My Platinum-Blond Childhood Friend Is So Pretty

72 – 27. After the winter of seventeen, eighteen passed by like a one-night dream -2

In South Korea, a 19-year-old third-year high school student…

Declared in the spring that they would give up on college.

It was a situation where they would normally get scolded by their parents and run to their room in tears, but their family members listened to them calmly.

They had already expected it to some extent.

Eli had never been interested in studying.

At least, after entering high school, she had studied relatively hard with the mindset of going to the same college as me, but…

My grades were a bit better than in my first year of high school, but to be honest, they were still mediocre.

On the other hand, I had been consistently aiming high since my first year, and now I was in a situation where I could almost enter a prestigious university.

Unless I received a scholarship, it was unlikely that I could attend the same university as Eli.

And the reason I wanted to lower my sights to attend the same university as Eli was something Eli least wanted.

“It’s pointless to study hard anyway, we’re barely making it into Seoul University, and I don’t even want to study more.”

Everyone nodded in agreement to my honest words.

Eli’s grades may not have improved, but she had been doing her best in her own way.

Although it felt like we were studying together with So-yeon, Eli had been frequently attending private academies and watching online lectures with focus.

Even if she had given up earlier, Eli’s parents would have supported her, but since they knew about her efforts, they were more understanding of her choices.

“What do you want to do, Eli?”

It wasn’t a scolding, but a loving mother asking about her daughter’s career aspirations.

“A model.”

Eli replied lightly.

She had already discussed this with me.

It wasn’t about living her whole life as a model, but about becoming a semi-exclusive model for the shopping mall she was currently working at.

“Oh, are you going to do it properly?”

“No, just as a semi-exclusive model for the shopping mall.”

“The CEO will like that~”

“I’ve talked to them a bit. They said it’s okay as long as the shooting conditions are the same as now.”

“What did they say?”

“They said it’s okay, so I asked them to make sure.”

Eli didn’t do couple shoots with men other than me.

She was okay with up to casual wear, but not with revealing clothing like lingerie or swimwear.

These were the two conditions Eli had mentioned.

The CEO, having heard this, promised to accommodate our requests and even treated us to a delicious meal.

And they whispered to me, “You’ll be busy when you enter university, but come visit us once every one or two months, and we’ll pay you well.”

I agreed to that.

I had become somewhat accustomed to shooting with Eli, and it was also fun, so the pay was decent.

So, I made a brief agreement with the CEO, and we decided to discuss the rest with our parents before getting back to them.

We had received a lot of support and care from our parents, but we were still a bit scared to do something like this on our own.

That’s why I brought it up now, and our parents responded positively.

“It’s okay. We like those conditions. Eli, you did well. No swimwear or lingerie, absolutely not.”

“Okay, okay.”

Eli’s parents, who were fond of their daughter, were happy that Eli would maintain her current conditions.

“Eli’s modeling career will sell well, and that CEO will want to keep her.”

“It’s not a joke, right? They’ll treat us to a lot of good food if we just bring the kids along~ We’ve been making short-term contracts so far.”

My mom and aunt weren’t much different.

The atmosphere had already lost interest in giving up on the college entrance exams.

“And…”

At this timing, Eli told us one more thing.

“I’m going to attend school.”

At that moment, our parents’ gazes focused on Eli again.

“What school? It’s not a modeling school, right?”

My mom couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked a question before Ye-rin auntie could.

“Th…”.

“Th?”

“……”

Eli tried to open her mouth to answer, but suddenly became shy and started to murmur silently.

Her snow-white face turned red, and her eyes, which seemed to be looking at me, sparkled.

“I’m attending a cooking school. I’ll study while I’m there.”

I answered on her behalf, with a voice full of joy.

At the same time, Eli’s face turned even redder, and her eyes became even more sparkling, but to me, she was just a ball of cuteness.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

The cooking school was really unexpected, and our parents looked at us with a strange gaze.

Everyone must have guessed why it was a cooking school.

Eli’s heart, which wanted to make something delicious for me, was like a kind of culinary lesson, and although she had never said it to me directly, I couldn’t help but understand.

In this way, a brief silence flowed, and then Ye-rin auntie spoke on behalf of our parents, with a bright smile.

“I fully support you, Eli! Fighting!”

Well, our parents had already acknowledged our relationship, after all.

***

As a result, Eli’s decision to give up her college entrance exam and sign an exclusive modeling contract, as well as attending a cooking school, all went smoothly.

It wasn’t that Eli had spoken without any thought or consideration, but rather, she had her own reasons for saying it.

Regarding the cooking school, not only Ye-rin auntie but also my mom…

“It’s fine, we just need to take care of Do-yun like that.”

They nodded in agreement, as if they were saying, “That’s it.”

As we approached our twenties, my mom started to treat Eli more like a daughter-in-law.

And I, who had returned to the room…

-Tweak!

“Ow, Eli.”

“What’s wrong?”

I was tweaking Eli’s waist, whose face was filled with shyness.

I said it was painful, and it really was, but if it was Eli, I could tweak her a thousand times, and she would still laugh and accept it.

My 17-year-old girlfriend, who had become even more mature and beautiful.

Her hairstyle had changed to a wavy, goddess-like style, and her body, which I thought couldn’t get any better, had developed even more curves.

And her face, which had lost some of its childishness compared to two years ago, boasted perfect beauty that could captivate anyone at first glance.

Thanks to her more defined facial features, her eyes, nose, and lips exuded a natural sense of adulthood and charm.

Sometimes, when Eli gaze at me with her half-asleep eyes, I felt like I was going to suffocate.

My childhood friend, girlfriend, and the one I’ll spend the rest of my life with – it’s only natural that she’s this beautiful.

There was a small side effect, though.

What was it?

“……side.”

“…you’re going to fall into a kiss again… uh… damn it…”

Even when she pinched me painfully and spoke in a cold, warning tone, I couldn’t resist my desire and excitement to kiss her.

I pulled Eli’s waist close, turned her face towards me, and started kissing her cheeks and lips.

“Chuu… side… haha…”

Eli responded to me, gazing at me with a mixture of annoyance and affection.

With her plumper lips, softer than before, we exchanged hot breaths, our tongues intertwined.

-Plop!

Naturally, our bodies fell onto the bed, and I ended up on top of Eli.

We shared a sticky kiss.

After a while, I broke away and looked down at Eli. Her beautiful, untainted face, with her platinum hair still shining brightly, took my breath away.

Just looking at her made me feel happy, and I smiled, apologizing to Eli.

“Sorry.”

“Heh… you… I told you not to suddenly get like this, like a beast in heat. Do you want to die?”

“If you were just a little less pretty, I could’ve resisted, but you’re too beautiful, so I couldn’t help it.”

“Heh, it’s like that. You can’t even say anything beyond this.”

“Sorry. But I really wanted to do it now. I imagined you cooking delicious meals for me after we move in together, and I just couldn’t wait… Yeah, I definitely couldn’t resist.”

“That’s true. You were going to say you’d attend a cooking school, but why did you say it?”

“What’s the big deal? Your business is my business, and my business is your business. That’s how it is?”

“…You’re really annoying. It’s really frustrating.”

“I’m happy because you’re cute.”

Eli still had a strong will, was a bit stubborn, and did things her own way, but she had definitely become more lovable than before.

I was still weak towards Eli, giving in to her every demand, and was essentially a yes-man when it came to her.

I could now treat Eli with more ease and playfulness.

Perhaps it was because I had grown taller and bigger, so I could now hold Eli, who was quite tall for a girl, in my arms.

Or maybe it was because I could do whatever I wanted.

“…Heh.”

In the end, it was because of Eli’s happy, gentle smile that I was so captivated.

My girlfriend was really adorable.

“Are you going to keep having private lessons next week?”

“Yeah, I plan to. We have a mock exam coming up soon.”

“I’ll talk to the principal about the contract and look into schools. I won’t have private lessons anymore.”

“Okay. Got it.”

When I was young, I thought that if we liked each other, the more time we spent together, the longer it would last.

But as time went on, I realized that wasn’t the case.

As I grew older, I learned that no matter how hard I tried, there would inevitably be times when we’d be apart.

However, I also came to understand that even if we were apart for a little while, our feelings wouldn’t change, and instead would only grow stronger.

Of course, being apart for a long time was unthinkable, but even just half a day without seeing each other felt like an eternity.

Elly would miss me, and I would miss Elly. When we were 17, we couldn’t bear to be apart even for a moment, so we always stuck together.

Now, I’ve gained a bit more patience.

“Are you going to study with Hye-ryeong too?”

“Yeah. She’s really good at Korean. I teach her English, and she teaches me Korean and math. We still do that nowadays.”

“We should treat ourselves to a meal after the mock exam.”

“Who’s going to?”

“I will. I’ll help you out, so it’s only fair.”

“That’s right. I’ll ask for your help. Hye-ryeong and So-yeon have been helping me a lot since last year.”

“We should call Seong-min-jae too when we have time.”

“I’ve been supplying him with drawings as a thank-you gift, but it’ll be fun to eat together too.”

Since last year, So-yeon and Hye-ryeong have been getting closer, and a peculiar relationship has formed.

According to what So-yeon told me, Hye-ryeong always tries her best to show me her good side.

However, she doesn’t try to forcefully come between Elly and me or interfere with our relationship.

It’s as if she’s slowly seeping into our lives, and eventually, around last summer, So-yeon said she had almost given up.

From then on, Elly seemed to acknowledge her efforts and sincerity, and the three of us started spending more time together.

Even now, when we meet without me, they often bicker, but that’s just what friends do.

Anyway.

As I lay down, Elly looked up at me, and we chatted about this and that while exchanging kisses.

“Elly, do you remember?”

“What?”

“The birthday present I got this year, the one we decided to wear next year.”

“Pervert. Beast.”

Of course, Elly remembered, and a sharp retort immediately came out of her mouth.

But Elly’s eyes soon curved into a sly smile, and with a flirtatious gaze, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me in.

As our lips touched, her sweet voice whispered in my ear.

“Let’s decide on a date for the weekend after the college entrance exam.”

“Okay. I’ll think about it seriously.”

“If you don’t do well on the exam, you won’t get a reward, so study hard.”

“Of course. If you do well, you’ll get a reward, so…”

“And remember that too.”

“What?”

There was something fishy about it.

Her voice was laced with seduction.

“When we first started, it wasn’t like that.”

“At first… Ah.”

“Cosplay is next, got it?”

“Yes, got it.”

“Good. Now let’s finish this.”

“What?”

“I’ll really kill you.”

“Kidding, come on, open up.”

“Ugh… tch… tchuwp…”

It made my heart flutter all the way to my chest.

There was only a year left.

As we kissed, I thought about the day when we could touch something soft and fluffy together.

The day when Eli would have all of me, and I would have all of Eli.