Please Don't Propose! - Chapter 6
Translator and Editor: Hue and Tea
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Chapter 6
Exactly.
The competition for those two places was as fierce and frightening as ever.
“Hi Bibi, you haven’t seen much of me because we’re on different floors, have you? I’m Scarlett, I work in the archives on the third floor…….”
“Hey Bibi. We had lunch together the other day, didn’t we? You don’t remember? Think about it. Two days ago I had lunch behind you.”
Not only in the reading room, but even the women who work in the archives and offices had heard the rumors and came to see me.
I wanted to give up my seat for them, but Julia’s insistence that I had to participate because I had created the space made that impossible.
“With all due respect,” I said to her, “you’re not going to go looking like that, are you?”
Finally, my shift was over and I was taking off my work clothes in the break room. Julia looked at me with annoyed eyes.
“What else do I have to do?”
“Look at Katrina and Georgia. That’s the basics, Bibi.”
“What?”
“What I mean is make-up, did you really think you were going to go barefaced?”
I looked at Katrina and Georgia as they sat in front of the mirror, putting on their best faces. They were administrators from the second floor who had filled the two remaining places.
“If you can’t wear nice clothes, you should at least wear make-up, especially since you’re the face of our library! No way.”
“W-wait!”
Julia tugged on my arm and we headed for the mirror. Katrina and Georgia also approached me with make-up. I was about to apply some tonal cosmetics to my face.
“Close your eyes!”
“Purse your lips!”
“Turn your head!”
The commands flew at me at every opportunity. I squeezed my eyes shut. Something strange was touching me. Each touch was different and frightening.
“Hey, are we done?”
I sat still and only opened my eyes after a long time.
“Bibi. You look beautiful.”
Julia looked at my face and smiled.
“You’re so pretty!”
“I’m a bit jealous.”
They dragged me forcibly forward. Unlike the seniors who said I was pretty, I felt uncomfortable looking at myself in the mirror. Should I have painted my lips that red?
“Don’t fake it, let’s get out of here!”
Julia grabbed my arm as I dabbed at my eyes. I tidied my chest-length hair one last time.
As we descended the stairs, I saw a group of men standing outside the main entrance to the library. They were all long and lean, probably because they were in the navy.
Then Katrina and Georgia tapped me on the shoulder.
“What’s the matter, Bibi? You’re so much prettier than I thought!”
“If I’d known it was going to be like this, I would have stopped by the shop at lunchtime and bought a nice dress…”
“It hurts, senior.”
I frowned slightly and moved forward, finally seeing Lord Costas’ face, which had been obscured by the angle.
I’d seen him this morning, but his features were strangely familiar. As I wondered why, I soon realized that his head had changed.
He had uncovered his forehead. My mouth fell open. Surely he hadn’t just bared his forehead in response to something I’d said? The timing was too uncanny to deny.
“Georgia, look at Lord Costas’ head.”
The seniors belatedly noticed and marveled at Lord Costas’ hair.
It looked really good. I hadn’t noticed the shape of his forehead because it was always covered with bangs, but…. God had unfairly given him a beautiful forehead.
Normally the lord had a youthful face, but with his forehead uncovered, he looked much more mature and grown up.
When I looked more closely, I saw that his shirt buttons, which had been untouched during the day, were now undone two or three times.
The view of his abdomen was more erotic than the rest of his body.
“Huh, Chief Lance, I see the lady has finished her work!”
One of the men turned his head; he had spotted us and waved his hand in the air in greeting.
The seniors swallowed their squeals and hid their excitement.
“You’re early, haven’t you been waiting too long?”
The man who seemed to be in charge shook his head at Julia’s question.
“No, we just got here.”
Apparently he was called Chief Lance.
“Oh, thank goodness. They’re both government employees who work with me and Bibi in the library.”
“I see, so why don’t you introduce yourself and then we can go to the restaurant? The jazz café you mentioned this morning is very popular and the seats fill up quickly.”
“Sure.”
Chief Lance and Julia chatted well enough to see if they got on, and the other two seniors behind them were paired with a blonde and a younger man.
That left me and Lord Costas.
Even if we were paired, I hoped to avoid Lord Costas alone. Even if we weren’t, the way he had stared at me earlier made me feel uncomfortable.
“……me.”
I opened my mouth carefully.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Oh.”
Lord Costas blushed slightly and looked surprised.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to…”
“No, no. Let me know if you’ve got something on your face and I’ll wipe it off quickly.”
“That’s because your lips are …….”
Did I really have something on my lip? I quickly ran my finger over my lips, but there was nothing there.
I reach for my handkerchief to wipe the color off my lips.
“No.”
The Lord grabbed my wrist.
“My Lord…?”
“You didn’t get anything on it, so you don’t need to wipe it.”
“What?”
“Actually, it’s the first time I’ve seen you with make-up on, so I couldn’t help but stare.”
I wondered if the make-up was weird.
“I’m sorry, is it weird?”
“It’s so beautiful you can’t take your eyes off it.”
The Lord made an embarrassed sound.
“If you find my gaze bothersome and uncomfortable, I will not look at you in the future unless you give me permission.”
Despite his words, his gaze never left mine. He stared at me as if truly mesmerized, his dark eyes taking in my face generously.
“You, uh, you don’t have to do that.”
I stammered.
“I put you on the spot, though.”
‘He’s just a bit nervous.’
I surreptitiously wiped the paint from my lips with my handkerchief. Noticing this, the gentleman said nothing, but smiled bitterly.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
Meanwhile we arrived at the Jazz Café. It was a large café on the side of the road opposite the square.
The outside was neat and clean. As I got closer, I could smell the delicious smells of the place, and the jazz playing inside lived up to its name.
If it was as popular as rumored, the place was almost full. We were lucky enough to get the only table left.
“As you would expect from a jazz café, they serve coffee and drinks, but they also serve food, so why don’t we start with the food?”
Lance had been here many times, so of course he recommended the food.
There were a few foreign items, but for the most part I was familiar with everything and didn’t have any trouble ordering.
They ordered quickly, and while the staff set the table, Lance made the introductions he hadn’t made earlier.
“I’m the Chief of Logistics at Fleet Command.”
Lance was in his early thirties, with short brown hair and dark skin.
“I’m Elvin, I work for Chief Lance. I’ve known Costas since we were cadets.”
The man I’d been grinning at since I’d first seen him was called Elvin. He had typical blond hair and blue eyes, and although he wasn’t particularly handsome, he had a round, friendly face.
He was a captain, like Lord Costas, but with a higher rank.
“An atmosphere maker,” Chief Lance said, looking at Elvin beside him.
“I am the Chief of Operations and Lord Costas Dete Orsi.”
Lord Costas introduced himself. It was the first time I knew he was part of the Ops Division.
Next, Finn, the youngest of the group, said that he also worked in Ops alongside Lord Costas. Finn told me that being the youngest officer in Ops had its challenges.
“So does Bibi.”
But Julia nailed it.
“My Bibi is also the youngest, so she has a lot of problems. Come to think of it, you and Bibi. You look pretty good together, don’t you?”
Julia stepped forward, trying to force Finn to connect the dots.
“The Lieutenant has a lot of problems, too.”
Costas poured cold water on the mood.
“And just because he’s the youngest doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his work cut out for him. The captain has the most work.”
With that, he put down his cup. The mood changed, and Elvin burst out laughing.
“Haha, you’re right. Captains have a lot to do as well. Ah, now, would the lady please introduce us?”
At Elvin’s request, Julia said my name first.
Unlike the men, who kept their introductions short and sweet, Julia told us about her hometown and what her brothers did. The other two seniors did the same.
“And finally, Bibi.”
Now it was my turn. Suddenly the gentlemen’s dull expressions lit up.
“Finally, Bibi, it’s your turn to introduce yourself.”
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