And So a Day Passes
A full day had gone by like that.
Wa Sol had come straight to my place after visiting Eve's, clearly angry that I still hadn't gotten in touch with her. Fortunately, my explanation got through, and by now her temper had cooled.
"So. Your girlfriend you were dying to see is sitting right here. Anything you want to say?"
Apparently she had a habit of climbing up onto a chair and curling into a crouch whenever she sat down. It looked a little uncomfortable, and yet somehow it suited her perfectly. When she asked me that from that pose, I scratched my cheek and answered.
"Honestly? Nothing comes to mind except that I missed you. Right now I'm just... happy to be with you. That's enough."
I'd said something a little cringey without meaning to. Might as well lean into it.
"Sure, there's part of me that wants to do things, but we can do those anytime. Right now I just want to quietly enjoy this flutter—this excitement of being with someone I've only just started dating."
She might think I was a boring guy. But that was how I really felt.
Someday, if we kept spending time together, we'd grow used to each other. And when that day came, I figured I'd miss even a thrill this small.
So for now, I just wanted to savor it.
"You're more of a romantic than I expected, Gachi."
"Most guys who've never dated by this age are like that. We build up a lot of fantasies about relationships. You might not get it, though."
Someone like her had probably dated plenty. I didn't care about past connections, but I figured a difference in perspective between us was inevitable.
"Huh? Why wouldn't I get it?"
Saying it out loud felt a little awkward...
"Well... because this isn't your first relationship, unlike me. If you've got some experience. Ugh—!!"
Mid-sentence, she suddenly pinched my cheek. And she put real feeling into it—it hurt more than I expected.
"W-why?"
"..."
Still tugging on my cheek, Wa Sol said nothing. She bit her lip, looking like she had a thousand things to say and zero desire to say them, and glared at me.
"...too."
"What?"
"I don't... have any dating experience either."
"...Huh?"
"Hmph."
Only then did she let go. She spun the chair around so that only the back faced me and fell silent. But I'd already seen her expression before the chair turned.
"Ah—sorry. I just assumed you'd be popular."
"..."
But why was she reacting like that?
I'd been wrong, sure, but I hadn't thought anything bad. Having dating experience wasn't a problem. I'd only thought, well, she's so attractive, it wouldn't be surprising if she had.
"I didn't mean it in any weird way. You're just... really beautiful."
"..."
No matter how I turned it over, I couldn't find the answer. Which part had made her angry?
That was when I realized how little time we'd actually spent together. As I was now, I simply didn't have enough clues to understand why she was upset.
"...not."
"Hm?"
While I sat there fumbling, she finally spoke.
"I'm not mad... I'm just embarrassed."
"Embarrassed?"
"You thought I was some experienced adult, right? But then you found out I'm just a kid who's never dated anyone even at this age. It made me feel weirdly ashamed."
...That was all?
I really didn't understand how women's minds worked. And embarrassed... she didn't need to be.
I turned the chair back around so I could see more than just the backrest. Wa Sol came into view again, still perched on the seat.
She had half her face buried between her knees, peeking up at me.
And that version of her—
I gently pulled into my arms.
"!"
Ah. She'd gone a little stiff.
Of course a sudden hug would make her tense. But... she wasn't pushing me away.
...Heh.
"At first, yeah, I only thought of you as someone mature, charming, and beautiful."
"..."
"But the more I got to know you, the more I realized you're easy to approach, comfortable to be around, and even more attractive than I'd imagined."
"Uuuu..."
"And after we started dating... I even think you're cute."
There wasn't a single thing about her that disappointed me. The longer I spent learning who Wa Sol was, the stranger it felt—every new detail only made me like her more.
"So you don't need to be embarrassed."
"...Okay."
With that, the girl who'd been curled up a moment ago slipped her arms around me. At last we could hold each other properly.
Close enough that even a whisper carried, she spoke against my ear.
"I hate fakeness. But every person who came up to me put on this painted-over act—words and behavior designed to win me over. Not a single one approached me honestly, just as themselves."
I could roughly guess why. Honestly... she was too pretty. Without a certain amount of confidence, it would take real courage to walk up to her of your own free will.
Any guy who could talk to her with zero ulterior motive was probably a rare specimen.
"Though, saying that, I still put on a fake smile and keep going when I see nasty chat during streams. Is that too much of a double standard?"
"You've got to separate work and personal life. I think people who just shut the stream down the second they're annoyed are the weird ones."
I couldn't claim they were completely different, but looking at how Eve usually was—and how Wa Sol had turned on a stream even when she was sick—I figured what they showed on air was less of an act and more of their natural selves. They genuinely enjoyed playing with their viewers.
"Once something made us close, they'd start talking like they were elevating themselves and putting other people down... and the competitive energy with the other guys around me made everything feel exhausting."
They'd wanted her attention. Assuming the other men felt the same, they'd competed. And in the process, they'd only shown her the sides she hated most.
"So I've never dated anyone, not even once."
I caught a small snort of laughter—maybe from her own perspective it sounded ridiculous. It didn't to me at all.
I thought it was impressive. Looking past someone's surface and seeing only their sincerity is much harder than people think. And she'd done it.
"That's the you I fell for."
"Heh. Well, that's a relief, then."
Was this really the same person who'd been sulking a minute ago? That smile alone was enough to make my heart race.
"But, Gachi."
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever... liked someone before? Besides Eve."
Besides Eve... meaning in real life, then?
In that moment, a girl with long brown hair floated up in my mind. I'd only ever known her as she was back then, so the image that came was of her in a school uniform. I let out a quiet laugh.
Because I'd realized I truly felt nothing for her anymore.
"Yeah, there was. A friend from the same school... After graduation we never talked again, and I don't feel anything now."
And as I said it, she pinched my cheek again... softer this time than before.
"...Noona?"
"Sorry. I got a little jealous."
"You asked first... And I really don't feel anything anymore. I'm serious."
"I know. Still..."
It wasn't that she was angry so much as that she felt like she might get angry over something that didn't warrant it. Even saying that out loud, I wasn't sure it made sense.
One thing I was sure of, though: she looked adorable right now.
I gently peeled her hand away from my cheek.
"Right now, I'm only looking at you."
"...Even though the only streams you'll watch are Eve's."
"Don't use cheat codes..."
"Pfft. Then I guess you'll have to watch Kiri's too~"
Huh. The mood had suddenly brightened. Maybe because she felt like she had the upper hand.
"Yeah... I'll watch Kiri's from now on, too..."
I let the words trail off. Catching the meaning, she gave a little snort of laughter and answered like she couldn't help it.
"Don't worry. I already know. If it overlaps with Eve's, you're going to watch Eve's, right?"
"...Sorry."
I couldn't deny it. I didn't want to lie about that.
"You don't have to apologize. I told you—I'm going to change that. In exchange... when we're living in the real world, treat me well."
"Yeah. I'll do my best."
It was my first relationship too, so I didn't know if I'd be any good at it. But I'd give her everything I had.
And to start with that...
"Hey. Want to go on a date tomorrow?"
The first date invitation of my life. And to that invitation, she—
"...Yeah."
—answered with a smile.
After that, the conversation wandered through nothing in particular, and time kept moving.
The first Sunday after the semester had started.
And the first next-day after Wa Sol and I had begun dating.
We'd spent the end of the day we got together side by side, and at some point we realized we were still holding hands. No wonder my heart had kept racing.
In the middle of that flutter, what I said was—
"Alright, let's get up. I'll walk you home."
It was a bit of a mood-killer.
"...I'm going home?"
"What? Well, yeah—it's late."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Our conversation felt like it had slipped out of alignment. Had I said something strange?
While I was wondering what mistake I'd made this time, Wa Sol's face slowly turned red, and the hand holding mine tightened.
"Uuuu..."
She covered her cheek with her free hand and turned her head away from me.
"Noona?"
"Ah—yeah! It's nothing!"
She nearly made me jump... yelling all of a sudden.
"L-let's, let's go! Walk me home!"
"Yeah, that was the plan."
Still flushed, she tugged me along by the hand we were still holding.
I came home holding Gachi's hand. It was only one floor down, and yet his earnestness about walking me back made me smile for no reason—my mouth was still curved up. My face was probably still red, of course...
"See you tomorrow, then. I'll come get you at eleven."
"It's literally right downstairs... but I'll be waiting."
"Yeah. Good night."
"You too, Gachi... ah—mwah. Night."
"...Yeah."
After sending off a flustered Gachi who'd just gotten a kiss on the cheek, I came inside—
and sank down right there in front of the front door.
"Haaauu..."
Was I a dirty person?
The second it was just the two of us in a room at night, right after becoming a couple, my mind had automatically gone to that kind of imagination. We'd only been dating for two days!
"But... I'm allowed to imagine, right...? No—wait, why doesn't Gachi have those feelings at all!?"
I'd always heard that guys had stronger libidos than girls.
So why did my Gachi have the self-restraint of some saintly gentleman? Was it because I didn't have any sex appeal...?
I stood up and faced the full-length mirror.
Height: 168 cm—tall for a woman. Compared to Gachi, who looked like he was over 180, it was a good match. And my face... well, judging by other people's reactions, it was on the good side... I managed my body, so there wasn't anywhere that was fat... anywhere that was fat... ah.
My eyes went to the one part of me I actually wished had a little more on it!
"...Don't tell me. Is Gachi a big-chest type?"
I looked down at my meager—no, not meager! Perfectly average chest.
It definitely wasn't huge, but by Korean standards it was standard! All that D-cup this, F-cup that nonsense was for fiction only!
"Haa... is there some exercise that makes your chest bigger... Looking at Eve, working out doesn't seem to make them grow either."
That cute little sister of mine had a devastating chest that completely clashed with her speech and adorable face. The reason she teased me every day about being a cutting board was probably because she herself wasn't one... Wait, why was I even getting close to her?
"No. Maybe Gachi just has a low sex drive. Come to think of it, he's never said anything in that genre."
Of course, I wouldn't have fallen for someone who made sexual jokes to a woman he wasn't even dating in the first place. But Gachi in particular had always seemed completely removed from anything sexual.
And in his personality, his attitude, his whole atmosphere—I'd never once felt that faintly sexual gaze most guys his age carried around. Not even a little.
I was extremely sensitive about that kind of thing, so I usually noticed even when I didn't want to. But Gachi's eyes never once drifted below my neck.
"...Should I call that wholesome? Or is he just genuinely not interested in that stuff."
I couldn't be sure without hearing it from him directly.
But somehow, it felt like I'd picked up one more mission on top of becoming his favorite.