A Heart Full of Happiness
My chest was overflowing with happiness.
"……I…"
"Customer number 251!"
"I…"
"Oppa. That's ours."
I wanted to hear his answer so badly it hurt, and Oppa needed to say it now too—but we couldn't just sit there forever listening to the employee shout for number 251.
This was getting awkward for everyone.
"Thank you."
And it was embarrassing. The part-timer was a person too. They must have heard everything.
I gave Oppa a little nudge. He was still frozen solid as ice. He'd spoken so casually, but he must have been incredibly nervous.
"Ahem… Drink your coffee."
"Mm… Thanks."
Telling myself no one could have heard us in the corner, I sat back down.
"……"
"……"
The mood had completely broken.
I almost wished we'd done this in the car or at home instead—the atmosphere had died so thoroughly I had no idea how to bring it back.
"Jihye… Will you go out with me?"
"Hup…."
I nearly screamed.
Wait—is this right?
I was the one who asked him out first.
But still… doing it now, when the mood is completely dead…
"Yesh… I'd wuv to…."
My mind and body were operating on completely separate tracks.
You idiot.
Had a ghost just possessed me? I was accepting him, sure, but my answer was all… my mouth twisted up and I looked completely stupid. Stop grinning like that.
I'm such a fool. A fool so in love she can't think straight.
I managed to steady myself with a deep breath.
The moment was already over, but…
"…Eup. Hoo… Let's go. Home."
The coffee all tasted the same anyway.
She's still in the bloom of youth. Is it really okay for her to go out with a guy turning into an old man?
I'm twenty-seven now… right? Now that we count by international age, maybe I'm twenty-six.
Feels a little younger. Nice.
But by that measure, Jihye is twenty. No—twenty-one?
"……"
I didn't even know her birthday.
"Oppa~ Time to eat~"
"Yeah. Okay."
Her hair was tied up, drawing my eyes to that slender neck for no good reason, and the white striped sleeveless top left me with nowhere safe to look—it was mortifying.
Those black dolphin shorts only emphasized her pale white legs even more than the top did, so looking down wasn't a great option either.
"Oppa. How is it? It's good, right!"
"Yeah. Really good."
Looking at Jihye's face as she smiled at me like she owned the whole world made me smile too.
It's too much.
This happiness is too much.
Is this really okay?
"Oppa!"
"Huh. Huh. What did you say?"
"Ahh~ Open up."
She picked up a piece of pork cutlet with her chopsticks, cupped her other hand underneath, and brought it toward me.
"Ah… mmph."
"Heheh. This is so nice."
Those eyes sparkling like the last snow of winter, like light itself.
That smile of approaching spring—cold and warm at once.
They were creating a small sense of dissonance in me.
A breeze stirred across a calm sea.
My chest tingled faintly.
My ears grew hotter and hotter.
"I… I love you. Jihye."
"Heuk…."
As much as I've received.
I've received so much it's overflowing.
I have to give it back. I have to repay her.
There's nothing I wouldn't do for Jihye, who turned my misfortune into fortune.
Now it's my turn.
"…I can't hold back."
"…Huh?"
"Sss… Never mind. I have to hold back this time."
Maybe my turn will never come.
I love you, Jihye.
Is this Oppa really a total romance newbie?
Every time he speaks my heart pounds so hard I can barely keep a conversation going.
For the record, Maljong doesn't count. There's no way that creature who looks like a person but can only think at the level of a chimpanzee with an IQ of 70 ever had a proper relationship.
"I… can't hold back."
I need to get used to this.
If I get used to something stronger, won't I get faster at it?
Like kissing. Or… s-sex.
"Never mind… I have to hold back."
I have to hold back for now. We just took our first step—it's not like we've already reached the end.
"…?"
"Just eat already. The pork cutlet's going to get cold."
I feel like I could fly right now. I'm so completely happy.
We're really… going out.
That means I can do anything, right?
We'll keep making progress, of course.
But just having the conditions to make progress exist is so wonderful.
Could we sleep together right now…?
I couldn't do anything dirty… but I could at least touch his abs or his chest, right?
"I'm gonna shower first~"
And who knows. Maybe Oppa will make the first move.
"Ahem ahem. Hello…?"
"Hey~ Jihye."
I went into the bathroom and immediately called my unni.
I wanted to share the good news first.
I wanted to thank her.
"I did it… I succeeded!"
"Wait… for real!? Congratulations~"
"Thank you. Really. If it weren't for you, Unni, I wouldn't even have tried."
Honestly, fear had been the dominant emotion.
It was only one day. But why had I felt like everything was collapsing, like I was walking through a barren wasteland?
If Unni hadn't been there… I might have just suffered alone and left.
Even though I liked him, I had zero confidence that a confession would succeed.
"Yeah~ Good work!"
We chatted about this and that, made plans to meet later, and hung up.
—Whooosh
"Hwaa…."
Maybe it would have been better if Oppa showered first.
Women usually take about thirty minutes to wash… sometimes a whole hour.
Especially with my hair.
If I'd at least gotten my hair wet while on the phone, maybe.
Even one drop of shampoo used to instantly fill the shower with foam, but weirdly this hair won't foam properly no matter how much I scrub—it just melts away.
Which means I'd have to squeeze out a ton of shampoo just to get foam…
Yeah. Too expensive.
"Maybe I should just cut it…"
I've adapted since becoming a woman, so I've found a little trick.
The simplest way: wet my hair while brushing my teeth and carefully wash my face with cleansing foam—ten minutes fly by.
For shampoo, if I press the pump I can roughly estimate the amount.
Then I just wash my hair normally.
Honestly… they say it's good to brush your hair before showering, but… too lazy. Treatment too… yeah.
My chest.
With my slender waist, my already large breasts look even more blatant.
But Oppa would… really like them….
"Eut…."
I want him to savor my body like a meal.
Kids… would a son be better, or a daughter?
A son would be handsome like Oppa, and a daughter would be incredibly pretty like me.
"Uu-eut…."
I wish time would pass faster.
My wet hair clumps together and rather than swishing, it hits me with dull little thuds.
If I don't use a hair dryer now, I can't even think about lying on the bed until my hair is dry.
Mold would grow on the blanket.
While I was drying my hair, Oppa went in and came out.
"Still drying?"
"My hair's too long…"
The dryer was scorching hot enough to explode, and my arms ached so much I thought they might break.
"Oppa. Help me."
"Yeah yeah. I'll help."
I flipped my hair back and sat in front of Oppa.
His thick fingers flicked and shook through my hair, and the moisture-laden strands scattered and unraveled like threads.
It was already mostly dry, so within a few minutes my hair was satisfactorily dry.
"Thank you."
"Mm…"
Oppa had cleaned up the table, so I just did the dishes and came into the bedroom.
"Want to play a game for old times' sake?"
"Yeah. Sounds good!"
Oppa, who'd been lying on the bed looking at his phone, sat up abruptly and settled next to me.
"What game do you want to play?"
"Hmm… Want to try this one again after so long?"
"Ah… this. Sure, let's try it."
I installed the game and roughly got a feel for the controls.
"Feels new."
Having not played in so long, the keyboard and mouse felt awkward.
"…Yeah, new."
My chest kept bumping into the desk, so I just rested them on top of it.
Surprisingly comfortable.
The cause of that heavy feeling where you directly experience gravity had disappeared.
"Ehehe, what? Is it fascinating?"
"Uh-uh… that… yeah."
Noticing Oppa sneaking glances at my chest, I asked knowingly and showed them off even more.
"You can touch them if you want."
"…Huh!?"
Oppa thought carefully, then looked at me as he practically shouted his question.
"I said… you can touch them."
Saying again what I'd said without thinking was a little embarrassing.
I felt like a pervert for no reason.
I shifted my eyes slightly to look at Oppa.
Filled with fluster and surprise, Oppa was still stammering, unable to get his bearings.
"…Just kidding."
"…Ah?"
"I said it was a joke, a joke! Did you really think I'd let you touch them?"
"Ah… right."
Truthfully, I wanted him to touch them.
I wanted him to touch them so badly.
Even when I touch them myself my body trembles—what would it be like if Oppa touched them?
"Haha… Anyway… accept the invite."
"Got it."
Oppa nodded and clicked the mouse.
I went with the guy's golden rule—a female character. Well… not anymore, but when I started this game her face was pretty so I stuck with her.
Thanks to the short skirt, bare legs from thigh to foot are refreshingly on display, which is nice on the eyes, and her performance is excellent too.
Oppa is a bear.
Sometimes he has these unusual preferences. Should I say his specialty is using what other people don't?
Oppa isn't a bear—he's more like a wolf, with a sharp, sleek jawline, lean and handsome.
Well, this game happens to not have wolves. There are a few scary animal-people, but none I like.
"Want to do a practice round?"
"Sure."
"Me too."
"?"
FIGHT!
"Oh, it started."
For the record, I'm bad at this game.
"Uwaa?!"
Oppa is worse.
"Heut…."
From the intense activity, both our breaths grew ragged, and only the sweaty click-clack of fingers filled the room.
"Haa… Here I go!"
I have no stamina left.
If this keeps up, there'll be no turning back.
"Ah… Nooo…!!"
Oppa smiled sweetly.
How can he smile in a situation like this? I'm dying over here.
K.O.!
"I lost…"
"Yes!"
At first it went very smoothly.
I won, and won, and won.
Oppa is really bad.
And after about thirty minutes… my stamina hit rock bottom.
My fingers went stiff as if seized by cramps and I couldn't press the keys properly, and after a string of mistakes my hands loosened up completely—meanwhile Oppa had gotten stronger and pressed me hard like he was cornering me, and so the final round ended in a K.O.
"……"
"Should we sleep now?"
"Yeah…"
I desperately wanted to shout One more round! but I decided to give up cleanly.
I was tired, and that "one more round" guys always say to girls doesn't really mean just one more round—it means that ideal round where the tension is just right, the back-and-forth is spectacular, and I ultimately claim victory.
"Oof… sweat."
Oppa wiped the sweat from his hands on his clothes and flapped them like he was trying to get air circulating.
"Come here."
This is… an opportunity.
"Hmm…?"
"I'll wipe off your sweat. Take your shirt off."
I brought a towel and gently peeled off Oppa's clothes.
I'll satisfy my ulterior motives right here.