Me After Meeting You

The car first drove to Amber’s house. Mr. Charlie tactfully reminded his boss, probably having received an order from Ian’s grandfather, by saying, “It’s a bit late.”

Ian looked at the time.

Amber asked, “Are you late?”

“Almost.”

Amber turned to say to Mr. Charlie, “Then let’s stop at the roadside. I can walk home myself.”

“How could we do that to you? It wouldn’t be safe for you to walk back on your own so late.” Mr. Charlie then looked at Ian. “Do you want to send Dr. Camille upstairs? There’s still some time, so we can still make it.”

At this time, who cared about whether or not they would get back to the hospital on time? The most important thing was to send the girl home safely, and while the night was still bright and their emotions running wild, do some ‘wonderful’ things!

As a fellow man, Mr. Charlie cheered Ian on in his head.

But all Mr. Axton did was raise his head and look at his driver, frowning.

He clearly didn’t like anyone meddling in his affairs, so Mr. Charlie quickly adjusted to an honest and earnest expression as he drove the car single-mindedly.

The car went directly to Amber’s apartment. When they arrived, Ian asked Amber, “Do you feel safe?”

“Yep.”

Ian nodded in satisfaction, and Amber got out of the car with her bag. Mr. Charlie could only sit in the driver’s seat and watch her walk up the building alone.

Actually, Ian wasn’t as indifferent as he appeared to be; he was tightly clutching the apple that Amber had given him. Of the many gifts that she had bought him, there were many apples like the one he was holding, but the one in his hand was the only splotchy one.

He gently stroked the apple in his hand, not even letting go even when he reentered his ward. After Ian’s grandfather had helped his grandson out on their ‘date,’ he had naturally come over to the hospital to see the outcome. But when he and his wife excitedly ran into the ward, they saw that their grandson, whom they had expected to be flirting cutely with Amber, was instead sitting dazedly on the sofa by the bed, his hand clutching a silly little red apple.

Ian’s grandfather immediately shouted, “What are you doing here?”

Ian was startled, and he raised his head to look at them.

His grandparents looked each other in the eye before they faced their grandson’s cold and aloof gaze together, saying in sync, “Ian, why are you still here?”

Ian perfunctorily asked, “Where should I be, then?”

His tone, which was as cold as the winter wind, immediately deflated his two grandparents’ eagerness.

They sat down on one side of the sofa and looked at each other with wooden expressions. But then, Ian’s grandmother finally remembered what Amber had told her don’t think that his heart is cold just because of his expression. Don’t worry about upsetting him, don’t be afraid of his aloofness, and definitely don’t do as he wishes.

Instead, it’s best to treat him like a normal family member: tell him if you’re happy, and tell him if you’re unhappy. With this in mind, she gathered her courage and asked Ian, “Ian, did you like the fireworks that we released?”

Ian fidgeted with the apple in his hand. “I didn’t look at it.”

“… Then you didn’t do what we told you to do either, right?”

Ian’s expression became even more chilly, and a sensation of rejection emanated from his body. “She didn’t let me.”

‘You didn’t do it just because she didn’t let you? My goodness, I didn’t think that our Ian was such an obedient boy. How unexpected!’

Ian’s grandmother retreated, defeated by the cold atmosphere surrounding him. She quickly looked at her husband, her eyes saying, ‘Your turn!’

His grandfather hurriedly tried to pick up the conversation by putting on a fierce expression and asking, “What’re you going to do with that apple? Is there anything nice about it?”

Ian’s tone was still apathetic. “Nothing much.”

His grandmother anxiously butted in. “Then stop looking at it.” When she confirmed that he wasn’t angry, she felt like she could proceed. “Dr. Camille … How do you feel about her?”

“She’s ugly.”

Ian’s grandmother almost spat out blood.

“She’s ugly?!” She seriously felt that her grandson’s sense of beauty had to be reworked. “She’s actually very pretty. Just look at her facial features and temperament-she’d be considered beautiful anywhere in the world.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“She has a single dimple.”

‘My goodness, she had forgotten about this fellow’s severe dislike for asymmetry!’

Neither of Ian’s grandparents knew what to say in response, until his grandfather finally ventured to say, “You’ll get used to it if you look at it enough. A single dimple isn’t all that important.”

He had made that comment off-handedly, but Ian had still heard it, and he nodded in agreement. “It isn’t that important.”

He had finally had enough of playing with the apple in his hand, so he put it down and went to wash his hands. After he returned, he saw that his grandparents were still there, so he asked, “Is something the matter?”

‘… Does trying to help you get a girlfriend count?’

His grandfather stared at him anxiously. “You said that it was fine if Dr. Camille was a bit ugly. Does that mean that you don’t dislike her?”

Ian looked at him strangely as he responded, “Why would I dislike her?”

‘… Aren’t you an extremely picky person? You shun anything that’s asymmetric!!’ His grandfather swallowed his saliva before carefully asking, “Then do you like her?”

“What do you mean by ‘like?'”

As they looked at their grandson’s serious expression, his grandparents’ hearts ached. No wonder he still didn’t have a girlfriend even at such an age! Not knowing what liking someone was, how pitiful!

His grandmother resolutely forged ahead and tried to teach her grandson this concept. “Liking someone means that you always think about her, that all you can think about is her. When you see her, you become nervous, you blush, your heart beats faster, you ….”

When she ran out of words, Ian’s grandmother waved her hands to clear her mind before concluding, “Anyway, if you like her, then you’ll feel like she’s a wholly unique person, separate from everyone else. Do you feel that way about Dr. Camille?”

Ian’s grandparents stared at him together, both holding their breath.

But Ian just stood there, youthful and handsome as ever. After pondering his grandmother’s eloquent speech for a long while, he finally said, “I don’t know about the rest, but I want to have sex with her. Does that count?”

“….”

This was a devastating bombshell, causing even Ian’s grandparents to stare at him open mouthed. ‘My goodness, if my grandson was this bold and unconstrained, then he’d scare away any potential granddaughter-in-laws!’