WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Ryuu

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend is Too Pretty

Chapter 29: Preparing for a Date with a Childhood Friend (3)

"May Alicia Cecilia Blomvall beat you up and send you to your grave, Lee Do-yoon."

"If you survive, come to the PC Café. We're only out to grab some food because there's no space available right now."

"Man, donuts are freakin' delicious all of a sudden."

As if they had finished their task, Chae-hwan and Jin-woo mocked me and walked away.

Though I stood there, dumbfounded, as if nailed to the spot, it wasn't really a big deal.

-Beep

-Who is it?

Elli's voice, cold and abrupt as if it were the most natural thing in the world, came through my smartphone.

I was confident, though. Elli knew about Bin Noona.

"The kids messaged me, so I called. It's Bin Noona. We met by chance here. Just saying hi and then leaving, I guess."

-Bin Noona? Why is she there at this hour?

"She took a half-day off. Said she was on her way to buy some liquor."

-...Hmph.

Through the signal, I could feel Elli's snort of relief.

So cute.

But without revealing those feelings, I smoothly changed the subject to avoid making my cute childhood friend feel awkward.

"What are you and Lee So-yeon up to?"

-Just talking. Eating snacks.

"Sounds fun."

-Fun? ...Did you finish what you were doing?

"Uh, almost?"

-Then come over...

-Is Do-yoon calling? We're in the middle of a naughty conversation... Oop!

-...I'm going to have dinner and then head back, so see you later tonight.

"Okay."

-Click

Before we could delve into a longer conversation, Elli hung up. Whatever they were discussing, I'm glad they seemed to be having fun.

From there, I headed to the PC Café where my friends were.

I need to do some gaming with the guys and search for which amusement park to go on a date to.

I wonder which Ferris wheel is famous.

***

And the weekend after the exams had ended.

The most important part of the coupling was ordered, and I had decided with my friends during a gaming session which amusement park to go to. Just in case, I also booked the train tickets in advance.

Now, what's left?

Is there really nothing?

If anything, it's just deciding what to wear that day, but by the time it comes around, Elli will pick out my outfit to match her own wardrobe anyway.

I don't have the right to choose my own clothes.

So that was all the preparation I had to do, but Elli seemed very busy starting from now.

She didn't come to meet me even on the weekend and briefly visited in the morning before continuing to do something at home.

When I tried to go see what she was up to...

"Hehe, you can't come over today~"

"Do-yoon, if you're hungry, order whatever you want with Dad. Mom's going to have a talk here today. I have to make sure to... give a proper warning."

"You too... Trust your daughter-in-law a bit~"

"How can I trust when you're already like this?"

I was blocked at the entrance by the lady and my mom. The lady seemed quite happy, while my mom, though supportive of Elli, seemed to be guarding her with mixed feelings.

As a result, filled with curiosity and anticipation, I returned home.

"Do-yoon, isn't Mom coming?"

"She told me to order something with Dad."

"...Alright. Shall we invite Mark and have the three of us eat?"

"Yeah. I'll call him."

Following Dad's suggestion to order takeout, I called Mark, who seemed to have been waiting for the invitation, as he quickly came over to our house.

Thus, the three men in our house ended up ordering black bean noodles, spicy seafood noodles, and sweet and sour pork.

-Slurp!

Honestly, it was really delicious.

Normally, both the lady and my mom are so good at cooking delicious meals that when we occasionally order such junk food, it feels extremely satisfying.

Dad and Mark seemed to feel the same, as the three of us cleaned our plates and chatted away.

"Do-yoon. Are you going out with Elli next week?"

"Oh, you heard?"

"They're still talking about it over there. Have a good time."

Mark swept back his platinum blonde hair, which Elli also inherited, and spoke with a kind smile.

While Elli mostly resembles the lady in appearance, the distinctive platinum blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes clearly show her relation to Mark.

Thanks to that, I've been fond of Mark since I was young.

And fortunately, he strongly supports mine and Elli's relationship. Of course, as a father, he's not yet ready to permit anything too intimate.

"Where are you guys going? Your mom didn't know that much."

Dad asked with interest about our destination.

I hadn't told Elli yet, so it was natural for her not to know.

It's not really something to hide.

"We're going to Familyland in Gwangju."

"Gwangju? That's quite a trip."

"Yeah, I heard they have the biggest Ferris wheel in the country there. I've already booked everything."

"That's going to cost a bit... Should Dad give you some pocket money?"

"It's okay. I still have a lot left from what I earned drawing. I'll use that."

"Earning and spending your own money. You're amazing, my son."

Dad patted my head proudly, and Mark smiled warmly at my story and patted my shoulder.

"Nice. Be careful and take good care of Elli."

"I will."

"And... you know, Do-yoon?"

-Crack...!

"Ugh...!"

"No staying out overnight yet."

"Uh, of course..."

"Känna till(You know)?"

"Säker(Of course)..."

"Do-yoon is so easy to talk to."

Mark, being strong and well-built, made me feel like my shoulder was about to shatter at that moment.

I nodded vigorously, promising not to do anything inappropriate, engraved with that warning in my body.

Of course, I had no intention of doing anything Elli didn't want.

"Do-yoon, it's fascinating to hear you speak Swedish. How about we all go to Sweden together sometime?"

"Oh, that's a great idea. Sweden is a beautiful country. I'd love to invite Do-hyun's family."

"Oh, I'd really like to go to Sweden too. I want to meet Mark's family and see the country where Elli was born."

"How about going in the winter? Sweden is always beautiful, but it's especially magical in winter."

"Winter, huh... If we start planning now, we might be able to make it this time."

We had talked about going on a trip before, but it never materialized due to Dad's busy schedule.

So, after pondering for a moment with his arms crossed, Dad seemed to firm up his resolve.

"Alright. I'll try to make time."

"Haha! That's the spirit! Excellent!"

And so, a Sweden trip was potentially on the horizon, though whether it would actually happen remained to be seen.

Mark seemed even happier about it, perhaps looking forward to this year's trip that might finally take place, at least six months away.

Mark had always been disappointed when Elli was reluctant to visit Sweden, probably because she didn't want to be away from me for too long, which everyone in the family knew.

Though uncertain, I was truly looking forward to it, and even if it didn't happen this time, I wanted to visit Sweden with Elli someday.

Just like Mark said, Sweden is always beautiful, but it's even more so in winter.

And Elli, always pretty, would look even more beautiful on a snowy winter day.

I really wanted to see Elli in Sweden during winter.

***

Several days passed, and it was Friday.

The date was just a day away.

During lunch at school, I was talking with Elli and Lee So-yeon, the three of us having a meal together.

So-yeon, particularly interested in our date, was eagerly questioning me.

"But isn't a 12 o'clock train too late for a day trip?"

Since the destination itself wasn't a secret, I had already shared it. Considering the round-trip travel time, So-yeon's concern made sense.

But that's a typical view.

"We need time in the morning for various preparations."

Of course, I'm confident I could get ready in 30 minutes, but Elli is different. She always takes a significant amount of time to prepare for such dates.

She'll probably go to a salon for setting from dawn again, which would be problematic if I hadn't learned that after all these years.

Therefore, I booked a comfortably late 12 o'clock train, which seemed to please Elli greatly, as she had smiled and praised me when I first mentioned it.

"Well done."

Even now, she was smiling at me with approval.

Seeing us like this, So-yeon, as if she were part of the outing herself, beamed and chattered away about the date.

"Wow, Do-yoon really put a lot of thought into this?"

"It's basic stuff."

"But won't that leave you with too little time to enjoy yourselves?"

"It'll take about seven hours round trip, but we'll have enough time there. We're not planning to ride many attractions anyway."

"Right, Elli doesn't like those things much."

My main goal is the giant Ferris wheel. Elli must know that's the purpose, given we're going all the way to an amusement park in Gwangju.

Her silence on the matter probably means she's fine with it.

We'll be returning on the 11 o'clock train, which is quite late, but given the long travel time and my plans, it was unavoidable.

"You'll bring souvenirs, right? You know I have a stake in this date too, right?"

"Hmm, bringing souvenirs from Gwangju... How about packaged bibimbap?"

"That's Jeonju! And even if it were Jeonju, not bibimbap!"

"I'll just give you a salt bread in each hand next time."

"It's a promise!"

Elli seemed to have something on her mind today, being unusually quiet, while Lee So-yeon and I chatted away about the date before the topic changed.

"Did you guys hear? Joo Hye-ryeong's TikTok blew up this time."

"Oh, that. I saw it."

A topic about a classmate from another class, whom Elli and Lee So-yeon don't particularly like, but don't dislike to a surprising degree either.

"Seems she was busy filming that all this time. She hasn't been bothering you much lately, has she?"

"Right. Though she still messages me every time she posts a video."

"Hmm~ Watched them all?"

"Of course. Watched every single one with Elli, so don't look at me like that."

Mostly daily lookbooks, but the coordination was decent, so even Elli paid quite a bit of attention to the videos.

Girls' relationships are indeed complex.

Though So-yeon and Elli often complained about her openly showing interest in me.

Recalling a conversation they had.

"It's annoying, but she's not bad compared to some. At least she doesn't do anything nasty behind our backs."

"Right. Joo Hye-ryeong's all about pride. She'd never stoop to that."

There seemed to be a grudging respect. And I understood where they were coming from.

The fact that I maintained a casual texting relationship with Joo Hye-ryeong, and she didn't spread rumors or talk bad about Elli, was probably why.

"Anyway, it's good she's not bothering you two. She's starting to get really popular now~"

"Haha..."

"Hmph."

After various conversations, we finished our meal.

And when the day's classes ended and Elli and I arrived at her house, she said,

"Wait here at 10:30 tomorrow."

With that, she implied we wouldn't see each other until tomorrow, probably preparing for the date from now on, so I nodded in agreement.

"10:30. Okay."

"Wear what I send you on KakaoTalk tonight."

"Will do."

With that, Elli opened her arms towards me.

Naturally, I pulled her into an embrace.

-Peck...

Our lips met.

Perhaps this was the last time... No, certainly by tomorrow morning would be the last time.

I savored the kiss, the taste of Pepero, and Elli's soft lips.

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