Deflower Me If You Can Chapter 25

He headed toward the cart placed in front of the paneling connected to the living room, picked up the plate and spoon on top of it, and carefully returned.

“Here, Cassian.”

Bliss, who had set the plate and spoon on the bed with a proud face, looked up at him with expectant eyes. What the child wanted was clear. Cassian stared silently at the soup bowl and spoon, brought without so much as a bed table or tray, let out a sigh, and took them in his hands.

…Huh?

Unexpectedly, the soup bowl still held a fair amount of warmth, as if it hadn’t been brought long ago. It must have been quite hot for a child to carry, he thought, looking down, and saw Bliss resting both hands on the sheet. The reason was soon clear. He kept moving his hands to the side, then to a new spot, over and over again.

“…Is it hot?”

When Cassian asked, Bliss looked up and said, “Mmm.”

“It’s okay! Hurry up and eat, Cassian. I went to the kitchen and asked them to make it specially for you!”

His bright smiling face was full of joy. Suddenly, Cassian felt an inexplicable embarrassment and guilt. But it didn’t end there. Bliss, who had been staring with a serious expression at Cassian sitting there with the soup bowl on his lap without a word, suddenly climbed onto the bed.

“Phew, phew.”

Seeing the child’s round head blowing hard on the soup bowl, Cassian was dumbfounded and asked.

“What are you doing now?”

Bliss replied as if it were the most natural thing.

“You can’t eat it if it’s too hot, right? It’s okay, Cassian. I cooled it down for you. It should be fine now, go ahead and eat!”

“…Ha.”

Cassian let out a deep sigh. Bliss, who had absolutely no way of knowing what was going on in his mind, was still smiling brightly and said.

“It’s okay, Cassian. We’re friends.”

As Cassian paused and looked at him again, Bliss continued excitedly.

“I hope you get better soon so we can play together.”

Cassian said nothing. He just stared silently at the child’s face. It was only after a few more seconds of silence that he spoke.

“I can play with you now.”

“Huh?”

Bliss frowned, as if to say ‘But you’re sick?’ Cassian ignored it and said.

You have that book I gave you, right? Go get it, let’s look at it together.”

Ah! Bliss realized. That’s right, even if he’s sick, they can still read a book together. They can play by looking at the book Cassian made, right here in bed. Cassian really is so smart!

“Okay, I’ll go get it right now.”

Excited, Bliss jumped off the bed. Cassian called out to his back as he hurried away.

“Take your time, don’t trip!”

“Mmhm, okay!”

Bliss answered as he opened the door and went out. But the sound of footsteps from beyond the closing door showed no signs of slowing down. He never listens, does he. Cassian thought and shook his head.

The soup was still there. He took a spoonful and put it in his mouth—it had already gone lukewarm, as Bliss had said. But he shrugged and continued eating. By the time Bliss returned, the bowl was already empty.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Here, look. This is the first bird I observed and drew.”

Cassian, leaning back against a cushion, opened a page of the book and said. Bliss, sitting in his lap, tilted his head.

“Why isn’t it on the first page?”

“This is organized by species. So…”

He pressed down on the book to show the split and said.

“I tore it out and pasted it here, with glue.”

“Oh, I see.”

Cassian looked down at Bliss, who had nodded, suspiciously.

“You don’t actually understand what I’m saying, do you?”

“Hehe.”

“You little…”

Giving his head a harmless tap, Cassian opened the page again.

“You’ve seen this one too, right? Remember the wings?”

Uh-huh, Bliss nodded, then suddenly widened his eyes.

“It’s the bald bird!”

Here, here, he pressed his finger firmly on the spot, and Cassian confirmed it as well. Remembering what Bliss had said at the time, he unconsciously smiled, but Bliss muttered.

“I won’t get to see it again, will I…”

Hearing that, Cassian unconsciously replied.

“We can just go again.”

“Huh?”

Bliss looked up at him in surprise. Meeting those blue eyes, half-doubting, Cassian couldn’t help but laugh.

“Didn’t I tell you before? Let’s go out and observe birds again.”

“Oh, yeah, you did, but…”

Bliss bowed his head, his voice trailing off, and mumbled.

“Cassian keeps going out…”

Bliss’s mood quickly turned gloomy. Cassian, once again filled with guilt, let out a deep sigh.

“I couldn’t help it, Bliss. I’m sorry.”

The apology was sincere. Maybe it was because he’d been partying so much the past few days, but now that he thought about it, he wondered what was so important about that kind of dissolute life anyway. He’d played enough, he felt… but the problem was that there were still plans left. And the biggest one, which he couldn’t cancel.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Cassian reluctantly spoke.

“Let’s go next week.”

“Next week?”

Bliss looked up at him again, and he nodded and said.

“Yeah, we can go next week. Let’s do that.”

At his repeat, Bliss’s face slowly began to brighten.

“Really? We’re going next week, right? Huh? Really, really, you’re going to play with me?”

“Yeah.”

Cassian nodded.

“From next week on, I’ll play with you all the time.”

Until the day you leave. Watching Bliss cheer and jump up with a “Wow!”, Cassian thought. Almost a month had passed now. Just over a week left—it wouldn’t be hard.

Just until Bliss goes back.

Thinking that, he hooked his pinky around the little finger Bliss held out.

“It’s a promise, for sure.”

“Yeah, a promise.”

As if just imagining it made him happy, Bliss kept smiling and bouncing around on the bed. Cassian felt the lingering hangover creeping up on him, but he didn’t bother to stop him and just let him be.

∞ ∞ ∞ 

“Yaaawn.”

Bliss walked down the hallway with a big stretch. Night had already fallen. The drama, which had a whopping 320 episodes, was still not even half-finished, but he had to go back to his room. The Duchess, having seen Bliss nodding off on the sofa, had sent him out, saying they’d watch the rest tomorrow.

“I could have lasted longer.”

Bliss pouted, but soon a yawn came out, and the unattractive display of dissatisfaction disappeared. As he sniffled and rubbed his nose, something suddenly caught his eye. It was Cassian’s door.

He unconsciously stopped walking. It had already been days since he’d properly seen Cassian. Instead, he’d been passing the boring time watching dramas with the Duchess, but the empty feeling still hadn’t been filled.

After lingering in front of the door for a moment, Bliss confirmed no one was around and quietly opened it. Sure enough, the room was empty. As he crept into the dark room with the lights off, his heart pounded with tension and excitement. Heheh, I’m going to surprise Cassian.

On the first day, he’d lain down on the bed and ended up falling asleep. Today, he would never make the same mistake. Bliss quickly scanned the room and soon found a place to hide. Heheh, giggling, he slipped under the curtain by the window and curled up into a small ball. If he hid here, Cassian would never find him.

Soon Cassian would come back. When he turned his back, completely unaware, he’d rush out and surprise him. Cassian would be so startled he’d scream, right? Heheh, this is payback for making me play alone today.

Ah, I didn’t actually play alone, though.

Remembering the fun time with the Duchess, a smile crept across his face. As he debated whether to watch the rest with the Duchess tomorrow or play with Cassian, he soon began to nod off steadily.

∞ ∞ ∞

“…”

Cassian stood by the window with a serious face, looking down. Under the curtain, as always, Bliss was fast asleep, sprawled out and snoring. With a sigh, he ran a hand over his face, then bent down and lifted Bliss into his arms.