First Date Memento

The Life4Cut shop was packed with accessories of every kind. Animal ears, novelty glasses, wigs. Looking at the decorations lined up along the walls, it certainly seemed like the sort of place young people would love.

...Am I not a young person too?

"Gachi."

"Hm?"

Noona tugged at my sleeve while I was lost in those oddly elderly musings and pointed toward an empty booth.

"Let's go in there."

"You're not taking anything?"

Surprisingly, she hadn't picked out a single accessory before heading for the room. Usually people grabbed at least one prop, didn't they?

"I want the first ones plain. Besides, I'm showing them to the girls."

"Ah, that makes sense."

If she was trying to show her friends what we looked like, sending a photo of herself in comedy glasses would only confuse them. Understanding her reasoning, I nodded and followed her inside.

"Oh, so this is how it's set up."

"Is this your first time, Gachi?"

"Yeah. Never been once."

"Hehe. Looks like I'm collecting a lot of Gachi's firsts today... mmm."

...So why does the person saying it turn red herself?

Feeling a little strange for no good reason, I glanced around the booth. It was cleaner and roomier than I'd expected.

But what poses were people supposed to do in here, anyway? Just throw up a peace sign? Having zero experience with this kind of thing left me completely clueless.

"Okay, let's do a practice run first. What kind of pose do you want, Gachi?"

And now she was asking me?

What kind of pose... If her friends were going to see these, anything too steamy was out. Still, something that made it clear we were dating would be nice.

"How about I back-hug you?"

"...I like that. And then?"

"Hmm, maybe a kiss on the back of your hand."

"Not bad. Anything else..."

"Princess carry might be a bit embarrassing?"

"I'm fine with it, but won't it be hard for you?"

"I picked you up last time and you were ridiculously light. Don't worry. So what about the last one?"

I'd already chosen three of the four poses, so I asked her what she wanted for the remaining one. Noona thought it over carefully, then—

"I want you to... kiss me on the cheek."

She whispered it quietly, looking bashful.

"You sure? Your friends are going to see these, right?"

"This much is normal for a couple... probably."

Watching her fold her arms and deliver that prim little line, I briefly wondered whether she'd dragged me here under the excuse of photos just so we could get some skinship.

Whether that was true or not didn't matter in the end.

We were dating, after all.

"Alright, then. We'll start with those. Ready, Gachi?"

"Yeah. We can go right now."

"Okay... first shot, starting now."

For reference, each payment bought two sets of four consecutive shots; if you didn't like the first set, you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could use the second chance.

And so the first session began.

"Oh—it's starting. First is..."

"Back hug!"

Right. I stepped behind her at once and wrapped my arms around her as gently as I could. Even so, the softness of her body made me press closer without meaning to.

Click.

"N-next..."

"Kiss on the hand."

"Got it."

I moved from behind her to her side, dropped to one knee like a knight out of a fantasy novel, and pressed my lips to the back of her hand... Even her hand smelled nice.

Click.

"Excuse me a second, Noona."

"Mm..."

After asking permission for the third pose—the princess carry—I slid one arm behind her back and the other under her legs and lifted her. Still light as ever.

In that position we couldn't quite look each other in the eye; both of us turned our heads away or covered our faces with a hand, only peeking sideways to confirm the other was just as flustered.

Click.

Last pose.

I was supposed to kiss her cheek. How to manage it...

It was awkward from this hold, so I needed to adjust and bring her closer.

I set her upright in my arms and tried to lean in for the cheek kiss, but the new position left almost no distance between our faces at all.

Suddenly far closer than planned, we stared at each other with faintly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠startled eyes.

In that instant the same sensation I'd felt before—time freezing—washed through my whole ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body. Inside that stopped moment, Noona wrapped both arms around me.

Click.

The shutter sound rang out at the exact same second our lips met.

Inside the booth filled with the mechanical voice, we still had no idea what was happening and simply lingered, savoring the feel of each other's lips, unwilling to pull apart.

"..." / "..."

Only when the next machine prompt sounded did we finally separate, having felt each other enough.

"Cheek kiss... failed."

"Yeah, but it was nice... hehe."

It had definitely been nice, but there was no way we could show this one to her friends. Better to use whatever we shot next time.

"Shall we check if they came out okay first?"

"Let's. How do you even look at them?"

"Hang on... ah, look... huh?"

"Where... oh?"

We both fell silent looking at the four photos from the first set. They had turned out far better than expected.

Even the last pose we'd thought was a failure had captured the moment right before the kiss, which somehow made the atmosphere even better.

"...These ones?"

"Yeah, these are good."

In the end we never needed the second ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠set. My first Life4Cut session, finished on the very first try, had become a more satisfying keepsake than I'd imagined.

"Hehehe."

"That happy about them?"

"Yeah. Aren't you?"

"I like them too."

Ever since we'd left the Life4Cut studio, Noona had been smiling contentedly at the photos we'd just taken. They really had come out well, so I understood, but her joy seemed even bigger than mine.

"If you keep holding them like that they'll get crumpled. Wouldn't it be better to put them in your bag?"

"No way. There's makeup in there—they'd get even more wrinkled. I have to carry them carefully."

"Fair point."

So we ended up walking with the photos still in her hand, which meant that with her handbag already in my other hand, it became hard for me to hold hers.

While I was briefly wondering what to do, Noona edged a little closer to my side and slipped her arm through mine.

"...Is this uncomfortable?"

"Not at all."

"Hehe."

She laughed, hiding her mouth behind the photos. I'd worried that linking arms while walking might bother her, but seeing how happy she looked made the worry feel pointless.

"So next it's your turn to choose, right? Where are you taking me?"

Before I knew it the clock had passed three. In other words, our enjoyable date was nearing its end. Hiding the regret as best I could, I pulled up the place I'd already decided on and showed her the screen.

"Here?"

"Yeah. It's not exactly a classic date spot, but I still want to go with you. Are you disappointed?"

"No. Anywhere is fine as long as I'm with you."

With her agreement I started following the map on my phone. That was when I realized she was leaning on me more than usual. At first I'd just thought she was in a good mood, but the way she walked while linked arm-in-arm felt a little off.

My gaze dropped to her feet. Even in comfortable shoes, walking this much should start to hurt by now.

Looking closely, she does seem to be limping a little...

The moment that thought hit me, a new destination appeared that I wanted to visit more than the original one.

"Before that, mind if we stop somewhere real quick?"

"Stop? Where?"

"Right next door. The place I was heading for is still a bit of a walk, so better to get there comfortably, right?"

Not fully understanding, Noona followed me with a "what is it?" expression—until we stepped into the shoe store that really was right beside us, and she caught on.

"...You noticed?"

"I saw you limping a little. Not being too nosy, am I?"

She shook her head firmly, denying any overstep, and smiled softly. Without another word she leaned into me even more as we entered the store together.

Once inside I immediately sat her down on the cushioned chair in front.

"I'll grab the shoes, so just sit here. Any brand or style you like?"

"Hmm... then get me the same ones as yours."

"These?"

I looked down at my own shoes, then back at her. Today's pair were loafers—not exactly the most comfortable option. I wanted to pick something as easy on the feet as possible.

"I want the same as yours. Because... we're a couple."

"Ah."

Feeling a little awkward, I scratched the back of my head.

I'd already been thinking about couple items, but I hadn't expected her to bring it up first.

"Alright. Wait just a bit. Oh—can you tell me your size?"

"Yeah. It's..."

After hearing her size I wandered over to the corner for the brand I was wearing and found the matching pair. They were unisex, so women's sizes existed; I asked the clerk for the shoes plus one extra thing, then carried everything back to her.

"Lucky—they had your size. So... want me to put them on for you?"

"...Yeah."

She nodded slowly. I knelt and carefully slipped off her heels.

"Ugh."

"Sorry—did that hurt?"

"A little. I scraped them earlier."

"Good thing I grabbed these just in case. The clerk gave me bandages—said no ointment needed."

I stuck a bandage over the raw spot on her ankle. While thinking how much that must have hurt, how hard it must have been, my eyes never left her foot.

I didn't have a foot fetish or anything. They were just pretty, cute, and clean.

"If you stare at my feet that much... it's embarrassing."

"Ah, sorry. I'll put them on now."

"Mm."

I took the new shoes out and guided them onto her feet. Watching me, she smiled as if she found the whole thing amusing.

"I feel like Cinderella."

"A Cinderella who has to leave at five instead of midnight."

"Right, because a certain someone has to watch Eve's stream~"

"...You have streams too..."

This Noona was starting to enjoy the situation a little too much...

Feeling mildly put-upon, I kept carefully sliding the shoes onto her feet.

"Done. Try standing up."

"Okay!"

She rose from the chair and went straight to the mirror to check the shoes.

"How are they?"

"...No. Not okay."

"Huh?"

But she'd chosen them...

"Hehe. Remind me why we picked these again?"

"Hm?"

"Come here."

Suddenly she pulled me over. Caught off balance, I stumbled lightly toward her, and then the mirror showed both our matching shoes side by side.

"Yeah. Like this, I like them."

"...True."

There had been a reason she wanted the same pair as mine from the start, after all.

"I'll go pay, then."

"Huh? No, I'll buy them. These are pretty expensive, you know."

If someone asked whether they were cheap, the answer was no. I was grateful she was being considerate, but I still wanted to be the one who bought them for her.

And I'd just learned the perfect line for making that happen.

"I'm your boyfriend, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Then just accept it. I want to buy them for you. I want to keep doing things like this for you from now on."

Repeating a line I'd heard somewhere, I watched Noona lose her words for a moment—then she burst out laughing with a soft pfft.

She kept chuckling, then reached up and pressed a finger against the tip of my nose.

"When did you get so full of yourself? Hehe."

"It's not really like that."

"I know~ Then maybe I'll just accept a present from my boyfriend~"

No longer looking like she planned to refuse, she glanced down at the shoes on her feet and leaned into me as she spoke.

"I'll wear them carefully."

Hearing her say that while wearing another keepsake of our first date, I nodded and answered.

"Yeah. Please do."

After that we walked arm-in-arm to the counter and paid for the shoes. Then, with Noona finally able to walk comfortably again, we headed toward our original destination with light steps.