WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend Is Too Pretty ◈

Chapter 74: 28. Nineteen-Year-Old Elli's Bride Lessons -2

──────

Even with all the chatting and goofing around in the mornings, the atmosphere of a third-year classroom was bleak as anything.

Chae-hwan and Jin-woo, who normally loved causing a ruckus and mouthing off, were both actually making some effort to focus. That was the kind of classroom it was.

And in the middle of all that, Elli was.

"......"

-flip

Leisurely turning the pages of a cooking recipe book while her classmates ground away at their studies around her.

'What should I make as a snack this weekend...'

Most of the academic content had long since been cleared out of Elli's head. She'd already told the teacher she was giving up on university, even brought her mom in for the three-way meeting, and gotten it all settled.

She had put in a fair amount of effort studying up until now, so her grades were good enough that a school somewhere in the Gyeonggi area was within reach, and the teacher had pushed back pretty hard.

'Won't you think about it a little more? And ma'am, please, say something. University isn't everything in life, but still, in the long run it would definitely be better to...'

'Sensei.'

'Yes?'

'I'm going to be preparing for marriage going forward. I've also signed up for cooking school.'

'......'

'On top of that, I'm going to do an exclusive modeling contract too... I'm not interested in studying, and I don't want to waste any more time on it.'

'...Alisha.'

'Yes.'

'Are you going to marry Do-yoon?'

'......'

'Hehe... Our daughter has been wanting to register the marriage practically since yesterday~ We've talked it over with her quite a bit too.'

'What a waste... Hah... All right... Fine... I'm jealous...'

Elli, whose beauty had only deepened with each passing day, had been a well-known face at school since first year. There wasn't a person in the building who didn't know who she was.

Those shimmering platinum-blonde waves, that snow-white skin, those blue eyes. One glance as she passed by and you couldn't forget her.

She'd always been a subject of conversation in the teachers' lounge because of it, so after that three-way meeting, word spread in an instant.

The story was that Alisha had given up on the CSAT to pursue bridal lessons.

There were whispers afterward that Lee Do-yoon got some cold stares walking the halls, and that more than a few girls had been on the verge of tears, but.

Anyway.

After all that, Elli had earned herself the right to openly flip through a recipe book during self-study.

'Tortilla pizza sounds good. Do-yoon would like that... easy to eat while studying, too.'

Every thought was for her boyfriend, Lee Do-yoon.

And Elli was genuinely having the time of her life in moments like these. Scrambling her brain with pointless Korean or math had been a chore since middle school, if she was honest about it.

She'd kept studying up until now because Do-yoon and So-yeon studied during exam season and she hadn't wanted to be the odd one out, and she'd put in real effort thinking she might aim for the same university as Do-yoon. But.

'He went and got too good at it.'

Do-yoon's grades had climbed so far beyond what she'd imagined that she could finally let go of the dream of attending the same school. Even now.

It wasn't that she had zero romantic notions about going through university life together. But the situation she was in right now suited her just fine.

She'd never enjoyed studying, but thinking about what food to make for her boyfriend was genuinely fun.

'And I've won over his mom, too.'

Getting up early every morning to have breakfast ready was tiring, no question, but for Elli it was the best part of her day.

Her prospective mother-in-law had been touched by that dedication, and lately, as a reward, she'd been allowed to go openly ambush(?) her son after the meal was laid out.

Which meant she could stand over sleeping Do-yoon and watch him, then run her hands wherever she wanted and kiss him too.

And then, watching her boyfriend flash her that wide smile and say the food was delicious and thank you, the satisfaction she felt was enormous.

'Thanks as always, Elli. I love you.'

And with those sweet words he'd kiss her, and hold her against a body that had grown more solid and dependable with each passing year.

'......'

Elli's heart and body couldn't help but catch fire.

She wanted to make her always-softly-smiling boyfriend entirely hers, as fast as possible.

He was already only hers, of course, but she found herself wanting to live with just the two of them, passing nights full of all sorts of warm, dizzying moments.

That day wasn't far off now.

'Once he gets into university...'

Living together was already settled. It wasn't just her own daydream.

If Do-yoon passed his entrance exams without a hitch, both sets of parents had already agreed to allow them to move in together.

When that happened.

-gulp

Elli turned a page in the recipe book and swallowed without meaning to. Flushed, vivid thoughts flooded her head.

She'd told him she'd give him a reward if he studied well and listened to her, but the truth was it was something she wanted just as much.

She still wasn't particularly interested in cosplay as such, but she was very interested in watching her boyfriend get flustered and worked up over it.

And for their first night.

'Maybe I should start thinking about lingerie.'

She was planning to capture her boyfriend's heart with something purely, straightforwardly sexy in that department.

* * *

"Study hard."

"You're going straight home today, right?"

"That's the plan."

Elli said goodbye to Do-yoon, who was staying behind at school for evening self-study.

"mmph... smooch..."

She snuck one kiss in a quiet corner of the bustling school where no one could see.

It was a little sad, knowing she wouldn't see him for a few hours, but Elli pushed the feeling down and headed home.

The moment she was back she went straight to shower and change, then walked over to the house next door.

Inside, Song Ji-eun and Jung Ye-in were sitting in the living room having a pleasant chat, and when they saw her they both got up.

"Our girl's here~ Shall we get started then?"

"She's over so often I'm running out of things to have her do."

"Still, it's lovely that she's trying so hard to learn~"

"What are we doing today?"

"Same as every day."

The reason Elli had come straight over was simple.

To learn how to run a household.

It wasn't like there was any formal lesson plan. She just did whatever the two mothers were already doing around the house.

Getting her body used to the life of a wife who would be keeping the home most of the time, going forward.

Maybe because she thought of it that way, housework was as enjoyable to Elli as cooking.

"hmm, hm-hmm~"

She hummed softly to herself while folding laundry. Picturing herself doing this in a space shared with just Do-yoon, sometime very soon.

"She used to love running around outside when she was little... and now it's like this is her calling..."

"Right~ Elli was always coming back with scraped knees. Was it first year of elementary school? Do you remember when she scraped her knee and it was bleeding, and Do-yoon started crying?"

"He did... God, he was so adorable back then... he's still ador... he's handsome now, I mean."

"Do-yoon's become so dependable~ I feel like we could send Elli off to him any time now, honestly."

"It's still too soon... Haa. I mean, watching her work this hard every day, I can't even bring myself to say anything mean."

Elli knew that when Ji-eun said it was too soon, that she wouldn't allow it, those words came from nothing but how deeply she loved her son.

But even that kind of reaction had almost disappeared by now.

Elli showed up every single day, visibly trying to learn everything about running a home, all for Do-yoon's sake. Naturally, her prospective mother-in-law's approval had followed.

"Mother-in-law."

"...Fine. Call me whatever you like. What is it, future daughter-in-law?"

"On Sunday, let's go shopping, the three of us. I'll bring Do-yoon."

"You're trying to score even more points here with something like that... well, that's smart of you. Should we? Just the three of us, shop and eat and come back? It's been a while since I picked out clothes for my Do-yoon myself?"

"We'll do it together."

"Wait~ Elli, what about Mom? Me? Are you leaving me behind?"

"You said you had work on Sunday, Mom."

"Then we can go Saturday~"

"Do-yoon's studying with his classmates that day. Can't do it then."

"...Are you really going without me?"

"Yeah."

"......"

"Lunch at the department store, pick up some clothes, catch a movie if we feel like it, then dinner."

"That's my future daughter-in-law. The planning is impeccable."

"My own daughter... already taking better care of her in-laws than her own family... well... that's how it should be... you have to do that if you want your mother-in-law and husband to love you..."

"Mom can come along next time when the timing works out."

"sniff..."

"Don't fake-cry."

The three of them chatted like old friends while working through the housework one task at a time. Cleaning, laundry, figuring out what to make for dinner together.

This time was fun for Elli too. Enough that the thought occasionally crossed her mind that living with her in-laws might not be so bad either.

Still, it couldn't compare to the time she spent alone with Do-yoon.

After finishing up every last chore, when Elli stepped outside to buy ingredients for tomorrow's breakfast.

"Oh, Elli?"

"Bini-noona. Just getting off work?"

"Just now~ Where are you headed?"

"To buy ingredients for breakfast tomorrow."

"You're taking classes, doing all this bridal prep... you're seriously impressive~ I'd say your housekeeping is way better than mine by now."

Elli ran into Seon Woo-bin, who looked thoroughly worn out.

She'd started dating Jeong-woo the year before last, and while the work stress was rough, the relationship had clearly been giving her a lot of energy. But.

Since Jeong-woo enlisted in the army last summer, the dark circles under her eyes had been deepening again.

"Go rest. And lay off the drinking a bit."

"That's the only thing keeping me alive... Oh, actually, it won't be long before we can drink together too."

Seon Woo-bin smiled a faint smile at the thought, something to look forward to, then leaned in close to Elli and murmured in a low voice.

"Elli. Cooking and cleaning aren't the only things that count as bridal lessons, you know?"

"Of course not. What else is there?"

"That would be bedroom skills, obviously~ Isn't that the most important part?"

"......"

"If you ever have questions, reach out. This unni will explain everything in detail."

"...Unni."

"Yeah~"

"December. I'll take you up on it then."

"Hehehe, deal~ See you later~"

With a scheming little laugh, Seon Woo-bin headed home, and Elli rode the elevator up, twisting a strand of hair at her temple between her fingers.

Her face was hot, and the same vivid thoughts she'd had earlier came tumbling back into her head.

"Bedroom skills... yeah... that's definitely essential. Absolutely necessary. The theory side of things, I should learn that in advance. The cosplay is more of a special event, so..."

For Elli, moving in together was the same thing as getting married.

So today, too, she had thrown herself into her bride lessons for the sake of that day less than a year away.

With a schedule packed full all the way to December.

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