The 'Childhood Friend' I Want to Eat

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"Looks like Dahee didn't buy any chocolate?"

"No."

Yang Dahee's lips, pressed into a cold line, stirred briefly before she turned her gaze away and fixed it on her monitor.

It was exactly like her — the woman her coworkers had nicknamed the Ice Flower, because she never smiled for anyone.

The people around her began to murmur.

Dahee's popular, but she's an absolute fortress.

It's got to be because she has a boyfriend, right?

Trust me, it's a sure thing. At the very least, there's someone she likes.

Pfft, no way. She's never once shown a hint of it.

The office gossips whispered among themselves about Yang Dahee's love life, the woman everyone at the company had their eye on. Wild guesses flew back and forth about what kind of man could possibly win her over.

But the woman in question had only one thing on her mind.

Dajun's going to be so shocked if I buy him chocolate. Hehe~

If she surprised him with it on the way home, he'd surely jump out of his skin. He barely knew any women, so he probably had no idea what day it even was today.

Yang Dahee pulled out her phone and checked it.

She tilted her head this way and that, imagining him bouncing off the walls the moment she told him she'd bought them just for him — and the corners of her mouth crept upward.

Yang Dahee spent the entire day thinking of nothing but giving her little brother chocolate.

So when exactly are you going to give it to me?

I glanced back and forth between the shopping bag sitting on one side and Yurim, who stood there with her legs twisted around each other, then heaved a long sigh.

Either confess, or just pounce on me already. She's got this surprisingly frustrating side to her.

When Yurim had wrapped her legs around me and clung on, I'd honestly thought I was finally about to get devoured — and then the repairwoman showed up. She could have jumped me ages ago, back when I was giving her a massage, and it still would've been overdue.

Being too patient is its own problem, you know.

A childhood memory floated up out of nowhere.

I'd once put a bandage on Yurim after she got hurt fighting with the girls who used to bully "Yang Dajun." With a child's heart, "Yang Dajun" had teared up — and Yurim had simply shrugged.

She'd planted her hands on her hips and puffed herself up, boasting she could endure anything — and apparently, the aftermath of that boast had lasted all the way to today.

"Mmm..."

She could hold back just fine — the problem was she made it abundantly obvious that she was holding back.

The repairwoman was out on the veranda fixing the boiler, and behind her, Yurim leaned against the doorframe, breathing hard, legs still twining and untwining around each other.

I decided to give Yurim a little push, so her courage wouldn't fizzle out and the day would end without her ever confessing.

"Yurim."

"Wh-what..."

When I prodded her with my finger, she looked down at me with half-lidded eyes. She was taller than me, so she peered down at my face — but her gaze was hazy and unfocused.

My childhood friend, panting, her chest heaving with hot breath...

Deliberately, I touched her shoulder and let her clothing slip down, then stared at Yurim point-blank.

"Yang Dajun..."

Her eyes were burning. Her gaze swept hungrily over the stretch from my bare shoulder up to my neck, then dropped all the way down to my lower half.

"Haa... Could you at least dress properly..."

Yurim let out a deep sigh and pulled my fallen clothing back up for me.

Except her hands were trembling.

I rose onto my toes and whispered into Yurim's ear.

"Did you see it?"

"Huh...?"

"My chest. Did you see it or not?"

At my words, Yurim's eyes darted every which way, and she looked utterly at a loss. She just kept opening and closing her mouth while flailing her arms at the air, so I smirked and said,

"Heh. Pervert."

Yurim's ears flushed a deep scarlet.

When I pressed in close beside her and grinned, the repairwoman glanced back at us and tossed out a joke.

"You two must be married, hm?"

"Excuse me...?"

"You look so close. Takes me back to when I was young."

She smiled through the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, complimenting us on looking like a couple. I took it for banter and turned away — but Yurim stood frozen, her lips quivering.

"M-married... Us. Me and Dajun, married..."

She mumbled something under her breath, then looked up at my face — and went so shy she couldn't get a single word out.

"Uu... uhhh..."

She's broken.

At this rate, I wasn't sure she'd manage to actually hand over that chocolate later. She'd never dare in her right mind, so I'd have to keep prodding her from the sidelines.

Watching Yurim blush all the way to her ears, I fluttered my sleeve and whispered to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her again, soft and deliberate.

"Honey."

"Uh, uh...? What did you...?"

"Hon. Ey."

I enunciated each syllable and gave her another look.

Her eyes blinked furiously like some kind of flashing signal light, and her ears went red all over again.

Yurim pointed at herself and said,

"D-did you just call me 'honey'...?"

"Yeah, I said 'may I help you'."

"Huh...?"

Watching Yurim knit her brows in utter confusion, I barely held back a laugh. I bit my lower lip, feigning innocence.

Yurim kept tilting her head with a baffled expression, replaying my words over in her mind.

"Uh, uh... what...?"

She's genuinely adorable.

And even if she called me on it, all I'd have to do was insist that's not what I said, and it never happened.

I should never say 'honey' to you again — not until you pounce on me.

I wanted her to jump me before Nuna and Dami got home.

After the repairwoman left, the two of us were alone in the house.

Yurim just kept glancing toward the shopping bag, nibbling at her lips. She clearly wanted to give it to me now, but couldn't work up the nerve — so I asked first.

"Yurim, what's that?"

"Th-this is, um..."

She picked up the shopping bag, wavered, opened her mouth, then closed it again. Over and over.

"Is it for someone else?"

"N-no!"

"Then? Is it for me?"

I stepped toward Yurim and circled around her, trying to snatch the bag away. If she was going to give it to me, I wished she'd just hurry up and do it.

But whenever I got close, Yurim dodged the other way, doing everything she could not to hand it over.

After a long while of that, Yurim, worn out by her own stalling, squeezed her eyes shut — then opened them again.

"Aaargh...!"

It seemed she'd finally made up her mind.

As I watched her quietly, head tilted, Yurim pulled out what was inside the shopping bag with hands that shook like leaves.

"Y-Yang Dajun... Here. T-take this..."

It was a chocolate lovingly wrapped in the shape of a heart. Red ribbon, yellow accents — one look told you how much effort had gone into it.

I lifted my eyes and let my mouth fall open in an exaggerated ohh of admiration.

"Wow... where'd you buy something like this?"

But Yurim just shook her head wordlessly. Not a word out of her — she simply bowed her head and swayed it side to side.

"...I didn't buy it."

"Hm? Then what?"

"I didn't... buy it..."

Then what is it?

Yurim's face had gone as red as the ribbon on the chocolate box. She fidgeted with her fingers as she mumbled,

"I... I made it myself..."

Ohh.

Homemade chocolate from my childhood friend — no wonder I'd caught her staring down at her own fingers now and then, sighing mournfully. I guess the burns came with the territory.

I found that so endearing that I started to reach out — then hastily pulled my hand back.

Wait, no. Judging by the fact that she still hasn't confessed, she'll just let this fizzle out into nothing...

Instead, I changed the subject, turning the chocolate box over in my hands as I asked,

"Yurim, you must've been crazy busy."

"...Why?"

"You've got to do this for all the other guys too, right? Must've taken forever to make them all."

"N-no, I didn't..."

Yurim shook her head — then grabbed the hand holding the chocolate box. She laid her own hand over mine, squeezed it tight, and pressed it against my chest.

"This... is only for you."

Even as her lips trembled, Yurim never took her eyes off me. Her brown eyes glistened with moisture, swaying precariously.

My heart lurched at the sight of her — but determined not to lose sight of my actual goal, I swallowed hard and said,

"Only for me? Won't the other guys get the wrong idea, then?"

"Ah..."

Yurim hesitated a moment, then fanned herself with her hand and flashed me a bashful smile.

"Oh, come on... it's fine. Are we exactly a normal relationship? Ahaha..."

What Yurim meant to give me wasn't obligation chocolate. It was the true-chocolate that only lovers give each other.

Heh... still, I can't actually start dating her.

"Yang Dajun" liked Yurim too, but I had no intention of jumping into a relationship and forfeiting the chance to see other women.

So, partly to draw a roundabout line and partly to provoke her, I brought up another girl's name.

"Ooh, thanks. I'll get you something on White Day."

"Hehe~ You'd better."

"Mm... you, and Riji..."

"Huh?"

Yurim's eyes went wide and she poked her face out like an idiot.

"Riji? She's giving you chocolate too?"

"Of course. You and Riji are both my friends. Heh."

"Friends..."

Yurim's eyes drooped at the corners, and she muttered to herself, worrying at her lip.

Judging by that look, she apparently still believed I thought of Chae Riji as nothing more than a friend.

I lowered my eyes and said it as if I were embarrassed.

"Yeah. And Riji is..."

I rested a hand over my heart as if it were pounding, then slowly lifted my head and met Yurim's gaze.

As if her heart had dropped straight through the floor, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yurim's teeth chattered as she spoke.

"Hey, hey, Yang Dajun... Do you, um, like someone...?"

"...No."

I shook my head — but my face was flushing red, like someone caught in the act of a secret crush.

I tilted the corners of my mouth up into a little smile for Yurim, then drawled,

"It's not like that, exactly... I just keep thinking about her. Kind of like when I look at you..."

Meaning I could just as easily fall for a woman other than Yurim. A wordless warning that if she kept dragging her feet, I might end up in someone else's arms.

I rolled my eyes slowly, watching to see how Yurim would react.

"Ah..."

Yurim twisted her face to one side, bit her lip bitterly, and sank deep into thought.

If you've figured it out now, hurry up and pounce on me already.

I decided to deliver the finishing blow.

Deliberately putting on a tone of feigned embarrassment, I said,

"Yurim, I'm hungry. Can I eat this now?"

"Huh? Oh... of course."

What a weak little nod.

I untied the ribboned wrapping, picked out one large chocolate, and held it in my hand.

"Here."

"Hehe~"

She really did like me, I supposed — her face brightened at once.

When I fed it to her directly, Yurim accepted it with an ahh — and something grazed across my finger.

Cute. She can't do it outright, so she just sneaks a little lick.

I stared at my dampened finger, then — before Yurim could react — swiftly brought it to my mouth.

"Heh, you got it on me. Yurim, you can't even eat chocolate properly."

And with that, I popped the finger into my mouth and sucked on it, chup chup.

Yurim, struck dumb with shock, could only flap her lips without a sound.

"Uh..."

I looked her dead in the eye as I licked my finger, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then picked out another one and brought it up to her lips.

When I held the chocolate out again, Yurim blinked rapidly and parted her small, plump lips, trying to accept it from me.

"Here's one more. Eat up."

"Th-thanks, Dajun~ Uhu... huh?"

I yanked it right back out of Yurim's mouth and pulled it toward my own.

The piece still slick with a girl's saliva I pressed straight against my lips and sucked on it, slurp by slurp.

"Wh-what are you doing? Hey, Yang Dajun!"

"Hehe, stolen chocolate tastes the best."

Unable even to get angry, Yurim could do nothing but watch me savor her chocolate. Then, looking like her heart was being wrung dry, she patted at her own chest and said,

"Ugh, seriously... what's wrong with you, a boy doing that...? Seriously, stop it..."

"Heh, nope."

Paying her no mind, I stuck my tongue out impishly, flashed her a cheeky grin, and reached for yet another piece of chocolate.

But then—

"Mmm. Sweet. So sweet."

"Haa..."

"If you're jealous, hurry up and—huh? Ah, Yurim, what are you doing!"

Just as I was teasing her and biting into the chocolate, Yurim's hand shot out in a flash and snatched it away. She took the very piece I'd already licked once, popped it into her own mouth without a shred of hesitation, and started sucking on it, nom nom.

I leapt to my feet, pretending to be furious.

"Hey! Give it back, now!"

"Heh, hehe~ Tasty~ If you're jealous, then eat some too~ Hehe."

Her mouth stuffed full with the big chocolate, she mumbled through it all while grinning wickedly at me.

When I stretched out my arm demanding it back, Yurim made it clear that was never going to happen — she pinned me down with one hand and shook her head.

"Heh, no can do."

Oblivious to what might come next, she just giggled to herself. The two of us stood locked arm to arm, like children playing a secret game.

Yurim had the chocolate clamped in her mouth — and the only part of me still free to move was my bare lips.

"Mmgh~ Sho tashty~ Yang Dajun~ Jealouth? Hehe, if you want shome, try and get it~"

With both arms caught in Yurim's grip, I abruptly kicked off from my seat and lunged forward.

"...Hyaah?!"