WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend Is Too Pretty ◈

Chapter 102: 39. Welcoming the Summer of Twenty

──────

Midterms were over.

My grades were so-so. I'd worked hard, but the difficulty was something else entirely.

Still, I'd given it my best. There was plenty to regret, but no point in dwelling on what was already done.

"You worked hard. Good job."

Elli praised me for doing well, after all.

That was what mattered most.

Even if a little disappointment lingered in the back of my mind, the moment Elli hugged me and said it was okay, I'd think, "Well, that's good enough!"

So the second exams ended, I suggested we start going to the gym together. Getting sick and run-down had made me realize just how lacking my stamina really was.

Elli, though, was skeptical.

"The gym? We already exercise every day, so why go out of our way to do even more? You could just do some yoga whenever you have a spare moment, like me."

"We exercise? When do we ever... oh."

I caught on to what she meant a beat too late. Elli smiled at my naive reaction, a slow, sultry curve of her lips, and reached out to stroke me. Starting from my cheek and trailing down to my chest.

At the same time, she held my gaze with those jewel-blue eyes of hers and said softly, "Isn't what we do every night exercise? We work up a sweat every single time. Do you really need more on top of that?"

"I mean, if that counts as exercise, I guess it does..."

"If it's not enough, we can just do more at night. Right?"

"...Fair point."

I agreed for the moment, but sex and actual exercise really were different things. I'd looked it up at some point and had a rough idea.

Elli seemed to dislike the idea of exercise eating into our time together, though. So after thinking it over briefly, I slipped in a quiet addition.

"Elli. Then how about I just do planks and squats at home, consistently? I think that'd actually help with our nighttime activities too..."

"At home? That's fine. Go ahead."

Not a single second of hesitation the moment I said at home. Was it the gym itself she hated?

"You don't like gyms?"

"Are you serious right now? Don't even think about going somewhere like that. What if some girl tries to get her hooks into you..."

"Ah, so that's why."

That explained her reaction. I'd been too focused on the exercise angle to even think about it that way.

Honestly, if Elli were going somewhere like that in thin workout clothes, I'd hate it too. Everyone around her would be staring nonstop.

And the number of people trying to hit on her would be something else.

So I nodded and pulled Elli into my arms, that sharp-eyed glare of hers still aimed at the mere mention of a gym.

-smack!

I kissed that slightly pouty little mouth of hers and watched her face bloom open all at once, then said, "I'll exercise hard at home only. You know my exams are done, right? I'm not letting you sleep tonight. Brace yourself."

During exam season, even when we did have sex, it was often over quickly. On top of that, I'd been in rough shape right before the last exam, so we'd gone without for about three days.

I said it partly to make up for that, and the corners of Elli's eyes curved into a smile.

"Confident, are you?"

"Obviously."

"Hmm... fine. Then tonight I'll wear whatever you want."

"Cosplay?"

"Cosplay, lingerie, whatever."

"The puppy stuff isn't ready yet though, right?"

"I haven't ordered it yet. The one I want is apparently being restocked."

"What about the reverse bunny suit?"

"That one I have. Want me to wear that?"

"Yeah. I've been so curious about it."

"Pervert. Go get ready to head out. Mom said to stop by for a bit."

"Your mom?"

"She made herbal samgyetang. Let's go eat and come back."

"Oh, that sounds amazing."

"Starting next week I'll cook that kind of thing for you once a week, so look forward to it."

"That kind of thing...? Anyway, I will."

"And you, if you actually let me fall asleep tonight, you're dead tomorrow morning."

"I will do my absolute best..."

Four months since we started living on our own.

Our relationship, our nights together, had actually grown stickier and more intense since that time I got sick. Instead of cutting back, we'd shifted course toward getting healthier so we wouldn't need to cut back at all.

After that, April passed and mid-May arrived.

With each passing day, our life together in our own place settled into a more comfortable rhythm.

Time just for the two of us, individual hobbies like painting and guitar, university life.

All of it fitting together in its own harmonious way.

And then.

As the days grew warmer, occasionally even hot.

We finally got to have it.

"The registration came through in both your names, just like you wanted, and the basic paperwork is all done. Now you two just enjoy driving it around."

"Thank you, Dad!"

"Thank you so much, Father-nim."

Our first car.

* * *

Purchase price, acquisition tax, insurance, all of it.

When it came to money, we managed without reaching out to our parents at all, paying with our own strength, honestly speaking mostly Elli's strength, and bought ourselves a used compact car.

The original owner had already left for Australia with her husband, so we never actually met her, and the shopping mall owner handled the transaction on her behalf.

Once all the paperwork was sorted out.

Looking at our car parked in the parking lot of their own place, both Elli and I were grinning ear to ear and making a fuss over it.

"They washed it so thoroughly."

"Don't leave random stuff in the car. We're keeping it clean."

"I don't really have anything to leave in it anyway... I just need a phone charger up front and I'm set."

"Even so."

"Got it. Oh, should we run to the mart right now? I really want to drive it."

"Then let's go to Yumart. I needed to buy toilet paper and dish soap anyway."

"Okay!"

We couldn't contain the excitement and climbed right in.

With our compact little car and me behind the wheel and Elli sitting neatly in the passenger seat, it really did feel like a married couple heading out on an errand.

Elli seemed to be thinking something similar, because our eyes met. She smiled softly, then,

-smack!

leaned over and gave me a light kiss. All the joy she was feeling right then was packed into it.

"Ready to go?"

"Hold on, you haven't put your seatbelt on."

"Oh, right."

"Do you want to die? Never forget the seatbelt. And always drive safely."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The seatbelt cut across Elli's chest and made her already eye-catching figure press even more plainly against her sweatshirt, which did set something smoldering in my chest.

But Elli being sexy and gorgeous wasn't exactly news.

Maybe it was because I was driving my own car for the first time, but I was a little tense as we made our way through the streets.

Fortunately, we made it to the large mart without any trouble, bought what we needed, and loaded everything into the back seat. For a compact car, the back seats had surprisingly generous space, which made it easy to store things.

"Having a car really is so much more convenient, isn't it?"

"Shopping like this is still better done online, honestly... but going in person every once in a while isn't bad either."

"Feels like a waste to go straight home. Want to stop at a cafe first?"

"Sure. Look up whether there's one nearby with parking."

"On it."

On the way back from the mart, Elli took the wheel and I sat in the passenger seat. We made a leisurely stop at a cafe along the way and enjoyed the drive at our own pace.

And during all of that, I noticed again how incredibly cool and sexy Elli looked behind the wheel.

I'd already thought she was good at driving back during the license test, but she barely seemed tense at all, just calmly turning the wheel at her own pace, and I could not take my eyes off her.

"You look so cool driving."

"Everyone looks the same driving. Cool isn't the word."

"No, seriously. I fell for you all over again just watching. Cool in a way that's sexy. I really mean it."

"Hmph. You're just saying that because you're too lazy to drive."

"Absolutely not. Should I just do all the driving from now on?"

"Forget it. We'll take turns like today. We're going to be driving far for trips, and doing it all alone gets tiring."

I really, genuinely loved it. We'd only made one loop around the neighborhood and already the simple act of driving together was fun.

Naturally, that led us into talking about the out-of-town trip we'd been planning.

Sure, we'd heard from multiple people that long-distance driving in a compact car wasn't exactly easy.

"If we don't rush and take it easy, it should be totally manageable."

"The ride comfort is fine enough. If it were any smaller it'd feel cramped, but this one is actually a decent size."

"True. And so what if it's a little uncomfortable? As long as I'm with you, everything is good and fun."

"...You say the sweetest things sometimes. Lee Do-yoon."

"Hmm?"

"When we get home, wait for me with your lips puckered."

"Like a duck?"

"Like a duck."

It wasn't going to be a problem for us.

Uncomfortable didn't mean unbearable to the point of giving up, and more than anything, we'd already grown so attached to the car on the very first day that we were both confident we could put up with just about anything.

Talking like that, we drove back to the parking lot of their own place, cut the engine, and just before getting out.

In this space, outdoors yet enclosed.

"mmh... mm... smch..."

With our hands on each other and our lips pressed together, everything felt far more electric than usual.

Before we'd even made it inside, Elli caught my lower lip between hers and wouldn't let go. After a long stretch of kissing, when we broke apart for a breath, Elli said in a flushed, heated voice, "Haah... next time when the timing's right... we're doing that thing."

"That thing... right..."

"What, you don't want to?"

"I do want to... I'm just a little worried someone might see."

"Obviously we'd check our surroundings first. Only when we're absolutely sure there's nobody around."

"Then of course I'm in. I've wanted to do that with you outside too... mmph...!"

"smooch..."

The drive and the upcoming trip were both things to look forward to.

But nothing quite matched this, being tangled up happily with the person you love.

"smack... mm... mhm..."

We kept our lips together for a long, long time inside the car.

Hoping that someday we'd be able to actually act on that fantasy Bini-noona had told us about.

* * *

After we got the car.

What had been our daily routine of being stuck to each other at home, whether having sex or doing anything else, naturally shifted into going out on little trips whenever we had a free moment.

Nothing too far, nothing too heavy. Starting with places close to Seoul, building from there.

Having a car opened up so many things we could do, and so many things we wanted to do.

It really was no exaggeration that a car was a necessity.

Even without any particular destination, just getting in and driving somewhere with Elli was enough.

The gas costs did add up a bit, but it wasn't much of a burden. Not with how well Elli earned.

Then June came around, and we devoted ourselves to studying for finals.

This time, thankfully, I got through the whole exam period without my condition going sideways on me.

Probably because I'd been keeping up with planks and squats since April and had built up some stamina. Elli seemed happier about things at night too.

My grades were still just so-so, though. I'd been going on drives instead of focusing, so it made sense that I'd done worse than midterms.

With finals over, summer arrived as a matter of course.

The first summer vacation since starting university.

"Nothing forgotten?"

"Nothing. And if we have, we can just buy it when we get there."

"Okay. Let's go!"

We got in the car and headed straight for the trip.

Just the two of us, cozy and close.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried