episode_0034

“It’s a 10-minute break from now on, so let’s go outside for a moment.”

“… … Huh?”

No, what does this mean?

Let’s go outside for a moment… … ?!

At that moment, all kinds of thoughts came to mind and passed through my mind.

‘Why do you want to leave at this time? Do you know all my plans? No, that can’t be possible. How does Aki know that I’m waiting for kiss time? No matter how much you think about it, it doesn’t make sense. But then why now? If you were going to leave, you could have done so before the end of the 5th inning. Are you in a hurry to go to the bathroom? Is that something like that?’

“Wooju~chan, why did your complexion suddenly turn pale? Does it hurt somewhere?”

“Oh, no… .”

One side of my chest feels tingly, but it’s probably not because it hurts like Aki said. I guess this is because I was so shocked that I swallowed my breath incorrectly.

I looked at Aki and asked back, unable to even hide my embarrassment.

“… … Why, why?”

“Huh? Why? You want to go out to get some fresh air and cool your head?”

“Well, yeah… ?”

Although he is not the kind of person who is surprised by most things, he even stutters over his words. I’m that embarrassed because of Aki.

‘… … Oh, no.’

Now is not the time to leisurely analyze why I am surprised.

Seungwoo and his uncle cooperated just for this moment, but if we stay idle like this, it will all go to waste… … !

“Why? Uju~chan, you don’t want to go out?”

“Ah, that’s… .”

“Then, should Atashi (me) go out alone for a moment?”

Aki slowly got up from his seat and asked me.

“… … .”

They say that when a person is too embarrassed, thoughts stop, and that was exactly right.

When I heard that I was going out alone, I felt like my brain had stopped and couldn’t say anything, and Aki looked at me and tilted his head as if asking me why.

“Wooju~chan?”

“Ah, um… .”

Calm down, universe.

Even if he was taken into a tiger’s den, he could survive as long as he came to his senses.

Moreover, Aki is not a tiger, but a human being. If I hold on tight, there’s no way things won’t be resolved… … ?

‘Okay, let’s calm down for now…’ .’

I still feel embarrassed because my heart is pounding differently than I expected, but I instinctively feel that I shouldn’t just linger here.

It is impossible to hold on to Aki with words.

Since ancient times, if there are no teeth, it is called gums… … .

I held onto Aki with actions instead of words.

“Ah, Aki!”

So, he suddenly grabbed Aki’s arm.

“Ah… ?!”

Aki, who was suddenly grabbed by the arm, looks at me in confusion.

I was seriously thinking for a moment about what I should say to make Aki sit down.

‘… … Miss, I don’t know.’

I just said with the feeling that whatever happens will happen.

“… … Don’t go.”

“Huh? Go, don’t go, don’t go… … ?”

Aki’s cheeks turned slightly red.

I don’t know why, but Aki looked slightly embarrassed, so I thought it was time to say something more.

“Ugh, don’t go. … … Please stay by my side.”

“… … Uh, huh?”

Of course, these words came out without any filter.

Please don’t go and stay by my side. If someone had heard it, it would have sounded like a confession.

I wasn’t in a position to worry about such things right now.

I would do anything to keep Aki in this position.

I looked at my childhood friend with such desperation.

OK.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Our eyes met in the air for about 5 seconds.

It was only a moment, but it felt like an eternity to me. After that moment passed.

“… … okay. … Uju~chan, if you don’t want to go out. … What.”

As if my will had been conveyed to Aki as well, Aki’s cheeks got brighter and he glanced at me and slowly sat down in his seat.

‘Ah, thank goodness… .’

I reflexively sighed in relief.

I thought what would happen if I left like this, but heaven really helped me.

I watched Aki sit down, and finally relaxed after seeing her butt completely touch the seat.

‘… … ‘No, no.’

But even for a moment.

In my head, I had a feeling that even if things continued like this, Aki might suddenly leave.

Like a line from a famous gambling movie, if you’re not sure, don’t bet, right?

Of course, I know it’s not a word to use in this situation, but the point of what I’m saying is that if you’re not sure, you can’t feel safe.

When my thoughts reached that point, I quickly turned my head.

‘Holding hands is a bit weak… . The picture will look weird if I cross my arms… .’

Is that really the only option?

“… … Why, why?”

“… … .”

Can not help it.

The only way to catch Aki is to do something like this.

After internally rationalizing, I cleared my throat a couple of times and cautiously walked closer.

“It’s still a little cold, isn’t it?”

“Ugh, uhm… ?”

I slowly extended my right arm to the side.

Then, he wrapped it around Aki’s waist and gently pulled him into a hug.

“… … !”

Aki was surprised.

At that moment, Aki said, ‘W-what are you doing, Uju~chan…’ What if I get angry and say, ‘?!’ … . I thought so.

“… … .”

Surprisingly, Aki didn’t say anything.

Even so, his big eyes are bigger than usual. Anyone who saw him would be surprised to see that his cheeks were also bright red.

He just glances at my face and swallows his saliva.

It didn’t seem like he wanted to push me away or disliked me.

Feeling a little encouraged by that attitude, I muttered quietly.

“… … Because it will be warm if you stay like this.”

I regretted it a bit after saying it.

Because it sounded like a very cheap excuse.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … What.”

Tuk.

Aki leaned his head on my shoulder.

“That’s not true… ?”

“… … .”

what.

This is it… … .

“… … .”

“… … .”

My body won’t smell… … ?

Actually, I should have checked in advance before hugging at the movie theater, but I was so distracted at the time that I couldn’t.

Part of me wanted to stick my nose in and smell it, but since I was so close to Aki right now, I could only smell the peach scent coming from Aki’s body.

‘… … It smells like perfume, huh?’

It feels like a very natural body odor rather than a perfume.

But I would have to have tried something like perfume to tell.

It feels like something I don’t know, so if I smell it a little more closely, I think I’ll be able to tell the difference. But wouldn’t it be too perverted to do that? Even if I didn’t do it with that intention.

Well, of course. I can’t say I don’t have a single bit of selfishness… .

… … anyway.

“… … Huh?”

At that time, Aki raised his head and looked at the electronic display board.

I followed Aki to the same place.

On the electronic display board, where various advertisements were playing until a little while ago, the phrase [KISS TIME with Lotte Water Park~♡] is engraved in large letters.

“Kissing time, we still do it these days… ?”

“… … That’s right.”

I knew everything, but I pretended not to know or didn’t really care.

If I show it off here, it’s clear that people will think I’m expecting something.

“All couples who participate in Kiss Time will receive two free water park passes… .”

Aki must have been completely deceived by me acting with a mean attitude, so he read the text on the billboard to himself.

“Wooju~chan, I heard that if you participate in Kiss Time, you will get a ticket to the water park… ?”

“Yes, but even if I got it, I wouldn’t be able to use it, right? It’s March so it’s still cold.”

“… … .”

Jiii.

Aki raises his head slightly and glares at me.

“… … Why?”

“No, just… .”

‘… … I pretended not to hear what he muttered, ‘You’re strangely clueless.’

Aki may think I am tactless, but in fact, I am very quick-witted.

It’s just that even though you know, you’re deliberately pretending not to know.

This is because there is nothing good about showing off that you know something.

“Wooju~chan doesn’t like playing in the water?”

Translation: You don’t want to go to the water park with me?

“… … .”

Even if you don’t like this, it’s the wrong answer, and even if you like it, it’s the wrong answer.

If you say you don’t like it, it means you don’t like dating Aki, and if you say you like it, it’s good, but you wonder why you said that.

So, in cases like this, the correct answer is to attack the questioner entirely.

“I don’t like playing in the water… . Aki, I think it would be nice to go with you.”

“… … Ah.”

Aki’s cheeks turned red at my answer, which perfectly understood the test taker’s intention.

I smiled quietly and looked at the electronic display board, feeling a little proud of Aki’s cute reaction.

“Huh? Let’s start.”

Then, coincidentally, the screen on the electronic display board illuminates the audience.

The first couple to appear on screen was the man and woman in the outfield seats. At face value, they appear to be roughly in their mid to late 20s and both are wearing LG Twins cheering uniforms.

-Uh, huh?!

-It’s caught, it’s caught!

As soon as the two men and women realized that they were caught, they flinched, and without a moment of hesitation, they looked at each other, stuck out their lips, and kissed.

Naturally, cheers, screams, and laughter erupted from all around. After kissing, the couple smiled and waved their hands towards the camera, although they were embarrassed.

“Wow… .”

“… … .”

Maybe it’s because they’re a couple in the middle of a relationship, but they just kiss without any hesitation.

Being able to do that in front of everyone seems amazing and I’m also jealous. When I saw the other couple’s love affair, I was scratching my cheek as various emotions crossed my mind, and then the screen changed and the camera showed another couple.

The second couple is a man and a woman believed to be in their 30s.

The two, presumed to be a couple, were wearing LG and Lotte cheering uniforms, respectively, as if they were cheering for different teams.

Realizing that they were captured on screen, they glance at each other, and then the wife wraps her arms around her husband’s neck first, turns her head 90 degrees, and kisses their lips.

“Wow… !”

“… … Wow.”

As expected, the age difference is different.

Even though it’s just a kiss, the posture is different.

If you tell me to do something, I will never do it like that. No, I probably wouldn’t have even thought of doing something like that.

As I let out an exclamation of half admiration and half surprise, the screen switched to the third couple.

The woman, who didn’t look like an ordinary person at all, looked to be in her late twenties, and the man had a stylish beard and looked to be in his forties.

‘uh… .’

But, it’s a somewhat familiar face.

“… … Mama?!”

The moment I thought that, Aki, who was in my arms, was startled and screamed.

“Wooju~chan! Hey, those people… ! Aren’t we Mama and Papa… ?!”

“Yes, that’s right… ?”

Looking back, I see that Aki’s parents were indeed right.

I thought they were people I’ve seen a lot of somewhere, but it turns out I wasn’t mistaken.

Why are they here… … . For a moment, I thought this.

-… … ?!

As soon as Aki’s father found out that he had been caught in the kiss time, he was so shocked that he tried to leave.

-Nampeoeon… ! Come here──!

-No, I don’t… . town… !

Aki’s mother wrapped her father’s arms around his waist, preventing him from moving, then put her hand on the back of his neck, pulled him close, and kissed him on the lips.

“… … I guess you two like baseball a lot?”

“Ugh. Take care of it every day, even at home… … .”

“Hmm, I see… .”

Aki’s love of baseball was hereditary.

-Hey, Iroha… ! Now, wait a minute… .

-… … Jjueup.

Not once, but twice.

As Akine’s parents, who clearly seemed to be a foreign couple, continued to kiss, loud cheers, screams, and the sound of lightsticks being pounded rang out from the audience, incomparable to those just moments before.

For some reason, we felt embarrassed even though we were not the parties, so we hid our shame in our own ways.

I looked away, scratching my cheek with my left index finger, and Aki covered her eyes as if she was embarrassed by her parents kissing her passionately in front of thousands of people, and said, ‘Oh, really…’ ‘,’ he muttered.

“Why are you doing that in front of everyone? It’s embarrassing… !”

“… … why? It’s nice to see you looking happy.”

“Wooju~chan, that doesn’t mean he looks happy, he just doesn’t know any shame… … !”

If I thought it was okay after seeing the reaction, I tried to make a joke like, ‘I might have a little brother soon.’ But I guess that wasn’t going to work.

I just kept my mouth shut, and Aki shook his head with his eyes covered, then glanced at me as if he had calmed down a little.

“… … There are three couples now, right?”

“Yes, three couples. There’s still one left.”

Is it because I saw the passionate affection of my childhood friend’s parents?

For a moment, we forgot that we were the only remaining couple and nodded without thinking.

‘Who will take the remaining one…? ?’

Now that we’ve covered everyone in their 20s, 30s, and even middle-aged, all that’s left is the turn of unique couples.

… … The moment I thought,

Pot-!

The electronic display board switched once again.

“Uh… .”

“… … Huh?!”

Aki and I’s faces were displayed on a large electronic display screen… … !