Shall We Live Up to the Title?
What if I dated Wa Sol... Wa Sol noona? Honestly, it wasn't as if I'd never imagined it.
Every time the thought crossed my mind, I scolded myself that it would never happen. Noona felt like someone too far away from me.
I figured it wouldn't be so bad just to be content with the time we'd spent together.
But as the hours I shared with her stretched longer, that alone stopped being enough. Once I became aware of my feelings for her, I really couldn't think of anything but noona.
She might get mad if I say this, but—ever since I met Eve, I'd never thought about just one person for this long.
And that noona and I... had actually liked each other. On top of that, we were dating now.
What was I supposed to say at a time like this? What was I supposed to do?
"..."
"..."
At some point, words had left us. We simply gazed at each other, neither speaking nor doing anything else. As if trying to imprint the person we'd fallen for into our eyes, we held each other in our gazes.
Time passed like that, the two of us still without a word. Just a little. We drew closer to each other.
Bit by bit, so the other wouldn't notice, yet steadily, we closed the distance. I knew, of course, that noona was approaching me too. But by unspoken agreement, we'd decided to pretend not to notice, so we paid no mind to the other's movements as we drew nearer.
Before we knew it, we were close enough that reaching out would let us touch.
If I reached out... I could touch her.
Until now, I'd never held Wa Sol noona's hand while in my right mind. Never because I wanted to, never on purpose.
And now, to that hand of hers—
"..."
"..."
My hand touched hers, and in that instant her fingers slipped between mine. Our fingers interlaced.
Embarrassed by something so simple, we both turned our heads away at the same time. Even so, neither of us let go.
"Wa Sol noona."
"Gachi."
"Ah."
"Uh..."
"You first..."
"You first..."
Our words kept overlapping.
When I turned my head back, I saw noona with her face buried between her knees, nothing visible but her flushed red ears. At the sight of her like that, I let out a small laugh and opened my mouth.
"What are you thinking about right now?"
"I don't know. Nothing's coming to mind."
"Me too... I just end up looking at you, noona."
"Hnnngh..."
Ah, she's gotten even redder. Thinking that, I must have been beet red myself...
What do I do... I want to see more of this Wa Sol noona.
No, I just want time to stop... like this...
Then, at the exact same moment, both our phones rang.
♪♪
And we both widened our eyes as if something had just occurred to us.
"I forgot..."
"That's right..."
The sound from my phone was the alarm I'd set for Eve's stream time. I'd set it to go off about thirty minutes beforehand.
So then, why was noona's phone ringing?
I didn't know who it was, but it seemed like a call was coming in.
Who could it be?
"That's... uugh..."
For some reason, noona seemed reluctant to answer. Maybe it was a call from the company? Maybe I should step out for a bit...
"Ah, whatever!"
Before I could even finish the thought, noona answered the phone. Just who was it?
"Uh, yeah... Sorry, something came up a bit... Yeah, it's fine. Yeah... Everything's sorted out... Huh? No... Yeah... Got it. I'll be there soon. Yeah.."
Hmm... I still didn't know who it was, but it probably wasn't the company. From the way she said she'd be there soon, maybe she had plans.
While I was making all sorts of guesses on my own, noona's call finally ended.
"Haa..."
"Um, Wa Sol noona."
"Ugh."
Why did she flinch?
Noona, who had shrunk back, seemed at a loss for a moment before rolling her eyes cutely toward me.
"Sorry, I'm still not used to that title."
"Ah, yeah... That's fine."
I understood, since I felt the same way. Honestly, when I tried to call her noona out loud, my throat had trembled.
And now I had to speak casually to her... Haa. Here goes.
"Do you have plans?"
"...Yeah. Sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about."
"But it's the day we started dating..."
"Don't worry about it. You made those plans before we met up, right? Then you should prioritize them."
"Thanks... Hehe."
"Why are you laughing?"
"Just because... I'm happy that Gachi is being considerate."
How strange.
Up until yesterday, noona had felt, how should I put it, more like a mature older woman. But now that we were dating... she was just a cute girlfriend.
Maybe this was Wa Sol noona's true self. Even as Kiri on stream, the mature side had been stronger, but seeing her cry like a little kid during a horror game, her real personality might be more like this...
"By the way, Gachi, what was that alarm just now?"
"Ah, this..."
"Hm?"
"...Ah, well..."
I knew. I knew exactly what kind of reaction I'd get if I told her what this alarm was for.
Sure, noona had said she was happy I was being considerate of her... but the moment I said this, consideration or whatever, it would just look like I was sending her off to her friend so I could go watch Eve's stream!!!
Knowing that outcome, I broke out in a cold sweat and racked my brain as hard as I could.
Focus... There has to be a way...
A way to get past this without lying...
"Hmm... Ah, I get it."
I don't want to fight right after we start dating...
"It's almost time for Eve's stream, huh~"
"Guh!"
An unknown dagger stabbed into my heart.
"So that's why you said it was okay for me to go?"
"Cough... A-ah, no. That's not it... Really."
Before I could even think of a way out, with some kind of insight I couldn't fathom, noona had immediately deduced the truth I'd been trying to hide. Scary noona... As expected of a Valkyrie...
"..."
I couldn't bring myself to look at noona's face...
In the end, I turned my head to avoid her gaze.
Whoosh.
"Huh?"
Noona grabbed my face and forcibly turned it so I'd look at her.
"Look carefully. Do I look mad?"
"...No?"
"Then how do I look?"
"...Pretty."
"Ugh... Not that... If I'm not mad, how do I look?"
"Well... You look happy."
Ninety-two points. Noona was smiling so beautifully that just looking at her made my heart race.
"Yeah, I'm super happy right now~ After all... I get to date the person I like."
"But earlier... you said you were disappointed.."
She'd said it emotionally, but those words must have come from somewhere inside her. Thinking about that, my actions right now would just make her feel disappointed again.
"Yeah, I am a little disappointed. When I think that Eve is still in Gachi's heart after all. But you know. I... fell for that Gachi."
Noona was still smiling beautifully, bravely, and cutely.
"And I told you, didn't I? That I'd change it... Do you remember?"
I nodded.
So that's what she'd meant that day. Then the duel challenge Kiri had suddenly sent that day...
"...Looks like noona started liking me earlier than I did."
"Yeah, I thought so. Hehe. When did Gachi start liking me?"
"I realized it yesterday. After noona collapsed, I ran to the hospital, and even while I was worried, I felt that being with noona was still good. And then... I thought, 'I like this person.'"
Maybe because we'd already confessed our feelings, we were expressing our hearts for each other more actively than before.
It was only natural since we were dating, but...
"I see... Come to think of it, how did Gachi know I was sick?"
"Ah, that... I think I already told you."
Honestly, I couldn't explain it well myself. It was just like what I'd said at the hospital...
"Sometimes there are moments like this. Times when, not with my head but with my senses, I just know 'This is it!' It happens when solving test problems or suddenly in daily life. Yesterday when Kiri collapsed... I got the feeling that noona had collapsed. So."
It sounded stupid, but there really were a lot of times like that. How should I put it—like I remembered things through my senses? I didn't really understand it myself.
"Once I felt that, I just couldn't sit still. I was worried."
"..."
Still holding my face, noona pressed her forehead against mine and spoke quietly.
"Thank you. And sorry for making you worry."
"...Yeah."
As I answered, my gaze went to Wa Sol noona's lips right in front of me. Maybe because she'd put on makeup earlier, they were a bit redder than usual, and I wondered what they felt like.
I wanted to get a little closer... and feel them.
Sensing my gaze, Wa Sol noona pulled back a little, then met my eyes with a hazy expression.
Without either of us taking the lead, we leaned toward each other.
And I felt the sensation I'd been so curious about.
My first kiss in life surprisingly had no taste at all. Only the feeling of happiness filled me...
After that, our lips carefully parted, and I felt a slight sense of regret.
"...Shall we get going? We both have things to do."
"Yeah, um... I'll walk you nearby."
"No. I'm catching a taxi right from here. And... just in case, you don't have to feel sorry."
Is she being considerate? How kind.
"Actually, I'm not in any position to say anything to you. Hehe."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... Hmm, should I say it or not~"
Trailing off with a playful smile, my girlfriend puckered her lips teasingly.
Then she came close again and whispered quietly.
"I'm going to meet Eve right now."
"!?"
"Wow... Your reaction's more intense than I expected."
I couldn't see my own expression, so I didn't know how intense it was. But honestly—
I was more shocked right now than when I'd learned Wa Sol noona had confessed to me.
And this emotion surging up—was it even okay to feel this toward my girlfriend...?
"...Ah..."
"Uuu, I was expecting a reaction like this, but."
*Peck.*
The soft sensation on my cheek brought me back to reality.
"When you're in front of your girlfriend, look only at your girlfriend."
"...Yes."
"Good boy. Hehe."
Looking at my girlfriend laughing as if she found it amusing, I briefly recalled the first time I'd seen noona.
On a whim, I'd spoken to noona, who had been trying to move a lot of luggage by herself.
I'd thought it would just be a passing connection.
Before I knew it, she'd seeped into me... and taken over the inside of me—my girlfriend.
Looking back now, I think—
That I'm glad I spoke to her back then.
And so, the prologue of our story came to an end. It might have been boring, but to me, it was the story of a time that was so precious and heart-pounding.
And from now on, the story of us as a couple begins.
If I were to give this story a title, it would be something like "My Girlfriend and My Favorite Are in the Same Group."
So then... shall we live up to the title a bit?