When A Ghoul Falls In Love

Eli isn't stupid. He knows what he is asking. 

Currently, Nell is bolder and chattier. If she tells him honestly what kind of men she likes, he can make her fall for him when she remembers everything. She can't deny what kind of person she likes then. Maybe it's his wishful thinking, but he still wants to do his best. Seduction hasn't exactly worked on her. Nell can look at him with a straight face even if he takes his clothes off and exhibits nudity. 

He blinks his eyes. How will she react now if he takes off his clothes? 

"I don't like a huge age gap." Nell teases him with a solemn voice, "I also don't like men who call themselves wives."

"That's discrimination." Eli sits up with a good mood. He wants to see her reaction now. "Why can't men call themselves wives? Did someone patent the word 'wife'?"

"Wives are usually women," Nell frowns a bit when she sees him unbuttoning his shirt. "There is a reason why an apple is called an apple."

"What if the apple wanted to be called orange?" He has noticed the slight blush on her face. She hasn't looked away. There is a curiosity in her eyes. Eli drops the shirt on the floor. "Why can't I be your wife then?"

"Wives usually have some shame," Her voice quivers as she studies his lean but muscular body. His skin is so clear and smooth that even women would be jealous of him. Why did the gods give him such beautiful skin? Even she has acne scars on her cheeks. "You know, you are hateful."

Her words don't match her tone. Eli is anything but offended. He smirks at her, "Hateful for being beautiful?"

"I didn't call you beautiful." She crosses her arms. "Don't even think about kissing me. I will chop your lips off."

"Really?" His face brightens up as he moves closer. "Please do."

"Wait!" She raises her hands. What the hell is wrong with this man? Is he a pervert? She glances at his b.a.r.e c.h.e.s.t. Who would take off their shirts in front of women without any ulterior motives in this situation? "Don't think of doing anything bad to me."

"How can I think of that?" Eli c.o.c.ks his head and asks her in an innocent voice, but his eyes say a different story. "Sweet Addiction, I am a decent man. Didn't I tell you that I haven't kissed any woman other than you?"

So, they have been together for a while. A part of her knows that he is telling the truth. She doesn't feel sad about Baek Joon Woo either. Not much. It's not surprising to her. Why is she not feeling much? It's like a switch has been turned off. She isn't feeling like herself. Nell shrugs. "That's not something to be proud of."

"I never thought that I would ever love someone." Eli rubs his nose shyly. "You happened to me. I was drawn to you from the moment I saw you. At first, I thought that you were my food and it was a challenge because I was abstaining from human meat, but it turned out to be something else. I didn't think that there would ever be a day I could hold you in my arms."

Nell listens to him. His words feel genuine, but they are also not something that a woman can expect from a man. For example, he thought of her as food. Was she like the temptation that a recently-turned-vegetarian feels when he sees chicken meat? She stares hard at him. 

"Well, I know why you are single."

"It's because of you, isn't it?" Eli grins at her, not knowing what's going inside her head. "I was single for more than six hundred years because I didn't meet you earlier. Why did you take so long to take birth? Then, it's also my fault for not finding you earlier. I should have gone to earth instead of going to Seixia back then. I could have found you when you were only two years old."

This is creepy. Nell swallows. Finding her when she was only two? "What would you have done if you had met me when I was two years old?"

"I would have taken you along with me." Eli's eyes curve into crescent moons. "I would have taken you to a safer world where you and I could stay together happily."

"This is exactly why I don't like you," Nell tells him honestly. "Kidnapping someone is wrong."

'Ah…" Eli realizes his mistakes. He can't be too honest with her. She can't understand his thoughts yet. "But we are keeping Nick against his wishes too. Isn't that wrong? He belongs to someone else. Legally."

"That --" Nell lifts her finger. "That is a completely different issue. You know that it's wrong. But taking a two years old child away from her home is totally wrong. She can't consent to be with you. Also, you would have made her dependent on you. She wouldn't have thought of anyone else but you."

Eli nods his head. "I want you to think only of me."

"Geez!" Nell rolls her eyes. "That's why you are different from him. Baek Joon Woo isn't like that. He wouldn't take a two years old child with him and raise her in such a way. He wouldn't expect me to love only him. There are times when he feels jealous and it's also the same for me. But both of us understand that we can't only love each other. I love my mother and my friends, and he loves his parents, his younger sister, and everyone else who are important to him. He wouldn't kiss me forcefully or keep me at some place against my wishes. Loving someone doesn't mean possessing that person. Just like the birds belong to the sky, people also need the freedom to flourish. Love helps people grow, it doesn't choke them in a cage."

She is still talking about him in the present tense. Eli realizes that she still believes that Baek Joon Woo is alive. He can take her to his grave. The meaningless hope will die then. But what about the way she talks about him? "If he was so great, why couldn't he protect you?"

Nell's lips tremble. She folds her fingers into fists and turns her head away, not wanting to look at him. ���I am sure that he is looking for me right now. He will find a way to come to me."

"You break my heart a lot." Eli climbs off the bed. "With or without memories of me, you always break my heart. I can't even complain because you will just tell me to leave you."

"That's what you should do." Nell grimaces at his back. "Why do you keep clinging to a woman who doesn't love you? Do you want me to help you find someone for you then? I will find someone who looks like me after I have dealt with Killian."

"Why do you care?" He snaps at her. "Since you don't have any feelings for me, you should just ignore me."

"I can't ignore a half-n.a.k.e.d man who looks like he is going to weep at any moment." She barks in rage, "Stop blaming me for not loving you back. You can't force feelings. I am sure that you already knew about my feelings for Baek Joon Woo. Then, why are you being sad? Whether he is dead or not, I won't change my heart for someone else, especially someone who looks like him. If he is truly dead, I will be reminded of him every time I see you. How do I even kiss you without thinking of him? It's impossible to have feelings for you. I am not a twisted person who would hook up with a guy who looks exactly like the boy I love more than my life."

Tears roll down on her cheeks. She covers her face with her hands. 

"Damn it!" She continues to curse in a low voice. Just now, she lost control of her emotions. Why is she bothered about him anyway? It's not like he is the first guy who fell in love with her. Is it because he looks similar to Baek Joon Woo? Is she upset because her body feels for him? She whispers to herself, "I don't want to betray him!"

Even if her voice is low, he hears it. If she hadn't forgotten him, she wouldn't be thinking like this. Because Nell had kissed him. She had embraced him. And, she had looked at him -- not Baek Joon Woo.