The Cherry Blossom Confession

The next day in Vermilion City...

Chae Haru woke up that morning and began searching for an outfit that would make Jiwoo tell her she looked pretty. Something about the morning felt slightly off, but she brushed it aside with a light it's probably nothing~ and chose her clothes before leaving the house.

Meanwhile, I had been waiting since nine in the morning for my date with Chae Haru. I wore an outfit tailored to her tastes and waited, but after a while I took Yeongja, Blue, and Choi Iseul with me back into the Exclusive Dimension. Because time does not flow inside the Exclusive Dimension, I rested thoroughly there before returning to the Pokémon world.

When I entered the Exclusive Dimension, the women collected first—the female officer Blue, the traffic-light triplets, Suumi, Yeondu, Yoshino, Kurune, Sukhee, Mizuho, and several female trainers—were all wearing startled expressions. They had been pulled from familiar surroundings into a place they had never seen.

I explained the Exclusive Dimension to them. I told them that unless I personally took them out, they would never be able to leave. I also told them that while inside, they would not age and could remain young forever.

They looked momentarily flustered, but soon accepted everything with calm faces and prostrated themselves before me. They declared they would serve me as their master for all eternity.

First, I assigned the arrogant female officer Blue—who had dared to doubt me—to serve as the human toilet in the dedicated bathroom. Mizuho, Brock’s mother, seemed like she would cause trouble no matter what she did, so I simply turned her into a living chair. Yoshino and Kurune pleased me, so I made them my maids, and the traffic-light sisters became swimsuit maids. Their treatment would change again later, but for now this was fine. Sukhee and Yeondu were appointed Pokémon Managers One and Two because I planned to bring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠many Pokémon into the Exclusive Dimension in the future and needed them looked after. Suumi, though arrogant, was quite the beauty, so she became a maid. Sukhee would later be reassigned as an assistant once I collected female professors. The remaining female trainers were simply made slaves.

Once the rough organization was settled, I let the new maids serve me and relieved all the accumulated fatigue.

After resting, I was preparing to return to the Pokémon world when I called out to Yoshino.

“Yoshino, I have something to ask you.”

“Yes? What is it, Master?”

When I said I had a question, Yoshino asked what I wanted to know. I inquired about Chae Haru’s tastes. She immediately understood my intention and spoke.

“Are you planning to bring Haru here as well?”

“That’s right. But unlike the rest of you, I’ll conquer her directly instead of through Pokémon battles.”

At my words, Yoshino looked envious as she thought of her daughter. She then began explaining every preference of Chae Haru’s that she knew.

Following Yoshino’s advice, I learned which clothes Chae Haru would love to see a man wear. I returned to the Pokémon world, stopped by a clothing shop in Vermilion City, bought the outfit, changed into it, and waited at the promised meeting spot. Naturally I had left Yeongja, Choi Iseul, and Blue inside the Exclusive Dimension for the time being. Once the date with Chae Haru and my business in Vermilion City were finished, I could bring them out again or move on to another world.

At ten in the morning, a few minutes before the appointed time, Chae Haru began running toward the meeting place. When she arrived and saw that Jiwoo was already waiting, her face lit up with a bright smile and she dashed straight to him.

“Jiwoo!”

While waiting for Chae Haru, I heard someone call my name and turned around. Seeing her running toward me, I walked forward to meet her. With a calm expression I approached and greeted her.

“Ah, Haru. You’re here.”

“Yeah… I left early like I said I would, but… Jiwoo, you came even earlier. Hehe.”

Chae Haru clung to me with an adorable, delighted expression, clearly thrilled at the thought of our date. Then she noticed what I was wearing and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Jiwoo, how did you know to wear clothes in the exact style I like?”

“Oh… these? I just thought you’d like them, so I wore them.”

Chae Haru decided my intuition was excellent. I looked at her own outfit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and saw she had dressed far cuter than I expected. When I told her she looked adorable, she beamed with joy, hugged my arm tightly, and asked where we were going.

“Jiwoo, where are we going then?”

I thought about where to take her. To be honest, this was my first time in Vermilion City, so I had no idea which spots were popular. We hadn’t eaten breakfast, so we started with a nice meal at a restaurant, followed by a movie at the theater. We spent a genuinely happy day together.

By the time it was five in the afternoon we had wandered into a park. We sat on a bench beneath cool shade and sipped our drinks. Watching Chae Haru’s lips press against the straw, a dirty thought crossed my mind.

I want to shove my cock into that mouth while she’s drinking.

Chae Haru noticed me staring and gave me a puzzled look. When I casually draped an arm around her shoulder she startled, her face instantly flushing crimson. Every so often a notification sound informed me that Chae Haru’s affection was rising little by little, but I paid it no mind.

After spending an hour in the park, it was time to part. Chae Haru looked utterly happy as she prepared to say goodbye before heading home.

“Jiwoo, today was so much fun. You’ll… you’ll go on a d-date with me tomorrow too… right…?”

Her face burned scarlet as she lowered her head and asked. It seemed the moment had come to raise her affection dramatically.

“I had fun too. But there’s one flower—would you like to take it with you?”

Chae Haru stared at me with an expression that clearly said Eh…?

I pulled out the small wrapped box containing the accessory Yoshino had told me she loved and offered it to her with one hand. Chae Haru’s face filled with disbelief—A present from Jiwoo?!!!—and she carefully opened the package. Inside lay a beautiful cherry-blossom hairpin. I lifted the pin from the box and gently placed it in her hair, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly on the left side adorned with the cherry-blossom pattern.

“I want to have you…?”

“…M…me…?”

A brief silence fell. As Chae Haru realized what the words meant, her face grew redder and redder. The line had been cringeworthy even to me, but I kept my expression steady and asked,

“Sorry… was that too cheesy?”

“N-no…! Ji… Jiwoo… you really mean that… right…?”

With her face still flushed, she looked up at me. I nodded and prepared to pull her into my arms.

The moment she understood I was serious, Chae Haru looked so happy she might burst.

Chae Haru—her Japanese name was Sakuragi Koharu. The family name meant cherry tree. The given name meant autumn. Cherry trees belonged to the rose family; they bloomed and scattered in spring. When autumn arrived their green leaves turned vivid red, becoming blazing foliage. The name signaled the start of cherry-blossom season while also symbolizing a beautiful spirit, spiritual love, and the beauty of life. The red leaves warned that cold winter was approaching and carried the meaning of self-restraint and modesty. That was why people in Japan sometimes even fried and ate maple leaves.

Seeing Chae Haru’s affection level, I decided it was time to bring things to a close. I looked at her and spoke.

“Haru… do you want to stay out overnight today?”