<Chapter 60>
#6. Waves of Change (7)
Calix couldn’t shake his disgruntled expression at Melty’s loud declaration. He doubted whether that was something one could learn through study in the first place. But he didn’t want to see Melty’s cheeks puff up with dissatisfaction again.
“…So how do you recognize love?”
At Calix’s question, Melty’s eyes sparkled. He spoke in a gentle voice, as if teaching a child.
“Do you know about fireflies?”
“Fireflies?”
The name of an insect he had heard somewhere popped out of Melty’s mouth. It wasn’t a rare insect, but for some reason, the name bothered him. Calix remembered that this insect had been mentioned by Lila McNeil just a few hours earlier.
– I just stepped away briefly to look for fireflies after tea time, but when I arrived, you were already in conversation.
– You don’t know about that either? It’s commonly used.
– It’s especially famous for love divination.
She had spoken with a face full of ‘Why don’t you know this famous thing?’ Thinking that Calix didn’t know about fireflies, Melty enthusiastically continued his explanation about the creature. Calix stared fixedly at Melty’s still-chattering lips, waiting for him to finish speaking.
“So you’re planning to do some ‘love divination’ with it?”
“Oh! How did you know?”
“…Hah. It’s ridiculous to think I almost left my fate to an insect.”
Calix was genuinely bewildered. Even if Melty were to reject him, if the reason was ‘the insect didn’t choose you,’ it would surely be a devastating blow impossible to recover from. Though he already knew this from what Lila had told him, Calix deliberately drooped the corners of his eyes.
“I wasn’t going to rely on fireflies alone…”
Seeing Calix’s seemingly hurt appearance, Melty cautiously observed his reaction while fidgeting with his fingers. Letting out a hollow laugh at this behavior, Calix lightly pinched Melty’s soft cheek.
“Then?”
“I was told that if I was just going to keep worrying, I should at least try some divination.”
“Ah-ha?”
The end of Calix’s words rose up high, propelled by his discomfort. Noticing that his current mood wasn’t good, Melty stuck out his lower lip.
“Lila-ssi said it has an accuracy rate of over 90%.”
“If your ‘studying’ was that kind of study, it seems completely useless.”
Melty quietly agreed with Calix, who couldn’t hide his disgruntled expression. As he said, it was too significant a matter to decide one’s life based on such ‘love divination.’
“Let’s think about it simply.”
“How?”
“Do you dislike me?”
At Calix’s question, Melty obediently shook his head from side to side. A moment later, feeling indignant, Melty once again smacked Calix’s chest, annoyed that he was asking something he already knew.
“As if I would study anything for someone I disliked! Calix-ssi may be mean, but you’re not a bad person…”
Clearly, the first part that flowed from those small, mischievous lips wasn’t bad. However, the explanations that followed were impossible to tell whether they were compliments or insults. So Calix decided to cut off his words cleanly.
“Shh, shh. I get it. Anyway, if you don’t dislike me, why are you worrying so much?”
Although Melty had only been given one day at most, from the perspective of waiting for an answer, it had been an agonizingly long time. Calix decided to push him hard while he was still dazed.
“…But if I’m entrusting my whole life, I should worry at least this much, right?”
“Huh?”
It had always been Melty’s role to throw questioning remarks like ‘Eh?’ However, this time, Calix had no choice but to question him just as Melty had always done.
“Whole life?”
“…Why is that part the question?”
At Melty’s counter-question, Calix took a moment to organize his thoughts. Of course, Calix hadn’t chosen Melty as someone to play with briefly and then part ways. But somehow the weight of Melty’s words gave a feeling different from what he had understood.
– I know all of it too. Without a ring, it’s a lie!
Right. Even when Calix confessed and asked him to date in the garden with Dolmaui flowers, Melty had said something like that. Calix had found it a bit strange while making the flower ring as he wanted, but at that time, he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Now, however, he felt the need to ask more detailed questions.
“In the Crosel family, when you date, do you usually go all the way to marriage…?”
At Calix’s question, the suspicion in Melty’s eyes deepened even further.
“Of course! My second sister said that playing with people’s feelings makes you the worst person in the world.”
Calix nodded lightly at Melty’s words. It wasn’t just because he felt like his emotions had been played with multiple times by the hamster in front of him.
“She said if you’re not going to take responsibility, you shouldn’t even touch someone in the first place. She said people who are so greedy without any conscience should all have their heads harvested!”
Melty’s voice carried a lot of force. It seemed like he had toned down his vocabulary as much as possible in front of Calix, but Calix, who understood the content perfectly, could only laugh awkwardly while sweating down his back.
‘That’s definitely something she said out of anger after breaking up with a lover.’
Thanks to what Melty had shared, Calix could now understand why he had spent so much time seriously considering this. The essential item that needs to be given when asking someone out is a ‘ring,’ and the notion that when you date, it should last a lifetime. All of it symbolized one thing.
‘It seems like he’s learned about proposals and marriage somewhere, not dating…’
Calix now understood why Melty had worried so seriously and emphasized his thoughts. Unless there was a truly unique tradition passed down in the Crosel family, all the knowledge Melty had about dating was somehow misaligned. Calix could have pointed out the facts and taught him the proper theory of dating, but he decided that the current situation was better for him.
“…Why? Is something strange?”
Melty, who had been about to lecture Calix with a raised voice, began to realize that there was something odd about his demeanor. Smiling brightly at such a Melty, Calix spoke nonchalantly as if there was no problem at all.
“It’s not strange. I just wanted to check since different families might have different perspectives.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really, of course.”
Melty, who had been wearing a suspicious expression at Calix’s skilled deflection, soon relaxed his face. Having confirmed that Melty had lowered the defenses he had raised along with his suspicions, Calix opened his mouth with a deep smile on his lips.
“I’ve thought of a good method.”
“What method?”
“A method that’s good for both you and me.”
Though he spoke nonchalantly, in reality, it was a method about 50,000 times better for Calix. Completely unaware of Calix’s cunning calculation, Melty rubbed his sleep-filled eyes with his curled-up hand and asked.
“What is it?”
“Let’s have a ‘temporary relationship’ with me.”
“What’s that?”
It was a combination of words he had never heard before. To clear away the dense question marks that had appeared on Melty’s face, Calix hurriedly opened his mouth.
“It’s a combination of what you and I want. You said you don’t dislike me, right?”
Melty obediently nodded. Looking with satisfaction at the small head that moved so compliantly, Calix quickly opened his mouth.
“Until you really want to date me for real, you can date me temporarily.”
“How is it different from real dating?”
“The difference is whether you want to really date me or if you’re still trying to figure that out.”
Despite Calix’s vague explanation that contained nothing of the essence, Melty could only think blankly, ‘Ah, I see.’ He was too tired to properly understand what Calix was saying. Melty, who had been struggling to keep his eyes open as they slowly closed, let out a long yawn.
“Anyway, when the exchange meeting ends, everyone will go back to their own territories, so you can learn what love is from me then. Right?”
“Yes…”
Melty, who had been nodding off, belatedly opened his mouth. It was a reflexive response, but Calix wasn’t one to let this slip by easily. Even as Calix carried out some sort of operation, Melty occasionally yawned. As the task was roughly completed, a satisfied and pleased smile appeared on Calix’s lips.
“What’s this?”
Calix, who had been taking off Melty’s outer clothes so he could sleep comfortably, picked up a thick envelope that had fallen below. Melty, who was in a half-asleep state, completely entrusting his limp body to Calix, barely opened his thread-thin eyes and discovered what was in his hand.
“Mmm… letter…”
“A letter? To send to your family? Why haven’t you sent it yet?”
Calix asked while brushing aside Melty’s hair, who was half-drunk with sleep. With the gentle touch stroking his hair making him even sleepier, Melty mumbled with his lips relaxed.
“I was going to… yes, but…”
Without properly concluding his story, Melty disappeared into dreamland. Seeing him suddenly fall asleep and breathing evenly with soft snoring sounds, a slight smile slipped from Calix’s lips.
Calix, who had taken advantage of Melty’s inability to think properly due to alcohol and sleepiness, was quite satisfied with the current situation. For Calix, who had never lived a life of caring for or waiting for anyone, these 24 hours had been longer than anything else.
‘He seems to have forgotten, so I’ll have to send this for him.’
Calix picked up the letter lying on the bed. The Crosels didn’t have a fixed residence and moved around a lot. So while he couldn’t specify where they were, Calix knew how to place a commission with them.
‘It might take a bit longer to arrive than sending it directly, but.’
Humming a light tune, Calix quickly moved with the letter in hand. It was only a few days later that the aftermath brought by this letter written by Melty would sweep over the Padrian mansion.
