"Meow."
The cat's cry heard in his ear. No, Irina's sweet voice.
When her soft and warm breath reached him, Baek Seojin unconsciously stepped backward.
But the cat standing before him had no intention of allowing even that.
"Where are you going?"
Irina grabbed Baek Seojin and pushed inward once more.
Thanks to that, he had the foolish thought that cats might be the most dangerous predators of all.
"You're not going to see the cat before you leave?"
"...It's a bit big for a cat."
Then Irina makes a "hehe?" and an extremely dangerous smile.
"I am a bit big, aren't I?"
Saying that, she subtly pushes her chest forward.
'If I say this, will our Seojin oppa get flustered again and say that's not what I meant?'
Giggling while thinking about how to tease this mole again, the moment came.
The answer that came from between Baek Seojin's lips completely went beyond Irina's expectations.
"Right. You are big."
"...Eh?"
"What 'eh'? You said you were big, right? So I agreed with you. Why?"
There's no sign of being flustered at all. Rather, the one who's flustered is Irina herself.
Until now, whenever she did something, Baek Seojin would always be flustered.
She was planning to devour him with a "wah!" while he was flustered this time too.
But the man before her didn't seem flustered, nor did he seem like he'd be eaten obediently.
"What. You even got cat ears in the meantime?"
He pokes at the cat ears that sprouted on top of her head.
Then he strokes Irina's head once, saying 'you prepared thoroughly.'
Just as Irina was standing there dumbfounded at Baek Seojin's behavior—
"Aren't you going to meow?"
"Yes?"
"If I stroke you like this, a cat should meow."
"Um... me, meow?"
"That's right. Good job."
Irina, who unconsciously made a cat sound, hurriedly grabs Baek Seojin.
"No, no! Wait! Wait!"
"Why again?"
"What is this?! Seojin oppa, why are you so natural?!"
Don't tell me, surely not. Could it be that she's already been beaten to the punch?
Did Kim Suhyeon, that woman, do the cat concept before her?!
No way! How much I worried and practiced to complete this!
"Did she do this kind of thing first?"
"Suhyeon? No. How would she know to beat you to something like this? And Suhyeon is..."
Baek Seojin, who suddenly stopped talking, thought for a moment and saved his words at 'that's enough.'
Saying he was almost devoured by the witch would hurt his pride a bit.
And if Irina knew that fact, she'd definitely try to tease him.
It's different from Kim Suhyeon. This woman absolutely has to be the one leading.
Once you start getting swept away, she's someone who really can't be controlled. Getting eaten once is enough.
With that resolution, Baek Seojin looked at Irina and said.
"Come to think of it, we haven't eaten and we're doing this. Can I look at the fridge?"
When Irina nodded, Baek Seojin casually looked at the refrigerator.
Given her personality, she seemed far from cooking, so he thought there wouldn't be much.
'What. Why are cooking ingredients prepared so neatly? This looks like side dishes made recently.'
Just when he was thinking whether there might be some hidden charm he didn't know about,
Irina, who had slyly poked her head over from beside him, cleared her throat and spoke.
"Mom made all of that."
"Then these ingredients are..."
"Mom said she'd come up and cook directly, so I just bought the ingredients she told me to buy."
"..."
Right. There's no hidden charm I don't know about. This is Irina. Of course.
"Do you want to eat something specific?"
"Me? Um... I'm not that hungry."
"It'll be dinner time soon. Since there's cooking time too, tell me quickly."
At Baek Seojin's urging, Irina falls into thought with a "hmm."
Baek Seojin, who looked at her briefly, began checking the remaining ingredients.
'What kind of cooking does she like? Meat? Or flour-based? I saw earlier that there seemed to be pasta noodles and spaghetti noodles. There are ingredients for making sauce too. Hmm, then noodles for pasta and for the other thing...'
"Soybean paste stew."
"...Eh?"
Baek Seojin, who quickly straightened his back, looks at Irina dumbfounded.
Her appearance looks like she'd enjoy pasta or spaghetti, or cutting steak.
But her taste seems more Korean than any Korean person.
'Cognitive dissonance is coming.'
Blonde hair and blue eyes, clearly a Westerner going "soybean paste stew!" is a bit absurd,
But it was also fortunate since stew dishes are one of the menus he's most confident in.
Tap tap—
He skillfully cuts vegetables and stacks them neatly on the cutting board.
He dissolves soybean paste and a bit of red pepper paste to make broth and adds the ingredients.
And Irina was watching that scene intently right beside him.
"What's so fascinating?"
Feeling the gaze pouring on him was quite burdensome, Baek Seojin speaks up.
Then Irina answered as if it was obvious.
"The cooking. I could never do something like this even if I died. Mom said so too. You would have starved to death long ago if it weren't for delivery food or convenience store stuff. So I told her. There's no need for that since Mom can cook for me for life!"
"..."
Oh my, mother. You must have such a hard time.
Baek Seojin shook his head and finished cooking the stew.
In addition, he brought out all the side dishes that Irina's mother had prepared.
'Black bean side dish, stir-fried anchovies, bracken, seasoned radish...'
Cognitive dissonance comes again. Not because of the menu, but because of Irina sitting in front of that menu.
If she were mixed-race it might be different, but having a pure-blooded blonde with blue eyes sitting at the dining table was very strange.
"...Oh! Ooooh!"
Irina, who took a bite of the stew Baek Seojin cooked, continuously exclaims in admiration.
Then she eats a few more spoonfuls and gives a thumbs up again with another "ooooh!"
"To be honest, it seems a bit better than what Mom makes!?"
"Never say that anywhere else. Your mother would be hurt."
"Am I crazy? Elsewhere I'll say Mom's is much better!"
Saying that, Irina continues her meal.
Looking at that sight, Baek Seojin also began to take a spoonful.
"..."
Still, looking at it again, I can't get used to it. A blonde beauty obsessed with soybean paste stew.
---
"Your house had two bathrooms too, right?"
"Um... yes. For now?"
"I'll use the small bathroom, so you use the big bathroom."
"You want me to wash?"
"Then you want to do it without washing?"
At Baek Seojin's too confident words, Irina was left speechless.
'Th-this is a bit unexpected?'
She had only imagined the picture of her skillfully eating the fine prey called Baek Seojin.
Looking at it now, it seemed like she had become the prey, not him.
'No! No way, Irina! Get a grip. If you keep going "uh uh" like this, you won't be able to do anything and you'll lose completely to Kim Suhyeon, that woman! Somehow I have to grab oppa tight. Only then will there be a later!'
"Hah!" She clenches both hands tightly and decides to throw a decisive move.
Going into the shower room, she washes her body and checks herself once in the mirror.
'...Good. First, the weapon is perfect. Anyone who sees this couldn't help but be attracted. Ah, really. It's a problem that Mom and Dad gave birth to me too prettily!'
Worried there might be a strange smell, even after showering she smelled her own skin several times.
She didn't want to give even a little opening. This might be the last chance.
She knew that Baek Seojin spent a day with Kim Suhyeon and went straight to the Kang family house.
What does this mean! Not just the Kang family, but Baek Seojin accepted it too!
He liked Kim Suhyeon! It means what happened that night was very good!
Thinking that, Irina's anxious feelings grew deeper and deeper.
She definitely has firm confidence in herself, but this might not work out, which is driving her crazy.
"Huu."
She even put on the underwear she'd been planning just for this day.
As a bonus, she practiced all sorts of ways to seduce a man.
She looked up related materials and got advice from people she knew.
Now, the preparation is really finished. All that's left is actual combat.
Taking a deep breath once, Irina headed to the decisive battlefield.
She could already feel Baek Seojin's presence there, having finished washing and come out.
'Open the door, go in, flip hair once with a "swoosh!" then lean against the door frame, slightly put weight on one leg, put one hand on my waist, tilt my head slightly, then say "Oppa, are you ready?"'
If Baek Seojin heard this plan, he would have criticized it asking what's so grand and nonsensical about it.
But Irina was serious. She was seriously desperate, and wanted to have him somehow.
BANG!—
"Oppa, are you read..."
The problem here was that her desperate mind and body played separately.
The hand that should have gripped the door gripped empty air, and the one-leg stance was too extreme, breaking her balance.
No matter how much of an S-rank she is, when body balance collapses, falling is natural.
If one hand had been fine, she might have been able to endure by gripping something,
But flipping her hair backward actually collapsed her body balance even more.
"Ueeeee!!"
In the end, Irina stumbled with a foolish scream.
If Baek Seojin, who was watching that scene, hadn't caught her from the front, she would have fallen flat.
'Ah... damn...'
Irina, who barely stopped in Baek Seojin's arms, bowed her head deeply.
After making all kinds of preparations and entering confidently, she stumbled from the very beginning.
How much must this person have laughed inside seeing her state? At this important moment.
'It's ruined...'
For a moment, Irina had to blink her eyes going "huh?"
Baek Seojin, who suddenly lifted her face, was eagerly exploring her lips.
'Wh-what what what?'
Irina couldn't understand this situation at all,
But actually from Baek Seojin's perspective, what just happened was a blow that struck his heart.
The being who beats up Elders and shows overwhelming strength even among S-ranks.
That Irina gets all nervous, stumbles, staggers, and falls right into his arms?
For a moment it was so cute that he unconsciously embraced her tightly.
'Scary, scary. Really, she's not an ordinary woman either.'
From Irina's perspective as the person involved, she must be wondering what's happening.