Chapter 163
“Your hand is innocent, then?”
Eren tilted his head slightly as he approached, and Macy’s heart started to race. His handsome face was right in front of her, and the intensity was overwhelming.
It had been a while since she’d seen him, so she felt like her immunity to his presence had weakened.
Macy hesitated and, unable to respond, averted her gaze.
“You keep avoiding eye contact. I guess you didn’t miss me much after all.”
“It’s just… we’re outside…”
“No one’s going to say anything if we make eye contact here, right?”
“…”
“Or maybe, did the painter have more vivid fantasies here than I thought?”
“No, I didn’t!”
Macy denied it, blushing, and Eren’s lips curved into a playful smile. His expression was playful.
“By the way, Eren, did you… miss me?”
Suddenly, Macy found herself wondering. Eren had said before that he would miss her when they parted, so she asked the question with the expectation that he would say something similar.
“I think I did at first. But after the next day, I had other things on my mind and couldn’t really think of you.”
It was an awkward response.
Macy’s hand tightened around her bag.
She didn’t think he was teasing her this time, but his words made her wonder. Was she the only one who wanted to see him? He often said empty words, but it seemed like only in moments like this did he speak truthfully…
“What’s in that bag that you’re protecting so carefully?”
“Oh, it’s nothing…”
When Eren glanced at the bag, Macy immediately hid it behind her back.
“I already saw you putting a boxed item inside. If it’s mine, I’d rather you stop holding onto it so tightly and just give it to me.”
When did he see that…? She had secretly put something inside the bag, but he had already noticed.
Macy reluctantly opened the bag. As she fumbled with the small package inside, Eren lightly took the gift from her.
“I feel bad that I always receive things, so I bought this with the money I got from the portrait commission… but I thought you probably wouldn’t need it…”
“That’s not for you to decide.”
Eren deftly untied the ribbon that had been carefully tied. His movements were quick and precise.
Macy’s mind raced with the thought that everything was falling apart.
Eren opened the box and found a round pocket watch inside.
“A pocket watch.”
Eren turned the watch over, inspecting it with a sharp gaze.
“It’s silver, with a good weight to it. The chain is thick, and the ticking sound isn’t annoying. The engraving on the surface… is that the Romanci Bridge?”
“Yes, it is.”
Every time they discussed the watch, Macy felt embarrassingly exposed, as if the wrapping paper had come off and she, too, had been exposed.
“It’s beautiful. I’ll make good use of it.”
With that simple compliment, Eren reached to place the watch in his vest pocket.
“Wait!”
“Hm?”
Macy grabbed his wrist.
“You… you need to open it first. You should see it open…”
Macy’s grip on his hand was unexpectedly urgent. Eren looked momentarily puzzled before pulling the pocket watch back out of his pocket.
He carefully slid his finger into the seam of the watch, and a metallic click echoed as it opened. Macy swallowed nervously.
Eren opened the watch halfway, but then his movements noticeably slowed. A flicker of amusement faded from his face.
“Did you draw this?”
“Yes…”
Macy answered cautiously, watching him closely. Eren’s expression seemed to harden, as if he were becoming angry.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
The pocket watch had ordinary numbers along the edge, but the inside was designed for a drawing. So, Macy had carefully painted a self-portrait with a fine brush.
“I noticed you often look at your watch. I thought that when you saw it, you might think of me, even if you didn’t at first. You mentioned before that you’d want to see me before leaving…”
She thought her face wouldn’t upset him, even if the gift seemed unnecessary, but seeing his reaction made her realize her assumption was wrong.
Upon reflection, the watch probably seemed cheap compared to all the rare items Eren owned. It might even look like a crude toy to him. Perhaps his earlier words about missing her hadn’t been sincere after all…
Macy felt embarrassed in an instant.
“But I didn’t know you’d think of it like that. Give it to me! I’ll give you something else!”
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