Not Cheating, But Kind of Feels Like It, But Also Kind of Doesn't
The mouth is a splendid body part, capable of excellent verbal communication. And yet, there are times when even with a perfectly functional mouth, words simply refuse to come out.
This was one of those times.
"..."
[...]
"..."
[...]
"Why don't you try saying something? Anything?"
"Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn't have a word to say."
Oh, nice rhyme. Though fingers come in tens by default.
"..."
I didn't have the luxury of making that kind of nonsense remark right now. Not with Wa Sol standing in front of us, staring with eyes that could kill.
Why exactly were the woman who seemed to be Eve and I kneeling here in penitence, awaiting our sentence?
To understand that, we need to rewind the clock a little.
The shocking revelation I'd dropped on Wa Sol when she called, worried about Eve:
I was with Eve right now.
Wa Sol hadn't processed it at first, but she quickly snapped to her senses and asked where I was. The moment I told her the location, she hung up. She was clearly on her way — running, by the sound of it.
"...Um..."
I almost called out to the woman I believed was Eve, wanting to ask her something. Catching myself, I pulled out my phone and held the screen up for her to see.
...Looking at it like this, I could almost feel Eve's usual energy coming through.
Honestly, I had a mountain of other questions — but none of them were appropriate for someone I'd just met, so I let them go.
Hm?
Eve peeked out at me from behind the tablet that nearly covered her entire face. That probably meant her wariness of me had eased up a little.
...Alright then.
"...I never properly introduced myself. I'm Go Gachi. I'm dating Kiri... Wa Sol."
I do Eve — what does that even mean...
More importantly, should I call this person Gyuri, or Eve? It was the hardest question of my entire life.
"So... uh, what should I call you..."
Seriously, why the three dots?
...I'd rather call you whatever you're comfortable with, though?
I was already an awkward introvert who struggled to chat with people I'd just met, and now she was telling me to pick whatever I preferred. What kind of— wait. No.
She wasn't someone I'd just met, was she...
I'd been watching Eve all this time.
"...Alright then."
"Gyuri!"
A familiar voice, thick with urgency and the edge of tears, reached my ears. Gyuri — Eve — recognized it instantly, her face brightening as she spun her wheelchair toward the sound.
And there she was: my girlfriend.
"Wa Sol unnie..."
"!?"
That voice — murmured so quietly. A voice I'd heard thousands, tens of thousands of times. It confirmed beyond any remaining doubt who the person beside me really was.
She was... Eve.
"Honestly! Why would you just go off on your own like that?!"
"I was so worried!"
Wa Sol's voice cracked as she pulled Eve into a fierce hug. Eve hugged her back, and for the first time since I'd met her, her face looked completely at ease.
I watched the two of them with a warm feeling in my chest for a while... until something started to feel off.
How long are they going to stay like that?
I understood the relief of reuniting, but Wa Sol was holding onto Eve for a suspiciously long time. I wasn't the only one who noticed — from my angle, Eve's expression was starting to register the same unease.
She tapped Wa Sol's back the way a boxer taps out, then flailed her arms in a clear help me gesture while somehow managing to type on her tablet at the same time.
Come to think of it, Wa Sol was the kind of person who could crush a computer mouse with grip strength alone. If someone like that held on that hard for that long... yeah, that would hurt.
But was there a reason she was clinging this long...
"Why... on earth..."
Ah. This is—
"Did you come out... alone...?"
She's mad...
Eve picked up on it too, frantically pointing at her tablet with her free hand, pleading for rescue. Her repeated cries for help were admirable, truly.
Sorry... I'm scared of Wa Sol too.
"Are you going to keep making unnie worry like this?"
Eve shook her head vigorously left and right, broadcasting her absolute determination never to do so again. Only then did Wa Sol let her go.
"Haa... I'll let it slide for now. But I'm going to lecture you properly later."
Yeah, that didn't sound like forgiveness.
I couldn't see her face clearly from my angle, but she must have been wearing a terrifying expression. Honestly, I was just grateful that rage wasn't aimed at me.
...So why was she looking at me with that face now?
"Why does Gachi look so relieved?"
Whoa. So that's what that face looks like.
There was really only one word for it.
Blank.
An expression so devoid of emotion it was somehow more frightening than anger. Wa Sol stared at me with that face.
Huh? Why? What did I do?
"You don't even know what you did wrong, do you?"
If I nodded right now, I was a dead man. Think, Go Gachi. Think!
Uh, so... hmm...
What was the problem, exactly...?
What do I do. I genuinely have no idea...
"I'll tell you."
"...Gulp."
"Why did Gachi,"
"..."
"while I wasn't around,"
"..."
"spend time with another woman? And a beauty like this, no less..."
Hhk.
Abnormal!!
W-well... that was definitely my fault! There wasn't even room for a counterargument...
"Th-that's... she looked like she was in trouble, so... I just got this whim that I wanted to help, I guess."
"I've heard that kind of whim somewhere before."
Yeah, even as I said it, someone came to mind...
"Why do Gachi's whims always involve women?"
"...Good question."
"At least try to make an excuse~"
...That was supposed to be funny just now.
Only her face was smiling, so I couldn't score it, but...
"W-well, first of all. Let's move somewhere else. We can't keep doing this out on the street."
"...Hmm. Fair enough. Let's head to the cafe we were supposed to meet at."
"Huh?"
"...Oppa?"
I was surprised that Eve suddenly called me oppa — but the person most shocked by that attitude was Wa Sol.
And then, smiling again:
"How does someone start calling you oppa after knowing you for all of a few minutes~? Just what did you do to charm a girl you just met..."
"Th-that's a misunderstanding..."
It really is...
And now we return to the present.
Following Eve, who led the way to the cafe I'd told her about, the three of us stepped inside. Eve and I sat hunched over, heads bowed toward Wa Sol.
"Haa... First, Lee Gyuri."
"Don't ever do this again. I worry about you... I really do."
"Ugh..."
Ah, that's a critical hit. Whatever the details, who could possibly stay angry at someone who just wanted to show how much they'd grown?
"Ahem. Still, not for a while. Surprising unnie is fine. But making her worry isn't."
Thankfully, Eve's lecture wrapped up relatively quickly.
Or rather — should I even call that fortunate? Something told me mine wasn't going to end nearly as fast...
"Next up... our dear boyfriend."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Is our dear boyfriend planning to approach every beautiful woman who looks like she's in trouble on the street?"
"Helping... people in trouble isn't a bad thing..."
"And the fact that it somehow only ever happens with beautiful women — is that just my imagination?"
"...It just kind of turned out that way?"
"..."
"I'm sorry."
Honestly, I couldn't mount a perfect defense. Because the truth was, the first time I met Wa Sol, her voice and face had drawn my eyes without me even realizing it — and with Eve, even though she was in a wheelchair, something about her had made me want to help.
"At least try to make an excuse..."
I'd gotten lost in my own thoughts and turned away from her, so Wa Sol pinched my cheek and tugged, forcing me to look at her. Not hard — just a gentle hold on my face.
And the face I saw when I looked...
Her lips were slightly pouted, her cheeks a little puffed out. And those eyes looking up at me.
They were practically begging me to comfort her. Had I made her feel insecure?
...
I gently cupped the hand holding my cheek, and with that same grip, pulled Wa Sol toward me.
She came into my arms without the slightest resistance. She said nothing, just waited for whatever I would say next.
"I'm sorry for making you feel uneasy. But you know I'm only looking at you, right?"
"...Mm."
The answer came a beat late, but that was just embarrassment. Probably.
...Hopefully.
"So don't worry. No matter who I help, I'll never develop any special feelings for them. I just thought I wanted to help, that's all."
"And they all just happen to be beautiful?"
"Th-that's... pure coincidence... If something like this happens again, I'll call and ask you first..."
I wasn't sure I needed to go that far, but if I didn't say something, those puffed-up cheeks showed no sign of deflating.
"...Alright. Forgiven, for now."
"Thank you."
Whew. I survived.
Though now that I thought about it — was it okay to put on this kind of affectionate display in front of Eve?
It might be a little rude...
I glanced over at her with that thought in mind.
There was Eve, deliberately typing it out on her tablet, watching us with a face full of secondhand excitement.
...I was starting to find this whole tablet-expression thing kind of entertaining.
Still, holding my girlfriend — who also happened to be a VTuber — in front of my favorite VTuber made for a truly bizarre feeling. Was I supposed to think of this as cheating?
Though thinking of it as cheating would probably make Wa Sol think of it as cheating too.
Man... what a weird situation.