Hobby Time with My Girlfriend
“Haru, over here! Hurry up~!”
“Slow down a little… Running is hard in this thing.”
“Okay~. I’ll get in line first. Come quick~.”
“Got it.”
On an autumn day painted with vibrant fall foliage, Jisu and I arrived at the cosplay event venue.
I had wanted nothing more than to lounge at home on the weekend, but Jisu had begged so persistently that I ended up tagging along.
She had insisted we do a couple’s cosplay this time.
Honestly, I had planned to refuse at first because it sounded like too much trouble.
“If you come with me, I’ll do whatever cosplay you want.”
“Whatever I want?”
“Yeah! Just say the word!”
How could I refuse when she put it like that?
Before I knew it, I found myself following Jisu into the venue, already dressed in cosplay.
My outfit today was a blond male character with a fantasy soldier concept.
The armor was so ornate that, rather than looking like a soldier, I felt more like a prince.
“Phew… It’s hot.”
Even though the armor had been lightened for cosplay, the full-body plating and gauntlets still weighed a ton.
Standing still was fine for now, but after walking around a bit I was sure I’d collapse from exhaustion.
Maybe after taking a few photos with Jisu, I should find some shade and rest.
“Haru, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little warm.”
“Did I go overboard with the details? I should’ve made it lighter like you said.”
“Nah. If we’re doing cosplay, we might as well do it right.”
Even so, when Jisu looked at me with worried eyes, I waved a hand to reassure her.
Still, if we were going to cosplay, we should do it properly.
Even though cosplay wasn’t really my hobby, I was putting in this much effort because…
“Haru, how do I look? Nothing looks weird, right?”
“You look amazing. You nailed the character.”
“Really? Thank goodness…”
Jisu was pouring her whole heart into the cosplay.
When my lovely girlfriend was this passionate about being a cosplayer, the least I could do was match her sincerity.
Only then would I deserve to share in her hobby.
“You’re beautiful. The fox character really suits you.”
“Yeah? I was worried you wouldn’t like it.”
“Of course I like it. I picked it myself.”
“Hehe, right? Thanks.”
Jisu spun in place, clearly wanting to show off her full cosplay.
She was dressed as a red fox tribe girl—a shrine maiden in a revealing kimono with Japanese-style accessories.
A blond prince-like soldier and a red fox beastkin shrine maiden… what kind of pairing was that supposed to be?
Jisu had asked the same question while we were preparing.
I had my reasons.
A very, very good reason.
“Haru, your eyes look shady~. You’re not thinking weird thoughts again, are you?”
“N-no. I wasn’t thinking anything except that your chest looks bigger than usual.”
While thinking about my plan, I must have been staring at Jisu with a rather lecherous expression.
Good thing I quickly changed the subject to her chest—otherwise she might have caught on.
Though that topic wasn’t exactly safe either…
“What? That’s definitely a weird thought!!”
“What was I supposed to do when it’s so obvious…?”
“You’re insane… I knew you were a pervert, but I never thought I’d hear something like that here…”
“W-what do you mean? Who’s calling who a pervert?”
“So you’re saying it’s not perverted to look at your girlfriend in cosplay and immediately think about her chest size?”
“Well… I can’t really argue with that. But isn’t the person who deliberately emphasized her chest in the first place also at fault?”
“What are you even saying? No way~. The one who thought it is the pervert~.”
While we continued our childish argument, it was finally time to enter.
We paused our bickering and followed the line into the venue.
After registering as cosplayers, we wandered the walking paths near the event hall looking for good photo spots.
We planned to take some outdoor shots first, then head inside to look around at our leisure.
“Oh, Jisu. That spot looks good. Want me to take a picture there?”
“Yeah! I’ll go strike a pose right away, so take it.”
“Okay.”
The moment Jisu posed, I pulled out my phone and started snapping photos.
By the time she had changed poses several times, I had taken over twenty pictures.
“That should be enough. Now take some of me.”
“Hmm? Wait. I haven’t done the pose I prepared for you yet.”
“A pose for me?”
Jisu gave me a mischievous smile, then—
—struck an openly seductive pose and tried to tempt me.
“How’s this? It’s my charm technique meant to bewitch you~.”
“…I can’t take a photo of that.”
“Huh? Why?”
“If it ever leaks, every other guy who sees it will be bewitched too.”
“What kind of excuse is that~.”
Jisu beamed, clearly delighted, and came over to press herself against me.
I had said it as a joke, and she seemed to take it as one, but there was a hint of sincerity behind my words.
To be precise, I would keep the photo—just for my private collection.
I’d have to hide it very, very well so it never leaked.
While we walked around stuck close together, several people approached us asking for photos.
We agreed to every request on the condition that they send us copies, then posed together.
Most of the time I stood in front while Jisu hid behind me, peeking out with just her head visible.
Since I was dressed as a soldier and she was a delicate fox, the protective pose felt fitting.
“Thank you! You two look great together.”
“Ah, thank you~.”
After the last person bowed and left with those words, Jisu and I immediately started debating what they had meant.
“By the way, Haru, what do you think that person meant when they said we look good together?”
“Hmm. Maybe we look like a couple? That’s probably it, right?”
“No way~. Cosplayers wouldn’t think that! They probably meant we look good together as fellow cosplayers!”
“You think so? I’m not so sure.”
“Want to bet on it? See whose interpretation is right?”
“You’re on.”
Since we both loved games and were fiercely competitive, we often settled things with bets—whether it was who would do the housework, who would carry the bags today, or even who would take the lead in our roleplay that night.
Despite the high stakes, the actual games we played were surprisingly simple.
We usually went with rock-paper-scissors or quick board games, and sometimes we bet on how certain situations would turn out.
“So how are we going to decide the winner?”
“Well, I know a cosplayer named Saeri. She’s probably here today. How about we ask her?”
“Oh, good idea. Does she know we’re a couple?”
“No, she doesn’t. That’s why she’ll probably give us an honest opinion!”
“Okay. Deal. Let’s do that.”
I couldn’t back down from a challenge, so I nodded in agreement.
Of course, it wasn’t unheard of for male and female cosplayers who weren’t dating to team up, but I was confident we looked like a couple.
“Then what are we betting, Jisu?”
“Hmm, since it’s about whether we look like a couple or just colleagues… we should bet on that, right?”
“On what?”
“The winner gets to be in charge tonight. How about it~?”
Jisu looked at me with a sly smile.
Oh-ho. So that was the prize. In that case, there was no way I could back down.
Since there was no reason to refuse, I nodded right away.
“Sounds good~. Then let’s go find Saeri, Haru!”
“Yeah.”
We wandered around looking for Saeri.
I had expected it to take a while since we didn’t know exactly where she was, but we found her surprisingly quickly.
“Oh, there she is. Saeri~!”
When Jisu waved and called out, a woman in the distance smiled and walked over.
She was cosplaying as Caitlyn today.
The large hat on her head and the rifle slung across her back were striking.
“Mangsae, it’s been a while~. How have you been?”
“Great! I’ve been doing awesome! By the way, your outfit is really pretty today!! The uniform suits you so well.”
“Ah~, thanks. You look cute too, Mangsae.”
“Hehe, I just couldn’t resist this fox character!”
The two of them seemed to have met before, greeting each other warmly and catching up.
They must have run into each other at an event I hadn’t attended.
While I watched them, relieved that Jisu had a good friend here, she slowly brought up the main topic.
“By the way, Saeri, I have something I want to ask you.”
“Something you want to ask? What is it?”
“Do you see the male cosplayer next to me?”
“Huh? Ah…”
Saeri turned her head toward me.
That expression… it looked like she had something to say.
Jisu must have noticed too, because she stared at Saeri with a tense face.
After a moment, Saeri smiled and slowly opened her mouth.
“Is he your boyfriend, Mangsae? He’s really handsome~.”