High School Again: The President's Secret Lady Boss

Asking a playboy about how he sees a girl he often meets with will probably lead to an undesirable scenario – at least, for Winter, that is.

Then again, Marcellus still has the audacity to flirt with her from time to time. He has the weirdest sense of humor, which, for some reason, serves as one of the main reasons why he gets along with everyone. And while he does have some instances that make her blood run cold, he is still good to have as a companion. 

Another thing is that he can't stand any dead airs or awkward silence. That's why he doesn't run out of things to say, and even if it means messing around with her in any possible means, he will continue to shoot his mouth off. Teasing her has become one of his sources of entertainment as well, though she doesn't really feel offended by any of it.

After all, in every mocking remark that he throws at her, she has something to retort back.

"You're asking me who you are to me, huh…?" Marcellus said with his trademark 'playboy' smirk, making Winter grimace in chagrin. 

"Well, wouldn't you like to know~?" 

In this kind of topic, she usually doesn't have things to retort back, much to her dismay.

That's because she has the impression that doing so will always come out like she's playing along with him. Sometimes, she'd end up feeling embarrassed in what she had said. He likes seeing her get all flustered after that, which she really hates.

Though she's immune to his signature flirtatious gestures, she can't help but be reminded of their old days as 'husband and wife' – not because he'd often do this thing to her, but because he never ever to do something like this on her back then.

"Y-You know what, nevermind…" Winter stammered out and turned away to evade his gaze.

"Forget what I said-"

"That's a tricky question, though. Our very relationship itself is already hard to understand – whether we even have an official one or not, that is…" Marcellus continued, cutting her off on purpose. 

"But it's a good thing you asked. Perhaps, you've been wondering about that for a while now."

"No, I don't. I can't care less about how you see me."

"Why ask, then?"

"I already said that you should forget about it."

"Don't be so bashful. I'll be more than happy to tell you about anything you want to know~"

"Q-Quit it! You're such a creep!"

Marcellus stiffened at that, a little offended.

Winter only continues shooting him a sharp look even then, not taking it back. She already knows how this conversation will escalate, and she sure hopes that he will give it a rest already. But then, as usual, it didn't go the way she wanted. 

"A creep? Weren't you the one who had been stalking me recently?" he brought up as he started taking steps closer to her, making her take steps back.

"And you're the one who kept flirting around with a high school girl," she retaliated but was soon backed into the wall at the corner.   

"Aren't you the same age as me in reality? You're a time traveler, after all. And also, I'm not even flirting with you, to begin with."

"T-Then, what do you call this? Cornering me to a wall and everything?"

"Flirting has many meanings to it. I believe you're claiming mine as the kind that only fools around. But sorry to burst your bubbles – that's not it at all."

That's when Marcellus leans closer to Winter all of the sudden. With his arms stretched out on both of her sides, she finds herself trapped between him and the wall. There's nothing but a small gap in their middle at this point. And as if that's not enough, he really has to inch his face nearer to hers.

"I'm being serious, you know."

As soon as he said that, she felt how her heart started pounding out loud.

She swore it was a normal reaction, though. No one could possibly deny how crazy hot he looked with that serious expression on. He even talked with a deep, smoky tone – so spellbindingly luscious that it almost stole her breath away.

She only had a mere second left before she fell for his charms, but she immediately came to her senses.

"And this is exactly why I think you're fooling around…!" Winter bolted out at Marcellus, shouting at his face and making him stagger back in surprise.

"Geez, I told you to quit that! Look, if you want me to pick a dress, I'll do it! You don't need to harass me like this!"

"H-Harass?"

He wanted to snort at that, but he was too affronted to make fun of the situation.

That wasn't the reaction that he was going for. When he said he's serious, then he's serious. He gets that she misunderstood his advances as the opposite of that, especially since she knows well about his flirting and all, but he already went ahead and told her the truth – he doesn't mess around when it comes to her.

Much to his disappointment, though, that message didn't cross to her.

"Oh, take a look at this, Sir Lexington…!" Winter called out to Marcellus from a distance, making him snap out of his stupefied state and turn his attention back to her.

"This dress seems to be comfortable to move in! In case of emergency, I can run and jump around without any trouble in this!"

"You've got the strangest fashion taste I ever encountered, Ms. Agreste."

He sighed the moment he saw what she pertaining to.

It's this evening dress that somewhat has the sheerest kind of fabric which she can instantly tear apart with ease once the situation calls for it. Based on his standards, however, it looks more like what she would wear for slumber parties. But most importantly, he doesn't like how it reveals much of her skin.

"You'll look like a peasant in that. Find another one," he complained, earning her huff.

"How rude! You own this shop, you know! Are you saying that you sell those kinds of clothes?"

"I'm just saying that it doesn't suit you. Here, I'll help you find something."

"Fine. Just don't pick something so revealing."

"I'm not going to do such a thing. You should say that to yourself."

"Hmph!"

For some time, the two of them decided to search around together.

While he doesn't like how she focuses on choosing something that she can comfortably move around in at a dangerous situation, she also feels the same when he points at something that's too expensive for her liking. Their interests contradict for a while. But soon enough, they're able to agree on one particular apparel that goes well with her figure.     

"Well~? Doesn't that fit you best, Ms. Agreste?" 

Marcellus is sitting down on a chair in front of the changing room when Winter finally finishes putting it on and goes to step outside. His smile brightens up even more as soon as his eyes lay on her appearance. It's as he thought – she looks stunning in it. 

It's a sleeveless, pristine white halter dress with beads of pearls adorning the neck, a ribbon wrapped around the part for the waist, and some golden embellishments serving as additional ornaments. He also picked a headdress in the form of this golden laurel which would go along well with her clothes. As for her footwear, he had already thought of making her use a pair of wedge shoes with bows and laces decorating them.     

"I know I said I wanted a simple yet comfy one, but doesn't this look a little too childish?" Winter asked while looking at the mirror on the side for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

"Childish? No, it's not. I think it looks perfect on you," Marcellus reassured her as he stood up from his seat and walked closer to her with his hands shoved inside his pockets.

"You sure know how to compliment a lady, huh? I bet you used to say the same line to other women."

"Why must you always argue with me? I'm only telling the truth."

"It's hard to trust a guy like you when it comes to this kind of thing."

"Then, what must I do to make you believe me?"

For the second time that hour, he went ahead and leaned closer to her – but this time, he was smiling the sincerest smile she had ever seen from him.

At this point, she is already certain that he is fond of violating the laws of space. But if he continues beaming like that, she's afraid she might come to think that he actually wants to be that close to her. What's more, he suddenly starts saying all those things about him wanting her to believe in him – as if merely saying so will be enough to make her do such a thing.

"To be honest, it's hard to see you as someone sincere, Marcellus Lexington…" Winter quipped with a smile of her own, earning a nonplussed reaction from Marcellus. 

"Maybe I'll only be able to see you that way once you finally fall for someone – a woman you'll have a serious relationship with, that is."