My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend is Too Pretty - Chapter 124

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend Is Too Pretty ◈

Chapter 124: 49. There Was a Princess There

──────

That thought quickly hardened into certainty, and right after, I called Mina-unni too.

The surprise events Elli put together for me usually had something to do with cosplay, and whenever that was the case she almost always went to Mina-unni for advice.

Sure enough, it played out exactly as expected.

"Uh, Elli? Hmm... I, I haven't been in contact with her recently?"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, yeah! Not at all! Oh, we did talk a lot when she was buying that sexy cat costume! How did that go, by the way?"

"How did it go? She was absolutely adorable. Thanks as always, unni."

"Oh, stop it! I just wish she'd show me how it looks on her at least once... she never shows me anything spicy. Still, at least with this time I'll be able to see... oops."

"This time?"

"N, never mind! Oh right, I was writing! I'm busy so I'm hanging up! Hey, before you go, if you have time, take one illustration commission for me!"

"Sure. Take care, unni."

Unlike the others who hadn't seemed particularly interested in hiding anything, Mina-unni's reaction itself was completely transparent.

It was almost like she'd let it slip on purpose.

Either way, what I managed to piece together was this: she was planning to put together a surprise event for me over the weekend while I was out with Jeong-woo hyung, and it had something to do with cosplay. I wasn't sure whether she'd need other people's hands on the day itself, but it sounded like she'd consulted and gotten a lot of input from the people around her while preparing.

That was roughly the extent of it.

"Still, if it's a cosplay event, she's done those pretty often... what would she need to ask around about?"

With only three weeks left until enlistment, she was going out every single day working hard on whatever this was.

I still couldn't quite get a feel for what, in that territory, would warrant all that effort.

And on top of that.

"She told me not to do surprises for her."

Elli had always insisted that I never do surprises for her and that we absolutely had to do everything together. Yet back then and again now, it seemed like surprises she prepared herself were perfectly fine.

"Well, I don't really mind."

Not that I wanted to make an issue of it. She was just trying to do something nice for me.

I understood the feeling behind what Elli had said, about not doing secret surprises and insisting we do things together. It meant she wanted to share everything with me, and it also meant avoiding any unnecessary misunderstandings that could arise from secretly preparing something.

But I also understood the feeling of wanting to secretly pull off a surprise for someone you love.

Hypocritical? Sure. But honestly, even if I secretly prepared some surprise for her, Elli wouldn't actually get angry. She'd probably pout a little and then end up happy about it anyway.

So whenever the time came to propose, I had been planning to keep it a secret and prepare it on my own.

In that sense, what swelled up in my chest right now was nothing but pure, enormous anticipation.

I'm dying to know.

Elli, who hated being apart from me even for a moment, was giving up time with me with only three weeks left until I shipped out, just to prepare a surprise. What could it be?

What kind of cosplay was she planning?

I was genuinely, desperately curious.

As I drifted through all these thoughts and imaginings on my own, the anxiety and restlessness I'd been feeling about the military quietly dissolved without a trace. All I wanted was to see my adorable girlfriend.

* * *

6 p.m.

"I'm back."

Again today, Elli came home before dinner. Her face looked a little tired.

Just as she had every day these past few days, the moment she walked in she came straight into my arms, we kissed, we spent a while fondling each other with wandering hands, and then moved to the bathroom to sink into the tub together.

"Harder... haa..."

We had sex.

After that we got along nicely making dinner together.

"What did you do with unni?"

"Just chatted and hung out."

"Was it fun?"

"I mean... it was alright."

I was watching Elli more closely than usual while we ate, and though it might have been my imagination, she seemed a little flustered by my questions.

Maybe it was nothing.

We finished the meal, and then.

"I'll do it. Go sit down."

Maybe she felt guilty about leaving me alone all the time, because Elli started doing the dishes, something she normally left to me.

Clatter, clatter.

Elli standing at the sink with her back to me was somehow so endearing I could barely stand it. Watching her made me want to wrap my arms around her and press close with all kinds of skinship, enough to drive me a little crazy.

That feeling was always there, but knowing she was secretly preparing a surprise for me made it even stronger.

In the end I couldn't hold back the surge of affection and want. So as she was finishing up the dishes, I slipped up close behind her.

And then.

With a firm grip, I slid Elli's black dolphin shorts down. She has big hips, so unless I really put some force into it the shorts don't come off easily.

When the dolphin shorts finally dropped to the floor, what came into view wasn't plain cotton but a pair of pink silk lace panties. She'd probably worn them expecting we'd have sex again tonight as a matter of course.

And beyond that, the expanse of pale white skin the panties couldn't quite cover.

It lit a fire in me.

"......"

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Even with my sudden move, Elli said nothing and rushed to finish up the last of the dishes.

Her hurry made it obvious she wanted to get done quickly and spend some sweet, heated time with me.

Meanwhile I wrapped an arm around her waist. I pressed my lips to her ear through her platinum-blonde hair.

A soft kiss on her small ear, and with my other hand I slowly, very slowly pulled her panties down, and spoke.

"Elli."

"What are you doing, getting in the way. Can't you wait until I'm done with the dishes?"

She said it like a complaint, but Elli's voice was already a little breathless.

At the same time she swayed her hips from side to side as if urging me to hurry up and get her panties off, and started pressing her backside against me, rubbing softly.

The gap between her words and her body, that unmistakable wanting, made me slide the hand around her waist under the hem of her shirt.

A soft click, a slight bounce.

I remembered she'd been wearing a front-hook bra earlier. Reaching up and fumbling for it until I unhooked it, I felt her full chest come free all at once.

Then I leaned back to her ear and whispered.

"You've been going out and leaving me behind every day... I've been really lonely."

"...Have you?"

I said it in a pouty, almost childish way, and some of the tension went out of Elli's voice. There was a faint trace of guilt in it.

By now I'd actually caught on to the reason for her going out, and I was mostly teasing, but it wasn't entirely untrue either. The fact was, I did get lonely when Elli wasn't around.

Still, I didn't want her feeling sorry or guilty on my account. So I added quickly.

"Not that I'm against it or anything... you need time to go out and hang out with friends. I go out on my own sometimes too."

"......"

"Even so, I was lonely, so... you get what I'm saying, right?"

The moment those words were out.

Elli's hands moved even faster. She finished the dishes in an instant and pulled off the rubber gloves, hanging them on the side.

Her lower half already completely bare without even her panties, her upper half in just a T-shirt with no bra underneath.

Elli twisted around and said, "Let me go for a second."

"Okay."

In one smooth motion, once I released her, Elli yanked the last remaining T-shirt off roughly and tossed it aside. Then she grabbed my arm and headed toward the living room table.

The same table where we'd been sitting across from each other sharing a meal just a little while ago.

She sat on top of it.

Completely bare, all that pale white skin with nothing at all between it and the air.

She spread her long legs wide to either side, showing everything without a hint of shyness.

The long hair she'd tied up in a ponytail for the dishes cascaded loose, and with those blue eyes flushed a burning red, she looked at me with a heat that could set things alight.

"Lee Do-yoon."

Showing me everything, holding nothing back.

Elli said, "We had dinner, so this is... dessert. Eat up. As much as you like. As much as you want. Take your time, take everything."

She was telling me to eat her up.

With a full heart, I got undressed. Roughly and hurriedly, as worked up as her loveliness had made me.

Bare in no time at all, I moved toward the dessert laid out just for me on the table.

"You'll be in trouble if you leave any behind."

"I won't leave a single bite. Thank you for the meal...!"

For the next two hours or so.

I didn't leave a thing behind, and I ate every last bit of it.

* * *

That night.

We'd had sex right after dinner, but before sleep we tangled together one more time, and then I pulled Elli close, both of us damp with sweat, and said.

"Jeong-woo hyung wants to hang out with me this weekend. Is it okay if I go?"

"Go have fun. I've been going out a lot lately too, seeing friends and unni."

As though granting a favor, as though saying since she'd been out playing too, I should go have my fun.

Normally when Jeong-woo hyung asked to hang out, she'd stick out her lip and grumble a little before giving in. This time there was none of that, just a ready, easy yes.

Her clumsy little performance was adorable, so I poked at it a bit.

"But I actually want to go on a date with you that day... should I just not go?"

"Uh... w, what... w, well. Do what you want. I was probably going to go meet Lee So-yeon and Joo Hye-ryeong briefly that day anyway..."

She clearly hadn't expected me to say that, and the way she stumbled was funny to watch.

Still, I didn't want to push it too hard.

"Never mind. Hyung said this would be one last time to hang out before I ship out. I'll go that day."

"...Okay. Have fun."

The sudden flip relaxed her, but the word "military" seemed to knock the air out of her a little.

I kissed Elli on the forehead and patted her back softly.

As if to say, I'm here right now, so don't worry.

"......"

Elli burrowed deeper into my arms.

I held her tighter. Sharing each other's warmth, each other's body heat, we slowly closed our eyes.

Wishing the weekend would come sooner.

* * *

Sunday.

"Alright, I'm heading out."

"Have fun. Text me when you get there."

"Will do. See you later."

A little after noon.

Leaving Elli behind, who had seemed tense about something since morning, I slung my guitar over my shoulder and headed out to meet Jeong-woo hyung.

Acting like I had no idea about anything. Keeping it as casual as any other day.

I went straight to the music studio, the place we used to visit often when hyung and I would sing together. Jeong-woo hyung had already arrived and was waiting for me.

"You're here?"

"Yeah. Oh, hyung."

"What."

"How long should I stay before heading out?"

I asked that out of nowhere the moment we met, but Jeong-woo hyung understood immediately what I meant and looked surprised.

"What, you already knew?"

"Nobody seemed all that interested in hiding it. But I don't know the details. Something like Elli prepared a surprise event?"

"Honestly it's probably a relief you figured it out. I was wondering how I was supposed to keep you here until six. You'll get a message from me in the evening, so head out then."

"Where to?"

"Royal Castle Hotel. Probably about thirty minutes from here."

"A hotel? Thirty minutes... that's a bit of a trek."

"We'll just sing until then. Don't wear yourself out, save your energy. Take it easy on your voice too."

"Got it. Thanks for helping Elli, hyung."

"Sure. You better be grateful. Bini's running around like crazy for her too."

"Noona is? Why?"

"Go and you'll understand."

I had done my best to look unbothered when I left home, but honestly my heart had been pounding nonstop since I woke up.

Because I was so curious and excited about what kind of surprise was waiting.

And now Jeong-woo hyung was saying things like this on top of it all. Honestly, if it had been next week instead of this one, I might not have been able to keep pretending I didn't know.

So.

I spent a relaxed stretch of time singing with Jeong-woo hyung and let that settle my nerves, at least a little.

As six o'clock drew close.

"Hey."

"Did the message come?"

"Yeah. Head out. There'll be a friend of yours waiting in front of the hotel. Leave your guitar, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks! I'll go on ahead!"

"Sure. Have a good time."

I burst out of the studio and flagged down a taxi.

I checked my phone on the way, but there was nothing from Elli.

Still committed to keeping the perfect surprise, apparently.

Even though everyone around her had been so obviously restless, dropping hints left and right whenever I even glanced in their direction.

Anyway, the hotel came into sight about twenty-five minutes later.

I jumped out of the taxi and half-jogged toward the entrance, and near the door, Lee So-yeon was waiting for me.

"Do-yoon, over here!"

"Since everyone knows at this point, I'm not going to pretend. Where do I go?"

"Take this key card. Just go to that room! Oh, and don't insert the card once you're inside!"

"Got it. Thanks for all your help with Elli, you too."

"Don't mention it~ Go on, hurry up. Don't forget you owe us all a big dinner later. Me, Hye-ryeong, Bini-unni, and Mina-unni, we all helped out a ton, okay?"

"Seems like you all finally got to meet each other this time. Where did they go, anyway?"

"We're waiting at a cafe nearby. We'll head in on our own later, so don't worry about us, just go up."

"Thanks. Next time I'll make it a proper feast."

"Counting on it! And you better tell us how it goes!"

I left Lee So-yeon behind, waving with a bright smile, and walked straight into the hotel.

The hotel itself was gorgeous, and the floor number on the key card was near the very top. A high-tier room, by the look of it. Maybe a suite.

With so many people pitching in to help, I had already gathered this was more than just a simple cosplay event, but I hadn't imagined it would be this serious.

I took the elevator up, stepped out onto a floor done in brilliant marble and plush carpet.

And then I was standing in front of the hotel room.

"...Okay."

One deep breath.

Then, just as I was about to press the key card against the reader, a memory surfaced. The day I confessed to Elli, slipped the couple ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand, and shared the first real kiss that wasn't a bisou.

I had no idea why that came to me just then.

But somehow it felt like that day, and with that thought, I touched the card to the reader.

A clear chime rang out.

The door opened, and I stepped slowly inside.

It was very dark in there.

It wasn't late enough for it to be that dark, but heavy curtains had been drawn across every window, and deep shadow filled the room. Enough that I could barely see in front of me.

Only from the very far end did a soft, gentle light seep through.

The darkness pressed in and I almost reached to insert the key card, but So-yeon's words came back to me and I lowered my arm.

A quiet click as I shut the door and slipped off my shoes.

I made my way carefully through the dark.

Toward that light at the far end.

One step. Then another.

Holding down the hammering in my chest as best I could.

Swallowing against the strange, tight feeling in my throat.

I reached the end of the hallway and turned toward the light.

"......"

My eyes went wide, wider than they had any right to be, and every word left me. I couldn't even breathe.

She was there.