Male Lead, Please Dump Me Three Times - Chapter 7

The scent of fabric softener brushed against my nose.

The feel of the cotton blanket snugly wrapped around my skin.

It was as if I was floating on clouds that smelled of soap.

The cool and light touch felt like I was swimming through warm water, buoyantly floating.

It was a cozy and drowsy feeling.

“Umm…”

As I buried my face in the fluffy, plush pillow, a refreshing fragrance wafted through.

It felt as if it had been firmly dried in the sunlight, even to the point of being fluffy.

‘The smell is nice.’

I slowly opened my eyes.

Ray was in front of me.

We lay facing each other on the bed.

It was the perfect level of drunkenness, as if alcohol had been infused just right.

I felt light-headed, as if my body were floating.

‘…Is this a dream?’

Soon, my blurry vision began to clear up.

His hair was damp, seeming like he had just taken a shower.

Ray’s wet hair hung down calmly, tickling near his thick eyelashes.

‘To survive even with such a natural look… I must be crazy.

Ray’s face, which was close enough to touch, looked even more beautiful.

Those thick eyelashes that seemed like they would fall at any moment… I always wanted to steal a glance at them.

‘I can almost understand why Daisy in the original story was so obsessed with Ray…’

A mischievous thought crossed my mind.

“Are you awake?”

A familiar and deep voice echoed in the quiet space.

There was a deep resonance in Ray’s voice.

I nodded slightly in response to his question.

‘Even his low baritone voice is thrilling… It’s the best.’

I recalled Ray from past memories. I compared his current self with how he looked in his boyhood.

Ray changed quite a bit from how he looked a few years ago.

His facial features became more distinctly masculine. The slope of his nose and jawline looked good.

The black eyelashes that seemed like they would fall any moment now appeared even thicker, and the crimson eyes that complemented them seemed to have deepened in color.

Amidst all this, he had an elegant and majestic atmosphere, making him look like an adult man one would want to rely on.

Ray carefully pushed back the stray hairs from my forehead.

A pleasant warmth emanated from his large, rough hand touching my skin.

“You’re warm…”

His hand soon slid towards my cheek.

Ray gently brought the back of his hand to my cheek and softly stroked it down.

I closed my eyes slowly.

I felt the warmth of another person through my delicate skin.

“Are you feeling alright?”

No, isn’t this voice too clear…?

…It’s realistic and nice.

I nodded in response to his question and asked,

“This is a dream, isn’t it?”

Ray seemed momentarily puzzled by my question. Then, one corner of his mouth curved into an arc.

“It seems so… After all, this can’t be real…”

I tossed and turned in drowsiness, intoxicated by a sense of melancholy. The breeze carried the scent of soap from the bedding.

“But your voice is nice too…. You… are an icon of glowing up….”

‘I wonder if something good will happen….?’

My mother once said.

Having a dream with a handsome young man is considered a good dream.

A pleasant smile formed on my lips.

‘I wouldn’t mind having this kind of dream every day…!’

“…I’m sorry.”

Ray suddenly apologized to me.

“Huh…? For what?”

“Just.”

In the dream, Ray kept saying things I couldn’t understand.

Yeah.

You do have something to be sorry for.

“Mmm… Right. You do have a bit to be sorry for…”

“What…?”

“Why did you reject me?”

“Ah…”

Ray’s red eyes that were on my face fell.

“Why are you avoiding my eyes…? Are you pretending not to know…? How mean…”

“Daisy, that’s.”

“Are you just pretending because it’s a dream…? You rejected me… and it was really scary.”

“Were you scared…?”

“Of course… Not just once… but twice…”

“……”

“Honestly, I was a bit hurt at that time.”

“……”

It wasn’t that I had any other feelings for him.

But…

Anyway, it’s not pleasant to be looked at with those eyes.

The feeling of emptiness when you’ve gone through all the trouble and ended up with nothing…

“Of course, I knew I would be rejected…? But there was no need to refuse with such a scary face…”

“Daisy.”

Ray called my name in a low and deep voice.

“It made me feel…”

He looked at me again with a deep gaze.

“I’m not some bug…”

Ray’s gaze still lingered on me. His broad and thick hand covered my cheek without a space in between.

He gently rubbed my tender skin, as if caressing my cheek, and said,

“No, it’s not that. Okay?”

“Tch… How can it not be… And why did you even ask why I liked you if you were going to reject me anyway? Really… you’re funny…”

I didn’t bother to push away his hand.

It was just a dream, after all. What does it matter?

And the feeling of his flesh against mine… wasn’t particularly bad.

“I was really curious. Why would you like someone like me…”

“Someone like you…?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you making fun of me now…?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong with you… Just stop being so handsome then… Are you kidding me… Of course, I didn’t confess because you’re handsome…”

Ray suddenly chuckled. Then he lightly held back his laughter and asked me,

“Do I look good?”

“You know the answer…? Honestly, isn’t it all about the face value…?”

“It wasn’t about that.”

“I’m pretty too…”

“I know. Were you hurt?”

“Of course… You said no and you were looking at me so scarily…”

“I didn’t glare at you.”

“You did glare… like this, with those terrifyingly fierce eyes…!”

I narrowed my eyes and made a face.

I perfectly reproduced the expression Ray once had on his face as I countered his words.

Ray’s eyes widened at my imitation.

And with his hand, he stroked my cheek once more.

“I was born this way, you know.”

What do you mean, born this way?

As if he knows very well how to smile in a way that captivates people.

“Tch… Let’s not talk about that. It can’t be helped. I’m not exactly in a position to be proud either…”

“……”

“But… were you okay…?”

“With what?”

“I kept worrying… about how you’ve been all this time.”

“……”

“You disappeared so suddenly… I couldn’t even ask… And I left after the graduation ceremony, too…”

“……Yeah. Sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? In the end, I’m the one who couldn’t do anything…”

“What are you talking about……”

“I promised to help you… and I’m sorry it turned out this way… You must have had a hard time……”

“……”

“But still, life… doesn’t always go as one wants it to…”

“That’s okay.”

“Since it’s a dream anyway… Can I ask you anything I want?”

“Yeah. Ask away.”

“…On graduation day… why did you accept my confession…?”

“……”

“Ah, never mind. Don’t answer that.”

“Why? I can tell you.”

“Then you’ll ask me a difficult question too… That’s an absolute secret… So let’s just call it even…”

I waved my finger lazily at Ray, who was looking down at me with relaxed eyes.

‘Tap tap.’

That’s when I heard a clear knocking sound.

My last words were naturally buried by that noise.

It was the moment a new character appeared in the dream.

Only then did Ray’s hand leave my cheek.

He propped himself up and sat on the bed, saying,

“Come in.”

His voice was remarkably different from when he was talking with me just before.

It was a bit stiffer.

My blurred vision filled with the broad expanse of Ray’s back.

His back in a white shirt was truly the best.

Even the dress shirt couldn’t completely hide his solid muscles.

“Ahhh… I don’t want to wake up~! Who is interrupting now……”

At my voice, Ray tilted his head at an angle to look at me.

A faint smile hung on his lips.

Soon, there was the sound of the door opening.

“Duke. Is the young lady alright?”

“Yeah. But it seems like some of the symptoms I warned you about are still present.”

“Yes. That might be the case.”

“There isn’t any other problem, is there?”

“Of course not. Don’t worry. It’s just a mild side effect of the sedative. Once she fully regains consciousness, she will return to normal.”

“Hmm.”

“She should regain full consciousness within a few hours, so there is no need for concern.”

Huh…? Wait a minute…

What is all that about?

Sedative…? Side effects…? Full consciousness…?

What on earth are they talking about…

“That’s good.”

“Yes. Then I’ll take my leave now, Duke.”

“Remember. Forget everything about today. Make sure it doesn’t leak out. And don’t forget to keep the other servants’ mouths shut.”

“Yes. I will bear it in mind.”

The sound of the door opening and closing was excessively clear.

At that moment, I became anxious.

It felt like all my senses, not just my hearing, suddenly sharpened.

I bit my lip hard and closed my eyes tightly.

‘XX, so, this means it’s not a dream right now? It’s reality?’

I didn’t want to believe it.

Just in case, I pinched my wrist slightly.

It hurt.

“……”

I could hear the sound of a man’s footsteps in the heavy air.

Soon, I could sense someone approaching nearby.

I began to feel his deep breaths from the place we faced.

But I couldn’t dare to open my eyes.

‘God… XX. Please save me…’

I wanted to pretend I was perfectly asleep, but my breathing kept feeling unnatural.

“Daisy.”

“……”

“Wake up.”

“……”

“I know you’re not sleeping.”