In fact, he was always in contact with her, so she was going to stay calm and withdraw lightly. But after easing on her slightly pressed lips, they locked gazes the moment she opened her eyes. Kyle didn’t say a word, but his half-closed eyes seemed to be asking if that was all. His lips touched her lips again as if he was possessed by the purple shade on her eyelids and eyelashes.

What did she do when he kissed her…?  Noah’s head shook a little. As she bit his lower lip slightly, there was a sucking sound that made her back tremble. What should she do? She didn’t have enough courage to dig deeper into his mouth. Her closed eyelids trembled.

There was no significant movement from Kyle, even though he would have felt Noah’s hesitation sufficiently with the movement of her lips. He just remained still, receiving her sloppy kiss.

In the end, after withdrawing her lips just in the nick of time, she stared up at him with desperation in her eyes. Kyle only shrugged his shoulders after seeing that look on her. His face was covered with resentment.

“Aren’t you going to help me?” Noah asked.

“With what?”

“You’re so much better than I am.”

“So, what?”

This gave a surprise to Noah. This man had kissed her first and was now teasing her. No way. She frowned, trying to pull her head back, but before she knew it, his arm wrapped around her waist, stopping her from backing away. And he kissed her with more passion than the previous one.

The sound of the stew boiling on the stovetop was in the distance. The timer went off for several seconds before suddenly stopping. The heat, which may have been from the heated oven or something blooming deep in Noah’s body, spread between them.

“Oh…”

Earlier, she had wondered why he had fallen short at the Lendia Annex, but now it seemed that he was holding back. Kyle’s right hand which gripped Noah’s cheek traveled down the nape of her neck and brushed her collarbone.

She couldn’t even find the chance to feel his touch because she was out of breath and was not used to it even after they’d done it several times. When she took a step back at the pressure on her body, Kyle thought she was running away, so he grabbed her waist and put her on the table at once.

As soon as the hand which had stopped at her waist came up, the spark had already gone out due to the already sensitive feeling of being on the edge. Noah reflexively put her hand up to his hand, but it was not as strange as when she had first kissed him.

The rapid beat of her heart was closer to an oddly blooming anticipation than anxiety from this unfamiliarity. He then snatched his hand away and grabbed the sleeve of her shirt. Noah thought she heard a faint laugh from him. This was the moment when she felt the cold air touching the back of her neck.

Thump. Something heavy had fallen to the floor. Noah’s startled eyes were all over the place.

What had fallen to the floor was a sack of flour that had been leaning on the countertop. Powder was now spread all over the floor as if the snow had come through the window.

“Heh-heh-heh. Muell caused a mess.”

The main culprit who had besmirched the kitchen was sitting in the middle of the flour pile. Perhaps he had put the bag over his head, his head and both hands were covered in flour.

That’s when Noah came back to her senses. Now, what is… What had they tried to do in front of the small child?

Urgently looking down, the ribbon around her neck was loose, causing her blouse to lean to one side. Exposing the silk undershirt she was wearing.

How! When?

While the frightened Noah adjusted her clothes, the child covered head to toe in flour, stood up and climbed on the table. Then, squeezing in between her and Kyle, he sat on Noah’s lap.

Kyle, who was still leaning toward Noah, slightly narrowed his eyebrows.

“Muell, today you…”

“I did last time, Mister. You told me to keep Noah safe.”

“…things can change depending on the situation. And why are you just here now?”

“I don’t know. There is something strange about you now, mister. Different from before. I won’t say anything that’s the opposite of what is in my head.” Muell glanced at Kyle and pointed to the hot oven. “And now the potpie for Noah and me is burning. I think it’ll be burnt to a crisp soon.”

Noah was busy feeling around the back of her neck to find the ribbon, so she missed half of their conversation. It was after Kyle sighed with resignation that she finally tied the string again and looked up.

“Who do you think you are, a ghost? You’re going to clean the floor, right?”

“Yes!”

An unspoken agreement existed between the two. Kyle burst out into laughter as he straightened his back.