Chapter 21

The next day, Huey came over to my house.

Mom brought in tea and sweets for two, smiled meaningfully, and said, "I’ll leave you two to it." Then she winked at me before quietly stepping out.

Dad had gone to work in the fields. When he left in the morning, he patted my head and said only, "Have fun." His awkward, forced smile nearly made me cry—I had to struggle to keep my face from showing it.

"Did you sleep well yesterday, Mimosa? I passed out right after dinner. I really felt how great it is to have a bed again," Huey said, sounding a bit restless.

Well, I couldn’t blame him. The situation practically screamed, I’ll leave the young couple alone now.

Not that I was calm either. I couldn’t even look him in the face and found myself glancing away. Funny—back in that den, we were way closer, practically cuddling. …Actually, maybe not cuddling exactly. I didn’t even realize it was Huey then, and my brain was running on beast instincts. Romantic thoughts were the last thing on my mind.

Which means—now that we’re human again, sitting face to face like this—it’s so freaking embarrassing!

When I found out the wolf was Huey, I was frustrated that we couldn’t talk properly in our beast forms. And now? I kinda wish we could go back to that.

"A-ahaha… yeah, same. Wearing clothes really makes you feel civilized again…"

What am I even saying? Why is my voice cracking? God, I’m so aware of him right now, it’s unbearable.

I lowered my gaze and sneaked a glance at Huey. His ears were red, and he looked all fidgety, his eyes darting everywhere.

"Ah, yeah. Well, putting the whole beast transformation aside, we were kinda… naked a lot, weren’t we?"

"Cough!"

"Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean it like that! Seriously, it’s not like I’m thinking about your naked body or anything!"

"Cough, cough, hack…!"

"Aaaah! Mimosa, are you okay!?"

I started coughing uncontrollably, tears stinging my eyes as I curled up. Then I felt a large, warm hand gently press against my back.

Huey’s hand…

"Eeeek!"

"Whoa—what the heck!?"

I sprang up like a spring-loaded doll, meeting Huey’s startled gaze as he froze, still reaching out toward me. That big hand had just touched my back…

Oh no. My face is burning up. Calm down, tail—stop wagging like that!

"A-are you okay, Mimosa?"

"Y-yeah. I’m fine now. You can sit down, Huey."

Huey, still looking worried, sat back down. I watched him as I took a sip of tea to steady myself.

There’s just no way not to be conscious of him.

We’re both in mating season, yet we’re not even officially a pair—just awkwardly stuck in between. To move forward, we’d need to… confess. That ritual.

We both know it’s going to happen at some point today. We just don’t know when.

God, could this situation be any more embarrassingly sweet!?

When I swallowed my tea, the sound of it—gulp—felt painfully loud. Ugh, I’m so nervous. This bittersweet tension is killing me. From the outside, we probably look like two shy teens fumbling through their first crush. But one of us is actually a grown man inside!

Ugh. The fact that my heart’s fluttering right now is just disgusting…

I kept my eyes on the table until I heard another quiet gulp from across me. When I looked up, Huey’s face was stiff with tension.

Is it finally happening?

My heart pounded so hard it felt like I couldn’t breathe—but oddly enough, my head was perfectly clear.

Confession isn’t supposed to be a “guy’s job” or “girl’s job” kind of thing. But I just couldn’t be the one to do it.

Because the me that Huey fell in love with… isn’t really me.

“…Mimosa.”

Hearing my name in that tense, trembling voice made me lift my head. His blue eyes locked on mine, filled with sincerity, and my chest tightened painfully.

I knew what was coming, and I knew I’d have to turn him down. But I couldn’t stop him halfway through. I wanted to listen—to hear everything he had to say, even if it was something I could never accept.

At the very least, I wanted to hold his feelings close as a precious memory, even if I could never return them.

“I like you, Mimosa. I want you to be my mate.”

A deep warmth bloomed in my chest. Such a simple confession—plain and honest—but it made me happy.

The emotion rose up, hot and thick, until it almost spilled out as tears. I squeezed my eyes shut, holding them back. After a moment, I opened them again and took a deep breath, meeting Huey’s gaze. Then, carefully—so my shaky voice wouldn’t break—I began to speak.

“Huey… thank you. That makes me really happy. But I’m not the same Mimosa you fell in love with.”

“…”

Huey furrowed his brow, his expression confused and uneasy, but he stayed silent and let me talk.

Unable to bear the silence, I rushed ahead, words tumbling out.

“You thought I just pretended to have memories of being a man in my past life—but that’s not it. I really do have those memories. And those are the only memories I have. I don’t remember anything from when I was Mimosa. I may look like her, but I’m not the Mimosa you loved.”

I couldn’t bring myself to look at him anymore. My voice came out small and strained.

“That’s why… I don’t have the right to be your mate.”

The words hurt as they left my mouth, and tears splattered onto the table one by one.

“…Uh.”

Huey’s hesitant voice made my shoulders jolt.

Of course, I didn’t expect him to understand right away. I’d explain until he did. Just… please forgive me for not being able to look him in the eye.

“So… you mean, you don’t remember being little, and somehow you’ve got memories of being some human guy instead?”

I nodded silently, still looking down.

Did he think I was disgusting now?

“Like… a demon possessed your body or something?”

“…!”

The word hit like a knife, freezing me in place. A demon.

So that’s what I am, huh?

More tears fell, splattering the table. I shouldn’t cry. I don’t have the right to cry.

“But you remembered racing me when we were kids, didn’t you? Then you just forgot the rest of your childhood, that’s all.”

“Ah… Th-the wish we made… after that race… I remembered it…”

My voice was wrecked by sobs, but I still forced the words out, desperate to say it.

Then I heard a soft laugh—Huey’s laugh—and I forgot all about the tears as I looked up.

He was smiling. Brightly.

“Then, if you remembered… hear my wish, okay?”

That wasn’t at all the reaction I’d expected. I stared at him, my eyes puffy and red.

He’d just been rejected with some bizarre explanation that didn’t make sense, and yet—why did he look so calm?

I’d braced myself for anger, or sadness. But Huey’s unexpected composure threw me off so much that my tears just… stopped.

Sniffling, I stammered out, “B-but… I’m not the Mimosa who made that promise with you. I’m not the Mimosa you loved…”

“I don’t really get what you’re saying,” Huey said, his voice steady, “but the Mimosa I fell for—is the one right here, right now.”

“…Huh!?”

This time, I was the one who couldn’t make sense of what I’d just heard.

What… did he just say?