My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

27. The Unexpected Attack of a Childhood Friend…! (2)

“Ah! Wooju~chan…! Are you okay…?!”

Maybe it was the unexpected timing and unexpected words, but I broke into a fit of coughs, even though I wasn’t choking. I quickly covered my mouth.

“……Cough, cough! ……Ugh.”

It almost came right back out, but my reflexes barely managed to keep it down, and I swallowed the barley tea.

Aki had gone to the trouble of preparing it for me, after all. It would be a waste to spit it out.

“Wooju~chan, should I pat your back? Ah, no, come here, I’ll use my hand…!”

Clearly quite shocked, Aki grabbed my arm and started shaking it.

“……Aki, I’m fine. You don’t need to pat me.”

I’d just barely swallowed it down; I didn’t want to throw it up from being shaken, so I quickly stopped her, wiped my mouth, and closed the tumbler lid.

‘Jeez….’

Thought I was gonna die.

I felt like I’d come back from the dead, and a heavy sigh escaped me involuntarily.

As the coughing subsided, Aki seemed relieved, too. She took her worried gaze off me and let out a big sigh, following my lead.

“Ah, are you okay now? That’s a relief, I was so shocked…”

“Yeah, me too….”

Of course, I was shocked for a different reason than Aki was…

Anyway, finally getting my head back on straight, I rubbed my mouth unnecessarily and eyed Aki.

“Is your throat still sore, by any chance? Wooju~chan, should I blow on it for you?”

Aki was looking up at me with a rather innocent expression, considering the words she’d said just a moment ago, the ones that had nearly made me choke from shock.

Even in that oversized shirt that didn’t quite fit her petite frame, her feminine curves were undeniably prominent, though this wasn’t the time to be blankly admiring them.

“……”

Was Aki asking because she knew?

Or was she genuinely asking because she didn’t?

My wish was definitely for the latter.

But the truth was, whether it was the former or the latter, once Aki asked, I had no choice but to tell the truth.

Because, I promised Aki that I would never, absolutely never lie to her again.

“……Hey, Aki.”

“Yeah, ho~ do you need it?”

She’s being cuter than necessary, I can’t get the words I want to say out…

I forcefully suppressed the urge to say, ‘Yeah, ho~ do it,’ and opened my mouth.

“Yeah, ho~ do it.”

“Ah, okay! Come closer, Woo-joo~chan.”

Following her instructions, I bent my knees and leaned my face in a bit.

Then, she puckered her lips cutely and blew on my neck, ‘Hoo, hoo~.’

“How is it? Are you feeling better now?”

“It’s still a little sore, could you maybe do a little more?”

“Uhh, of course! Here, hoo, hoo~”

‘…*This* is real healing.’

As Aki pressed close to me, a strangely pleasant scent wafted up.

It was kinda like a sweet fruit smell, but… what would you call it? Fresh and tangy, yet also sweet, hmm. Maybe…peach?

“Hey, look over there.”

“Pfft, what are they doing…?”

Two second-years who were passing by must’ve seen us, ’cause they were chatting to each other in voices loud enough for us to hear as they walked on by.

“…Ah.”

Aki’s face flushed a little as she quickly pulled away from me, and a feeling of smug satisfaction bloomed inside me as I straightened my back, grinning to myself.

“I-is it okay now…?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now. Thanks, Aki.”

Those second-years probably think we’re some weird couple after seeing that weirdly-romantic thing we were doing, but whatever they think, they can think it.

As for me, I got to indulge a very personal desire, so other people’s opinions don’t matter at all.

‘Yeah, Aki is just so cute…’

“…Ahem.”

With her cheeks slightly pink, Aki balled up a fist and brought it to her mouth, faking a cough.

“So, Woo-chan. About the answer…?”

“Huh? Answer?”

“A-about what I just asked you. What’s the deal with the photo of you that got posted on Insta, and what’s this about you being a cosmetics model?”

“Ah, that…”

Oh yeah, that was a thing.

I was too busy admiring Aki’s cuteness that I totally forgot about it.

“Hey, you got some secret Insta or something? Like, Woo-joo~chan…?”

“Nah, I don’t.”

“Then what the hell is with the Instagram picture thing…?”

“Um, well, see…”

To explain this, I’d absolutely have to bring Jae-hyun into it, and then, even if unintentional, it’d look like I’m selling Jae-hyun out to save my own skin.

Jae-hyun’s been my friend for ten years, so if I can, I wanna hide the truth and give Aki an explanation she can accept, but…

“Woo-joo~chan…?”

“…….”

No matter how hard I wrack my brain, I just can’t come up with a way.

A way where Jae-hyun doesn’t get in trouble, and neither do I.

‘If it was just one or two photos…’

She said there were like, a dozen or so up on Insta, so if I tried to say it was a mistake, Aki would never believe that, would she?

Well, even if it was possible, I wouldn’t lie to Aki anyway, I’d just tell her the truth, but…

“Why can’t you talk? …Hey, you’re not thinking about lying to me, are you, Woo-joo~chan?”

“No, it’s not that. Um, it’s just that, what happened was….”

‘Sorry, Jae-hyun.’

Aki’s eyes were starting to narrow, looking more and more piercing, so I apologized in my head and quickly explained everything from beginning to end.

Long story short.

[Jae-hyun has an Insta and he posted a couple pictures of us together.]

[They got a good reaction so Jae-hyun posted more photos with my face in them, and because of that, one of our school’s students, and a somewhat famous YouTuber, approached him, asking if I’d be a male cosmetics model.] That’s pretty much it.

“──So, that’s how it went down.”

Having finished my story, I glanced at Aki to gauge her reaction.

Knowing Aki’s personality as I did, I figured she wouldn’t just let it slide, that there’d be *something* at least… but.

“…….”

Surprisingly, Aki’s reaction was mild.

She didn’t suddenly blow up, demanding, ‘Is that it? Seriously?’ and grilling me, nor did she turn beet-red, asking ‘Uju~chan, you wouldn’t be trying to meet another girl alone behind my back, would you? Is that what’s happening?’.

She was just, lost in thought, it seemed.

Arms folded, she quietly chewed on her lip.

“……Uju~chan.”

“Yeah.”

“That, that YouTuber… is she maybe in the same class as Uju~chan? With long hair, shorter than me, and a smaller chest but with a butt like mine?”

“……Well, yeah, kinda.”

What kind of description is that?

As a guy, I figured comparing the body types of a girl in my class and my childhood friend and going on and on like that is a low move, but.

That aside, Aki’s description was spot-on.

“Huh? Right? That girl, was her name Jieun, or something?”

“Uh, yeah? Right, it’s Ham Jieun, actually. How’d you know that, Aki?”

“I knew it…….”

What did she mean by ‘I knew it’?

Just as I was about to ask for a little more detail.

“……Woojoo~chan.”

Aki grabbed my sleeve.

“Don’t do it.”

“Huh? Don’t do what?”

“The cosmetics modeling. Don’t do it.”

“……Don’t do it?”

“Yeah, don’t.”

Aki wasn’t wearing her usual bright smile. She was looking up at me with a really serious expression.

‘……What’s this?’

I felt a strange pressure from her and, fiddling with my fingers, I replied,

“Why? They said they’d pay a lot….”

“…….”

*Zhee-ee-ee.*

Aki’s gaze sharpened a bit.

The pressure was stronger than before, but since I’d already started, I added one more thing.

“I, I think I kinda know what you’re worried about… but that probably won’t happen. I’ve been that way for ten years.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Huh? You know what?”

“I know Woojoo~chan isn’t that kind of person. ……But that’s just Woojoo~chan. Other people aren’t like that, are they?”

*Thuk.*

Akih grabbed both my hands.

“Woo-joo~chan, you’re the most handsome in the world.”

“……”

“So, you always have to be careful of other girls. …Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“……”

──Ding~ Dong~ Dang~ Dong.

The class bell rang.

However, Akih and I, still holding hands, didn’t move an inch.

“……”

“……”

Akih looked up at me without saying anything.

I didn’t really have anything to say.

But I had a feeling Akih wouldn’t let go of my hand unless I answered.

“……Yeah.”

I nodded.

But Akih still didn’t let go, just kept looking up at me silently.

“……”

“……”

Strange.

Something was, strange.

Our untimely eye contact, it went on for maybe ten seconds.

“What, they still at it?”

“They gonna kiss or what~”

Those second-years who just a bit ago had teased us as they walked by, were now heading back, snickering quietly as they passed.

“……uh, hmm.”

“……”

Aki slowly slipped her hand away.

“U-um, Woo-joo~chan…?”

“……yeah?”

“I’m gonna go now, so you take the barley tea. Give me the tumbler back later after you finish it. …Got it?”

“Ah, yeah. Okay….”

“…..Well, then, I’m going, see you after school!”

*Hoda-da-da-dak-!*

Leaving me alone on the overpass, Aki dashed ahead of me.

Usually she’s so slow, but damn, she’s fast when she wants to be, gone from sight in an instant, not even able to follow.

‘Well, it’d be awkward if we went together…’

Even if I *could* follow, I wouldn’t have, but still.

I gripped the tumbler in my hand, replaying her words.

‘Woo-joo~chan is the most handsome person in the world. So, you always need to be careful of other girls, not me. Do you get what I’m saying?’

“…..Pfft.”

Man, Aki’s just so damn cute, I knew it…

I chuckled softly to myself, then slowly started walking.

And then,

“Hey, JooJoo! We all had lunch together, why are you the only one late?”

“……Ah, I’m sorry.”

I was late for fifth period.

* * *

Fifth period, break time.

The break bell rang, but I didn’t move, just sat there still.

There’s no real reason.

I was just picturing Aki’s cute little retreating back from a bit ago in my head.

‘……Her ears were a little red, weren’t they?’

She didn’t show it in front of me, but she must’ve been embarrassed.

Well, yeah, makes sense. I was kinda flustered too, to be honest.

“Hmm….”

Part of me wants to see Aki’s face right now, but if we meet, we might just end up hesitating and making things awkward.

And the fact that Aki hasn’t come to our class like she usually does proves it.

Maybe I should just pick her up after school? Or maybe just casually show my face during sixth period?

Jjampong or Jajangmyeon? I was internally wrestling with a dilemma pretty much on that level when, right then,

“Excuse me.”

Someone just popped out in front of me, like *bam*.

A bit of an unexpected person, too.

Kim Seungwoo.

I was spacing out, so my reaction was delayed.

“…Oh, why?”

“Well, it’s not a big deal, but…”

Kim Seungwoo seemed to be subtly gauging my reaction, then spoke in a slightly quieter voice.

“At lunch, in the cafeteria, you were saying? That you and your girlfriend are going to a baseball game on Saturday.”

“Yeah. I was, wasn’t I?”

“So, if you’re going to a baseball game, that means you’re going to Jamsil Stadium, right? The one near Olympic-ro.”

“Huh? Yeah, Jamsil Stadium. How did you know? Are you going to the game on Saturday, too?”

“No, not really. I’m not too keen on watching baseball live…”

I see. I figured he must be into watching games since he seemed to know the schedule, but turns out he isn’t. That’s a bit surprising.

*‘But then, why did he ask if I was going to the stadium on Saturday?’*

“Ah, well, it’s like this.”

Maybe my expression gave it away, because Kim Seungwoo awkwardly scratched his cheek.

“Seeing you talk with the others earlier, it didn’t seem like you hated the idea, so I was just wondering, in case it was okay with you… The camera director at Jamsil Stadium is my uncle, you see?”

“Oh, okay?”

“So, if you’re okay with it, during the cleaning time kiss cam, I could ask him to get you and your girlfriend on screen?”

“……”

“Ah, of course, I’m not forcing you. I’m just saying I could help, it’s not like you *have* to…”

“……Seungwoo-ya.”

*Thwack.*

I grabbed Kim Seungwoo’s hand.

“Seungwoo-ya. ……No, Seungwoo *hyungnim*.”

“Uh, uh?”

“……Please, I’m begging you. Please tell them, for me, to grab me during the kiss time.”

And looking into Kim Seungwoo’s eyes, I said in a voice more serious than ever before.

Kim Seungwoo seemed momentarily flustered by my appearance.

“……Okay. I’ll definitely tell them when I get home today.”

Soon, he seemed to realize the sincerity in my gaze, and gave a resolute nod.

“But, my uncle doesn’t know what you guys look like, so I’ll need a picture to show him, you know? If you have any photos of the two of you, can you send them to me?”

“Ah, really? Okay, where should I send them?”

“Send them through KakaoTalk. Let me give you my number. Zero-one-zero, seven-one-eight-seven…”