episode_0029

“Hey, which way should I go to get to Building 11?”

“Uh, building 11 is… . Uh, that’s… .”

“Oh! You can say it in Korean. I can speak Korean.”

“… … Oh my, are you Korean?”

As Aki speaks with fluent pronunciation and laughs, the part-time worker at the movie theater is surprised and asks.

From the looks of it, this is like a small event that you can easily experience when hanging out with Aki, a foreigner, or just a foreigner.

Actually, I’m not really interested in that, and all I can think about is ‘romance movies with Aki, romance movies with Aki…’ .’ Only thoughts like this are blooming in the air.

“No, I am mixed Japanese and French.”

“Oh, really? Your pronunciation was so good that I actually thought you were Korean. That’s not it, you were of mixed race from a foreign country… . Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“Hmph, it’s okay. I am used to receiving such misunderstandings often.”

When I heard that the genre of the movie is romance, I don’t know why, but my heart felt strangely pounding.

Maybe it’s because I’ve only watched movies that two people can enjoy, such as action movies, thrillers, and blockbusters. I’m sure it’s not just because of that reason that I’m excited.

When it comes to romance movies, it is a genre that is usually watched by men and women who are lovers or in a similar relationship. The content is usually about conflict, resolution, and confirmation of love between the male and female protagonists.

What I mean is, from now on, Aki and I will be watching scenes of foreign couples doing things like that.

And that too, just the two of us.

… … They say that if you watch something like a romantic movie together, skinship usually happens naturally.

“… … .”

What did I eat for breakfast this morning?

I brushed my teeth, but just in case, I covered my mouth with my hand without Aki’s knowledge and checked for the smell.

Fortunately, there is no bad breath. No, it actually smells good. At this rate, Aki won’t hate it if something like that happens.

“For Building 11, go to the end of the hallway. Have a happy viewing!”

“Oh, thank you~”

‘… … Don’t you usually say, ‘Enjoy your viewing~?’

Tuk-tuk.

Aki absentmindedly touched the back of my hand.

“Wooju~chan, they say you just have to go to the end of building 11.”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

Only then did I come to my senses.

Well, not the time for me to be like this… … .

I suppressed my slightly impure feelings and followed Aki.

Aki, who was half a step ahead of me, matched my stride, and we naturally walked side by side and walked down the hallway chatting about various things.

“Wooju~chan, do you know If Only?”

“No, I don’t know. What movie is it?”

“To put it simply: A movie where the male protagonist accidentally goes through a time loop and realizes what true love is through repeated time… ?”

“Aha, I see… .”

“Yes, I can’t go into detail because it’s a spoiler, but the ending is very moving. Atashi (me) cried a lot when I first saw him… !”

When you only hear it in words, you can’t even guess what it’s about. The only thing I can guess is that it will be a happy ending, judging from Aki’s words, ‘A movie where you realize what true love is through repeated times.’

As romance movies usually do, I think it ends with the male and female protagonists swearing undying love to each other. Aki is very sensitive, so he cried when he saw that.

“Since Aki says that, I’m getting more curious for no reason?”

“Hmph, you’re curious, aren’t you curious? If you’re curious, you can see it in person. Let’s go, Uju~chan~!”

As I was walking, speculating about various things, Aki gently grabbed my wrist. And it just pulls it forward. Even though it was a girl’s strength and she could avoid being dragged away if she wanted to, I pretended I couldn’t win and followed behind, telling her, ‘Go slowly, you won’t get hurt if you run.’

Of course, Aki didn’t even pretend to listen and dragged me along, saying, ‘Let’s hurry and lie down, my leg hurts~’… … . Well, anyway.

‘… … Oh, but didn’t you just ask me to lie down?’

The seats in the movie theater are literally seats, so you can’t lie down.

Oh, did you mean to lie down by leaning back against the seat back? If that’s the case, it makes sense.

“It looks like building 11 over there. It’s our building 11, right?”

“Ah, ugh. That’s right, building 11… .”

As Aki’s voice decreases, his steps also gradually slow down.

As Aki was oddly late, I naturally became one step ahead of him.

“Let’s see, building 11… . That’s right. The entrance here is a bit unusual, isn’t it?”

Normally, you go into a straight passageway and it widens, but in Building 11, you have to climb up what looks like a short staircase, and there is something written in English on the sign above the door.

I was curious and found out that it was the name of a brand from a Danish company famous for mattresses and pillows.

“Huh? There is also a beverage bar here.”

“Wow, they say you just have to choose what you want one by one and go in. Uju~chan… .”

“Oh, really? Then I am cider. What about Aki?”

“Atashi… . Just bottled water… .”

I took out my share of cider and bottled water for Aki and closed the refrigerator door. If I had known that the drinks were free, I probably wouldn’t have bought anything.

‘But, wasn’t there something like this until last year?’

I remember the last time I came to this movie theater was about a year ago, but in the time I’ve been away, the basic movie theater service has improved a lot. There’s an air purifier in the corner, and the floor in the hallway leading up to here seems strangely softer than outside.

“Let’s see, is this this way?”

As you pass the drinks bar, there is a tightly closed door.

I opened the door without thinking.

OK.

The interior space is much narrower than the movie theaters I’ve been to so far.

Instead of seats for people to sit on, there were large beds placed at regular intervals.

“… … Huh?”

For a moment, the accident seemed to stop.

That’s because there are no seats to sit on and only some large beds.

And it’s just that the beds are close to each other, as if two people are supposed to lie down together… … .

‘… … Did I come in wrong?’

This is a special theater where couples can enjoy a date and watch a movie in privacy.

I guess I took the wrong route.

“Hey, Aki. I think we entered the wrong viewing room… .”

“… … Column A.”

“Huh? What?”

“Column A, number 3. … … Atashi and Uju~chan, bed.”

“… … .”

Without realizing it, I looked at Aki quietly.

Aki seemed to sense my gaze, and her cheeks slowly turned red.

“… … Now, let’s take our seats. … Uju~chan.”

He gently grabbed my wrist, which he was still holding, and began to slowly lead me to the front row.

‘… … what.’

What is this situation?

I didn’t enter the wrong viewing room… … ?

I, who had little understanding of the situation, lost my temper and walked forward.

Row A, number 3, that Aki mentioned is the far right of the front row seat.

Instead of a seat, there was a soft mattress, two pillows and two blankets. There were two hangers and two remote controls to adjust the height of the head of the bed.

In other words, it is a seat designed from the beginning for two people.

“… … .”

Well, it may actually be a meaningless design… … .

I guess it’s because of the atmosphere. I felt like my lips were dry for no reason, so I hesitated without sitting down.

Then, Aki gently let go of my wrist and walked towards the bed.

“There are 5 minutes left until the movie starts… . … Just hang your coat here and lie down. … Uju~chan.”

“… … .”

I expected it from the moment I saw the bed, but as expected, I was watching it while lying down.

It’s my first time going to a movie theater set up like this, so I’m nervous and embarrassed.

‘But since I’m a man, it’s right for me to lead… ?’

I’m a man too, so I don’t want to show myself unmanly in front of Aki.

I pretended to be as familiar as possible and took off my coat.

After hanging my clothes on the hanger attached to the wall, I walked up to Aki and spoke to him.

“Give me the clothes, I’ll hang them for you.”

“… … Ah, yes. … Thank you.”

Normally, Aki would have refused, saying that he could do it himself, but he handed me the coat without hesitation, as if he was nervous, as can be seen slightly on his face.

After hanging up Aki’s clothes for him, I took off my shoes and tried to climb onto the bed.

I paused.

Looking at the padding at the bottom of the bed, it doesn’t look like it’s designed to allow you to take off your shoes and climb up. As I said just now, this is my first time visiting a viewing room like this, so I don’t know much about it.

Is it okay to take off your shoes, or is it not okay… … .

If there were other people around, we would watch and follow along, but since we are the first to come in, there is no one to refer to.

‘Well, how do I do it…’ ?’

I turned my gaze forward.

did.

I made eye contact with Aki.

“… … .”

“… … .”

We both stand awkwardly with our hands on our shoes.

… … I think it was Aki’s first time too.

“Umm… .”

“… … Hehe.”

Aki looks at me and starts laughing, as if she was embarrassed that she got caught trying to put her shoes back on.

My slightly flushed crimson cheeks turned even redder, and I found it so cute that I burst out laughing.

“… … Should I just take it off and go up?”

“Well, then… . Because it’s easier to take it off and go up… .”

Juseomjuseom.

Aki takes off his shoes and climbs onto the bed.

“… … .”

I guess it’s my mistake to think that Aki’s words, “It’s easier to go upstairs naked,” sound so sexy for no reason… ?

Maybe it’s because I’m nervous. Thinking about something useless, I followed Aki, took off my shoes, and climbed onto the bed.

I already knew half of it, or in fact the whole thing, that I wasn’t used to the bed-type seat because of my shoes. Nevertheless, with the intention of not giving up on pretending to be familiar until the end, I switched my phone to silent mode and placed it on the wireless charger.

Then, Aki glances at me and does the same thing as me.

This is just my opinion, but I think the reason I made eye contact with Aki earlier was because he saw what I was doing and tried to follow me… … .

“Aki, do you want to cover yourself with a blanket?”

“Ugh, you’re going to cover Uju~chan too, right?”

Although it’s warm since there’s a heater, it’s probably better to cover it up. I nodded to indicate that I would do so.

Aki and I covered ourselves with our own blankets.

“… … Should I lie down?”

“Ah, uh… .”

I slowly lay down in my seat.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Although this isn’t the first time I’ve laid down on the bed with Aki.

For some reason, I feel strangely more nervous today.

‘… … ‘Is it because it’s outside?’

How on earth can people other than us naturally lie together in front of others?

At that time, I was trying to think about it seriously.

“… … Hey, Uju~chan.”

Aki glanced at me and spoke to me.

“Huh? … Why?”

“Well, before Atashi came here… . I’ve been studying the etiquette of these movie theaters… ?”

“Movie hall manners?”

“Yes, movie theater manners. A movie theater where you lie down on a bed like this.”

“Ah… .”

“… … After looking into it, I found that there were many manners that must be observed in places like this. The most important thing among them is.”

‘Skinship is prohibited, is it okay? ?’

“If a man and a woman come to see a movie together, the man must hug the woman until the movie ends… .”

“… … .”

“… … So.”

Aki looked at me with a shy face.

My cheeks are bright red.

“… … Oh, hug me.”