Ch.168Epilogue: Forever (4)

Finding out their ring sizes didn’t take as long as I’d expected.

Come to think of it, all three of them are women.

In my past life as a man, I wasn’t particularly interested in adorning my body, but Hayun, Jihye, and Ju-a are a bit different. They have several hair ties of different styles and quite a lot of clothes.

These three especially seem to find joy in dressing me up these days. Before, it was just Hayun putting different things on me, but now all four of us live in the same house.

Naturally, they had quite a few accessories too. Things like necklaces and bracelets. Some of them I had bought for them.

When the four of us go out together, we sometimes wander into accessory shops that catch our eye. Sometimes we buy things, sometimes we don’t, but we always try on various items.

And that day was no exception.

On our way out after the movie, I don’t remember who suggested it first, but somehow we all ended up in one of those shops.

There were a few people inside. They were startled when they saw our faces and moved to the corner of the store, but fortunately, they didn’t run away. That would have been troublesome for the shop.

To be honest, I wasn’t particularly interested up to that point. Unless it was a wedding ring, I didn’t really feel the need to buy such things to wear.

How should I put it… they felt cumbersome? Though I did wear them when the kids bought them for me.

“Ah, this is pretty.”

Hayun suddenly said that as she picked up a ring.

I still couldn’t really tell what was so special about it, but—

“Hmm, it doesn’t fit.”

Hayun tried the ring on her right middle finger, tilted her head, and then tried it on her right ring finger instead.

Seeing that, I suddenly became alert.

While the sizes of the right and left hands aren’t always the same, they usually don’t differ too much.

I quickly hid my surprise and discreetly checked where Hayun had picked up the ring from. And its size.

“Oh, that’s quite pretty. May I try it too?”

Ju-a, who was standing nearby, approached as she said that.

“Sure.”

Hayun handed the ring to Ju-a. Ju-a tried it on and tilted her head.

“Hmm, it’s a bit loose. I think this one suits me better. Don’t you think?”

Ju-a took off the ring Hayun had given her and put on the one she had chosen. It fit perfectly.

“Oh, yes, that does look good on you.”

I subtly moved around to check where Ju-a had gotten her ring from. I was committing the size to memory when—

“Jieun, what about this one? How does this look?”

Jihye said that as she held out her hand to me.

Ah, I see.

I had forgotten there was such a simple method.

Of course, asking directly would be like announcing I was going to buy them rings soon, which would be as good as declaring I was planning to propose.

I’d prefer if they were completely surprised when it happened.

With that in mind, I carefully memorized Jihye’s size too. All three had similar sizes. Ju-a’s was just one size smaller.

“Hmm? What is it? Does it look that good? Why are you smiling like that?”

When Jihye asked that with a somewhat teasing tone, Ju-a, who had approached without me noticing, poked her side with a finger. Hayun just smiled a bit awkwardly at the two of them.

I composed my expression as best I could and cleared my throat to defuse the situation.

Well, that went quite naturally.

*

As soon as I had time to go out alone, I went back to the ring shop and told them the sizes.

The adjustments were made quickly. Since they were originally made in average sizes, it was enough to reduce Ju-a’s by one size.

My heart pounded heavily when I received all four rings.

The proposal was scheduled for a few days later.

Actually, Cherry, who had gotten a necklace made before me, had recommended various restaurants. Rather than waiting for my turn, she seemed to think proposing “on the table” might be a bit awkward, so she had just been looking around at different places.

Among them, I chose a place where we could comfortably eat steak. Somehow, I felt that would have the best atmosphere.

I couldn’t get a completely private place, but I did choose one where the tables were spaced apart. A place with a good view of the city from up high.

“…”

Well.

We’ve eaten at nice places before, and we’ve gone out together. In fact, considering we’ve already been intimate, it might be a bit strange to feel embarrassed at this point.

But still, I felt a bit shy.

We were already living together—and from a legal standpoint, our arrangement was a bit unusual in several ways, making it difficult to get universal recognition.

So in the end, our marriage was just for our own satisfaction.

But still, I considered that marriage to be “genuine.”

Even without a marriage certificate, I wanted to stake my life on keeping the promise to love them forever.

I had just been born, just crossed over to this world, and had been living just to survive—but it was them who gave me another reason to live.

So, I felt a bit embarrassed. Because I was going to say such things.

Regardless of the system, regardless of others’ gazes.

No matter what situation we might face.

I was going to say that I would live my entire life loving all three of them.

I thought this required more than just ordinary courage.

But.

“I have to do it.”

I muttered to myself, nodding.

“Phew.”

I exhaled and headed home.

Well, I still had a few days left.

If I prepared my heart as much as possible—wouldn’t it work out somehow?

I’ve always been good in actual situations.

…No, it might be more accurate to say I’ve lived a life where I had no choice but to deal with actual situations.

*

As I intended, we came to a place with a magnificent view of the city.

With a large window beside us, with lights twinkling outside.

It was a square table, but everyone seemed satisfied with their seats. Hayun sat right next to me, Jihye sat directly across from me, and Ju-a sat diagonally from me, though not too far away.

Even this seating arrangement was decided by random drawing, so it would have been awkward if anyone had complaints.

Even halfway through cutting my steak, I was still watching the three of them nervously.

The three of them also seemed worried that I might have something serious to say, as they avoided making eye contact with me. Ah, yes, perhaps that’s why Ju-a seemed a bit more at ease in her seat.

If she had been sitting next to me or directly across from me, seeing my expression might have made her anxious too.

“…”

After diligently cutting my steak, I let out a light sigh.

“Um, hey.”

As soon as I opened my mouth, all four pairs of eyes turned to me at once.

That made me a bit nervous. Even though these were all people I had passionately taken to bed before.

Trying my best to keep my voice from trembling, I fiddled with the bag I had brought. Ah, thinking about it now, that probably looked suspicious too. I usually didn’t carry such bags, finding them bothersome.

“…”

Oh, whatever.

I took a deep breath in and out.

Then I put some strength into my eyes.

“Listen, I have something really important to say.”

At my words, the three of them tensed up even more. None of them responded audibly, just staring at my face.

I opened my bag and took out four small boxes, one by one.

Anyone could tell they were jewelry boxes containing rings.

Feeling a slight satisfaction at seeing the kids inhale sharply, I opened each ring box again.

I remembered which one belonged to whom. With my skills, I could compare ring sizes by sight.

“Well… all three of you, give me your hands.”

At my words, the kids looked at each other.

Then, a bit shyly, they extended their hands to me.

This was a bit awkward in its own way. Who should I put the ring on first?

…

Right, instead.

I grabbed all three of their hands at once. Their bodies leaned slightly toward me.

With the quickest hand movements I could manage, I slipped the rings onto each of their fingers.

Yes, I know it’s a bit less romantic this way.

But still.

I didn’t want to appear as if I was showing favoritism.

But fortunately, the kids were looking at the rings on their fingers with sparkling eyes.

“Ahem.”

But I wasn’t done yet.

I opened the last box, the one with the ring sized for my finger.

Holding it up, I looked at each of them in turn and said:

“Put this on me. All three of you together.”

At those words, their mouths opened slightly.

But soon, those lips slowly curved into smiles.

My hand, held simultaneously by all three of them, felt incredibly warm.