Senior, Save Me!

“Huh? Make her cry?”

Ewan stared blankly at Anna. “Why?”

“Well… for a personal reason of mine.”

Anna twirled a strand of her hair around her finger as she spoke.

“You’re not trying to prank me, are you?”

Ewan couldn’t help but sneer, his expression betraying his conviction. ‘I knew it,’ he thought. ‘This must be another one of your senior’s new tricks. I won’t fall for it.’

“Oh, so my junior isn’t willing?”

“Of course not! Making a young girl cry for no reason is practically asking for divine retribution.”

“So, making your senior cry is acceptable then?”

Anna’s fingers traced the corner of her eye, a tear threatening to fall. “You said you’d do anything to repay me, but now you won’t even help with such a small favor. Are playboys like my junior truly so untrustworthy?

Huhuhu, your senior is so heartbroken.”

Ewan fell silent for a moment before sighing. “I can help, but you have to tell me why. You don’t seem like the type to deliberately bully a young girl.”

“A reason?”

Anna instantly dropped her tearful expression, cupping her cheek as her gaze drifted to some unknown point in the distance.

At that moment, Ewan once again sensed that familiar loneliness emanating from her, as if it didn’t belong to this world.

“Just consider it my own selfish desire, junior.”

****

“Come, Ewan, try our specialty cream stew.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Come, Ewan, try our specialty baked escargots.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Come, Ewan, try our specialty sirloin steak.”

“Ah, yes.”

Inside the exquisitely decorated small restaurant, the melodies of a renowned musician played. The long, drawn-out tunes, accompanied by the singer’s delightful high notes, flowed from the phonograph like a murmuring stream.

The doors and windows were tightly shut. In the dim space, several red candles burned on the pristine white tablecloth, their flickering flames casting a rosy glow on everyone’s faces, much like the shimmering red wine.

Even the most fastidious noblewoman would surely praise this as a perfect candlelight dinner, ideally suited for the purest affections of young lovers, reaching the climax of a date in a romantic atmosphere.

At such a moment, if the young man were to present a ring adorned with a massive diamond, coupled with a declaration of true love, he would undoubtedly move the young woman to tears, making her resolve to marry no one else, even if he were a dog.

But, the prerequisite was…

That the people on the date…

Were not three, for f*ck’s sake!

Three!

It was a magical word that would never be associated with romance.

Three only paired with things like wardrobes, under the bed, love triangles, cuckolds, ‘but I was here first,’ and ‘Fight the Landlord’ (a card game)!

When a date involved three, it already felt dangerously close to ending with a hatchet!

Therefore.

‘Senior, save me!’

Ewan subtly dodged Sally’s incessant feeding, which was clearly delivered at an intentionally close proximity, while casting desperate glances at Anna, the instigator of this predicament.

But Anna not only refrained from helping him, she even gave him a small, encouraging fist pump.

‘You can do it!’ That was likely her message.

‘I can do what, you ghost!’

Ever since Sally learned that he and Anna were on a date, she had transformed completely. Her intense offensive seemed capable of melting even the most stoic man into a soft, lovestruck youth.

‘This doesn’t match your character at all! What about your black-rimmed glasses and braided pigtails? Don’t you know transformations are forbidden here?’

Ewan felt himself starting to crumble.

He subtly shifted his body. With Sally sitting so close, he realized that beneath her loose uniform, she possessed a figure no less impressive than Anna’s.

Yet, this only made him more uneasy, especially under the watchful, amused gaze of his senior.

“Um… Sally.”

Ewan blocked Sally’s next attempt to feed him, forcing a bitter smile. “I’m not a child anymore; I can eat by myself.”

“This is my thoughtful gesture!” Sally insisted stubbornly.

“I’ve already felt your thoughtfulness!”

“Really?”

Sally finally gave up her offensive, tilting her head as she asked.

“Then, was it delicious?”

“Delicious, delicious!”

Ewan nodded vigorously.

Though he hadn’t tasted a thing due to his immense nervousness, even if the food were truly an abomination, he would have to praise it with a smile.

“It’s wonderful that Ewan likes it.”

Sally seemed overjoyed, as if this was the happiest thing that could happen to her.

Looking at the shy-faced Sally, Ewan paused for a moment.

However, he quickly suppressed that flicker of guilt and, with a smile, pushed the doctored plate towards Sally.

“You’ve been busy for so long, Sally; you should eat too.”

“I…”

Sally’s cute eyes behind her black-rimmed glasses darted around. Her blushing cheeks, illuminated by the candlelight, were so red they looked as if water could be squeezed from them.

“I want Ewan… to feed me personally.”

Ewan’s mouth twitched. But at this point, he could only pick up the silver spoon with a trembling hand and, under Sally’s expectant gaze, bring the fragrant food to her lips.

Sally swallowed it in one bite, her face beaming with happiness.

“It’s truly delicious. As expected of food fed by Ewan himself.”

“Is… is that so?”

Ewan responded, almost popping his eyeballs out in disbelief.

‘What the heck? I stuffed that food with mustard!’

‘Is this girl really that fierce?’

As he pondered, Sally opened her pink lips again, like a baby begging for food.

‘I want more!’

‘…Senior!’

‘Save me!’

Ewan once again sent a distress signal to Anna.

But Anna was wholly engrossed in her battle with the steak, completely oblivious to his plight.

Only her small fist quietly rose again, clenching once more.

‘Keep going!’

Seeing Anna’s utterly unconcerned, even instigating, demeanor, an inexplicable pang struck Ewan’s heart.

‘Senior, if you’re this carefree, I’ll be heartbroken.’

Realizing he was completely on his own, Ewan took a deep breath.

‘Don’t panic, Ewan. Don’t panic.’

‘Think positively.’

‘At least if Senior doesn’t care about this kind of thing, won’t it prevent the legendary love triangle?’

‘That means, as long as I complete the task Senior gave me and handle this girl Sally, everything will land smoothly!’

‘Yes, a bright future awaits me!’

‘It’s only fate, after all. Watch me shatter it with my own hands—’

The sound of wind chimes jingled.

In that moment, Ewan truly felt an endless light flood his vision.

But it wasn’t his future. It was someone opening the restaurant’s tightly shut door.

“Hello, is anyone here?”

A figure in a maid uniform stood silhouetted against the light, looking into the restaurant.

Seemingly unable to immediately adjust to the dim light inside, she squinted her eyes.

At this moment.

The instant he clearly saw the face of that figure.

Ewan’s internal crisis alarm blared, exploding in his mind.

He had faced death countless times, yet never had the alarm been so intense.

A terrifying chill, like countless needles, suddenly pierced his soul.

After a brief moment of confusion, shock, and fear, his consciousness raced.

The scoundrel’s soul hidden deep within him was fully ignited. Before those dignified eyes could see him, he abruptly lowered his head. Then, under the table, he instinctively grabbed Anna’s fair thigh.

“Senior, this time, you really have to save me!”