ren, like a foul odor.

“Presenting this bouquet, like a prince from a fairy tale.”

“That, that’s…….”

Sharati’s head spun as if she had become a shameless adulteress.

“So, Sha, you kissed him as a thank-you.”

“……?”

Her lowered head slowly lifted. Sharati slowly nodded, just in case, and pulled Ren’s earlobe. She stared at Ren blankly, blinking her eyes.

“Did you really kiss him, like a real kiss?”

Ren’s voice became even lower. He had a serious face, genuinely believing in the children’s words.

On the other hand, Sharati absentmindedly touched her forehead.

When people hear something too unbelievable, it’s bewildering, and her thinking slowed down.

‘He said it’s an unwarranted, petty jealousy of an unqualified person. What on earth is he saying?’

It was indeed an unwarranted jealousy. No, why is he imagining jealousy in the first place?

Sharati chose her words as calmly as possible with a face that had a lot to say. However, frustration surged up for a moment.

‘……No, he went that far with me yesterday, and now he’s only concerned about a ki-kiss?!’

Clutching her fist, Sharati bit her lip.

With wide-open eyes, Sharati flicked Ren’s finger.

“Ren, come here.”
Ren nodded his head and lowered his upper body even more. If he moved just a bit, his lips would touch her forehead.

What is he so serious about?

Sharati suppressed the laughter that seemed about to burst out and smiled brightly at Ren. Then, she grabbed both sides of his cheeks with her thumb and index finger, pulling them out.

“……Sha-ah?”

Sharati, who had been pinching Ren’s cheeks with all her might while waving her hands, sighed openly.

“Why are you jealous over just a kiss?”

“……Just?”

Ren furrowed his thick eyebrows. It was a wounded look.

By this point, Sharati was starting to get confused.

Seeing Ren’s gaze, which seemed shocked, Sharati hesitated, and Ren gritted his teeth.

“Regardless, our lips touched, is it weird to react sensitively?”

“No, who was the one who kept their mouth shut until now?”

“……Is this not the first time?”

Initially feeling ridiculous and even feeling hurt, Sharati’s words were stifled as the conversation subtly drifted apart. Sharati squinted her eyes.

“I-It was the first time…….?”

Sharati, who was pinching Ren’s cheeks with force, bit her lip deeply.

Actually, to call it a first kiss was clearly an intended emergency measure, and Sharati wasn’t upset or resentful. Instead, she had to thank Ren. Because of him, she was able to survive. However, to arbitrarily assign meaning to it and harbor impure thoughts…

Beyond embarrassment, Sharati felt shame.

“……. ”

Ren, pondering Sharati’s words, his complexion seemed to darken for a moment, almost turning black.

As the situation became apparent, Ren, too, tremblingly waved his hand to his mouth and wiped his eyes.

“If you don’t remember the first time…”

Ren felt unjust. Moreover, he felt resentful.

The concept of ‘first’ was the same for Ren. Moreover, it was the memory of his lips meeting the lips of the woman he liked.

Damn it. Ren swallowed the curses he wanted to say.

“Sha, at that time-.”