Rurin And The Song (4)

“O-oh… Huh? R-really? I-if that’s what you want, I-I can cut my hair!”

“What are you talking about? I was just imagining what you’d look like with short hair. I like your hair the way it is, so please don’t. Miss Rurin.”

“R-really? Then I won’t cut it!”

Rurin began twisting her hair. The ends coiled like twisted breadsticks. Then suddenly, she shouted, “Like this!” and threw the magazine she had snatched earlier far away.

“But stop looking at it! And don’t even imagine it! Just say it! If you just say it, I’ll do anything.”

Annoyed that El’s attention had been stolen by the magazine, Rurin unknowingly plopped down on El’s lap and made her declaration.

“Wait, really?”

“Really. If you want to see it short, I’ll cut it. It’ll grow back. And if there’s anything else you want to see, I don’t mind!”

“What about things you want to do, not just what I want to see?”

El smiled and flipped the question back. Rurin frowned slightly, then declared firmly:

“What you just said is about what you want to see. Like you said—what you imagined would be nice. Clothes, hair, stuff like that! I was saying I would wear or do those. But what do you want?”

“There are a few things.”

“A f-few things?”

Rurin narrowed her eyes slightly and looked up at El. It was shocking to hear “a few things”, since she thought she’d already done everything El could’ve wanted. The idea there were more things was a surprise.

“Yeah. A few.”

Even under that piercing gaze, El just smiled and nodded.

“What are they? Tell me!”

Rurin shot up and yelled. She couldn’t remember ever refusing El’s requests. From not killing humans to something as trivial as obeying crosswalk lights—she did everything he asked.

Of course, El knew all this. But what he was about to say wasn’t like any of that. So unlike the flustered Rurin, he continued with a gentle smile.

“I wish Rurin would be the one to give me a big hug first. And kiss me first, too. Like when I’m reading or cooking, just sneak up and suddenly hug me tight. I always think how amazing that’d be. But you’ve never done that, right?”

That part was true. She’d kissed him first once—but it was more of a headbutt. Technically, it counted. But she’d never hugged him first.

So when El brought it up now, trying to gently cure her chronic shyness about initiating affection, Rurin immediately started looking up at the ceiling, pretending to be distracted.

“T-th-that! Y-you! Why is it so hot today! I think we need to open the window!”

Then she spun around toward the window, even assuming a running stance.

“What do you mean hot? It’s perfectly comfortable.”

“Then you’re the weird one!”

But Rurin couldn’t go to the window. She was standing on the bed, and El was sitting on it—he raised his hand and firmly grabbed hers.

So Rurin froze, caught in place with her arm held.

“Darling? Didn’t you say you’d do anything? And that you’ve done everything?”

“……”

Left speechless, Rurin clammed up. She stood there silently, her hand in El’s.

“W-when…did I ever say…that?”

“Just a moment ago?”

Another moment of silence. Then, as if making a monumental decision, she nodded.

“…Fine.”

“Oh? Really?”

El looked at her with surprise. Rurin turned and sat down in front of him, as if reluctantly accepting her fate.

Though unlike earlier, she didn’t sit on his lap in close contact.

“I-it’s true I brought it up, so just this once! Seriously, just this once!”

She kept emphasizing “just this once”. Even though it had been quite a while since their wedding night, she was still shy about something as simple as hugging first—and that just made El smile.

Even that was adorable.

Still, sometimes El really wanted her to be the one to initiate. And right now was one of those times.

“S-so I have to approach like this… Ugh. Don’t look at me like that!”

Rurin started analyzing the distance between them, wondering how to approach. El shook his head and asked:

“You were practically glued to me earlier. Now you’re stressing about how to approach?”

“I-I’m embarrassed! A-and there are other emotions too! Y-you don’t understand. You asked me to hug first, so it’s different—so I-I’ll try to be brave!”

“You need…courage?”

Rurin really did start mustering her courage. Bit by bit, she moved closer to El. She closed the distance by about 1 centimeter! A monumental advance.

And from just that 1 centimeter, her entire face turned bright red, ears to cheeks.

Even when they spent nights together, she didn’t blush like this anymore. El thought about it and realized just how different she acted now compared to their time in bed.

That contrast was…secretly irresistible. El was dying to just pull her into his arms—but the lady dragon had declared she would take the lead, so he held back.

“Wait! I’m almost there!”

She finally advanced another 10 centimeters. But calling that “almost” was a bit of a stretch—there were still at least 20 centimeters to go.

“Um, honey? I think you still have about 20 centimeters left.”

“Hold on! I’m working super hard here! It’d be easier if you were asleep, but you’re wide awake and staring at me like that… Your eyes are on me—I can’t just… Aaargh!”

She waved her hand and launched into a rambling explanation about how much effort she was putting in. El gave up responding and decided to just watch in silence.

Well, if she could make it 10 centimeters, maybe the other 20 centimeters would follow someday?

Time passed, and bit by bit, Rurin finally reached El. She took a huge breath, steadied herself, then pointed toward the window.

“Look over there! I can’t do this with you staring at me!”

“…Now even looking at you is a problem?”

“It is.”

Well, if it’s a problem, so be it. El nodded.

“Fine, fine. Got it. You’re giving me a hug, after all—what can’t I do?”

He gave up nitpicking and turned his head to the side. Finally, Rurin opened her arms. All that was left was to embrace him, to wrap her arms around his back!

“Hoo… Hoo… Huuuh…”

She made strange noises, somewhere between a deep breath and a whimper, then shut her eyes tight and hugged El. She looked like a celebrity with a fear of heights forced into a bungee jump on live TV.

El’s face sank into Rurin’s chest, and she hugged him tightly. Finally—finally! Rurin had initiated the hug. A historic first!

As El pressed against her soft chest, Rurin’s body heat—rising from embarrassment—enveloped him completely.

The feeling of her arms tightly around his back felt surprisingly different from when he usually initiated the hug.

“Y-you… I-I think I’m gonna faint. H-hugging you like this… T-this is…this is…”

Her vision started spinning, and the heat in her head made her look ready to collapse—so El gently released her arms and switched to holding her instead.

Now, her body nestled snugly into El’s chest.

“You…?”

“You did great. It’d be nice if you hugged me more often, but…looks like you need more practice. So let’s call it a day?”

“Really? Hehe, I almost died!”

Rurin let out a laugh of relief, happy to have survived such a taxing ordeal. She wrapped her arms around El’s back too.

Whenever El initiated the hug, she would always return it—so long as he made the first move.

But now that he was hugging her, her breathing was steady and her body temperature was normal again. It baffled El. The act was the same—yet her reaction was totally different when he was the one holding her.

Well, there’s nothing to be done about it.

That was just part of Rurin’s charm, after all.

El, still holding her, gently laid her down on the bed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead—then lowered himself to kiss her nose too.

“Y-you…? Two kisses in a row… Mmph?”

Then, finally, he kissed her lips. Of course, once caught off guard, Rurin actively leaned into him.

As they pulled apart, El’s lips trailed down to her neck.

“Ahh… You…? It’s still broad daylight…”

Rurin said that—but wrapped herself around El like she was starved for him. In this kind of moment, she had no hesitation at all.

“What, it’s not allowed in daylight?”

She didn’t reply. She just shook her head furiously. Over and over—almost comically so.

Much later.

The couple had dozed off on the bed, but suddenly sat up. Especially El, who sprang upright.

“Woof woof!”

They heard an unusual sound from outside.

“Huh?”

El stared at the door. The barking grew louder, then continued nonstop.

“This barking… I know that bark…”

“That’s the dog from before. Why is it here?”

Rurin tilted her head in confusion. El just shrugged, gave her cheek a quick peck, and got up.

“I’ll go check.”

“Huh?”

El stepped out. The barking was too much to ignore.

And just as he suspected, there was the dog—Doongi—tied to the door handle.

[Sorry for tying him up briefly. He would’ve followed me otherwise. Please untie him quickly…]

There was a letter starting with those lines. El read through it—it was asking him to take care of the dog.

The writer explained they couldn’t keep the dog anymore and asked for help finding someone else to care for it.

They expressed disgust at doing the same thing the dog’s former owner had done—but said they had no choice, as their own life was effectively over.

Wait, why is their life over?

After finishing the letter, El frowned. Asking to find a new owner was one thing—but why say your life is over?

Like they were going to die or something.

He checked the accompanying gift bag labeled “compensation”—and found it held tens of millions of won.

Now that he thought about it, the man mentioned retirement. Was this his severance pay?

What kind of circumstances would lead someone to offer millions just to have their dog watched temporarily?

With a deeply troubled look, El slowly set the bag down.