Episode 54. Dale Han’s Secret Life (3)

“W-what is this?”

Iris barely suppressed a scream rising in her throat and trembled.

She wondered if she had seen wrong, so she looked at the hologram screen several times, but the image stored inside was clearly a photo of Juliet Kang.

And it was a photo of him dressed as a woman, seducing a man in a flirtatious pose.

‘Why… why does Dale have such a photo…?’

It felt like a giant spatula was stirring her brain into a mess.

The chain of causality that didn’t connect at all was chaotically floating around in her head.

‘Could it be… Dale’s preference…?’

Until now, she had thought that Dale had feelings for her, just as she had feelings for him.

Wasn’t that obvious?

Anyone would think the same if they considered the kindness and care Dale showed her.

But.

What if Dale’s kindness wasn’t based on romantic feelings for the opposite sex?

No, what if Dale wasn’t interested in the “opposite sex” at all?

‘No, no, no, no! That can’t be!’

It wasn’t unheard of for same-sex couples to exist within the school.

She knew that it was another form of love and something that deserved respect.

But.

Even so.

‘Dale… likes men?’

The fact that the man she had feelings for had secretly stored a suggestive photo of another man (and even cross-dressed!) in his Hero Watch album was like a bolt from the blue for her.

‘C-calm down. First of all, it’s not a photo of a naked man, but a cross-dressing photo, right?’

So doesn’t that mean Dale still has a desire for the opposite sex deep down?

‘Or maybe he doesn’t care about gender as long as they’re attractive!’

Due to the extreme shock, Iris’s brain, which had lost its normal function, was running wild with all sorts of bizarre speculations.

‘What if… I’m not the one in Dale’s heart.’

What if Dale and this rich kid Juliet Kang were in that kind of relationship!

“Oh… Seven Gods.”

Iris staggered, holding her head as if she were dizzy.

The shock must have reached her thighs because Dale woke up with a start.

“Ugh… how long was I asleep?”

“D-Dale?!”

Dale frowned and sat up.

Iris quickly closed the hologram window before Dale could see it.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.”

Her expression was stiff for it to be nothing.

Could it be…?

“Did I do something weird in my sleep?”

“N-no! You didn’t do anything weird! Not at all!”

They say strong denial is strong affirmation.

Iris, with her ears red and shaking her head desperately, was clear evidence that something had happened while I was asleep.

‘Damn it, what did I do?’

Did I grope her body or rub my cheek against her thigh in my sleep?

Or did I say something embarrassing that shouldn’t be heard by others?

I desperately tried to recall, but of course, nothing came to mind.

“U-um, should we head back today?”

“Ah, uh, yeah.”

An awkward atmosphere settled between Iris and me.

We walked back to school, keeping a slight distance between us.

“Um… D-Dale.”

Then.

Iris called me cautiously.

“What?”

“Do you… what do you think about… men loving men?”

“…What?”

Men loving men?

What kind of question is that out of nowhere?

“P-please answer honestly!”

“Ah, uh, yeah.”

Love between men.

‘Honestly, from my perspective, I don’t understand it at all.’

But, well.

It’s not like they’re hurting anyone, and if they’re happy together, there’s no reason to criticize them, right?

“Well… I think it’s possible?”

“I-I knew it!”

“…Huh?”

What do you mean, “I knew it”?

“D-Dale, how did it feel when you kissed Professor Elisha that time?!”

“Ugh.”

Bringing that up again.

‘Honestly, it felt good.’

Professor Elisha had a beautiful appearance, with the scar on her left eye adding to her charm.

She was like a rose filled with poison.

How could I not feel good after a deep kiss with such a beauty?

‘Of course, I can’t say that.’

I cleared my throat and answered in a firm voice.

“I didn’t feel anything.”

“…Nothing at all?”

“Yeah.”

“Even though you kissed such a beauty?”

“Of course.”

“Even though you were slurping tongues?”

No, Saintess, what’s with that expression?

‘She’s still hung up on that incident.’

Back then, Iris acted like it was an unfortunate accident and brushed it off calmly.

But it seems the fact that the man she likes had a deep kiss with another woman has been weighing on her mind.

‘Well, if I were in her shoes, I’d be horrified too.’

Some random male professor stealing a kiss from Iris during class?

‘I’d kill him on the spot.’

Professor or not, I wouldn’t let it slide.

‘In that sense, Iris is being very gracious.’

Even though it’s bothering her, she’s trying her best to forget about it.

‘I can’t let Iris’s efforts go to waste!’

I looked into Iris’s eyes and answered with a serious expression.

“Let me say it again, I felt nothing when I kissed Professor Elisha. In fact, I felt uncomfortable.”

“Oh, my God…”

Iris let out a sigh and clasped her hands as if in prayer.

“Seven Gods… why are you testing me like this…”

“…Huh?”

That’s not the reaction I expected.

‘Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?’

As I looked at Iris in confusion.

“D-Dale!”

A voice called out to me from the school gate.

“Juliet?”

What’s this guy doing here?

“Ah, well. I sent you a message earlier, but you didn’t reply… so I went to your dorm, and they said you went out to Valhalla City today.”

“So you waited at the gate until I came back?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Juliet nodded with a cowering expression.

It seemed like he was quite scared by the message I sent this morning: “We need to talk privately.”

“I said I’d contact you later.”

“Well… I, I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?”

“Yeah.”

Juliet handed me a luxurious box with a golden grapevine design.

“What’s this?”

“My family sent me some good wine as a gift. Do you… drink wine, Dale?”

“Well, I drink it occasionally.”

I had a few bottles of wine on the shelf in my dorm room, and I’d sip on them when I was bored.

Of course, it was cheap wine from the store, not this high-end stuff.

“Hehe. That’s good.”

Juliet’s tense expression relaxed, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

“It’s a premium wine made from Holy Kingdom grapes. I’ve had it a few times, and the aroma is amazing.”

“But why are you giving this to me?”

“Oh, well, just! I thought you might like it! It’s nothing!”

Juliet exclaimed with a flustered expression.

I chuckled as I looked at him.

‘Nothing, huh.’

There’s only one reason he’d give me a gift out of the blue.

‘He’s probably bribing me to delete those photos.’

I was already thinking it was about time to delete them anyway.

“Um… J-Juliet, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s me.”

Juliet turned to Iris and flinched.

His eyes clearly showed the question, “Why is the Saintess talking to me?”

“What’s your relationship with Dale?”

“Ah… Dale and I are… well.”

Juliet glanced at me.

I quickly spoke up before he could say something weird.

“What kind of relationship? We’re obviously friends.”

“Y-yeah! That’s right! We’re friends! Just friends!”

Juliet nodded with a startled expression.

“Hmm. Just friends?”

Iris narrowed her eyes at Juliet’s reaction, which clearly showed he was hiding something.

‘Damn it.’

It would be trouble if Iris found out that I was secretly extorting money from Juliet by holding his weakness.

I put my arm around Juliet’s shoulder and pulled him close.

“Right~ We’re friends, aren’t we, Juliet?”

“Y-yeah! We’re really close!”

“We’ve even eaten together before.”

“T-that’s right! The stir-fried pork was delicious!”

Juliet desperately played along with me, shoulder to shoulder.

I thought that would clear up any suspicions, but when I looked at Iris’s face.

‘What’s this?’

Why does she look like her world has collapsed?

“…Sniff.”

Tears like chicken droppings flowed from Iris’s blue eyes.

“Huh? Huh?”

What? Why is she crying all of a sudden?

“How could you… how could you do this to me?”

“W-what?”

“If you were going to be like this, you shouldn’t have been so kind to me from the start! Do you think it’s fun to play with people’s feelings?!”

Iris stomped toward me, tears streaming down her face.

“I… I’m not the kind of girl who gives up easily, you know?”

“What are you talking about… Eep?!”

Iris grabbed my collar and suddenly kissed me.

The sweet scent of peaches tickled my nose.

Her tongue aggressively explored my mouth.

“Pfft!”

Iris pulled away, breathing heavily, and clenched her fists.

“Just you wait. Even if Dale likes men! I’ll never give up!”

“No.”

What the hell are you talking about?

* * *

“Ah… so, Dale doesn’t like men, but actually, Juliet likes men, and that’s why he sent Dale cross-dressing photos to see if they matched?”

“Exactly.”

“Then the person Juliet likes is…”

“Have you heard of Berald Ryu?”

“Ah. That person… from the Ryu family?”

“Yeah. The troublemaker of the Ryu family. He’s a candidate one year below us.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of him.”

“Juliet has a sexual preference for muscular, macho-style men, and he enjoys being forced to cross-dress.”

“T-that’s…!”

Iris’s eyes trembled in shock.

“Um… J-Juliet?”

She approached Juliet with an awkward smile.

“Um… there are all kinds of preferences in the world! I’ll support your love, Juliet!”

With those final words, Iris quickly distanced herself from Juliet.

Dale hurriedly followed after her.

“…Sniff.”

Left alone, Juliet hung his head and sobbed.

“No… I’m not… like that…”

Transparent tears streamed down his cheeks.

It was spring.