Chapter 20
“…….”
Friella's head was burning.
It was partly thanks to the miracle Kim Min-cheol had wrought—making the World Tree grow in this desolate city, something even she, the former Elven Queen, had been unable to accomplish.
Above all, what made her nervous was—
the fact that she had now entered the home of a human man, Kim Min-cheol.
Once her admiration and awe at seeing the World Tree had subsided, she belatedly realized that she was in a human man's room.
In all her years as an elf, this was the first time she had ever entered a man's room.
The scent of the nature she had missed.
And within it, the scent of a male.
The scent of a man, stimulating an elf's sensitive senses, left Friella at a loss.
Gulp.
She swallowed.
‘C-crazy. Have you no dignity as the Elven Queen? You just grabbed a strange man's hand.’
For elves, holding hands was an extremely blatant form of physical contact.
It was not quite a kiss or an embrace, but an intimate gesture reserved for someone truly close.
Moved by the sight of the World Tree, she had grabbed Kim Min-cheol's hand without realizing it.
Of course, she had expected something like this to happen.
Hadn't she invited a strange man directly into her home?
In the dramas, movies, and comics here, whenever someone brought someone home, a physical-contact event always followed.
Naturally, she had expected something as mild as their shoulders brushing.
But she had naturally assumed Kim Min-cheol would be the one to initiate it.
She had never expected herself to approach him first and grab him.
It was practically the same as stealing Kim Min-cheol's hand virginity(?).
By elven standards, she had done something utterly insane.
If the other elves heard about this, they would surely point their fingers at her.
They would call her a perverted elf who had become so obsessed with the World Tree that she assaulted a man.
‘N-no. I-I didn't mean it that way…….’
She had done it after momentarily forgetting elven rules from spending so long in Taepyeong City.
She realized it belatedly and hurriedly let go, but the sensation of his hand still lingered.
How should she put it?
It was rougher and larger than her own hands, despite the rough work she did every day.
Were men's hands normally like this?
Clumsy, rough, thick……
Her heart pounded just thinking about it.
How long had it been since her heart had pounded this hard?
The body heat of a human man had violently stirred up her nerves.
So this was why elves of old had forbidden hand-holding, calling it lewd.
If they had done this every day in the Elven Forest, it would have become a place overflowing with indecent acts.
Even though the World Tree's power had filled the room with refreshing air, she felt stifled.
Her heart was pounding like mad, even more intensely than that.
For an inexperienced Elven Queen, physical contact with a man was far too intense.
At this rate, she ought to leave.
Now that she had confirmed, just as Kim Min-cheol said, that the World Tree had grown, she had no further excuse to remain in his studio apartment.
She should leave now, but—
She couldn't simply leave without any shame.
After all, wasn't she older than him?
If she had done something like that, shouldn't she apologize and take responsibility……
“I-I'm sorry.”
Friella spoke while hiding her flushed face beneath her cap.
“Sorry for what?”
“I-I mean your hand. I grabbed it because I was so moved. I-I'm sorry.”
“…Why are you sorry about that?”
“Huh?”
She blinked at Kim Min-cheol's response.
What kind of reaction was this?
She had held his hand, and he didn't even think it was something to apologize for.
“Ah……”
Friella realized.
Kim Min-cheol was human.
A member of a race whose values were completely different from those of an elf like her.
To him, unlike her own overblown reaction, this degree of physical contact was perfectly normal.
And once her thoughts reached that point—
“W-what indecency!”
The elves' uniquely Confucian spirit(?) erupted inside her.
“Huh? How is holding hands for a moment indecent? It's not like anything gets worn out.”
But Kim Min-cheol's response was calm.
“I-it's not about wearing out……! Holding hands in a room with just a man and woman inside is a promise to move on to the n-next stage……!”
“The next stage? What stage?”
Kim Min-cheol tilted his head, and his answer left Friella speechless.
At that moment, Friella recalled the plots of the various dramas she had watched in Taepyeong City.
The climactic scenes where the heroine and hero made physical contact in a cramped room.
Holding hands, pressing their bodies together, touching lips, whispering each other's names, and undressing one another.
That blatant, savage physical contact by elven standards.
Those unethical(?) acts she could never bring herself to put into words.
Her eyes began to quake as though struck by an earthquake.
‘I-if holding hands is the basic step, then the next is obviously a kiss…… No, straight to bed?!’
Friella's face creaked as she turned toward the single bed set against one side of the room.
The bed that had looked perfectly ordinary until a moment ago now looked completely different.
‘D-did Min-cheol really intend to take things that far with me? J-just how fast is human progress…….’
Kim Min-cheol had readily agreed when she asked him to take care of the World Tree.
What if she had taken that request as his promise to take responsibility for her?
‘That's why he said he wasn't sorry when I held his hand! He already thinks of me as his woman!’
Her misunderstanding charged forward like a runaway locomotive that knew no stopping.
Friella, red enough to seem ready to steam, backed away until her back hit the wall.
“I-I'd been agonizing over this, but you were already so far ahead……!”
“Huh? What did I do?”
“D-don't come any closer! Even so, today is too soon! I haven't even showered yet, and I-I'm not mentally prepared for this kind of thing……!”
Friella squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped both arms around herself.
She could feel someone approaching.
Ah, what should she do?
What should she do?
She didn't want to use force.
She didn't want to hurt Min-cheol, the only man who had ever treated her kindly.
“Um, Ms. Friella.”
“I-if you really want it, I-I'll steel myself too……!”
“Have a drink and calm down.”
At Kim Min-cheol's words, Friella, who had been holding up her guard(?), slowly opened one eye.
In his hand was a cold drink beaded with condensation.
“W-what?”
“You seemed a little worked up. I thought this might calm you down.”
The moment she saw the drink, the pink fantasies filling Friella's mind shriveled away.
Along with the hollowness, she realized how far ahead of herself she had gotten, and the embarrassment made her want to hide in a mouse hole.
“R-right. Thank you.”
Friella pouted as she accepted the drink Kim Min-cheol handed her.
It definitely wasn't the atmosphere she had expected, but she didn't refuse the can.
‘Well, he did look after me. And I got way ahead of myself, too…….’
Comforting herself, she carefully perched on the edge of the bed.
Ssshhk!
As she took a sip of the cold drink, a sweet peach fragrance spread through her mouth.
Beside her, Kim Min-cheol sat quietly, tidying up around the World Tree's flowerpot.
“I-I'm sorry. I think I got carried away and misunderstood.”
“No, I think I gave you the wrong idea, too.”
“Ahem.”
Silence descended.
Feeling awkward for no reason, Friella fidgeted with the drink in her hands.
“I-I'll be going now. I stayed until quite late. H-hahaha!”
“Get home safely.”
“Y-yes. I'll come again next time…… to see the World Tree.”
“Anytime.”
She fled his room as though running away.
Her heart pounded like mad.
She could still smell the scent of a man from his room.
It had all been a commotion caused by her misunderstanding.
Unable to lift her face from embarrassment, she patted her chest in relief.
“I should bring him a present later.”
That would also give her an excuse to visit his home one more time.
***
After Friella left.
“Did I do something wrong? It seemed like she misunderstood something.”
Knowing absolutely nothing about women, I blinked at Friella's reaction with a blank expression.
“Could it be because of the World Tree?”
You know how it is.
Like how cats go crazy when they see catnip.
Could elves also go into something like heat when they smelled the World Tree's fragrance?
“That would be a problem……”
That would mean it was genuinely dangerous stuff.
Tsk, did I make a mistake saying I'd raise it?
Should I take it back now?
I shook my head.
“A man can't take back words he's already spoken.”
And besides.
“I kind of like this air, too.”
I breathed in the fresh, invigorating air filling the room.
The fragrant scent of phytoncides that kept me in top condition every day.
And within that refreshing fragrance.
“……”
The distinctive soft scent from Friella's body lingered.
“Ahem, this is embarrassing.”
Thinking back on what had happened, I felt strangely shy and embarrassed.
Of course, Friella had been a troublesome customer, but she was a truly beautiful woman, just as one would expect of an elf.
Seeing such a woman show interest in me was a little attractive……
Clap!
"Get a grip. Ms. Friella is a customer. I can't have strange thoughts about a customer."
And there was also our age difference. It was a little(?) substantial, after all.
Honestly, a difference of over 500 years is a bit much, right?
After clearing my thoughts with a cough, I watered the World Tree.
A faint light surrounded the World Tree.
I figured I'd get another great night's sleep tonight.
At the same time.
[Title: [Dating Advice] Guys, I got invited to his studio apartment at night and we held hands—is this a green light?]
Author : I Am the Queen
A dating-advice post went up on Taepyeong City's gallery.
It was a post by a lovelorn elf queen who had never dated before and could no longer contain her rising fever, seeking advice.
The post she put up in hopes of getting even a little help had—
[Comments 7]
Hwamok-dong Iron Fist: Inviting you to his studio apartment at night to see his potted plant is a dead giveaway—100% ㄷㄷ. It's the plant version of “Want to stay for ramen?”
Gukbap Maniac: But if the poster grabbed his hand first, doesn't that mean the poster made the first move? ㅋㅋㅋ The younger man must have been cheering inside.
Light Cultist: But weren't you with him just now? Why are you posting this……
Misguided dating advisers swarmed in.
“Sh-should I not have run away……?”
Friella, the original poster, stamped her feet in regret.
But she had no courage to visit Kim Min-cheol's home again.
***
The first day off I'd gotten since being hired at the convenience store.
My rule was that on days off, I never took a single step outside my home.
My usual way of spending a day off was killing time by lying on my bed and blankly staring at my smartphone.
But today, I decided to make an exception.
“Should I go out for a bit today?”