Chapter 4

“C, come in. Asid.”

Swallowing my embarrassment, I led him into the study.

He saw it, didn’t he. He definitely saw it. Asid saw the whole thing, me sticking my tongue out at Lark like a complete child.

‘At least I didn’t flip him off……’

I forced a smile. Asid returned it with an equally strained one.

Right, so he did see. At this point, I decided to just let my true self show.

“Sorry, that must have been quite a shock just now. But this is actually what I’m like.”

I flopped onto the sofa without a care, making it clear I had no intention of hiding anything anymore. My legs spread apart, but the voluminous dress covered everything, so it was fine.

Asid was the only one horrified.

“M, M, Miss…… if you sit like th, that……”

“You’d better get used to it quickly.”

Asid kept turning his head in every direction, clearly unsure where to look. Eventually he gave up.

“Th, the user who sent the indecent photo has been ba, banned.”

“Good. Let’s report him too. No mercy for s*xual predators.”

I crunched down on a cookie. Thinking about how my precious eyes had nearly been corrupted last night, reporting him felt like the bare minimum. What I really wanted was to make sure he could never do it again……

“To pr, proceed with a report, we’ll need the vi, victim’s account information.”

I froze. This was a problem. Asid still didn’t know I’d been using Dibs myself.

I weighed whether to tell him the truth.

There wasn’t any particular reason not to. It was just embarrassing that what started as a test had turned into an all-night romance session I hadn’t planned for at all.

But the desire to see the predator punished won out over the embarrassment. I pressed my hands together in front of him and apologized.

“Sorry for not telling you sooner. The victim…… is me.”

Asid said nothing. He seemed genuinely stunned by the unexpected revelation.

Then his chair crashed over loudly as he shot to his feet.

His fists were clenched, which wasn’t like him at all.

“H, how dare…… to, to you, Miss……!”

“Asid, I’m fine!”

I barely managed to calm him down and get him back in his seat. This side of him was new to me, and it caught me off guard too.

“H, how could someone send such a di, disgusting photo……”

“Shh. I’m fine, really. I’ve already forgotten about it. Honestly, there wasn’t much to look at anyway.”

At that, our boy clenched his fists and stood up again. I grabbed Asid by the shoulders and pushed him back down into his seat a second time.

Hm, now that I was looking, Asid had a better build than I’d realized. Why were his forearms so solid?

And he’d always walked with such a hunch that I’d never noticed, but watching him spring to his feet just now, he was actually quite tall.

‘I wonder if Hid is like that too?’

Hid drifted into my thoughts again, naturally as ever. I was dying of curiosity over the photo I never got to see last night.

Was he on the taller side? Broad shoulders? What would his voice sound like?

Then I got the feeling Asid was looking at me.

His pitch-black bangs covered his entire face, so there was no way to tell where his eyes were actually pointed.

But I didn’t need to see to know. Asid was worried about me right now. Because of what happened last night.

“Wh, why didn’t you tell me right a, away.”

“Ah, well, the thing is.”

I decided to come clean about everything in front of Asid.

“Sorry, Asid. The truth is, I stayed up all night on Dibs last night…… romancing someone!”

A beat of silence, then Asid asked slowly.

“Wh, why are you apologizing to me for th, that……”

“Because I didn’t want you thinking I was someone who skips work to chase romance.”

At that, Asid quietly lowered his head.

“Th, there’s no need for that. I, I want whatever makes you happy, Miss.”

Something about those words made my nose sting. He was better than family, honestly. My precious boy.

“B, but from now on, please tell me everything in advance. So I, I can be there to help you, Miss……”

“Understood. From now on, you’ll always be the first to know everything. Thank you, Asid.”

“……Yes.”

I patted his head thoroughly. He loved it and hated it at the same time, ducking his head down as far as it would go.

Still too shy to show his face. I genuinely didn’t mind at all.

Soon we got back to the Dibs meeting.

“A b, bug was found. I’ve fi, fixed it like this.”

Asid reported everything without leaving out even the smallest detail. It was clearly a minor issue, but in that moment I felt just how conscientious he was.

Right, performance bonus confirmed for this month. Keep this up.

Just as we were wrapping up the meeting, Asid asked out of nowhere.

“B, by the way, Miss. The person you met on Ji, Dibs. What were they like?”

I thought about it briefly. Was it all right to tell Asid about Hid?

“I’m wo, worried another pervert might come after you.”

Ah, of course. I’d just given our boy something else to worry about for no reason. I smiled.

“Don’t worry, Asid. The guy I met last night was genuinely decent.”

Asid placed his fist on the desk with a grave expression.

“A de, decent man is something only another man can judge.”

“Hm?”

“Co, couldn’t you tell me more about him in detail……”

Asid was so adorable I burst out laughing. He was like a little brother trying to protect his older sister.

I told him everything about the conversation I’d had with Hid, down to every detail. Then I rested my chin in my hand and asked seriously.

“Asid, what do you think?”

“He so, sounds like a con artist. Calling himself ha, handsome.”

Asid’s voice was so grave I burst out laughing again.

“Why, it could be true.”

“Then w, wouldn’t he have just sent the photo right away.”

“It was the first day of talking. Why would he trust me that fast. I wasn’t about to show him my face either.”

Asid went quiet. Hearing it put that way, he was probably coming around to my point.

“Will you be ta, talking to him again today?”

“Yes. Talking to Hid is fun.”

“If anything ha, happens, please tell me right a, away.”

“I will, I promise.”

Asid bowed and left. After that, I played the part of the usual Raphindel in front of the family without missing a beat.

Then evening came. The time I’d arranged to talk with Hid.

❀❀❀

[Hid: Good evening, Rafi.]

Hid opened with a warm greeting.

[Rafi: Hello, Hid. Have you had dinner?]

[Hid: Yes, I just finished eating and came up to my room.]

I tilted my head at that. Finished eating and went up to his room? That meant at the very least, the dining room and his bedroom were on different floors.

In the Kingdom of Alastair, only two kinds of people owned residences with more than one floor. Nobles or merchants.

Did Hid realize that a perfectly ordinary line of conversation had just revealed his social standing? Was it intentional or not. Or rather, was what he said even true to begin with?

Lost in that thought, another message came from Hid.

[Hid: I hope your dinner was enjoyable too, Rafi?]

I considered it briefly. Should I test him, or let it go.

The method was simple enough. Ask about his evening plans. He could make something up based on things he’d heard, of course, but the more casual the conversation, the more likely a small slip would surface.

Then I decided against it. He wasn’t even my actual boyfriend yet.

I’d talk to him for a few more days, and if something felt off, I could just stop replying.

It’s a little unfair to Hid, but that was just how dating apps worked.

[Rafi: Yes. You too?]

[Hid: Truthfully…… I was so excited about talking with you that I couldn’t focus on eating at all.]

Well, well. My heart started to flutter. I picked up the Dibs device and lay back on the bed.

Messages kept coming from Hid.

[Hid: I’ve been waiting for this moment all day.]

[Hid: …… I find myself wondering how it was for you.]

Anyone could see this was sincere. My heart pounded like mad. I felt a little guilty for having considered testing him just moments ago.

[Rafi: I was thinking about you all day too, Hid.]

I gathered my courage and sent it. A reply came quickly.

[Hid: D2]

‘……Huh?!’

I was a little thrown off. I’d worked up all that courage to say something, and this strange message was all that came back. A flicker of embarrassment crept in. Had I been too forward?

But then messages came pouring in from him.

[Hid: I’m so relieved.]

[Hid: I actually dropped the device just now. I was so happy reading your reply.]

[Hid: I’m relieved Dibs didn’t break. My palms went cold at the thought of losing our conversation.]

Pfft!

Every bit of worry dissolved in an instant. Overcome with happiness, I rolled across the bed in a full circle. And thought to myself, the man on the other side of this screen, I want to know everything about him.

What kind of person was he? Whatever his face looked like, I wanted to meet him in person.

But fear came with it. There was no way of knowing how much of what he was showing her was real.

Curiosity and fear about Hid were coexisting in that moment, when I nearly dropped the device myself in shock.

[Hid: Rafi.]

[Hid: I want to talk to you while hearing your voice.]