SUGAR

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"Lisa-ya? What's actually the matter?"

Lisa's gaze was fidgety. She bit her lips and kept trying to escape. She instinctively lifted a hand, wanting to block Irene.

Irene caught her wrist and simply placed it off to the side. "Lalisa, look at me."

"Don't...... My heart is beating so fast......" Lisa looked like she was close to tears.

Irene slid her fingers down to rest on her pulse. As expected, the other's heart rate was frighteningly fast. After a moment of confusion, she reached a realization. "I'm that pretty?"

Lisa vigorously nodded. "Didn't you realize?" Her tone was a bit whiney, which was rare and quite fresh. It made Irene's heart itch with desire. "Didn't the magazines get sold out......"

She was speaking of when Irene had been an ulzzang in Daegu. Someone had taken her picture on the street and this picture had been published in a certain magazine specially designed to promote fashion brands. It had been half of a face and the side profile of someone who walked confidently. In the end, that edition of the magazine had become incredibly popular. When she discovered this, Irene's older sister had been furious. She had been forced to use a few connections to hide this issue.

However, Irene completely treated this incident as a good story to tell. She often joked about it with her friends, not because she felt pleased, but as a means of making others laugh. After all, she was believed that people should solely rely on their abilities for success. Beautifulness or ugliness were both irrelevant.

However, after being complimented by Lisa like this, she felt that looking good was still an advantage. She started getting cocky and bit the tip of Lisa's nose.

"You ah. If you keep saying such cute things, you won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow."

Lisa was trapped in her arms, not daring to move at all. Irene couldn't bear to keep teasing her.

She returned to the driver's seat and prepared to drive. However, she heard Lisa quietly say from next to her, "But originally... I wasn't planning... on getting out of bed tomorrow anyways."

Irene thought, the fact that I haven't carried her back into the room is proof of my great self-control.

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Lisa's school was in the old school district. The dorms had been built during the colonization era and were hundreds of years old. They weren't very disability friendly. Though Lisa had a wheelchair, many places only had stairs and no ramps. In the end, they still needed to stop. Irene first carried Lisa up the stairs, carefully placing her there before heading down again to carry the wheelchair up—— Fortunately, it was already break. There weren't too many people on campus. Thus, Lisa obediently resigned herself to being carried up and down the stairs by Irene.

When they entered the teaching area, Irene noticed a vending machine. She hurriedly walked over to buy two iced drinks for Lisa. "Ice your face a bit."

"Is it still very red?" Lisa froze. She hurriedly accepted the drinks from Irene and glued them to her face.

Irene reached a hand out to feel her forehead. "I'm even suspecting that you have a fever." After confirming that the other didn't have a fever, she softly sighed. "You've been sneaking glances at me this whole time. Still not used to it?"

Lisa made a startled noise. "You found out......" She added, "I'll get more used to it if I see this look more, but as soon as my blush appears, it won't go away......"