Ch.223Side Story – I Became a Heroine After the Pure Love Ending (14)

“Hey! Nani ga attemo?”

“Ku, kujike nai-!”

“Heheh, well done. You’re getting much better at those call-and-response parts than before.”

“Well, that’s because you’ve been bringing me here after every exam, Doyoung…”

“Great! As proof of your growth, after this instrumental break, you’ll sing the next intro part solo, Doha-min!”

“Wh-what…? Wait, the female key is too hard to follow…!”

“Hurry! The mic is counting down three-two-one right now!”

“Fu, furikaenai↗↘!”

A clear, crisp voice crack.

Gripping the microphone earnestly with both hands, his powerful high note made the speakers tremble.

“Ahaha! How can you drift with your voice right from the intro?”

“I just listen to Klaris songs a lot, but they’re hard to sing! You’re fine because you’re good at singing, Doyoung, but they say even women find these songs difficult…”

“Sigh, should we sing together then? You can follow my lead, right?”

“…Yeah. Following Klaris songs solo is too hard. Help me out a bit.”

“Hehe, if solo is too difficult, I guess there’s no choice.”

The dejected sigh of someone who missed his part and couldn’t keep up with the melody.

In the end, before the highlight section came, I turned my microphone back on.

“Then instead of ‘solo,’ you’ll have to be my ‘couple’?”

“…Wouldn’t you call that a ‘duet’?”

“Ugh, same difference! If you don’t like it, go back to singing solo!”

“N-no! I want to sing together, so let’s be a couple, not a duet!”

“That’s more like it. Here comes the highlight, put some power in your voice!”

The karaoke room we visited after dinner.

Following what Doha-min had said earlier, after big exams, we often came to places like this where he could let out his voice freely and temporarily forget his obsession with studying, relieving some of the burden and pressure that had been weighing on him.

While going to karaoke with close friends like Sahyang and Hyerang was certainly fun,

there was a different kind of enjoyment in going with just Doha-min, where we could freely sing [Mari★Huana]’s songs that only the two of us shared.

If hanging out with Sahyang and Hyerang was purely about having fun,

being with Doha-min was enjoyable too, but it also gave me a sense of comfort.

It was both play and recharging at the same time.

But when Doha-min, who already makes me feel recharged and happy just by being next to me,

sings along with me too?

I can’t resist that.

“Now, shall we sing a movie soundtrack next? What was the number for Klaris’s [Monotone]…”

“Ah, it should be 27504.”

“27..504… Oh, you’re right. What’s this, Doha-min? Not satisfied with acing the college entrance exam, you’re on a correct answer streak here too?”

“No, it’s not that… It’s just that you sing it every time we come here… I guess I unconsciously remember the things you like.”

Without a book or internet search, the number he confidently stated hit the mark.

Meanwhile, I who always looked for this song would forget the number and have to search through books or wikis.

“Ah… But maybe hearing things like this actually makes you feel uncomfortable.”

“…Maybe if you weren’t someone I loved? Heh. Consider yourself lucky.”

“Th-thank you for loving me.”

You can’t help but feel good when your lover remembers your favorite karaoke song.

And when they even remember the song number, your smile can’t help but reach your ears.

“I see, so you’ve been paying close attention and remembering such things…? Hehehe.”

“W-why do you keep smiling?”

“Just remembering the first time we came to karaoke together.”

Two years ago, precisely when Doha-min was still in his awkward phase, barely reaching below my head.

Until then, he’d say he didn’t belong in places like this.

That he couldn’t sing or dance, so he’d just listen to me singing from the side.

I remember forcing him to join in by back-hugging him while singing [Mari★Huana] medleys.

‘I’m sure back then, that kid Doha-min fit perfectly in my arms.’

Is it because human memory isn’t objective and goes through a beautification process?

I felt like even the awkward Doha-min from back then, who was shorter than me, had somehow become a bit more handsome in my memory.

I clearly remember teasing him back then, saying “hurry up and get handsome.”

When exactly did I stop saying such things to him?

‘His legs, his shoulders, they’ve all gotten so broad…’

After singing six consecutive [Mari★Huana] insert song medleys, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and looked down at Doha-min sitting beside me.

Two years ago, the same karaoke place.

I don’t remember the exact room number.

Unlike Doha-min, remembering precise numbers isn’t my forte.

Though the number might have been different, it would have been a room of the same size as back then.

Both then and now, it was a booth-type karaoke room just big enough for about three people.

‘It feels like just yesterday when Doha-min and I could sit side by side on one chair.’

Now, when Doha-min sits on one chair, there’s barely any room for someone else to sit beside him.

The low karaoke chairs can’t comfortably accommodate Doha-min’s legs that have grown past 180cm.

If he relaxes even a little, his legs naturally spread out, invading the space to the side.

Probably only someone with Dohami-chan’s build could fit neatly into that gap.

Even if I tried my hardest to squeeze in, only half of me would fit.

“Phew…”

“Ah, we’ve used up all the money we put in. What do you want to do, Doyoung? Shall we sing more?”

“Hmm… Yeah. But let’s take a short break first.”

Having sung all the songs we had initially reserved,

and feeling somewhat out of breath, I lowered the microphone I had been holding close to my mouth, not yet having decided what to select next.

“Whew, even singing as a couple with Doha-min, singing six songs without a break means I need a little recharging.”

“Ah, if you need water or a drink, just say so. I’ll go buy some from the vending machine. You want Zero Lime, right?”

“Well, that sounds good too. But the recharging I’m talking about is a different kind.”

“Different kind…? W-whoa…!”

I turned my waist and

sat down on Doha-min’s thighs as he was sitting in the chair.

“Y-you startled me… I almost dropped the remote I was holding.”

Despite his startled expression, Doha-min caught me with the reflexes he’d developed through kendo as I climbed onto his thighs.

Worried that I might slip on the slick material of his school uniform pants and tumble to the floor,

he quickly tossed the remote he almost dropped onto the opposite chair and wrapped both hands around my waist.

Ban Doyoung’s bottom was perfectly nestled between Doha-min’s lower body.

“W-why are you being so dangerous? What if you had fallen and hurt yourself…”

“Hehe, remember? When we came to this karaoke place in the old days, you used to sit on my lap while singing. But now it’s exactly the opposite? See how my bottom fits perfectly on your thighs now? Our Doha-min has grown a lot, huh?”

“W-well, back then I was barely 160cm… But anyway, why are you suddenly sitting on my knee? Your seat is right there, Doyoung.”

“When I went to your house before, your mom said that when she’s tired or needs energy, she feels recharged when she sticks close to her son. So I’m also tired after rushing here right after the college entrance exam, and I’m wirelessly charging from Doha-min.”

Doha-min’s thighs, trained by the long daily commute and Ban Doyoung’s kendo lessons, remained firm and maintained their shape despite being pressed down by my weight.

After taking the college entrance exam,

running a long distance because he wanted to see me,

and walking around with me everywhere,

Doha-min must have been just as tired.

Yet, as if to say he could handle me

anytime and always,

Doha-min’s legs remained steady and unwavering.

“Well… if it helps you feel energized, I don’t mind.”

“Hehe, am I heavy?”

“Y-yeah… a little.”

“Oh my, this guy’s being so direct? Why aren’t you giving the model answer like ‘light as a feather’ or ‘I didn’t even notice you there’?”

“Well… I like feeling your weight. It makes me sure that you’re really here beside me.”

Though I didn’t get the model answer I was hoping for,

the response he gave wasn’t bad either, so I decided to let it slide.

“S-sometimes when you appear in my dreams, I can’t feel that…”

“Ohoho…? So in your dreams, you’ve had plenty of chances to press up against Ban Doyoung’s bottom? My, my, your mom must have had a hard time doing your laundry!”

“I-I handle that kind of laundry myself! I don’t make my mom work hard!”

Though Doha-min burst out in anger,

he didn’t particularly deny what he’d done with dream Ban Doyoung.

“…Hey, Doha-min.”

“Y-yeah. What is it?”

“We have less than two months left now, right?”

“…Huh? Two months until what… Oh, you mean graduation?”

“No.”

“Then… what?”

.

.

.

“Wired charging.”

“…”

“Oh, the wire just came up.”

The sensation of a D-type connector

that had been hiding between his thighs touched my back.