Chapter 51

The young man pressed down further on his straw hat. Next, he removed his mask and tried to eat the sandwich, but he was so lost in thought that the bread missed his mouth and kept hitting his lips.

Nevertheless, the sight of him forcing himself to eat caught Annie’s eyes.

‘… Are you forcing yourself to eat? Will strawberries be okay?’

Annie took one of the strawberries in her hand and handed it to the young man.

“Here, eat.”

“…”

The young man had no reaction. Then Carla grunted.

“If you’re not going to eat it, please give it to me. You’re embarrassing My Lady.”

‘Why is Carla doing this today?’

Annie made a confused expression to Carla’s prickly reaction; she was not one to harass people without reason.

With his arms outstretched, the young man hurriedly grabbed the strawberry and swallowed it in one bite.

Then he reached out to the basket of strawberries. Several strawberries went through the thick lips.

‘He’s… eating in such a hurry…’

The young man, who had just hesitated, ate as if swallowing strawberries. He looked very hungry.

But was it because of the restrained posture? Even though he was in a hurry, he didn’t look filthy or dirty.

In fact, as the young man chewed strawberries, he did not make noise or drop food. A few breadcrumbs from the sandwich hung on the corners of his lips.

Annie’s gaze toward the young man became sad.

‘They say that people in difficult circumstances try to fill their stomach since they’re barely given a meal…’

Perhaps Carla had the same idea too; her expression softened. She was also weak-minded about things like this.

As the young man ate all the bread, Annie handed him a glass bottle of water.

But then, he stretched his arms toward Annie’s face.

Heuk!

‘Uh…?’

Annie, surprised by the fastly approaching fist, held her breath.

“Cough, cough!”

Carla was drinking water next to her.

His fisted hand stopped right next to Annie’s face.

“…”

‘This face… I think I’ve seen it somewhere.’

The thin jawline shaded under the hat was not unfamiliar. Meanwhile, the young man hurriedly withdrew his fist.

Carla jumped up and pointed at him.

“What were you doing to My Lady just now?!”

“Carla, wait a second.”

Annie, who spoke slowly, stared at the young man. His fist seemed to be holding something.

The young man, slightly biting his lower lip, raised his body. He stepped off the mat and released his fist.

The big bee that came out of his fist slowly flew away.

‘Have you caught a wasp? No, how did you catch that?!’

Even though she’d heard about a knight cutting leaves falling in the wind, she’d never heard of a bee-catcher for the first time.

As Annie stared blankly, his gaze went down to the ground.

‘Ah… I felt sorry for no reason.’

She felt stupid for misunderstanding. Annie raised her body as she looked at the approaching young man.

“I’m sorry for not knowing you are helping. Carla, shouldn’t you apologize too?”

“Yes, yes… I’m sorry.”

“No.”

As the young man responded softly, the atmosphere was a little more relaxed than before. Annie stared at him as he sat back demurely in his seat again.

Really, she’s never seen such a person. Holding a wasp with one hand and sending it away without killing it.

Moreover, on a hot day like this, he sweated and worked, but he didn’t feel annoyed even once. And he didn’t feel unpleasant about the misunderstanding.

‘… He’s a better person than I thought.’

She watched him pick the sweet strawberries for a while. When Lang was blocking his way, he would turn a long way around to pick strawberries or bring a new basket.

She noticed he was careful around Lang’s foot or tail.

‘Because he’s polite and tall, it seems like he’s really big… huh?’

Annie, staring at the young man, opened her mouth wide. Looking at the physique or posture, a person came to mind.

‘Ah! It’s the one I saw at the abandoned dog shelter!’

She was confused because his voice was clearer than then, but she was sure. The tall and elongated body was difficult to find anywhere.

Annie asked in a happy voice.

“It’s you, right?”

“Ah…”

The embarrassed young man didn’t know what to do, and his lips trembled.

Still so innocent. A smile spread across Annie’s mouth.

“Do you remember me?”

“That… yes.”

“Why didn’t you say hello even though you recognized me?”

Did such a relationship exist in the world?  The abandoned dog shelter was not enough and they were reunited again in the strawberry field.

As the mood changed, Carla asked suspiciously.

“My Lady, what are you talking about?  Do you know this person?”

“Carla, this is the one who gave Lang the Yulfbe dog chew from the abandoned dog

shelter…”

“Oh my God! That rich bache… No, no, you were only polite! Oh my gosh! I was so rude! I’m sorry!”

The young man said it was okay to the fussing Carla.

Carla’s eyes rolled around.

‘What is that rich man doing here…? No way, is he doing volunteer work here too? Or is he the real owner?’

No, that’s not the problem. Carla hurriedly rose up.

“Oh! I need to use the bathroom!”

When Carla suddenly left, an awkward atmosphere settled over the duo.

What to say…

Annie, who was worried, cleared her throat.

“How have you been?”

The young man faintly nodded his head. When the big young man showed a gentle sheepish attitude, a smile came out.

Was this a mother’s heart? She wanted to give something more to a shy young man who can’t speak well.

Annie picked up a strawberry from her basket and handed it to him.

“Listen.”

He immediately grabbed the strawberry and put it in his mouth. The lips that chew quietly were like a child’s.

Annie grinned.

“You work here. Then you must eat a lot of strawberries.”

“…”

“I envy you. Which strawberry dish do you like best? I like raw strawberries and strawberry jam the most.”

Gulp.

The young man who swallowed strawberries gave no answer. After all, he seemed to have a shy personality.

Instead of asking, Annie continued to give him strawberries. The young man eagerly ate the strawberries she gave.