WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend Is Too Pretty ◈

Chapter 66: 24. Welcoming Elli's Birthday, One Step Closer to That Day

──────

After my birthday, the air started getting noticeably colder.

October passed, and November arrived.

Then, somewhere in the middle of juggling guitar practice and studying, December crept up on me.

Elli loved all four seasons in Korea, but winter was her favorite by far.

I wondered if it was because she was Swedish-born, and supposedly more beautiful in winter. Uncle Mark always said it was because she took after him.

Through November, Elli went out alone fairly often for fitting model shoots, but whenever she was home, she'd pour on the aegyo the moment she found me.

"I'm cold. So hold me. Don't let go."

"Can't argue with being cold. Come here. I'll hold you."

She said it was because she was cold, but I knew that wasn't really the reason.

Every winter, Elli would press herself closer to me than usual. That was true even before we started dating.

She clung to me so much at home that drawing became genuinely difficult, but knowing she just wanted physical closeness made it adorable.

Maybe the real reason Elli loved winter was that the cold gave her an excuse to stick to me even more.

Anyway, with Elli's birthday right around the corner, my guitar lessons with Jeong-woo hyung also wrapped up their first phase.

So on the last lesson.

"When that cold rainy autumn arrives..."

I sang while playing guitar in front of Jeong-woo hyung.

He'd told me not to obsess over hitting every note perfectly, that it was fine to slip up or crack, just stay relaxed and focus on the song itself. I followed that advice and put everything into it.

Jeong-woo hyung listened to the whole Lee Moon-se song I was going to perform for my parents, and then.

-Drip.

Not joking, he actually cried. Not sobbing or anything dramatic, just a quiet tear rolling down his face.

Standing there completely flustered, I watched him nod repeatedly and break into loud applause.

-Clap clap clap clap clap!

"This is it... these past few months weren't wasted..."

"I mean... I don't think I sang that well... I cracked more than I expected..."

"That's exactly what makes it perfect. God... that voice should've been mine... no, wait. If it were mine it probably wouldn't feel this way. Damn, this is genuinely my type of sound. That deep mid-low register is insane..."

Hyung had complimented my voice plenty of times before, but this moment made it obvious he truly meant it.

Tearing up while listening to a song. I'd known he was sensitive because of his musical background, but still.

"Hey."

"Yeah."

"Guitar's fun, right?"

"Incredibly. I had no idea playing guitar and singing together could be this much fun."

"That's why the singing got better. You have to enjoy it yourself before it can really come alive."

"Oh, you're right. I think I get that now. I was having so much fun I didn't even get nervous."

"See? So you want to join the band?"

"Get Elli to agree and I'm in."

"......"

"Should we run through the song for Elli too?"

"Were you planning not to? Knock off the nonsense and let's get started. Oh, wait. Let me film this. Bini-noona said she wanted to hear it too."

"Should I perform for Bini-noona in person sometime?"

"That works too. I'll need to hear it again myself."

Guitar lessons with Jeong-woo hyung, and the singing that came with them, turned out to be way more fun than I'd expected. Especially on the vocal side, I'd gotten a ton of advice from him.

When we used to go to karaoke together he never said anything, but once he was in teacher mode, he'd corrected all sorts of small tips and breathing techniques.

I hadn't absorbed all of it a hundred percent, but I was noticeably better than before, and singing had become genuinely more enjoyable for it.

─♬♪♬

When I played through the song I was going to sing for Elli, guitar chords and all, Jeong-woo hyung's face went serious and he started thinking hard.

"Should I try to convince Alisha...?"

Honestly, what I had right now was about the right level for a hobby. Still, doing duets with Jeong-woo hyung was fun, so if Elli could be convinced, I was open to it.

Of course.

Elli had witnessed firsthand how popular Jeong-woo hyung got with girls during performances. There was basically no chance she'd let me join a band.

A few days later, on a weekend.

I picked my moment while Dad was home, grabbed the guitar in the living room with warm sunlight filtering softly through the windows.

"Oh my, oh my... look how cool our Do-yoon is... what am I going to do..."

"That's Jeong-woo's guitar, right? Dad should buy Do-yoon one of his own."

"An expensive one, a good one!"

"Of course. Obviously."

I'd only picked up the guitar and they were already going wild.

Smiling quietly at their fuss, I sat down on the sofa and slowly plucked the strings.

Then I began.

"When I breathe in the lilac blossoms..."

Lee Moon-se's "Standing in the Shade of the Boulevard Trees," my parents' favorite song.

A song I personally loved too, and it turned out Jeong-woo hyung did as well, something gentle yet full of spirit.

"A world this beautiful, I'll never forget~"

I kept the guitar to simple chords, just laying down the foundation, and let my voice carry the rest.

"Erased by the cold morning breeze..."

At some point my parents started singing along, and the song grew richer with all three of our voices woven together.

During the instrumental break we all swayed softly and just soaked in the music.

Short, but genuinely happy.

-Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!!

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Shouldn't our son become a singer?!"

"Really, though. He's so much better than I expected. Learned well from Jeong-woo."

The moment the song ended, my parents praised me lavishly. They seemed completely delighted.

I'd listened to the recording Jeong-woo hyung made for me, and even I thought Lee Moon-se's song and my voice fit together pretty well, that it had a nice feel.

"Was it okay?"

"Just okay?! That's it. Honey, karaoke! Let's take our son and do one song together!"

"Should we? Do-yoon, do you have any plans with Elli today?"

At Dad's question I thought about it for a second. No specific plans, but once this was done she'd either come straight to our place or call me over, one or the other, that was certain.

Still, Mom begging to go to karaoke like this was a first. Dad must have noticed she wanted some cozy time just the three of us, because he didn't suggest bringing Elli along.

"No plans, but I'll let her know."

"All right. Ji-eun, let's get ready to go out."

"After karaoke let's go look at guitars too. We're buying one for our Do-yoon!"

"Sounds good."

Watching Mom disappear into her room bursting with excitement, I called Elli.

Just as I'd figured, she'd been thinking of heading over soon, and when I told her what had come up she asked if she could come over yet.

"Mom loved it so much... she suddenly said the three of us should go to karaoke together."

-Mmm...

"So I'll call you again after we're back."

-That's just how it is, huh... okay. Call me when you're heading home.

I told her Mom had really loved it, and Elli sounded like she was expecting something great.

I had to admit I felt a little nervous thinking about singing for Elli, but there was something more than that, a confidence rising inside me.

Jeong-woo hyung had loved it. My parents had loved it. I just wanted to sing for Elli already.

After that, at karaoke.

"Someday, all of us~"

We really just belted Lee Moon-se songs the whole time, Mom, Dad, and me. We sang until our voices gave out, then had dinner together, and stopped by a music shop on the way home so I could pick out my own guitar.

None of us were guitar experts, but I'd picked up a few decent brand names during lessons with Jeong-woo hyung, so I managed to choose something solid.

And when we got back home.

Elli had come after I called and was waiting outside our front door.

The moment Mom saw her, she broke into the biggest smile and said,

"Elli, I hear you haven't heard Do-yoon's guitar song properly yet? It was so, so good, you know~ I heard it before you did."

"......"

"......"

Dad and I were instantly flustered, struck speechless by the genuinely triumphant gloating that had just come out of Mom's mouth.

And Elli.

"......"

She went silent, her lips pushing out into a dramatic pout.

I had told her ahead of time that Mom would hear it first. Elli knew how much our mom adored me, knew exactly how jealous she'd get if Elli heard it first, so she'd said fine and accepted it.

So up until a moment ago, Elli probably hadn't thought much of her turn being pushed back.

But hearing Mom brag about it so directly brought the jealousy and sulking right up onto her face.

Watching her instant reaction, Dad and I smothered our laughter.

She was too cute.

"Do-yoon's voice was just so wonderful... you really have to hear it to understand~"

"Hmph. He promised to sing for me too, you know."

"That's right, but this makes you second, doesn't it?"

"......"

"Our son belongs to his mom first~ his girlfriend is second, naturally. Isn't that right?"

"...Lee Do-yoon. Come here. Let's go to my room."

"All right, all right~ you're second, but you two go have fun now."

It was sweet watching Mom and Elli together. Soothing the sulking Elli was always left to me, but still.

She'd agreed to let it happen, so she didn't complain out loud, but she didn't hide her bruised feelings either. For her, I repeated I love you until my voice nearly gave, told her of course she was my priority something like a thousand times, and gave her plenty of kisses along the way. Only then did her mood finally lift.

Even the slightly high-maintenance parts of her were endearing.

* * *

A few more days passed, and Elli's birthday arrived.

Like me, Elli's birthday fell right after exams, so plenty of people who'd been itching to have fun showed up to her birthday party.

She wasn't the easiest person to get close to, so the turnout was smaller than mine, though to be fair mine had been unusually packed, so the comparison wasn't really fair.

She had a big celebration with friends, then, same as my birthday, both families got together for a meal out.

And the day after.

Our parents mentioned they were going for a drive and headed out.

They all knew I'd been practicing guitar to sing for Elli. So they cleared out on purpose, giving us time alone together.

"Elli, you know the rules."

"I know, I know."

"I'm trusting you to be alone with him. No funny business."

"......"

"You have to answer."

"I won't."

"Good."

Mom made Elli promise right up until she walked out the door, but.

Not like I had any plans anyway.

Regardless.

"Okay, I'll start."

"Hold on. Let me get the camera set up first."

We were both dressed in date outfits, Elli had her phone mounted and recording, and then.

Just the two of us in the house.

─♬♪~

The song for Elli began.

The whole reason I'd started guitar practice and worked on singing was for her.

Maybe that was why I was a little more nervous than usual.

Plucking the strings, looking at the platinum princess watching me with full attention.

I sang.

"Curtains dancing gently~"

First year was almost over.

Same as always, lots of time with Elli, studying hard, drawing, doing fitting model work, practicing guitar and singing.

A year that had been more than full, absolutely packed.

"This melody I made just for you~"

It could have felt overwhelming, but it was always enjoyable. Probably because Elli was always by my side. And even when she wasn't right there, she was the reason behind everything.

"......"

With a happy face, eyes that had curved into crescents without my noticing, lips trembling faintly like she was holding back a smile.

My girlfriend, watching me.

My childhood friend with her platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes that still moved me every day, even seeing her daily, even when it sometimes didn't feel real.

I sang with everything I felt for her poured into it.

"I'll wait, wherever you are~"

The song ended.

Savoring the romantic quiet hanging in the air, I gently set down the guitar and reached to pull Elli into my arms.

I was going to say happy birthday once more.

Was going to tell her I loved her.

"El..."

-Whoosh!

The moment her name left my mouth.

She lunged at me first and wrapped her arms around me.

And shoved me back onto the sofa.

"Hmm... mmph..."

She kissed me. Lips pressed flush against mine, she held my gaze with an adoring look and slipped her tongue in hungrily.

I figured I could talk after the kiss was done, and I kissed her back, meeting her passion.

But an hour later.

"Mmm... mwah..."

I was still pinned down by my girlfriend, who was relentlessly kissing me without giving me a breath to speak, thoroughly savoring my tongue and more.

However moved she was, she held onto me for a long, long time and refused to let go.

When she finally pulled back.

"Ha, hah... from now on, every month, no, every weekend, you're singing for me. Just for me. No exceptions."

"Hff... o-okay. But can I drink some water? My throat is really..."

"No. You can only drink mine. Sip..."

"Mph...!"

She sentenced me to my quota with eyes that looked just a little dangerous.

I supposed it was a relief she was happy.

Though the intense exchange of saliva was, well, exhausting and wonderful at the same time.

It was the kind of day that brought a kiss and everything beyond it one small step closer. A joyful birthday for Elli.

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