Chapter 42
“Uh… um… Ray-nim?”
At Perea’s call, Ray’s ears twitched. As if her voice were a magic spell, his frozen body slowly began to move.
After properly wrapping the blanket Perea had casually placed on him, Ray sat up straight. Now, the two of them were sitting on the floor, facing each other.
“Uh…”
“Just now… what happened…?”
“You fell, didn’t you…?”
The awkward expression vanished from his face, replaced with shamelessness, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
She was the one who got startled, fell down, and felt embarrassed—so why was he acting like that?!
Perea, who had suddenly become the criminal in this situation, snorted angrily.
She brushed back her still-damp hair, and as the scent rose into the air, Ray wrinkled his nose slightly.
That was it. This scent.
The warm, comforting fragrance lingering around his nose.
‘Perea’s scent.’
Ray barely managed to suppress the urge to reach out and touch her hair.
“That.”
“Yes?”
“What scent did you use? I want to know.”
Ray flinched when he saw Perea blinking at his question.
Even though he knew that blinking no longer meant anything, his heart still thumped uncontrollably.
After staring at Perea’s face for a long moment, Ray finally looked away. He lifted his large hand and covered his face, which was surely burning red.
“The body wash I used? I just used what the hotel provided.”
“Which one?”
“Um… I used all five. Ah—was that not allowed?”
“All of them?”
Ray’s mouth fell open. His hand dropped from his face.
He had not expected that answer at all.
This time, it was Perea’s heart that started pounding.
‘Was I not supposed to use them all? Do I have to pay for what I use? Is there some unspoken rule?’
Cold sweat ran down her back.
“I—I didn’t use that much! They all smelled so good, and it was really hard to choose just one…!”
Perea hurriedly justified herself.
As Ray quietly listened to her explanation, the corners of his mouth slowly lifted.
He realized she had completely misunderstood his question. He briefly considered teasing her a little more—but stopped.
For some reason, he didn’t want Perea to dislike him, even for a moment.
“Don’t worry. You can use all of them. I was just curious which scent you liked the most.”
As he spoke, he gently touched the tip of her hair.
So lightly—just enough that she wouldn’t be startled and run away.
Hearing his explanation, Perea smiled awkwardly and said it was a relief.
His gentle tone and touch made her heart feel like it had moved up into her hair.
‘My hair is pounding?’ That made no sense—but that was how flustered she felt.
“The scent was so nice… I really couldn’t choose just one.”
“I see.”
Perea fiddled with the strand of hair Ray had touched and repeated the same answer.
As Ray nodded along, his gaze landed on her hand.
Watching her touch the spot he had just touched made him feel something strange.
It was itchy. Embarrassing. And it made him want to run somewhere far away.
A truly strange feeling.
Was it really necessary to spend this much time just talking about body wash?
Neither of them noticed how long it had been—they were too busy sensing each other.
The air between them was clearly different from before.
“Ray! Perea!”
A loud voice suddenly cut through the silence.
…?!
Startled like they had just woken from a sweet dream, both of them turned their heads.
There stood Theo—completely naked, his chubby belly sticking out proudly.
He had one hand on his waist and an expression full of complaints.
“Why aren’t you coming back? Huh? That’s why Theo came out!”
Theo stomped his small feet, and droplets of water splashed onto the floor.
Before a puddle could form, Perea quickly picked him up.
She hurriedly wrapped Theo in the blanket that had been around Ray.
“Huh…?”
Ray let out a short protest at losing the blanket, but Perea was already focused on Theo.
She wiped off the water and held Theo’s cheeks.
“Theo-nim, if you come out while you’re wet, you’ll catch a cold. Achoo! Achoo! You know that, right?”
“Mm. But Theo washed all by himself!”
Theo pressed his nose against Perea’s neck. Smelling the familiar scent, he smiled happily.
After waiting for Ray for so long, Theo had decided ‘Whatever!’ and mixed all five body washes together.
It felt like the right choice.
The same mixed scent lingered on Perea’s skin.
‘Did Perea also go ‘Whatever!’ and mix them all?’
Hehe.
Theo giggled mischievously and rubbed his forehead against her shoulder.
“You washed all by yourself? That’s amazing.”
“Theo is amazing!”
After accepting all the praise, Theo lifted his head and looked at Ray.
The silver-haired man looked extremely unhappy.
Since Ray had taken so long, Theo had been bored in the bathroom—and now he stuck out his tongue at him.
Naturally, Ray’s expression twisted even more.
***
Later
“Alright, Theo-nim. Shall we wear a cute hat for dinner tonight?”
“No rabbit ears?”
“The rabbit ears aren’t dry yet.”
Theo looked sadly at the rabbit ears hanging in the bathroom.
Unlike real beastman ears, Theo’s rabbit ears were entirely made of fur, so they took a long time to dry.
Even the wind-magic device provided by the hotel didn’t help.
In the end, Ray and Perea decided to leave the rabbit ears hanging to dry.
That meant Theo had to wear a hat when meeting Barry for dinner.
Theo, who dreamed of being a brave hero, was unhappy about wearing a cute beret.
Of course, he was the only one dissatisfied.
Perea’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the cutest child in the world.
They had grabbed the hat in a hurry—it used to belong to Harun’s younger siblings—but somehow, it suited Theo even better.
Seeing the fluffy white hat with his honey-colored hair, Perea applauded endlessly in her heart.
‘So cute.’
She couldn’t show it, though—the brave hero might get upset.
“Alright, shall we go buy the Rabbit Hero Sword and eat something delicious?”
“Yay!”
Theo jumped up and down excitedly.
At moments like this, he was just a five-year-old child.
Perea watched him with a fond smile.
‘He’s not even my child… how can he be this cute?’
Behind her, Ray let out a small ‘grrr’ sound.
‘If I do this, will she think I’m cute too?’
That small wish quietly grew.
Then—
“Ray-nim, are you looking forward to dinner too?”
Perea turned around with a bright smile.
Hearing her notice his little sound, Ray widened his eyes.
Then he smiled back at her.
“Yeah. I am.”
Now he could say it honestly.
Perea—he was looking forward to going out, eating, and spending the evening with her.
