episode_0046

“This is all I have to say, are there any other questions? Then let’s say hello and end.”

Immediately after the homeroom teacher spoke, the class president stood up and said hello.

The students in my class, including me, bowed our heads slightly, shouting, ‘Thank you for your hard work!’, and the teacher left the classroom after leaving his usual greeting.

Then, the inside of the classroom suddenly became noisy.

The atmosphere became chaotic as the children gathered together to chat and get ready to go home.

I was still staring at the classroom wall.

The reason is, of course, because I have two appointments scheduled after school today.

I’ve been thinking about it since right after my conversation with Aki until now, when it’s closing time, but I still haven’t been able to decide which of the two promises to prioritize.

I put my elbows on the desk, spread out my palms, rested my chin on them, and sighed.

“… … Umm.”

Akinya, my childhood friend of 11 years.

Is it Kim Seung-woo, who helped Aki have her first kiss?

It is a serious concern that is almost comparable to whether it is Jjajangmyeon or Jjamppong, or Mulbok or Ddakbok.

Of course, if he refuses Kim Seung-woo’s request to follow Aki, he becomes a bad guy in the world who knows no grace. If you meet Ham Ji-eun to do Kim Seung-woo’s favor, you won’t be able to see Aki in her swimsuit.

‘Oh, if it weren’t for the swimsuit, I would just fall out… .’

If it had been something other than a swimsuit, I would have said I’m sorry but I can’t go with you today and left out, but I can’t do that because the outfit I chose was a swimsuit.

Aki’s swimsuit is precious, so I want to see it in person no matter what.

“Okay… .”

I want to see it in person.

The problem is that if you do that, you will be abandoning Kim Seung-woo’s request.

I also said that it was a dangerous situation where I could be subject to a penalty if I couldn’t find a model for my cosmetics advertisement, so I had to quickly find a model and run the advertisement.

Aside from everything else, Kim Seung-woo is a strong helper who helped me kiss Aki at Jamsil Stadium.

If I may exaggerate, he is a friend who is almost like a benefactor, but it is difficult for me to put off a request from such a friend due to my personal circumstances.

For some reason, I feel like I’m not good as a person… … .

“… … Ugh.”

driving me crazy.

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with a sharp number.

In fact, in general terms, the best way is to postpone either appointment date by a day or two. In the current situation, that is also impossible.

According to Seung-Woo Kim, the deadline for the advertising contract is the day after tomorrow, so it would be impossible to postpone it.

However, if I postpone Aki’s promise, I cannot handle the repercussions that will come when I reveal the whole situation and ask for understanding.

Because Aki told me not to model for cosmetics advertisements or anything like that.

If I say to Aki, ‘I don’t think I can go with you today because I have to talk about being a cosmetics advertising model, is it okay if I go with you later?’, even if he doesn’t express it directly to me, he feels 100% sick inside.

I told you not to make it clear, but is he more important than me? Are my words not words? Have you come to hate me? . That way.

‘… … ‘I’d rather lie.’

If I lied to Aki and said that something urgent came up and asked her to go buy a swimsuit together next time, things would go smoothly.

Aki is kind and considerate, so there’s no need to ask.

But, I don’t like that.

The promise I made when I was young that I would never lie is a promise, but more than anything, I hate the idea of lying to my precious childhood friend. To be honest, I would have been scolded if I had been scolded.

… … Well, anyway.

This damn swimsuit is the problem.

If the outfit Aki was choosing today wasn’t a swimsuit, I wouldn’t even have to worry about this.

I may still have some regrets, but it was okay to put off making an appointment once… … !

“Juju, playing a game of basketball before going home?”

“… … .”

“Hey, why aren’t you answering?”

“… … Just wait a moment.”

Because I’m going through the biggest worry of my life right now.

It was the moment when I was about to answer Seongmin’s question.

──Drur!

The back door of the classroom opened with a loud noise, and a female student came into the class with her long hair flying.

The girl’s name is.

“Wooju~chan~!”

Aki Fujiwara.

He was my childhood friend of 11 years.

“Huh? This is Jooju’s girlfriend.”

“Isn’t he in class 1? Why did you come to my class?”

“Why, why did you come to get the main universe? They always pick each other up.”

“No, is this really the reason you asked me to try it? To show off to your girlfriend?”

Seongmin turned his back on Aki and looked at me with a rotten expression on his face.

I swear I didn’t hold you back with that intention, but the situation has come to this, so there’s nothing you can do.

I got up and tapped Seongmin on the shoulder.

“Sorry, let’s skip today. Because I have a prior contract.”

“Ugh, yes. Go, go, go on a date and then suddenly break up.”

Seongmin said something I couldn’t tell if he was serious or joking, and as he left my seat, he exchanged eye contact with Aki, who was coming towards me.

After a brief greeting, Aki stood in front of me as if taking turns with Seongmin, and then looked up at me with a bright smile.

“Were you waiting outside?”

“Yes, we finished quickly and were waiting for Uju~chan’s class to end. Let’s go, Uju~chan!”

Aki grabs my arm and gently pulls me as if Hansi is busy.

I almost followed that cute urging without realizing it, but stopped and looked towards Seungwoo Kim’s seat.

Then, my eyes locked with Kim Seung-woo, who happened to be looking in this direction.

“… … .”

“… … .”

A brief eye contact.

In my experience, it lasted less than 1 second.

“… … Ah.”

Seungwoo Kim opened his mouth as if he remembered something, then immediately took out his cell phone and tapped it.

──Jiying, Jiing.

[Did you have a prior contract?]

As if the identity of the vibration was different, it was a personal message sent by Seungwoo Kim.

I glanced at Seung-Woo Kim and sent a reply.

[No, it’s not a prior agreement. You know this because you’ve seen it for so long, right? He’s like this every day]

[Ah, then there will be no problem in meeting Jieun later?]

‘… … Oh, that’s a shame.’

As I wrote back, I slowly made up my mind.

Yes, it’s a shame that we can’t see Aki in a swimsuit.

It’s really unfortunate.

It’s really, really, really sad.

Still, it’s right to put out the fire first.

[Yes, I will just go home together and then go straight to see Ham Ji-eun. You don’t have to worry]

[But what time and where should we meet? Don’t we have to go to school together?]

I thought that would be a bit difficult, so I nervously asked, and Kim Seung-woo, who was far away, smiled.

[Don’t worry, I already told you. The location is a cafe near the school, and they asked us to meet at around 6:30, which was plenty of time.]

[okay? Why don’t we meet right away?]

[I don’t know much, but I think he said he had to meet the manager because of the advertising contract.]

‘6:30… .’

Because it’s not yet 5 o’clock.

I have a little more time than I thought… … ?

[Okay, okay. It’s a cafe near the school until 6:30, right?]

[That’s right. For the detailed location, the author will send you a map via chat later. I told you to do that]

[Oh, thank you!]

[What am I thankful for? I am more thankful]

Perhaps because they exchanged well-wishes, the atmosphere was a bit warm, chatting between men.

I thought quickly to myself.

The place where we meet Ji-eun Ham is a cafe near the school.

Travel time should be around 15 minutes. Then there is roughly an hour and a half left.

In about an hour and a half, wouldn’t it be possible to join Aki in her swimsuit shopping?

… … what.

I think it will really work.

“Wooju~chan, are you done with KakaoTalk?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. It’s over.”

“Hmph, then let’s go!”

As soon as I put my phone in my pocket, Aki starts gently pulling me.

I grabbed my bag, slung it over one shoulder, and followed Aki, pretending to be reluctant.

‘… … 1 hour 30 minutes.’

After seeing Aki in her swimsuit, I decided to send her home quickly.

It’s a bit tight on time, but it’s totally doable if you’re in a hurry and don’t think you’ll have dinner… … !

* * *

Near school, large shopping mall.

Our school is 10 minutes away from the city, so there are many places to play just a short distance away.

There are movie theaters, arcades, restaurants, bowling alleys, table tennis courts, as well as escape room cafes, board game rooms, PC rooms, room cafes, etc., so I’ve said everything because it would be quicker to find a place where kids can’t play.

“Hmm… . Oh, the swimsuit store is on the 3rd floor? Uju~chan, let’s go to the 3rd floor.”

“Ah, yes.”

Anyway, I digress.

Normally, Aki and I would have chosen one of the places mentioned above and hung out together.

But I’m not going to any of them today.

Because today is the day Aki chooses a swimsuit.

And that too, right in front of my eyes… … !

‘… … Oh, I’m looking forward to it.’

Why do I look forward to Aki’s swimsuit so much even though I’ve seen her in it almost every year?

With my heart swollen, I rode the elevator with Aki’s shoulders close to me.

The destination was, of course, the swimsuit store on the 3rd floor.

It looked quiet from the outside, but when we went inside, there were quite a few customers besides us. Even though it’s March, it’s still too early to go swimming.

“Not many women come alone… .”

After looking around the fairly large swimsuit store, he muttered in a low voice.

As Aki said, almost all the customers at the swimsuit store were male and female. There are no single male customers at all, and only a few female customers come alone.

“That’s right. It would be really awkward if I came alone.”

“Don’t men usually come to swimsuit stores alone?”

“Well, I guess it varies from person to person… . First of all, I don’t come alone.”

“Why? Because there is Atashi (me)?”

“… … If I say that, it makes me a little weird.”

“Ugh, just kidding… !”

Aki says something a bit mischievous and laughs slightly.

I was about to say something more, but I just looked at it because it was cute.

“Welcome. Is there anything you are looking for?”

A swimsuit store employee approaches us with a business smile on his face.

It was a woman who looked to be in her late 20s, and she was looking at me, not Aki, and asking. If you look at Aki from the outside, he is clearly a foreigner, so I guess he is doing this because he feels uncomfortable talking to him directly.

“Aki, are you looking for something?”

“Um, no. Let me look around a bit first. Is fitting possible here?”

“Ah, yes. Of course you can, I understand. If you need a fitting or have any questions, please let me know anytime!”

The employee was surprised for a moment when Aki spoke fluent Korean, then smiled his typical business smile and returned to his seat.

This happens almost every day when I go out with Aki, but it’s amazing to see people get so surprised. I guess it’s because I’ve gotten used to it so I’m not surprised to see Aki speak Korean well.

“Wooju~chan, why?”

“… … huh? Why?”

“You kept staring at Atashi. Do you have something to say?”

“Oh, I did that… ?”

“Yes, I looked. And with a very serious gaze.”

‘When you say it’s an intense gaze, it sounds like I looked at it with strange eyes… .’

I was just looking at it.

“Oh, maybe… .”

“Perhaps?”

“I wanted to see Atashi in a swimsuit as soon as possible, so I was asking with my eyes~?”

“… … .”

Half right and half wrong.

It’s true that I want to see Aki in a swimsuit right away. I didn’t ask for it with my eyes.

When I neither confirmed nor denied, Aki laughed quietly as if he had interpreted it on his own.

“Wooju~chan, is there a swimsuit style you want?”

“Swimsuit style? Oh, you mean the type?”

“Yes, there are things like rash guards, monokinis, one-pieces, and bikinis.”

Aki asks me, looking around at the swimsuits hanging on the hanger, whether it looks like she’s about to start shopping in earnest.

I thought about Aki’s words for a moment.

‘… … What I want to see the most is a bikini.’

I forced myself to swallow what I almost said.

If you say that, ‘Uju~chan pervert, I wanted to see Atashi in a bikini so much…’ ‘?’ and make fun of me to the fullest.

“Since it’s your first time, how about wearing something casual like a dress?”

“… … You’re wrong, Wooju~chan”

“Huh? What?”

“One-piece is not a normal swimsuit. Actually, it’s not the most ordinary swimsuit!”

“… … One piece? Why?”

“Wooju~chan, you thought one-piece was a swimsuit that covered less of your body shape because it covers a lot of area, right? But that’s not it. One-piece is actually a swimsuit that flatters the body better than any other swimsuit. In particular, the solid color and plain pattern will flatter your body tremendously! Because the lines are clearly visible… !”

“Ah… .”

I see

I find out one thing I didn’t know.

“So, the dress is out as the first choice. Please choose something else, Wooju~chan.”

“Well, let’s say it’s something else… .”

I usually think of a one-piece or a bikini, so if the one-piece is missing, isn’t it a bikini?

I trailed off and looked at Aki.

Is it okay to ask someone to wear a bikini directly or not? I took a look at the liver.

Aki must have sensed my feelings just from the look in my eyes, ‘Ah… He looked up at me with a face that seemed to say.

“I want to see your bikini, Uju~chan?”

“No, whatever. It’s not that I really want to see it… … .”

“If I don’t say I miss you, you won’t wear it?”

“… … I miss you.”

There is no need for pride in front of a bikini.

“Ugh, I see. Uju~chan, I want to see Atashi’s bikini… ?”

“… … .”

“Hmph, okay. I’ll stop teasing you. … So, what should I wear? Where, somewhere, is there something that Uju~chan might like~?”

‘He keeps teasing me subtly… .’

If it comes out like this, I have my own thoughts.

I took a quick look around and looked at the inside of the store, which I had been eyeing since I entered.

[An item that can make you a little hot this summer… A promotional corner with a 9-head mannequin wearing a swimsuit, with the subtle phrase “♡]”, which looks like it was aimed at a female customer with a boyfriend.

“Aki.”

“Huh?”

“How about that?”

I glanced inside the store.

Aki followed my gaze and looked at the promotion corner.

I found a bikini with a slightly bold design that had quite a few dents here and there, showing a lot of exposure.

“I think Aki will look pretty when she wears it.”

It was half serious and half joke.

When I said that Aki would look pretty in it, I was being serious, and when I said how about that, I was joking.

The reason I asked how it was was just to hit back at Aki who was teasing me.

I wasn’t really asking you to wear it.

… … however.

Aki looked at me and the bikini swimsuit in turn without saying anything.

“… … Okay.”

Slowly, she approached the bold bikini.

“Uju~chan, that’s what I said… .”

With a slightly red face, he glanced at me and said.

“Let’s try it on once… ?”

“… … .”

uh.

Uh oh.

… … Ugh?!