Chapter 10

I rolled my eyes without taking my eyes off a group of trees not far from the bench we were currently sitting on.

"Humph! Like I care about how you feel!"

I shook off his hands, which repeatedly poked my arm, ignoring his efforts to reduce the side effects of his teasing on me.

Again, I'm not in cranky mode and he would be wrong to think I'm cranky right now.

"Still cranky, huh?"

This time I, who couldn't stand him anymore, turned to him and cast my sharp gaze at my boyfriend who looked sad as he poked my arm for the umpteenth time.

"Tsk. I already told you that I'm not cranky at all. "I can't believe this jerk is for real!"

Instead of feeling guilty, he flashed a happy smile, which for some reason reminded me of one of my high school friend's puppies years ago.

"Hehehe… You finally turned your head towards me…"

"Why are you laughing? What a strange man."

He just laughed when he heard what I said earlier and pinched my cheeks exasperatedly.

"I don't mind it. As long as I can see your face this clearly and as long as you say it, I won't mind it."

"Aw, it hurts, moron!"

"My bad, my bad ..." he replied after moving his hands away from my cheek which still left a little pain from his actions just now. "You're so cute after all. I can't stand the urge to pinch your cheeks like that."

Hearing what he said earlier suddenly made my cheeks blush violently, and I immediately turned my face away from him, forgetting the pain he had caused by what he did to me a few seconds ago.

"Eh? Why are you even looking away now? Did I say something wrong? Or are you cranky again?"

"I've told you before that I'm not cranky anymore. Damnit!"

"All right, all right. You win. But if you are not sulking at me, then why are you avoiding me like you are doing right now?"

"That's because I'm pissed at you, moron! Can't you see that?"

For a moment I didn't hear a word from his lips, making me almost turn to him to make sure he didn't leave me here alone before I heard him get up from the bench we were sitting on.

"I see. In that case, I think it won't be a problem if I carry you through one last lap."

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"

Regardless of my words, Richard stood in front of me completely clueless as to what he was saying before he lifted my body into his embrace.

"Let's continue again. After that I'll take you to one more place before we have dinner at the place I prepared for you tonight."

"I don't want to continue this anymore! Get off me right now!"

"No, I won't put you down until we finish our pending exercise. What's more, you said earlier that you were still tired, so I thought you wouldn't feel tired if I did it like this."

"That's why, did I say that I want you to carry me like this? I don't want to know, just put me down right now!"

He didn't heed the call that told him to put me down and walk off the park bench we sat on until a few seconds ago while carrying me with his strong, muscular hands.

He even ignored the stares from the people running and jogging around us as if it was just a side character in a fictional story that didn't matter to him.

I, who couldn't hold back my shame for what he did to me, chose to hide my face to his chest, hoping that everything would end quickly and I wouldn't have to come to this place soon.

Which unfortunately is not an easy thing for me to do, especially when I feel all the attention of people on us both even though I don't see it directly.

"You were angry earlier, and now you are silent as the dead. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Hearing his comment earlier made me forget all my embarrassment for what he did to me at this time.

I then turned my face away from his chest which gave off the scent of cocoa powder (my guess was from the smell of his perfume) while throwing a murderous look at him.

"That's why I said, I'm not cranky anymore, for fuck's sake!" I cried while hitting his chest many times with annoyance. "Why do you keep assuming that I'm cranky?"

He frowned, looking confused by my reaction, which made me want to beat him up even more if it weren't for my drained energy thanks to his wise action, which I still regret to this day.

Don't even look like a confused person, dumbass!

"Because that's what you did with me, Hannah. That's why I have no idea why you go on and on and say that you're not cranky, while what you did with me earlier led to a sullen attitude."

"I'm just annoyed with you because you act as you please, not because I'm cranky! Ugh, you really are stubborn!"

"I should be the one saying that, you fussy bastard. Even though you just have to admit that you're cranky, you still insist that you're not cranky. If not being stubborn, then what?"

"You know what? We can just cancel the dinner date plan that you prepared for us tonight and go to our respective homes now!"

"Okay, if that's what you want!"

He lowered my body from his arms and looked at me annoyed, as well as me who was at his wit's end to deal with his annoying stubbornness.

"If that's what you want, no problem. I'll contact the restaurant where I'll be planning our dinner date and cancel my reservation right away!"

"Okay, just do it! Why did you even tell me first!?"

"Just in case you think that I'm not serious with what I said earlier."

"Ukh, whatever! Since you've kindly canceled our dinner date, I'd rather just go home! Don't try to stop me from leaving, you bastard!"

"Whew, as if I would do that! And I will do the same as you, going back to my place and enjoying my entire day without your existence. Huh!"

We both then averted our faces and turned our backs to each other, walking away from each other without even looking back.

But all the tension and conflict between the two of us only lasted for a few seconds, because after that, I started to feel sorry for him for going through the trouble of planning our first date.

And because it annoyed him to the point that he intended to cancel our dinner date reservation at the restaurant whose whereabouts are still a mystery, made me choose to turn around and catch up with him.

To my surprise, he also did the same thing for reasons unknown to me.

"Sorry, Richard," I whispered as I hugged his body tightly. "I should have kept my word and continued our sports session until it was completely over. Instead of giving up halfway and scolding you like I did to you earlier."

"No, Hannah. I should be the one apologizing for forcing you to do things you don't like without asking your opinion first. I'm sorry for what I've done to you."

"I accept your apology."

"Thanks. That means a lot to me."

The two of us continued hugging for a few moments before Richard's ringing phone forced us to end our hugging session much longer than we wanted.

"Hello?" he replied while putting on a serious face that reminded me of our first meeting some time ago. "Oh, I see. Wait a moment."

He then took his cell phone away a little and looked at me with a pitiful face that was hard for me to ignore.

"Can I have a minute of your time? This won't take long."

"Sure. Go ahead."

He nodded his head and stepped away from me, brought his cell phone to his ear, and continued his conversation with whoever was calling him right now.

While I was just silent, staring at him from a distance and playing with my feet on the path in the park while waiting for him to finish his business.

A few moments later, Richard came back to me who was almost bored waiting for him and hugged me tightly, making me, who completely did not understand the meaning of his actions, not hug back.

"Do you mind if I invite you to stay somewhere with me after our dinner date later?"

"Eh?"

"I will take it as a yes. Come on, we have to hurry or we'll be late!"

Again, he did something without asking my opinion first, I muttered to myself as I shook my head, letting his hand continue to drag me toward where he parked his car.

Which, fortunately, was not far from where we were standing earlier.

But rather than reprimanding his actions, I chose not to protest with him and smiled when I saw the look on his face that looked happy when he did it.

Well... I guess it would be okay if I let him act like this once in a while, right?