Yura stared at the door where Neol left, still clinging tightly to her pillow.
'...It still smells like him.'
A hint of rosemary, smoke, and something musky that Yura couldn't describe but was now VERY intimately aware of.
"...Stupid sexy man." Yura mumbled and clutched the pillow tighter to her chest, inhaling his scent.
It was ridiculous.
Her body ached in places she didn't know it could ache, inside and out. But it was a good ache, which was something Yura didn't even know could exist.
Then there was the fact that her heart was still racing from the panic at waking up alone and thinking Neol just used her. That it was all just an act to get her in bed again before vanishing.
Yura KNEW that wasn't the case. She could see the sincerity in Neol's eyes, hear it in his voice, feel it in the way he held her and touched her.
But her heart still didn't completely believe it yet.
"It's only the third day... No, the second, right?"
It was Sunday now.
They had met on Friday, but only really got together on Saturday.
So technically three days, but really two.
Even for a whirlwind romance, it was too fast.
That was why Yura's heart still wavered.
"...He's too smooth. That's the problem." Yura hugged the pillow a bit tighter and mumbled.
Neol was just too perfect a lover. He was attentive. Caring. He knew her better than she knew herself. He was patient, even with her flustered outbursts. And he also didn't want anything from her.
Not her status... that was clear from how he had interacted with Grandpa.
Not her money... that was clear from how he had looked at her house with appreciation, but not envy.
Not her body... though he definitely appreciated it.
Just the memories of last night...
Yura felt her face heat up and quickly fanned herself to cool down.
A-Anyway...
All Neol seemed to want was her. Literally, just her. Awkward, emotional, definitely NOT prim and proper Yura.
Not the cool and composed S-Ranked Hunter Heavenly Lightning. Not the granddaughter of the Legendary Hunter and the daughter of the American Storm Duo.
Just Yura.
Yura groaned and plopped onto her bed bellyfirst, mumbling into her pillow. "...I don't get him."
Neol saved her from either death or... worse, judging from Belial's words.
But he didn't do it for thanks or reward. In fact, he had even tried to vanish afterwards.
It was only Yura's stubborn insistence on finding him that led him to reveal himself.
And he could have ended it there.
At the time, Yura had been flustered and stammered out that cliched line about taking responsibility.
It didn't really matter though. Her sword WAS from Grandpa, but it had been something Grandpa said was a 'throwaway.' While strong, it wasn't irreplaceable.
Yura had just wanted something to keep Neol around. At least long enough to learn more about him and why he stepped in. How he had defeated Belial when she and all of her friends and the other Hunters couldn't.
And now he would be around forever. At least, if she took his word for it.
...But the problem was that she COULD take his word for it.
She could see it in his eyes. Hear it in his voice. And the fact that, although he teased her, he was always sincere and never malicious. Not to mention how, in public at least, he made sure to keep it straightforward and not too overt in his interactions with her.
Yura frowned and held her pillow even tighter.
'If it was anyone else...'
She didn't need to imagine it. She'd seen it happen in the past already.
So-called 'friends' who just wanted to be able to say they knew her. Adults who wanted to say they were acquainted with the Legendary Hunter by association. Media outlets who were waiting for the slightest scandal or headline to drop on her.
If another man had done this... if Yura had given herself away to anyone else...
'...I would be ruined.'
Lucky. That was the only way to put it.
Yura had been lucky.
Neol was, without a doubt, a hundred percent NOT normal. Although he LOOKED normal at a glance, just the way he talked and reacted to things proved otherwise.
Yura was only a year younger than Neol. But Neol had his life completely together. Not only that, but he wasn't swayed by the things people her age should be chasing.
Beautiful women, alcohol, partying...
Fame, glory, money...
To Neol, it didn't seem to matter at all.
...Though Yura still found it suspicious on why he had birth control pills ready on hand.
He WAS a writer though. And writers DID do a bunch of weird things to research.
It wasn't like Neol had any other girls.
'...Right?'
For just a split second, Yura hesitated. She wondered if she was mistaken about it all.
Maybe it was from still being shaken after waking up alone.
But then her rational mind and her instincts took over.
'No. He chose me. And there's only me.'
Neol had said it again and again: he chose her. And he had also confessed that he didn't quite have feelings for her yet. Not like she had for him.
But he had said that it didn't matter because he CHOSE to love her. And that choice wouldn't fade.
And he'd proven that when he met Grandpa.
Faced with the Legendary Hunter, Neol hadn't shirked or showed any sign of hesitation when Grandpa confronted him with being Yura's man.
Instead, Neol had smiled, faint pride on his face.
But...
Yura covered her face with her pillow and let out a muffled scream. "It doesn't make sense!"
There was love at first sight, yes. Yura knew it existed because of her parents.
But she ALSO knew that it hadn't been like this.
Yura remembered her mom saying that there had been plenty of times where Yura's father had hesitated. Where he wondered if he made the right choice.
But there had been no hesitation in Neol's eyes at all. There never was.
"...Let's see."
Yura sat up and pulled out her phone. She hadn't told Neol, but Yura had secretly added his number to her phone as a contact when they were registering him as a Hunter.
He wouldn't have her number. So if she called him, she'd see exactly what his reaction was. The unprepared and real self.
With a deep breath, Yura pressed Neol's contact, hit call, and then...
"Neol Won, professional author."
Neol immediately answered.
Yura froze, panicking a bit since she didn't think anything past calling. But before she could say anything, Neol continued talking.
"I'm currently out shopping for my fiancee, Yura, so I'll have to hang up now. If it's important, please text me. Thank you and goodbye."
The line went dead.
Yura froze again. But not out of panic, fear, or shock. Instead...
"...Fiancee? He... called me his fiancee?"
Warmth spread throughout her heart. At the same time, a bit of guilt did too.
It felt like she had ruined a surprise.
Well, it wasn't REALLY a surprise. Neol had made his intentions clear already. But even so...
Yura placed her hands over her heart, her vision blurring a bit with unshed tears. "...That's what he thinks of me? ...Stupid. Stupid, stupid, STUPID idiot. It's not even day three. Why are you like this...?!"
It was ridiculous.
Sure, they had sex. Sure they confessed to each other. Sure, Yura had introduced him to Grandpa and brought him home. But...
"...You didn't have to be that serious about taking responsibility. Idiot..." Yura mumbled and brushed her tears away, a wide smile on her face despite her efforts to stop it. "Ugh... It's not fair. Who DOES that?"
Throwing his life into her hands, putting his reputation on the line, actively painting a target on his back...
"...Stupid. How can I do anything but love you now...?!"