Are You Going to Do This?
I looked at the big screen once more. Reflected there were none other than Chae-yeon and me.
The camera kept staring at us without any intention of moving on.
If the camera was showing us right now, that meant we were appearing on the live broadcast screen.
What if we kissed here?
Our moment would be broadcast live on TV.
I didn’t mind at all, but Chae-yeon, just as I expected, completely froze up.
“W-why is it showing us?!”
“Right? Out of all these people, we got picked.”
“S-should we just pretend we’re friends?”
“That would hurt my feelings and make me cry.”
Pretending to be friends was the one thing I couldn’t accept.
To set the mood as much as possible, I took Chae-yeon’s hand.
She was still stuck in denial, unable to do anything.
“It’s kind of amazing seeing our faces on the big screen.”
“Y-yeah. But why did it have to be something like this?!”
Figuring nothing would change if we just stood there, I turned my back to the camera and pulled Chae-yeon into my arms. This way, our kiss wouldn’t show up on the screen.
“A-are you really going to do it?!”
“Not going to?”
“Y-you’re actually going to do this?”
“It’d be boring if we just ran away without doing it.”
Before Chae-yeon could hesitate any longer, I leaned in closer. I gently cupped the back of her head with my hand to keep her from pulling away. Our lips met, and I slipped my tongue past her tightly closed mouth. After wrapping around her soft tongue, which was still frozen like stone, Chae-yeon jolted in surprise and turned completely rigid. I smiled at the sight and pressed my lips against hers once more. A long, thin thread stretched between us before breaking, marking the end of our public kiss time.
“Ooooooh!!”
After finishing the kiss, I looked around to see the crowd erupting in loud cheers.
“How was it? Not bad, right?”
“I-I don’t know. Should I even say it was okay? More importantly, why did you go so much deeper than usual?!”
“Did you hate it? I just wanted to make it a memory.”
“M-my dad’s going to see this too!!”
“What…? Even Father-in-law?”
“Of course. Dad loves baseball and cheers for this team.”
“Maybe he won’t be watching?”
“He always has baseball on, even while he’s working.”
A girlfriend’s father turns on the TV to watch baseball. Instead, he sees his daughter sharing a deep kiss with her boyfriend. What would the girlfriend’s father do in that moment?
Goodbye, my life. It was fun while it lasted.
I swore I would never meet Father-in-law, even if it meant meeting Mother-in-law. Especially not alone, without Chae-yeon. If I ever ran into him on a dark street at night, I felt like I’d end up folded in half at the spine. I’d better be careful walking at night. I should never go outside again.
“I come to a game in person after so long and end up with all kinds of experiences.”
Seeing Chae-yeon’s lips sticking out in a pout made my regret bubble up even more. Unable to hold back, I pulled her toward me and gave her a light kiss.
—Smooch!!
“You did it again.”
“H-have you lost your mind?!”
“The camera already moved on.”
“That’s not the problem!!”
I took Chae-yeon’s heavy “massage”—which was more like a punch—as repayment for my actions. Luckily, the players started entering the field again, putting an end to her intense massage. If I kept receiving that kind of treatment, I’d end up with fractures.
***
Fortunately, the game ended with a win for Chae-yeon’s team. 6 to 5. It had been an incredibly close match. Even someone like me who didn’t know much about baseball found it nerve-wracking, so I could only imagine how Chae-yeon felt.
“I’m so glad they won!!”
“Yeah. It would’ve been disappointing to lose after coming in person.”
“Did you see that home run at the end? That scored three runs!!”
There was a reason Chae-yeon was this excited. While they were down 2 to 5, the batter hit the ball perfectly, sending it over the fence for a home run that brought in three players. That single play turned the entire game around and crushed the opposing team’s morale.
“Ugh, this is why I watch baseball. If this isn’t baseball, then what is?”
“You look really happy.”
“We won!! And it was a game we watched in person.”
Honestly, if my favorite esports team had won during a rare in-person viewing, I probably would’ve reacted the same way as Chae-yeon.
“I’m hungry. Jung-woo, what do you want to eat?”
“Hmm… That’s the hardest question for me.”
“Oh, right. Then is it okay if we go eat what I want?”
“Yeah!! Let’s eat whatever Yeoni wants.”
Chae-yeon spent a long time thinking about dinner on her phone. After all that deliberation, the result was gyudon. Come to think of it, this was the first time we were eating rice dishes together. Ah, we did have sushi once. But that was before we started dating, so it doesn’t count.
“Jung-woo, what do you want?”
“How about gyudon and yakiniku?”
“Sounds good!! Want extra rice with the gyudon?”
“Yeah, let’s order two bowls with extra rice. I’m hungry.”
While waiting for the food, Chae-yeon enthusiastically recounted the highlights of the game we’d just watched. It was so cute that I couldn’t help smiling.
“We lost to that team last time. They hit a grand slam against us.”
“Really? Then this time you got proper payback.”
“Winning decisively would’ve been fun too, but winning with the same kind of finish was pretty satisfying as well.”
Even after the food arrived, Chae-yeon’s excited rambling continued. I grilled the meat over the small brazier while listening to her stories, then fed her the pieces once they were cooked. Normally she might’ve felt embarrassed with other people around, but the lingering excitement from the game was so strong that Chae-yeon didn’t seem to care at all.
“Ah, and earlier, the ball flew right toward us, remember?”
“Yeah. The home run ball came flying over.”
“I really wanted to catch it, but I couldn’t because I’m short!!”
“I should’ve caught it for you instead.”
“Hmm… Even with your height, it would’ve been tough, right?”
“No. I could’ve done it.”
“Honestly, you’re not exactly tall either.”
She’s bringing this up? And about my height?! Of course, just like Chae-yeon said, I wasn’t particularly tall. I knew 171 centimeters wasn’t considered tall, so I usually let comments like that slide. But hearing it from my girlfriend felt different. It sounded like she was saying it was impossible because of her height!!
“I’m not short.”
“I didn’t say you were short. I said you’re not exactly tall.”
“Yeoni just pressed my trigger button…”
While I was sulking a little, Chae-yeon reached out and patted my head. Combined with the small smile she gave me while looking straight at me, her gesture was enough to lift my mood again, even if I had been genuinely upset. Maybe I was only dating Chae-yeon for her face after all.
“Thanks for coming with me today. It must’ve been tiring for you.”
“Nah, what’s there to thank me for? I had fun too.”
“Then want to come again next time?”
“Yeah, let’s do that. It was really refreshing seeing this new side of Yeoni.”
“Huh… Did I show you something?”
“Should I say it out loud?”
“Ah, no. And that’s just how it is. All baseball fans are like that.”
Hardcore baseball fans always said things like that. Then they’d earnestly warn you never to get into baseball yourself. They’d swear they were done with it after getting so worked up, only to find themselves watching again before long.
“It makes me happy seeing you eat well.”
“Why are you saying the same thing my mom does?”
“Because you barely eat anything. Even when I tell you to eat, you say you won’t.”
“I just don’t have an appetite. It’s not that I dislike eating. When I’m hungry, I eat to survive too.”
“Don’t tell me… is this your first meal today?”
“Would my situation improve if I said it was my first meal?”
The spoon I’d been using to eat gyudon stopped midair as I felt a murderous aura sharp enough to slice my throat right in front of me. The chopsticks that had been casually picking up meat were now stabbed vertically into the table, as if they were about to pierce me.
“What time is it right now, and this is your first meal?!”
“Uh… 7 p.m.?”
“Do you think I asked because I didn’t know that?! Even if you don’t have an appetite, you should’ve at least eaten something simple.”
“W-what was I supposed to do if I didn’t think of it?”
“I’ve been trying not to interfere too much out of consideration for your body, but this is unacceptable!!”
Wow, I was getting scolded about meals by Yeoni—something I’d never even heard from my own mom. Chae-yeon kept glaring at me like she wanted to kill me while continuing her lecture. Normally, getting scolded by your girlfriend might warrant some attention, but honestly, I just couldn’t bring myself to listen.
“Got it? Even if you don’t feel like eating, have at least two meals a day!!”
“U-understood. I’ll eat two meals.”
“Haah… I can see how hard it must be for Auntie.”
“Mom doesn’t really scold me about stuff like this…”
“Isn’t it because she’s not actually worried?”
“M-maybe not?”
“Of course she is!!”
If I had just stayed quiet while getting scolded, it probably would’ve ended without any more complaints. So that’s what they meant by “staying still gets you halfway there.” At least we agreed I’d eat two meals a day before leaving the restaurant.
“It’s already dark out. Since you’re tired, should we head home early?”
“If Yeoni wants to play more, we can keep going.”
“You look exhausted. Your dark circles are practically down to your feet right now.”
“I’m fine, though.”
“I’m not fine with it. We can just meet again next time.”
“Yeah, okay…”
After today, who knew when we’d see each other again? Chae-yeon lived in Gwangju, yet it felt like we were in some kind of long-distance relationship. I wanted to stay with her a little longer, and I knew she felt the same. But if she was saying this, I should probably listen.
—Smooch!!
“Today was fun. Get home safe, okay?”
“Yeah, you too, Yeoni!!”
We’d created new memories together by trying something new. I’d also gotten to see a new side of Chae-yeon. All in all, it had been a fulfilling day.