Chapter 9
“By the way, what did you just say to me earlier?”
Selena, having filled her stomach with bread and sausages, asked. Riotis looked at her with a confused expression.
“You called me ‘Selena’ again.”
“…….”
“You’re supposed to call me ‘noona.’ Come on, try it. ‘Selena noona.’”
Riotis muttered reluctantly in a sulky voice.
“It’s only a one-year difference…”
“Only? Did you just say ‘only’?”
Selena pretended to be angry. Hesitant, Riotis slowly parted his lips.
“Selena… noona.”
“Gasp.”
Was he embarrassed to call her “noona”? Riotis’s cheeks turned bright red as he fidgeted with his hands. That one short phrase pierced Selena’s heart.
How could he be this cute?
The words that noble adults often said to her flashed through her mind. Now she understood why they’d cover their mouths to stifle their screams.
A fluffy, baby-like Pomeranian calling her shyly “noona” would naturally make anyone’s heart race.
“The only guys I’ve ever seen were childish brats who treat girls badly and use crude language… Compared to them, our Riotis is an angel.”
Selena didn’t realize how thrilling being called “noona” could be. She clutched her pounding heart and tried to calm herself.
“Say it one more time.”
“……Selena noona?”
Riotis, unaware of her intentions, tilted his head and called her again.
Crazy. Wait, where’s my phone… or a camera?
If she could, Selena wanted to record Riotis’s expression on video.
“Riotis, you’re really cute!”
Riotis frowned at her words.
“I’m a guy, and you’re calling me cute.”
“You don’t get it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl. Cute is cute.”
“Guys should be more about being cool than cute.”
“No.”
Placing her hand on Riotis’s shoulder, Selena lowered her voice seriously.
“Listen carefully, Riotis. Cute is the best thing in the world. Cute can save the world. Got it?”
“…….”
Judging by that look, he thinks I’m talking nonsense. But what can I do? It’s the truth.
For Selena, calling someone “cute” was the highest praise. Riotis seemed puzzled, perhaps unaware of this.
“You look so pretty when you call me that. From now on, you have to call me ‘noona’ properly, got it?”
“……I’ll think about it.”
Riotis replied bluntly and turned his head sharply. Selena assumed he disliked using “noona” and that’s why he acted that way.
Well, it can’t be helped.
She thought Riotis would never use “noona” again.
Contrary to her expectation, Riotis continued to call her “noona” consistently—and sometimes even initiated conversation.
Before long, Selena and Riotis became close enough to call each other by affectionate nicknames.
And there was one more change.
“Celli noona.”
“Hm?”
Riotis raised his hand. His hand was dyed green from the grass, and it held a bunch of colorful flowers.
“Did you bring these for me?”
“Yes.”
Since the last incident, Riotis had been giving her things more often.
Drawings he made himself, the occasional piece of fruit from the cafeteria, and even flowers.
He was like a stray cat bringing little gifts to someone he was close to.
Thinking of Riotis carefully picking the flowers with his tiny, delicate hands brought a smile to her face.
“Thank you! They’re really pretty!”
She accepted the bouquet with joy.
“Your hands are filthy. Let’s go wash them quickly.”
Selena tried to take Riotis’s hands, covered in grass and dirt, to the sink. But he stood still and didn’t move.
“Rio, what’s wrong?”
“…….”
Riotis’s downcast expression showed a hint of displeasure. His slightly furrowed eyebrows and protruding lips revealed his mood.
Did I do something wrong?
“Riotis? Are you angry?”
“…….”
Riotis, who had been answering well lately, kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
“You have to tell me, then I’ll know. Okay?”
Selena crouched down to meet Riotis’s eyes. She couldn’t see them, but he could sense her presence.
After a long silence, Riotis moved his lips.
“Why…….”
He spoke, but his voice was too quiet to hear.
“Hm? What did you say?”
“……Nothing.”
Riotis shook his head vigorously and then said,
“Let’s go wash our hands.”
And he walked off.
“No, what did you just say?! I didn’t hear it properly. Say it again.”
“It was just talking to myself.”
Talking to himself? He was obviously talking to me.
Selena was curious what he had wanted to say, but knowing his stubbornness, she gave up asking.
If it’s important, he’ll tell me later.
Why isn’t he hugging me like last time?
“Hm? What did you say?”
Riotis realized he had spoken his thoughts aloud and quickly shook his head.
What was I about to say?
He wanted her to hug him.
Something only children would say. Riotis thought of himself as mature, even if his body was small.
It was uncharacteristic of him to sulk because he wasn’t hugged.
The reason Riotis gave her all those little gifts was simple: he thought if he gave her things she liked, she might hug him like last time.
Riotis had never been held by anyone before. Holding hands gently, washing his hair—everything Selena had done was the first.
Including hugs.
The warmth and comfort, the sweet scent near her neck, the faint heartbeat he could feel.
Being held by Selena made his stopped heart feel like it was beating again. His mind felt warm, and it seemed as if the world stopped for a moment.
A strange feeling he’d never experienced before. It was unfamiliar but not unpleasant.
Actually… it was nice. No, not that nice. Just… okay, I guess.
Riotis wanted to be held by Selena again. But he was too embarrassed to ask directly.
Embarrassed? I’m not a kid.
Riotis’s pride was hurt that he had such a childish thought, so he couldn’t ask her to hug him.
Yeah. No need to say it out loud!
He remembered the two times Selena had hugged him—once when he was scared in the shower, and once when she brought him bread and sausages.
He wasn’t confident about the frightened scenario, so Riotis decided to give her things.
Maybe if he gave her things she liked, she’d hug him eventually.
But Selena didn’t follow his plan easily.
Idiot.
Since he started calling her “noona,” Riotis had been acting like a child in front of her.
He liked seeing her smile.
He liked being praised.
He liked her gentle touch and the affection he was feeling for the first time.
He liked Selena.
But Riotis, experiencing romantic feelings for the first time, couldn’t fully accept that he liked Selena. So he couldn’t express his feelings honestly.
I don’t like that weird girl at all.
Even thinking that,
“What is this?”
A thin object brushed against Riotis’s ear. He felt it and realized a flower he just picked was tucked behind his ear.
He quickly tried to remove it.
A boy with a flower in his hair would look ridiculous.
But Selena’s next words stopped him.
“Wow, it really suits you, Rio!”
Just those few words. Riotis didn’t like being swayed by her every word—but what could he do? His body and mind were already acting independently.
Selena laughed.
He didn’t like laughter. The only laughs he had ever heard were cruel ones.
But he didn’t dislike Selena’s laugh. Her voice rose higher when she laughed, like an angel’s song.
“Look, Rio. We’re a couple!”
Selena suddenly leaned in.
Her soft hand held Riotis’s, guiding it near her ear. He flinched at the touch of her soft, tender skin. A flower was also tucked behind her ear.
The warmth and breath so close felt sweeter than any candy or chocolate he had ever tasted.
No flower could ever smell as sweet as Selena.
His heart raced from the intoxicating scent. He wanted to tell her to let go, but his lips froze.
His face was burning. He felt like he might explode.
“Rio, are you okay?! Your face is red!”
Selena’s loud voice finally brought him back to his senses.
“It’s hot.”
Riotis quickly pulled away from her hand and rushed past her to the sink.
The cold water on his face finally cooled him down.
“Hot? It’s almost winter, you know…”
“I’m sensitive to heat.”
Yes, sensitive to heat.
It’s not that being close to Selena or hearing ‘couple’ was enjoyable…
“Couple…”
Riotis muttered without realizing it.
Couple.
Just that word made his lips twitch. His heart, which had just calmed down, raced again. He felt like he could fly.
I want to marry Selena someday.
The thought made him shake his head.
Marry her?
No. Absolutely not. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.
