Chapter 7
‘What should I say to get out of this situation?’
Saying she didn’t like kissing in front of other people wasn’t a good answer. After all, she was the one who had made that curse-like public confession first.
“So I…”
Sonnet hesitated for a moment, then spoke quietly.
“You’re too popular. I got jealous.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she felt embarrassed with herself. After thinking so hard, this was the excuse she came up with? Jealousy?
Was this really the best she could do?
But since she had already said it, she added more firmly,
“Everyone knows everything we do. They’re all watching us. That made me upset too.”
Aiden straightened up, looking as if the tension had drained from him. A relaxed smile spread across his face.
“So that’s why you left first?”
“Yes. I want to have you to myself when no one else is watching.”
Maybe because she had already said something ridiculous, saying something even stranger came more easily.
Aiden said nothing.
He just stared at her.
His gaze felt hot and persistent, as if he were trying to look deep inside her heart.
Her face flushed under that stare. She quickly looked away and deliberately tried to walk ahead to create distance.
But Aiden lengthened his stride and caught up immediately.
“Are you in a hurry?”
Without stopping, she answered,
“You have to get seats early for the audiovisual lecture.”
Aiden gently took her hand.
Startled, she stopped walking and looked at him. He smiled at her sideways.
“If you’re with me, you don’t have to rush.”
“Why?”
“I have my seat.”
As if that solved everything, he tightened his grip on her hand casually.
She had never held hands with a boy before. It felt awkward.
She had never even held hands with a female friend. She had hardly formed bonds with anyone.
For a second, she considered pulling her hand away. But she didn’t.
She was the one who confessed first. She had to act like his girlfriend, or he might grow suspicious.
Walking hand in hand with Aiden, she became aware of how large his hand was. Or maybe all men’s hands were like this.
His hand was big and firm. Even though his grip was gentle, she could feel the strength in it.
‘Why doesn’t this feel unpleasant?’
It had felt awkward at first, but now it wasn’t that bad.
No matter how she thought about it, this was strange.
Holding hands like this, it really felt like they were a couple.
Most of all, she liked the faint mint scent coming from him.
‘That’s definitely mint from the Itar region.’
Mint from Itar wasn’t particularly expensive or luxurious—certainly not something you’d expect a Rossfield noble to use.
A high noble who went to bare-knuckle fights, and who happened to smell like the mint she liked…
‘What kind of person is he?’
Without realizing it, Sonnet looked up at Aiden.
When he looked straight ahead, his sharp nose and distant gaze made him seem cold.
It felt like there was an invisible wall around him that made it hard to approach.
Noticing her stare, Aiden lowered his head naturally to look at her.
His previously indifferent eyes curved softly.
“What?”
She forced a small smile and looked away.
“Nothing.”
She had never been interested in people before.
But strangely, Aiden kept stirring her curiosity.
Maybe she was just annoyed that all her guesses about him kept missing the mark.
Meanwhile, people around them continued to glance at them.
Ever since the public confession and the front-page photo in the school newspaper, attention had followed them everywhere.
Now that she thought about it, Aiden was always surrounded by friends. But today, there wasn’t a single one with him.
“What about your friends?”
Aiden looked at her carefully. She continued casually,
“You’re always surrounded by them.”
“If I have you, why would I need friends?”
At the same time, he tightened his hold on her hand.
Caught off guard, she looked at him.
“Won’t they feel hurt?”
“I don’t care. I’m dating you. I don’t care about their reactions.”
He said it lightly, but she couldn’t understand.
Even if you start dating someone, can you just ignore your friends so easily?
‘Is he serious?’
Or was he teasing her?
But his expression looked sincere.
‘He used to walk around with a whole group. And now just because of me? Why?’
Her confusion continued until they reached the audiovisual lecture hall.
Aiden took seats in the very front row.
That row was usually empty. It had been the place where he sat with his friends.
Now, only Aiden and Sonnet were sitting there.
They had arrived early. The room was still quiet.
As soon as he sat beside her, he stared at her with a subtle smile.
Trying to ignore him, she rummaged through her bag for no reason.
But even while she did that, he never once looked away.
‘Is dating always like this?’
His gaze was relentless.
There was nothing left to take out of her bag.
As she aimlessly felt around inside the empty bag, Aiden wrapped his arm around the back of her chair.
“It’s just the two of us here.”
The distance between them suddenly felt much closer.
Her eyes widened.
Aiden lowered his head slightly and looked at her from an angle.
“You like this kind of atmosphere, right?”
His low, almost secretive whisper made her ears tingle.
Her heart jumped again.
He was far too natural and skilled.
Avoiding his eyes, she tried to sound calm.
“There are people behind us.”
Aiden let out a small laugh.
“Don’t worry about them.”
His breath brushed close to her lips.
The scent of mint grew stronger at her nose.
Her whole body felt tense.
His breath, the mint scent, and his gaze made her mind go blank.
She had only focused on studying all her life. She was inexperienced at forming relationships or acting naturally with others.
‘What are you even supposed to say or do in moments like this?’
As he stared into her eyes, Aiden’s lips curved.
“You looked so confident when you confessed to me first. But when you’re actually with me, you can’t do anything?”
He was smiling, but his eyes were sharp.
As expected, Aiden was not easy to deal with.
He had to have some hidden motive. Otherwise, why would he keep steering her emotions like this?
Sonnet steadied herself and spoke firmly.
“It’s just that… being like this with you makes me nervous.”
“……”
“I always only imagined you in my head. Being together like this feels like a dream.”
His icy gaze softened, and a gentle smile appeared.
“Really?”
He released the arm around her chair and suddenly pulled her into an embrace.
Caught off guard, she stiffened completely in his arms.
‘This isn’t what I planned.’
While her mind felt blank, Aiden held her tighter and whispered,
“I’ll hug you more often.”
“……”
“So it won’t feel like a dream.”
She held her breath.
His warm breath brushed lightly against her ear. His solid body pressed against hers.
Strangely, it didn’t feel as disgusting or unbearable as she might have expected.
He was supposed to be a proud noble filled with superiority. So why…
Still confused, she felt him slowly pull away.
He smiled at her, then took a book out of his bag.
She finally let out the breath she had been holding.
Aiden was not easy.
From the very beginning, he had accepted her curse-like confession without hesitation.
Her heart was still racing, but she forced herself to focus.
She couldn’t let herself be swept up by him.
Trying to look serious, she noticed he had opened a book about weapons again.
Without hesitation, she asked,
“Why do you like me?”
First, she needed the facts.
He definitely had some hidden motive.
