Sword Art Online (11)
Sword Art Online (11)
"Hubae-gun! Over here!"
Yuuna waved her hand.
Seojun headed in that direction.
"Ehehe, long time no see."
"We met at school yesterday, though."
"It's been a while since we met just the two of us."
Yuuna giggled.
Their relationship developed rapidly.
Since she had a good-natured personality to begin with, it didn't take long for her to get close to Seojun.
Now, they were at the point where they would occasionally meet up and hang out just the two of them.
It seemed Asuna was aware of this fact, too.
'I can't keep hiding it anymore; I feel bad.'
I should introduce Kirito and Suguha to her soon.
And tell her about my goal while I'm at it.
To begin with, all the other heroines except for Yuuna were completely head over heels for him.
Simply put, you could say they had given him their bodies and hearts.
It's not like I'm killing anyone; they should be able to accept a harem.
'......Even if they don't, I'll have to try my best to persuade them.'
Well, anyway.
Leaving his complicated thoughts behind, Seojun hung out with Yuuna.
They went to karaoke, took a walk around the area, ate together...
It felt like a typical couple.
However, Yuuna's thoughts didn't reach that far.
That was understandable, as she used to do these things with her childhood friend Eiji as well.
To her, this was nothing more than hanging out with a friend of the opposite sex.
'Still just friends, huh.'
Seojun knew that, too.
However, it was certain that it wouldn't last long.
"Shall we take a break soon?"
"Yeah. Sounds good."
The two sat on a park bench.
Looking around, they saw a food truck.
It was a truck selling desserts and drinks. Seojun pointed at the truck and said.
"Would you like to drink something? I'll go buy it."
"Ah, you should pay for what you eat! I'll give you money."
"It's fine. It's just this much."
"Hmm."
Yuuna looked at Seojun.
She checked to see if Seojun was saying that for her sake even though he might be struggling.
From her perspective, it didn't seem like Seojun was lying.
She soon nodded readily and said.
"Then okay. But I'd feel bad if I only received, so next time I'll buy. No veto allowed!"
"Haha, sure. Let's do that."
Seojun, having received the order, headed to the food truck.
Because of the line that was there first, it was 5 minutes later that he received what he ordered.
Seojun hurried to the bench where Yuuna was waiting.
"Hm?"
Seojun stopped.
Because there were two men standing in front of Yuuna.
He realized immediately what that was.
'A pickup attempt.'
This isn't the first time.
Since the heroines were so pretty, they got hit on constantly.
Of course, the girls who already had their hearts set on Seojun naturally rejected all the pickup attempts.
'Some backed off cleanly, but there were quite a few clingy ones, too.'
Among them, there were even guys who tried to take them by force.
Naturally, after getting beaten by Seojun, they didn't even come near the area afterward.
However, since Yuuna had a naturally timid personality, it seemed she couldn't do anything about such pickup attempts.
Seojun hurried his steps to help her.
"Miss, don't be like that, why don't you come hang out with us?"
"We'll make it fun. Even though we look like this, we're locals here. We know how to have a good time, you know!"
"Uh, um... t-that..."
A sleazy-looking appearance.
A typical Gold-tanned.
Seojun stepped in before things got more troublesome.
"Excuse me."
"Hm? What, who are you?"
"Hu, Hubae-gun..."
Yuuna looked at him with teary eyes.
Seojun smiled at her as if to tell her not to worry, then said to the punks.
"Do you have some business with my girlfriend?"
"Eh."
Yuuna's eyes widened.
As if they didn't hear, the punks kept their eyes fixed on Seojun and said.
"Your girlfriend?"
The punk scanned Seojun up and down.
Then he nodded and said to Seojun.
"Hey, man. How could you leave such a cute girlfriend all by herself?"
"Yeah. If a cute girl like this is alone, guys like us are bound to swarm."
Uh.......
Seojun was speechless for a moment.
'Wait, what are these guys?'
Unlike their appearance, they're speaking the truth.
They were somehow different from the punks he had met until now.
Whether he thought that or not, they continued speaking.
"Be careful from now on and don't leave your girlfriend's side."
"And miss, don't hesitate, if you have a boyfriend, say it clearly. Otherwise, there will be guys who keep pestering you."
"Well, we'll get going, so you two have a good love life."
The two Gold-tanned guys waved their hands and disappeared.
Seojun stood blankly for a while.
'Is this that "Sweet Gold-tanned" thing or whatever?'
It's shocking in many ways.
However, snapping out of the shock, Seojun quickly checked on Yuuna's condition.
She was muttering blankly.
"Gi, girlfriend... I, I am Hubae-gun's girlfriend..."
"......."
It was just something he said to chase the punks away, but it seems he landed a critical hit.
'Actually, that's better.'
He scored points unexpectedly.
Seojun praised his past self and approached her.
"Sunbae, are you okay?"
"Eh! O-of course I'm okay. It's all thanks to Hubae-gun helping me!"
"I'm glad you're okay. Here, this is yours, Sunbae."
"Th, thanks."
Seojun sat next to her and sipped his drink.
Yuuna fidgeted and kept glancing at Seojun.
It seemed like she had something she wanted to say. Seojun waited patiently.
"Um, Hubae-gun."
"Yes?"
"That... why did you call me your girlfriend earlier?"
Just until a moment ago.
Yuuna didn't consider Seojun as anything more than a friend of the opposite sex.
However, when she was in trouble just now, she felt genuinely relieved to see him appear.
And when the word "girlfriend" came out of his mouth, for some reason, her heart started beating like crazy.
She realized it only then.
That she was feeling for him not as a friend of the opposite sex, but as a romantic interest.
That until now, she had just pushed those feelings into her subconscious because he had a girlfriend named 'Asuna'.
Once she realized that, her emotions overflowed uncontrollably.
'Oh, what do I do.'
Yuuna, who had admired celebrities, actors, or idols but had never experienced love, was flustered by the feeling of love she felt for the first time.
That's why she ended up asking a question she wouldn't have asked if it were her usual self.
Yuuna waited for Seojun's words with a nervous heart.
"......."
Seojun, realizing that Yuuna's demeanor had changed, narrowed his eyes.
It seems he didn't just score points.
Seojun was slightly flustered by her sudden reaction, but soon regained his composure and racked his brain.
Before long.
Having finished thinking, he said.
"You're asking what I meant by saying that?"
"Y-yeah."
"What do you think I meant?"
Seojun took her hand.
Yuuna flinched and her body trembled.
Looking at her, even her earlobes were bright red.
And soon.
Yuuna, with a face so hot it felt like something was popping (poof!), jumped up from her seat.
"Hu, Hubae-gun...! S-sorry! I just remembered something urgent, so I'll go first!!"
Saying that, she dashed off somewhere.
Seojun, who had been holding Yuuna's hand until just a moment ago, chuckled.
Spring passed, and summer had arrived before he knew it.
The blazing sun had an immense heat.
'It's definitely hotter than in Korea.'
The Japanese summer was hotter than Korea's.
Perhaps the only saving grace was that the humidity was lower than in Korea.
If the humidity had been high here too, it would have been annoying.
'Well, honestly, it's not like I have a body that feels heat or cold. It's a matter of mood.'
Anyway.
Quite some time had passed since Yuuna ran away.
During that time, it seemed she had completely sorted out her feelings, and from some point on, she no longer distanced herself from him.
Instead, she came on to him.
'That guy is starting to notice it, too.'
Nochizawa Eiji.
It seemed the guy, Yuuna's childhood friend, had also noticed the change that had occurred in Yuuna.
But it was already too late.
Since Yuuna's heart had already tilted toward Seojun.
Unless Seojun makes a bad impression here, there won't be any room for Eiji to wedge himself between her and Seojun.
'More than that, nothing happened in the spring.'
Seojun looked at the blue sky.
He had predicted that the incident involving Shino would happen in either spring or autumn, but nothing happened in the spring.
That means.
It means the incident befalling her is confirmed for autumn.
Seojun inwardly resolved to prepare his plan thoroughly once again, then finished his thoughts and scanned his surroundings.
'It's quiet.'
He was currently inside a limousine.
But he wasn't alone.
He was with Asuna, Yuuki, Aiko, Kazuto, Suguha, and Yuuna.
Even though there were seven people, an unnaturally heavy silence was being maintained.
Seojun gave a wry smile.
'It's understandable that it would be awkward.'
Why are they together?
It was to start building friendships with each other.
Because they couldn't stay ignorant forever.
'Well, it'll get better gradually.'
The place they were currently heading to was a villa with a private beach owned by the Yuseong Group.