episode_0044

morning.

My eyelids opened reflexively.

I just woke up and my head feels like a dream… … .

“… … Ah.”

I want to sleep more.

As that impulse struck me, I vaguely felt that a strangely soft and fluffy texture was touching my body.

What on earth is this soft and soft thing?

I was still half asleep, so I slowly blinked my eyelids and slowly began to understand the situation.

I am lying on my side in my room, on my bed.

And, there was something in front of me, and for some reason, that something smelled fragrant and good.

What should I say? It seems like a strangely sweet smell that makes you feel good just by smelling it… … .

I sniffed without realizing it.

“… … Ugh.”

And then I realized.

What I took on was the scent of a childhood friend.

I was asleep with my childhood friend in my arms.

‘Why is he in my room… .’

For a moment I had some doubts.

The events of yesterday flashed through my mind.

Aki came to my house to cook dinner, condoms in a plastic bag, beer that I drank thinking it was a drink, alcohol that Aki smoked while drunk, a promise to do a cosplay, a fee paid in return… … .

In terms of time, it must have been less than 12 hours, but a lot has happened in that time.

I muttered to myself and carefully looked at Aki’s face in my arms.

“Yes, yes… .”

“… … .”

Aki is sleeping soundly and breathing lazily.

He fell asleep at some point while we were kissing, so he must have fallen asleep around the same time as me, but seeing as he was still sleeping, he must have been quite tired.

‘Well, my drinking capacity is half a can of beer, but I drank half a can of beer… .’

Is it natural to be tired?

I carefully stretched out my hand and looked at the current time on my phone.

[AM 6:15]

Much earlier than the wake-up alarm set at 7 o’clock.

At this level, I could sleep for a long time, and in fact, I could fall asleep right away if I just closed my eyes.

The sight before my eyes was too precious to fall asleep like this.

Because it’s not common to see Aki sleeping without knowing the world.

‘The last time I saw you was almost a year ago… .’

Aki and I are close, but we are definitely a man and a woman, so when our parents are around, they don’t easily allow us to sleep in the same bed together, right?

So, only when my parents were away from home, we would sleep together to avoid snow, but since I visited Jeju Island last year, I haven’t been away from home for more than a day, so I haven’t been able to do that.

“… … .”

It may sound strange to say that I slept avoiding my eyes.

But it absolutely does not mean that. I literally just slept. Just sleep really.

… … anyway.

“Yes… .”

It’s so hard to sleep that you don’t even know if someone carries you while you sleep.

‘You’re really sleeping well…’ .’

She does all the housework very well, but she looks so defenseless when she sleeps, which makes her look cute.

It’s something I wouldn’t have seen if my parents were at home, so I’m glad to see it, and it’s also fascinating… … .

While thinking about such useless things, I suddenly looked down and looked at Aki’s cheek.

My right cheek is swollen to a cute size.

It looked so soft that it felt like it would burst if I touched it.

‘Should I stab it… ?’

I want to take a stab at it just once.

But what if it interferes with your ability to sleep well?

‘Should I stab it or not…’ … .’

I used to worry alone.

Unable to overcome my curiosity, I poked and prodded.

“… … Ugh!”

Then, the corner of Aki’s mouth trembled and a strange sound came out.

I was so startled by that that I quickly withdrew my finger, but it flashed.

Aki’s eyes opened.

“… … Uju~chan?”

“… … .”

My heart is pounding.

My heart began to beat rapidly.

I’m not used to seeing Aki’s face this close, and I’m also anxious because I’m wondering if he might have caught me stabbing his cheek.

“What time is it… ?”

“6:15, but… .”

“Ugh, I see… . … … Haam.”

Aki opens her mouth small and yawns cutely.

Judging from his reaction, it seemed like he didn’t realize that I had woken him up by poking his cheek.

‘Phew, that’s a relief… .’

Aqui is a very sensitive sleeper. From next time, don’t touch me while I’m sleeping.

“Are you tired? Do you want to sleep more?”

“No, I want to wake up. Once Atashi (me) wakes up, I can’t fall back asleep… .”

I am familiar with Aki’s lifestyle habits, but when I asked about it, I got the answer I expected.

I suppressed my desire to sleep more and sat up, following Aki.

“Haam… .”

Perhaps because I just opened my eyes, I yawned again with sleepy eyes.

“Aki, did you sleep well?”

“Yes… . Did you sleep well, Uju~chan?”

“I slept well too.”

“Hmph, really? Thank goodness.”

“… … .”

As I looked at Aki who had just woken up, I thought to myself,

If the.

Really what if.

If Aki and I were to live together, and our routine of sleeping and waking up in the same bed every day was repeated, wouldn’t the morning scene then feel exactly the same as this morning?

They were sleeping soundly while holding each other in their arms, and at some point, they woke up, made eye contact, said hello to each other and smiled lightly after asking if they had slept well. that.

‘… … ‘I think I’m going too far ahead.’

On the one hand, it felt like a future that wasn’t that far away, and that it might come soon.

It’s not that we’re not, because Aki and I have been childhood friends for 11 years already.

We’ve always been together like this, and now we feel so empty without each other.

If I grow a little older like this. hmm. At that time, living together may not really be a dream.

Of course, it doesn’t make sense for us to continue living together as childhood friends.

There has to be some form of progress in the relationship, but… … .

“Ugh, I’m tired… . I need to get some sleep. Uju~chan, do you want to eat breakfast? Will Atashi prepare it?”

“Ah, yes. I would appreciate it if you could do it.”

“Okay. I’ll make breakfast, Uju~chan, go and wash up.”

“Ugh, then let me go first… .”

“Oh, wait a minute!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Before you go, should I pay for breakfast?”

“Breakfast cooking cost… ?”

“Cooking costs… . A good morning kiss from Uju~chan to Atashi!”

“… … .”

If we really live together.

I wish every day was just like today.

“… … Okay?”

“… … Hmph.”

I sincerely hoped.

* * *

On the bus to school.

Perhaps because we woke up much earlier than usual, the two of us took a shower, ate, and chatted about various things, but we still had some time to spare until school time.

However, as is usually the case with buses during rush hour, the buses are full of office workers and students, so there are no empty seats.

“Huh? There is a seat over there.”

… … I thought it was, but there was an empty seat in the middle of the bus.

We happened to be the only two people standing, so I thought I was lucky and walked up to Aki without worrying about others.

“Sit here, Aki.”

“Huh? Uju~chan won’t sit down?”

If you eat until breakfast and don’t even give up your seat on the bus, you’re not human. It’s something wearing a human mask.

Aki seemed to refuse a few times, but when I encouraged him again by saying, ‘You had a hard time cooking, so you can sit down,’ he seemed to have no choice and said, ‘Yes, then Atashi will sit down…’ ‘?’ he said and sat down in his seat.

Normally, he would have decided to play rock, paper, scissors, but he seemed to feel sorry for me because he decided to just sit down without that. There’s no need for that.

“Want me to carry your bag for you, Uju~chan?”

“It’s okay. I’m resting comfortably. It’s going to get off soon anyway, right?”

“Five stops are not straight… ?”

“10 minutes, right? If I close my eyes for a moment and open them, I will arrive right away.”

Just when we were having a trivial conversation, there was a shock. The bus stopped at the stop.

Soon, the front door opened with a distinctive mechanical sound, and a woman struggled to get on the bus.

The face value is roughly around forty or fifty, but even if you look at it, it looks like your legs are uncomfortable. He seemed to have difficulty even walking, let alone moving, so he looked so pitiful that if I had been sitting, I would have gotten up and given up my seat without even thinking about it.

“Aki, we… .”

The moment I was about to say, “Let’s give up my seat.”

Jump up.

Aki stood up without even hearing what I said.

Aki jumped up from his seat.

“… … Ah, ma’am!”

Then, she runs to the lady so fast that her school uniform skirt flutters, and while gently holding her hand, she glances in my direction.

“Is there a seat over there? I will help you, so come sit with me. … Uju~chan!”

Aki opens his mouth and says something.

He only says with his mouth, ‘Let’s get him to sit down quickly before the bus leaves!’

“Ah, yes.”

As expected, I made a good childhood friend.

I felt secretly proud and quickly helped Aki catch the woman.

Then, I sat down with Aki in our seats, and stood side by side at a slight distance.

“Thank you, lady. I want to give you something, but right now this is all I have… .”

The lady held out something.

It was two famous green grape candies.

“No. thank you! I will eat well.”

Aki bowed his head and accepted the candy the lady gave him.

The woman must have noticed that sight, smiling happily and nodding her head slowly.

“You’re a foreign girl, right? You’re very polite. Are you naturalized? Or half-Korean?”

“Um, no. I am not a naturalized person, nor am I half-Korean. I’m just going to school in Korea.”

“Ah, you’re going to school… . So are you a college student?”

“Not a college student, but a high school student. This is a school uniform.”

“Oh, I see. She was so pretty that I thought she was a college student… !”

“Hmph, it’s okay! I often get that misunderstanding.”

On the outside, he looks like an ordinary foreigner, but he was the first to jump up and give up his seat and spoke to the lady in fluent Korean, so everyone around him glanced at Aki.

It’s a familiar sight to me because I’ve seen it so many times, but it might be quite surprising to other people, right?

Suddenly curious about other people’s reactions, I listened to the group of students muttering something.

-Hey, you know that guy? YouTube shorts.

-Uh, I guess that’s right? That Jamsil Stadium kiss time girl!

-I thought you were a foreigner, but you speak Korean really well. Are you mixed race?

-Wow, it looks prettier in person… . The man was handsome too.

But, what is this?

The conversation I overheard was not the reaction I expected.

Let alone things like being polite, being nice, etc… … . It’s all about the Jamsil Stadium kiss story posted on YouTube Shorts.

‘… … but.’

It has reached 1 million views in less than two days, so I’m sure everyone has already seen it.

Aki’s appearance is so outstanding that it’s hard to forget once you see her, so it wouldn’t have been that difficult to remember her.

“Wooju~chan.”

“… … Uh, why?”

“Do you want some candy?”

Aki smiles beautifully and offers me a green grape candy.

Of the two I received, one had already been unwrapped and popped into my mouth, and it seemed like he was about to give the other one to me.

“You gave it to me, can I take it and eat it?”

“Uju~chan also helped me. Don’t you have enough qualifications to eat?”

“Oh, I see… ?”

“Yes, try it. Atashi will feed you.”

“Just give it to me, I’ll eat it… .”

“Uh-huh, try it! Things like this are only fun if you feed them yourself~!”

“… … .”

You’re going to feed me candy in front of everyone. What a shameful play… … .

I quietly opened my mouth while muttering something to myself.

Aki opened the candy package, took out a piece of candy, held it with his index finger and thumb, and popped it into my mouth.

“How about it, is it delicious?”

“It’s delicious… .”

Thanks to this, the students who were talking about Jamsil Stadium became louder when they saw us.

“Are you your boyfriend?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It looks so good… . It’s your boyfriend, right?”

“Ah, um, uh… .”

Aki doesn’t answer right away and just glances at me.

Although he didn’t say anything, it seemed like he was secretly hoping for an answer from me.

“… … .”

Aunt in front, Aki on the side. In the back are students who recognize us and are giggling.

The situation is quite similar to what happened a few weeks ago, but slightly different.

There weren’t many onlookers back then, but now there are a lot of people waiting to hear me with their ears pricked up.

So, it was a bit difficult to answer.

Actually, there is no difference between then and now.

Although Aki is not my girlfriend.

Although I am not Aki’s boyfriend.

Now, well, we’re just childhood friends… … .

We decided to get married anyway, so we don’t know what happens next.

I answered while scratching my cheek.

“… … Not yet.”