Yernia also took a bite of her cotton candy.

However, unlike  Cassian had bitten, her side was almost the same.

What did Yernia say?

Cassian shook his head, a little surprised.

“Well, your mouth is too small.” Then, he said under his breath, “I’m in trouble.”

The latter comment didn’t reach Yernia.

Yernia just ignored it because it seemed like he had blurted it out without meaning to.

The cotton candy quickly disappeared when she shared it with Cassian.

It was a relief that she  was already full.

“Oh, it’s sticky!”

Each of her fingers was coated with melted sugar after eating it with bare hands.

She couldn’t wipe it on her clothes, either.

Yernia felt uncomfortable, but suddenly Cassian caught her wrist and slightly pulled her closer to him.

Then, he did something shocking.

Cassian stuck his tongue and began to suck Yernia’s finger.

“Hmm. This is sweeter than the cotton candy.”

Yernia’s body went stiff down to the split ends of her long pink hair.

“What the hell, Cassian?”

“I said that your hand is sweeter. Why?”

“You! You, just now!  What—-”

Yernia turned into a broken human while Cassian was shameless as ever.

She got speechless when she saw his expression after she asked him what the problem was.

“Why are you licking the cotton candy off my fingers, Cassian? Are you a dog?”

Yernia pulled her hand from his grip, wincing from the hot flush on her cheeks.

Was Cassian even aware of what he just did?

He probably didn’t know.

That idiot must have thought she didn’t have anything to wipe her hands off.

He wasn’t making any sense at all.

“Can I still lick your hand without the cotton candy, then?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“I know. I was joking.”

It occurred to him that it was the perfect moment.

Cassian threw off his glasses as if he found them annoying, and then, he pulled her hair back and swept her lips with his tongue.

“I do this sometimes, you know? Lick anything. Bite. Suck.”

“You’re not making any sense, Cassian. You’re not that kind of person!”

“I told you before, Yernia. You don’t know anything about me.”

Was that even true?

She didn’t think so.

However, Yernia didn’t argue.

“Lie. Since when did you learn to do that?”

Cassian paused and let out a wicked laugh.

He suddenly touched Yernia’s cheek, and she hugged her shoulders and held her hand over her face as if she wanted to hide from him.

“When did you start being so cute, Yernia?”

Was he kidding her?

Was he making fun of her?

Dumbfounded, Yernia slapped Cassian’s hand away from her cheek but he had pulled her hand instead and clasped them together before she even realized what was going on.

Cassian’s eyes twinkled in mischief  as his thick digits rested on the space between her slender fingers, palm-to-palm.

She had no way out from  this sudden progression of events.

“Yernia.”

Both of their eyes met.

If someone between them took a step closer, they would be nose to nose.

She had never been this close to her childhood friend before.

Yernia wanted to escape, but she was caught by the waist and couldn’t move.

As he held her firmly, Cassian slightly twisted her head and lowered her body to the snow.

As his handsome face neared hers, Cassian whispered in Yernia’s ear.

“Marry me, Yernia.” His whisper was as convincing as a devoted lover.

This was a foul!

He embraced her so tight so that she couldn’t run away as he asked for her hand in marriage.

After realizing that she could not erase both of their fates, Yernia had prepared herself for marriage to some extent.

At this rate, it was just embarrassing.

She couldn’t believe that Cassian was capable of this kind of proposal.

There was no scene like this in the original novel, either.

“You are too close, Cassian,” Yernia said, swallowing her saliva.

Why was she feeling thirsty all of a sudden?

“Do you hate it, Yernia?”

What did she hate about it?

Marrying him?

Or was it because they were close enough to kiss?

Yernia tried to push Cassian’s shoulder with her free hand but he didn’t budge.

Annoyed, she slapped his shoulder, instead.

“I’ll be nice to you.” Cassian drawled sweetly.

He was as seductive as a cobra trying to pretend he was harmless.

“…….”

“I will be nicer on the following days, Yernia. Aren’t you curious about it?”

Even if he wouldn’t promise her these things, Yernia would still marry him because she had to.

He didn’t have to come to her like this.

This was too much.

She pursed her lips.

Unexpectedly, she didn’t try to fight back but to Cassian, that, itself, was an attack.

“What do you think?”

He seemed to become more desperate.

More urgent.

What’s important about her answer?

It was clear that he would still marry her even if she didn’t like it, anyway.

And, she didn’t even hate it that much.

Perhaps, Cassian was just acting weird all day, preparing for this wedding proposal.

He must have thought about it as he scheduled the entire event.

Yes, it was cute, but she couldn’t deny that she was blushing hard from the embarrassment.

It was good that Cassian seemed to think of her.

A marriage proposal only happens once-in-a-lifetime.

Even if he remarried someone else, his first marriage would remain in his memory.

The stars floating over their heads had poured down on them.

The cool breeze had also put her in a good mood.

It felt so great that Yernia had finally made up her mind.

Yernia wanted to nod but she had squinted at him after noticing that something was missing.

“Are you proposing without a ring?”

In fact, it was perfectly alright not to have a ring, but the atmosphere felt a bit weird, so she blurted that out for no reason.

Even if the two of them got married, Yernia didn’t want to be awkward with Cassian.

Now it was awkward.

Maybe it’s because he’s gotten serious unlike before.