My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

37. About How My Kiss With My Childhood Friend Went Viral Nationwide (2)

I’ve only fainted twice in my life.

Once was when I was four, an accident where I fell headfirst off the bed while playing with my dad—he said he thought I was dead then.

The other time, just now, was an accident that happened during basketball.

According to my friends, Dongho messed up the pass, the ball went flying in a weird direction, hit me right in the head, and in that moment I just slumped down in place and couldn’t say anything for like three seconds.

I don’t remember any of it, so I guess I must have fainted.

Ugh, I don’t really know.

It’s not like I have eyes in the back of my head.

“It doesn’t seem like there are any big problems, but just in case, stay here until the 5th period. If you suddenly feel unwell or dizzy, or like you’re going to throw up, call the teacher right away. Then we’ll need to go to the emergency room together.”

Anyway, the infirmary.

I’d almost been taken to the ER mid-4th period, but instead, I was lying on a bed in the infirmary.

I woke up pretty quickly after fainting, and there were no after-effects right after the accident, so there was no real reason to go to the hospital. But just in case, when I stopped by the infirmary, the nurse said I absolutely had to rest for a couple of hours and see how things were.

“Okay, I understand.”

“Alright, then rest well… I’m just going to grab some lunch, so don’t go anywhere. Okay?”

“Yes, have a good lunch.”

My answer was the end of the conversation.

The infirmary teacher, who had said she was going for lunch, left for a bit, and I, who was left behind, relaxed my body.

“……Ugh.”

Barely three weeks into high school, and here I am, laid up in the infirmary.

Even though it was an accident, having this happen during class at the start of the semester makes me feel kind of weird and restless.

My own body is my own body, but it still got to me how Aki, half-crying, thought I was the one in the wrong and kept asking if I was okay. Dongho, acting like some kind of criminal, not knowing what to do but apologize, he got to me too, and so did all the other friends around…

So much was getting to me, I let out a deep sigh.

Tossing and turning in the quiet infirmary, I absentmindedly turned my head to look up at the ceiling.

The wall clock showed the time, 1:35.

Our school lunch break is from 1 to 2, so that meant it was right in the middle of lunchtime.

“What about lunch…?”

The nurse told me not to go anywhere while she was gone, that I had to stay here.

But then, that meant I couldn’t eat lunch.

‘Looks like the teacher didn’t think that far ahead…’

“……”

*Grumble.*

My stomach growled.

It feels wrong to be saying this after passing out from hitting my head on a basketball, but I only half-assed breakfast, so my stomach is a little…

No, it’s really hungry.

“……Uhm.”

Clutching my empty stomach, I started to seriously consider my options.

If I ran out right now and grabbed some school lunch and came back, would I be back before the nurse finishes her lunch? Teachers usually go out to buy lunch, after all.

“I think it might work….”

I just need to be back in 10 minutes, should I really just go for it?

That’s what I was thinking when it happened.

Knock-knock-.

──Uju~chan, you in there…?

A girl’s voice drifted in from outside the door.

For some reason, a familiar tone.

‘Wait, that voice is…’

“Is that you, Aki?”

Screeeak-.

The door opened instead of a reply.

A girl in her gym uniform cautiously stepped inside.

“……Uju~chan!”

The girl was, as expected, Aki.

She held a plastic bag in her hand, and was still in her gym clothes, like she hadn’t changed after class.

“How’s your body? Are you okay? Is anything hurting or uncomfortable…?!”

Is she giving me a checkup or worrying? Aki, who rattled off questions in rapid-fire, quickly came over to me.

Even though I told her I was fine earlier and she didn’t need to worry, she still looked like she was about to cry.

I waved my hand in an effort to show her I was okay, chuckled, and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m okay, so you don’t have to worry.”

“You hit your head pretty hard earlier though…. Are you *really* sure you’re okay…?”

“Why, were you worried I might have lost my memory or something?”

“……Uju~chan, who am I to you?”

Setting down the envelope, Aki perched on the edge of the bed, her expression serious as she asked me.

Usually, I’m the one looking down at Aki, so having our eye level reversed like this feels a little novel.

Maybe because of that, I was suddenly struck with mischief.

“……”

I deliberately didn’t answer her question asking who I was, instead feigning a ‘whoops…’ look, avoiding her gaze.

“……!”

Aki’s eyes widened.

Her already big eyes blew up like lanterns, her long lashes fluttering.

“U, Uju~chan…! You… don’t know… who *I* am…?!”

“Sorry, who was it again…?”

“……!!”

Aki’s mouth gaped open.

Eyes wide, mouth agape, she stared at me with an utterly incredulous look.

‘……Heh.’

Ah, she’s cute.

I’d literally just asked “Hey, is that you, Aki?” before coming into the infirmary, so she should normally be able to tell I’m lying.

Is she just naive, or trusting? Maybe both?

I almost just told her, but pretending like this also seemed like fun, so I quietly waited for her reaction.

Aki made some weird sounds like, ‘Ah, ah, uh, ehh…’

“……Uju~chan!”

She grabbed my gym uniform sleeve, *thwack*.

“Y-you, really, really don’t know? Me and Space~chan, we’re childhood friends…?!”

“……Childhood friends?”

“Uh-huh, childhood friends! We played together tons and tons since we were little, and even now, we were, like, super, duper close…!”

“……”

I stared at Aki, my gaze seemingly asking, ‘You and I were close…?’

Then, Aki’s eyes, looking down at me, began to moisten, little by little…

“We-we even… kissed…….”

Whimpering.

“……You don’t… remember?”

Tears welled at the corners of Aki’s eyes.

Looking up at Aki’s two eyes, now glistening and on the verge of tears, I thought,

‘……Ah, this won’t do.’

If I left it like this, she’d really start crying, so I quickly opened my mouth.

“I-I remember!”

“……You remember, you say?”

“Yeah, I remember. I remember everything. Saying I didn’t was a joke, a joke.”

“…………A lie.”

*Swish*.

Aki got up from her seat.

My heart pounding, I abruptly stood up, grabbing Aki’s gym uniform sleeve without thinking.

“No, I, I really remember. You’re Aki, Fujiwara Aki. The girl who went to kindergarten all the way to high school with me. So don’t cry, just… “

*Calm down*…I was about to say when.

Aki wiped the tears gathering at the corner of her eye with the other sleeve.

‘…!’

What the.

Is she actually crying…?

My heart dropped like a stone.

“…Then.”

Aki, her eyes slightly reddened from crying, said to me.

“Prove it.”

“Huh? Prove it?”

“Yeah, prove it. That ~Uju-chan remembers me….”

“…Okay. I’ll prove it. What do I have to do?”

“Two days ago, at the baseball field, what we did… Do *that*.”

“……”

This time, my heart dropped for a different reason.

What we did at the baseball field back then…

It could only be a kiss.

“……See?”

Like she knew it all along, Aki mumbled, her voice laced with unconcealed disappointment, and reached up to wipe at her eyes.

I had a gut feeling that the tears I’d barely managed to calm were about to start flowing again, and I realized that now was not the time for me to hesitate.

“Okay, okay! I’ll do it, I’ll do it…!”

To stop Aki’s tears, I couldn’t afford to be picky about a kiss or anything else.

Making that decision, I met Aki’s gaze.

“……”

“……”

A brief silence.

I carefully moved my body.

“……This, this okay?”

Our lips just barely touched and then pulled away.

It was hardly a kiss, more like a fleeting peck.

“No….”

And just as I thought, Aki seemed unsatisfied with that kiss.

“The one we did then, it wasn’t like this…?”

Her lips pouting, she looked at me.

“……So, you really don’t remember, huh?”

“……”

Did she mean she wanted a more passionate one?

‘She asked me first, so I guess it’s okay…?’

I wrapped my arms around Aki’s lower back.

Then, I pressed myself against her and kissed her.

This time it wasn’t just a light brush of lips, but a deep kiss where our mouths were fully connected.

‘…This should do it.’

Aki wouldn’t be able to say anything now.

While I was at it, I was going to suck on her lower lip slightly, like she had done to me, but I figured I didn’t have to go that far, so I pulled back a bit.

“……Uh.”

“……!”

No, I was *going* to pull back.

If Aki hadn’t suddenly leaned in, wrapped her arms around my neck as I was pulling away, and started gently sucking on my lower lip, I probably would have.

“Here, mmm…”

“……Chomp.”

“Ugh, mmm…!”

“……Chomp, ugh. …Phew.”

We kissed for a long time, our lips locked together, until finally, our connection broke.

Her face was slightly flushed, and her lips were glistening as she gasped, “Huff, huff….” I think it must have been Aki who stopped the kiss, breathless.

“W-what, was that…”

No, I was just.

She told me to prove I hadn’t forgotten her, so I just gave her a proper kiss and was going to pull away…

I never in my wildest dreams imagined that Aki would be the one to take the lead and initiate such a deep kiss.

“……Hngh.”

I was inwardly flustered, just stammering, when Aki wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

Then, she looked at me, a smile on her face that seemed incredibly seductive.

“That’s why you’re still so far behind, Uju~chan…”

“…Huh?”

“You thought I wouldn’t know you were acting, Uju~chan…?”

“…W-what.”

Could it be that she knew all along?

But then why did she make me kiss her?

I asked with my eyes, and Aki tapped her lips with her index finger.

“Your lips looked so s*xy, Uju~chan… I wanted to eat them.”

“……”

“……Heh, just kidding.”

‘It doesn’t sound like a joke…’

“You suddenly started acting so weird, Uju~chan, I just wanted to get back at you. There was no other intention… …Nope, none at all!”

“……”

After hearing the truth, I was even more dumbfounded.

Wait, so it was all an act?

What kind of acting is this, it’s so damn good.

The way she talked, her gestures, her eyes, okay, but she even put on a high-level tearful performance. Her acting is on par with some Hollywood actress.

This would have fooled Aki’s parents completely.

“…Wow.”

Half admiration, half astonishment.

A mix of emotions, a sigh-like sound just spills out.

Briefly deflated by the fact I’d been fooled, I breathed out, patting my chest.

‘It’s a relief it wasn’t real crying, but…’

All of that was acting.

From now on, even if it looks like Aki is crying, I absolutely can’t let my guard down…

“Heh, Woo-joo~chan?”

“…What.”

“Have you had lunch? Not yet, right?”

Aki, changing the topic as if nothing had happened.

There was no benefit in continuing the conversation on that subject, so I readily nodded.

“Not yet, what about you, Aki?”

“Uh-huh, I haven’t either.”

“Really? It’ll take a little while for the nurse to come…”

Just as I was about to say, ‘Wouldn’t it be better if you went and ate first—’

“…Ta-da!”

Aki pulled something out of a plastic bag.

Looking to see what it was, it turned out to be simple snacks like onigiri, bottled water, and sandwiches sold in front of the school.

“How’s that? Looks good, right?”

“Yeah… did you maybe buy it outside?”

“Yeah. I thought Uju~chan might have missed lunch, so I bought it to eat together.”

Not only did she go out during lunch to buy food because of me, she even came all the way to the infirmary to give it to me herself.

What is this.

I’m incredibly touched…?

“Ah, thanks… I’ll eat well.”

To be honest, I was so incredibly hungry that I was even momentarily able to forget that Aki had tricked me, as I was overcome with gratitude.

I gave a deep bow to show my sincere thanks, then picked up the larger of the two rice balls.

‘Ah, right….’

I need to get permission first.

I carefully asked Aki,

“C-can I eat the big one? …I only had a rough breakfast, so I’m hungry.”

“Heh, eat it. I bought the bigger rice ball for you to eat, Uju~chan.”

“……Uh-huh, thanks.”

I’ll definitely pay her back later.

As if the rice ball was some sacred object, I carefully unwrapped the foil, being careful not to let any crumbs fall.

Aki followed suit, unwrapping her sandwich, before making an ‘ah’ sound, as if something belatedly came to mind.

“Uju~chan, what are you doing after school later?”

“I don’t have any plans yet, why?”

The foil wrapping peeled back, revealing a hefty rice ball in its glory.

I neatly separated my chopsticks into two, then pinched away a piece of the pearly white rice ball’s interior.

‘…Whoa.’

The scent of tuna and kimchi, mixed with freshly cooked rice, created a fragrant sweetness.

No joke, my mouth is actually watering.

“So, can I sleep over at Yu-ju’s place later~?”

“Yeah, sleep over,”

My mind lost in the rice ball, I answered carelessly.

And then, I lightly bit into the rice ball’s heart I’d scooped with my chopsticks.

‘…Wait a sec.’

I belatedly realized something was off.

“……?”

Did I just mishear something?

I looked over at Aki.

Aki, holding a veggie sandwich in both hands,

“Yep, I’ll sleep over, sweetie♡”

Smiling beautifully, with not even a speck of ulterior motive on her face.