Something Feels Off About Dating the Imperial Princess (2)
The clock tower at Mir Station was a popular meeting spot, the kind people often chose for rendezvous. It had been built roughly forty years ago to commemorate the Korean Empire’s centennial. That made it an old structure, yet periodic renovations that refreshed its exterior meant it was hard to spot any real traces of age. ‘Don’t they usually leave things like this untouched and preserve them as cultural heritage? How unusual.’
At any rate, Mir Station’s clock tower was eye-catching even from a distance. I stood beneath it in a daze, then happened to glance at the glass window of a nearby building. Reflected there was a calm girl with her hair tied in a side tail. She wore a long coat that fell to her calves, with a snug knit sweater and slacks underneath. Her height was ordinary, but her striking figure and cool eyes gave her a surprisingly mature air. This beautiful girl—who could easily score a nine out of ten—could only be me.
“Haah…”
The pointless thought slipped out as a sigh. My heart fluttered, yet an uncomfortable, difficult-to-name feeling rose inside my chest. When I stopped to consider how I’d ended up here, the reason was painfully simple. In just a little while… I was about to experience my very first date.
Today I would step onto a path I had never walked before. The version of me in the glass looked as if she were expecting something wonderful. ‘What am I, some forever-single male high schooler…’ The thought brought a wave of self-loathing. I wasn’t excited to meet the person—I was excited about the date itself. No matter how you looked at it, my complete lack of dating experience was painfully obvious.
Besides, Se-rin was the one who had suggested this “date.” The odds of anything heart-fluttering actually happening were extremely low. We would probably just wander around the area, grab a meal, and part ways. ‘She could have just said let’s hang out for a bit. Did she really have to call it a date?’
Before I knew it I had drifted closer to the glass and was fiddling with my bangs. Then, in the reflected scenery, a familiar figure appeared in the distance. A suspicious woman wearing a beige beanie that covered her hair, sunglasses, and a pure-white mask. The moment she spotted me, she hurried over with quick, eager steps.
“Did you wait long? Sorry, I tried to leave earlier.”
She slid her sunglasses and mask down just enough to reveal a face I could never grow tired of no matter how many times I saw it—unrealistically beautiful. It was Lee Se-rin, the person I had promised to meet today.
A glance at the clock tower told me it was only ten thirty. We still had thirty minutes until our appointed time, so I answered without much concern.
“It’s not even the appointed time yet. I’m fine.”
“Still, making you wait in this cold… I feel terrible.”
“Hey, it’s my fault for coming out too early. I dressed warmly, so I wasn’t cold at all.”
See? My hands had been in my pockets the whole time. I spread my coat open wide to prove it. Se-rin slowly looked me up and down, then stepped close and grabbed the edges of the coat I had opened, forcibly closing it again.
“That’s vulgar, Seolhwa.”
“…Huh?”
What exactly was vulgar about it? I tilted my head, utterly confused. Se-rin gave a wry smile, then reached out without hesitation and stroked my cheek as she changed the subject.
“Besides, even if your hands are warm, your face is like ice. You should have worn a muffler.”
“Are you my mom or something? And stop touching my face without permission.”
I lightly pushed away the hand that was casually caressing my face. Did the Imperial Princess not understand the concept of personal space? The instant her fingers brushed my ear, I nearly let out a pathetic yelp. Of course she was probably genuinely worried I might be cold—but for me, whose face was burning for entirely different reasons, it was an extremely sensitive issue.
“Shall we get some coffee first and warm up? I know a nice café nearby.”
“Hmph. If you want.”
“Hmm, why are you being so prickly today? Come back to me, my usual soft and fluffy Seolhwa.”
“Hey! Where do you think you’re poking?! I’m really going to get mad?!”
Apparently displeased by my somewhat curt attitude, Se-rin suddenly jabbed a finger into my defenseless side. I had zero resistance to tickling, so I jumped in place and scolded her, but she only chuckled in satisfaction and led me toward the café.
She really was infuriating. Still, maybe my body really had been a little chilled without me noticing. The moment the café’s warm air enveloped me, a soft “Haaa” slipped out. Se-rin whipped her head toward me, her voice full of laughter.
“See? You were cold.”
“…Shut up.”
I grabbed the collar of my coat and hid my face behind it. I didn’t like how easily she could make me dance in the palm of her hand. Then the bittersweet aroma of espresso reached my nose. I wasn’t fond of bitter tastes, but there was something addictive about that scent.
While I scanned the menu, wondering what to order, Se-rin suddenly made a suggestion with an unreadable expression.
“Seolhwa, why don’t you go find us a seat first? I’ll order for us.”
“Huh? I haven’t decided what I want yet.”
“Let me treat you this time. Think of it as repayment for the grace you’ve shown me.”
“Repayment…”
When she put it that way, it was hard to refuse. I gave her a doubtful look, told her I didn’t want coffee, and headed inside first. Since I disliked other people’s gazes, I chose a seat in the back, hidden behind a pillar. Before long Se-rin followed and naturally sat across from me. Thanks to her thorough disguise, I didn’t feel particularly nervous even with her right in front of me.
“What did you order?”
“That’s a secret. You’ll see when it comes.”
“What exactly are you plotting…”
“Hehe.”
I couldn’t force her to tell me if she didn’t want to. I’d find out when it arrived. I gave her an exasperated look, then shrugged and settled more comfortably into my seat. The question that had been bothering me since the day before yesterday finally left my lips.
“So, why the sudden date? Are we that kind of pair?”
“Hmm… perhaps to gather material for Yuri Business?”
“Why was that a question?”
You clearly have something more you want to say. I stared at her steadily, urging her to confess. Se-rin looked visibly troubled—even through the mask—then pressed her fingertips against the table in a somewhat timid manner and spoke.
“The truth is… I wanted to meet you in person and express my gratitude. Thank you for waking this foolish me up.”
“Ah, yeah. I see.”
I rested my chin on my hand and pretended to be distracted. I could roughly guess what she wanted to say. Today was the fourth day since our collab stream. In the meantime, her solo streams had undergone a clearly meaningful change. Once she had been forced to drop her mask, it seemed something inside her had shifted. She was showing a far more natural, more herself side on stream. It was like a carnivore that had been forcing itself to eat grass finally tasting meat again. Even to me, her current broadcasts were much more entertaining than before. As a result, her channel was growing noticeably. It wasn’t strange that she felt grateful.
That was all fine, but my lukewarm response must have caught her off guard. Se-rin shot up from her chair with a flustered expression and cried out earnestly.
“That’s not it! Shouldn’t you say something like, ‘I’m glad I could help you too’?!”
“No, I didn’t do it because I particularly wanted you to succeed. Even if you thank me, it doesn’t really move me.”
“Eh? But didn’t you suggest the Yuri Business to help me? After all, Seolhwa, you like me, so…”
“Sigh. Like I told you last time, I just couldn’t stand seeing you acting so pathetic! I only wanted to torment you a bit. The fact that things worked out well… was just a coincidence.”
To use a crude analogy, it was like throwing an empty can out the window because I was sick of looking at trash, only for it to accidentally hit a passing robber and knock him out. I was still the same rotten piece of garbage, yet I somehow ended up receiving a bravery award from the police. I felt no great emotion about it. If anything, I wanted to snap at her for teasing me.
But Se-rin seemed to think my words were a considerate lie. She sat back down with a warm, knowing smile.
“Seolhwa, you really aren’t honest.”
“Ugh, you are so persistent!”
What was I supposed to do with this overly self-conscious woman? If she were showing the perfect, sociable Imperial Princess she displayed at school, maybe I could understand. But right now, with her face completely covered, she just looked like a pervert. At this rate the conversation would never progress. Irritated, I ruffled my hair into a mess and let out a heavy sigh.
“Fine. I’ll accept your thanks. Buy me something delicious today and we’ll call it even. All debts repaid. That works, right?”
“What? Seolhwa, I haven’t even gotten to the main point yet. You’re so impatient.”
“…Wait, you’re only now saying there’s a main point?”
“Yes. There’s one thing I’d like to ask of you.”
My heart gave a heavy thump, and a sudden sense of foreboding washed over me. I had a strong feeling this girl was about to say something ridiculous again. I swallowed hard and waited with trembling eyes for her next words. Se-rin laced her fingers together, brought her hands up in front of her face, and spoke in a strangely serious voice.
“After I used my wish on you and said I wanted to continue the Yuri Business, I thought about it carefully.”
“About what?”
“That I still cannot truly immerse myself in Yuri Business… In fact, it’s embarrassing, but I have never loved anyone in my entire life. Unfortunately, my position never allowed it.”
“That’s… unavoidable. You are the Imperial Princess.”
She nodded at my reflexive reply. I sometimes forgot, but Se-rin was a genuine member of the imperial family. While she wasn’t treated as an entirely different species like nobles of the distant past, the way people regarded her surpassed even the daughter of a global conglomerate. Romance had never been an option. Still, never having liked anyone even once was rather unusual. Then again, in this life I hadn’t genuinely fallen for anyone either, so I could roughly understand.
But that was only the beginning of what she wanted to say. Looking straight at me through her sunglasses, she delivered a meaningful statement.
“However, for the sake of my dream, I want to become sincere now. And if it’s with you, Seolhwa, I think it’s entirely possible.”
“…Possible to do what?”
Se-rin, who had been about to answer, suddenly froze. At that exact moment, a staff member carrying a tray was approaching. It would be troublesome if the disguised Se-rin were recognized as the Imperial Princess. I kept my mouth shut as well and naturally turned my gaze toward the employee—only for my thoughts to screech to a halt at what she was holding.
What the staff member carried was a dessert—a parfait with ice cream in a cup. And not just any parfait. Two bright red heart-shaped chocolates were stuck in the middle… It was unmistakably a couples-only parfait. So there really were people in the world who ate things like this. I felt as if I were looking at an object from another dimension.
Yet for some strange reason, the employee set the parfait down on our table.
“Here is the Love Special Parfait you ordered.”
“Um, excuse me… we didn’t—”
“You can leave it here.”
“Eh?”
“It’s fine. I ordered it.”
Huh? What? My brain couldn’t keep up. I stared blankly at Se-rin as she thanked the employee. No, no—surely this horrifyingly large, terrifying couples parfait wasn’t really ours? Unable to accept reality, I creakily turned my neck to look at her. She had removed her sunglasses and mask and declared with an incredibly refreshing smile:
“Continuing from earlier… I reached a conclusion. Seolhwa, I want to fall in love with you.”
“Wait, does that mean…”
“Yes. Not as a friend, but as one woman to another. If it’s for the sake of Yuri Business… I suppose I have to go that far.”
“…That’s weird! That’s completely weird!”
Feeling as if I had heard some indecipherable alien language, I clutched my head and screamed. She wanted to fall in love with me for the sake of Yuri Business? Someone please explain what kind of nonsense this was.