NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
#31
Gwoo-ook!
Before I could even admire how soft and small it was, I grabbed Han Seo-ah’s hand as she tried to get out of bed, making sure she couldn’t escape.
“Iih… move, Joonu…! I want to see what was so fun all night yesterday…!”
“Hey…! No! Absolutely not…!”
As I struggled between her adorable little hand trying to pull away and me absolutely refusing to let go, she suddenly said,
“Eh!”
With that, Han Seo-ah relaxed her grip, leaving my hand flailing in the air as I stumbled forward.
My left hand thankfully landed on the fluffy bed, but my right hand—
Wow, damn!
So big and soft—
“…Hah.”
“Ahhh!!!”
What just happened?! It was so soft, and then she just relaxed! Is she trying to slap me?! But on the bright side, it felt nice… No, wait! I should apologize first! Why does my hand smell like strawberries…?
In the abrupt twist of events—no, wait, was it providence?—I jumped up and awkwardly knelt in front of the bed.
“I’m so sorry!!!”
One second, three seconds, ten seconds.
In the suffocating silence, time passed as my arms trembled, yet there was no reaction at all.
Thinking I was in big trouble, I slowly looked up to see Han Seo-ah’s face turned as red as a strawberry, from cheek to ear.
Rather than being angry… she looked more embarrassed, staring at me with a tingling gaze.
“…Did you…?”
“What… what did you say?”
Guhh…
I felt I needed to maintain the kneeling position, sweating bullets, when Han Seo-ah muttered softly.
“…Did you touch it?”
“Hey, I’m really sorry! But you said that way too quietly, I didn’t hear…”
“What was it like…?!”
What?
“…What do you mean?”
“Ugh…! Just stop that and sit down…!”
I thought I was going to die.
As I released my kneeling position and sat on the floor, stretching out my stiff arms and neck, I noticed Han Seo-ah giving me a sulky look as if something wasn’t quite right.
“…Why?”
“Why are you sitting there?”
“…? Should I sit in the computer chair?”
I thought I had to stay on the floor like a criminal, but maybe she wasn’t as mad as I thought. Just as I felt a bit lighter—
Pang pang!
Han Seo-ah smacked the spot beside her on the bed.
“Just sit here.”
“…That seems a bit much?”
Awkward.
Very much so.
“You don’t know the saying, ‘Men and women must not sit together’?!”
“Hurry and sit.”
“My bed is indeed soft.”
Thinking I shouldn’t argue further, I quietly sat beside Han Seo-ah.
Then—
Even if I tried not to think about it.
Even if I tried not to look.
—what I had just—
Jjaak! Jjaak!
“Kyah! Wh-what’s happening all of a sudden?!”
“Oh, nothing. Just zoning out for a moment.”
Smack! My cheek slapped back to reality.
In that moment, the sweet strawberry scent that hit my face seemed to confirm that earlier incident wasn’t a lie. Giving my other cheek another light smack with my left hand, the chaotic thoughts in my head began to clear up.
So painful…!
“…So, what did you want to say?”
Turning my head with the lingering chaos clearing up, I found Han Seo-ah’s face only a little bit away, a familiar one I just couldn’t get used to even after 13 years, blushing with embarrassment.
—This is troublesome.
“What did you want to know…?”
Glancing at me while holding my shirt as if to say, “don’t run away,” was Han Seo-ah. Her grip wasn’t strong, but it felt like I might never escape from her.
“…What’s there to say? I’m crazy.”
Pffft!
As I declared my surrender with an ‘I don’t care’ attitude and spoke honestly, I could see Han Seo-ah laughing out loud at my silly demeanor, making my heart feel oddly ticklish.
“Crazy?”
“Yeah. Totally crazy. There’s no other way to express it.”
Muttering that it was beyond “good,” I noticed Han Seo-ah’s eyes lighting up with joy as she smiled brightly, which made me chuckle as well.
“I’m relieved. Okay, that’s that.”
“What are you relieved about? Wait, didn’t you get mad?”
“…? Why would I be mad?”
Like a thief caught red-handed, I began to speak first, and Han Seo-ah tilted her head, as if curious about my odd remarks.
What? Was it truly a dream?
Wondering if it had all been a bizarre concoction of my imagination, I sniffed my right hand again and was greeted—by the faint lingering scent of strawberries.
“…What are you doing?”
“…Just some important stuff.”
“Did you think I would get mad?”
Seeing the genuine curiosity in her eyes made me want to respond with the same question.
“Um… I mean, that’s precious… and I… did that… and you weren’t mad?”
I couldn’t muster the courage to call the situation directly, so I just lumped it all together.
“Why would I be mad? I mean eventually…”
“…Eventually?”
As I was puzzled, she giggled softly, poking my lips with her slender finger.
“…It’s a secret. You can look forward to it.”
—Ah, my heart just stopped.
Behind my smiling childhood friend, I could almost see nine tails swaying gently.
#32
“Joonu! So what about the adult stuff?”
Oh no.
That’s what caused this mess, wasn’t it?
I had forgotten for a moment because I was too shocked.
“…Didn’t you give that up?”
I hesitantly tried to resist, thinking there was no way I could let that go.
“Hmmm… So even after all that, you still can’t give up on it? So that’s how it is?”
With an icy glare, Han Seo-ah looked up at me like an ice princess, making me wonder if she was truly the same girl who had just been so playful like a mischievous fox.
“Hey, Han Seo-ah. No, Seo-ah. You might not understand this, but it’s not something I can just delete! It’s not like a computer virus I can cut out and toss away—no, no! It’s more like a carefully considered piece of art that needs to be handled with care…”
“Joonu.”
I flinched suddenly when she cut in as I was getting all worked up, but I didn’t back down.
It was something worth defending.
Something I had to protect.
“Hey, I mean, you’re not even my girlfriend, so why…!”
“So, would it work if I were your girlfriend?”
“Huh?”
“If I were your girlfriend, would it be okay, Joonu?”
Something feels off…
Although it felt like something was not right, I pushed that sensation aside.
Right now, I had to protect the people I had come with.
“If my future girlfriend said she didn’t like it, then what can I do?!”
I couldn’t bring myself to say the cruel words of “delete it.”
Then she said,
“Hmmm, Joonu, was that your promise? Do you have to keep that…?”
She looked at me intently, eyes sparkling, and for some reason, I could feel cold sweat pouring down my back.
“Sure…!”
#33
In the end, I managed to protect them all, right?
After dinner with my parents, who returned home from work, I finally sent Han Seo-ah off.
My parents had known Han Seo-ah since she was little, so they were totally smitten with her.
Sometimes it even felt like they liked her more than me!
I mean, I had no reason to dislike her since she’s not only pretty, but also polite with the elders, has a good personality, and is smart…
The more I thought about Han Seo-ah’s advantages, the more I wanted to look away from them.
Because facing them, it became hard to hide my true feelings.
—Coward.
I didn’t feel like I was lacking or that I was a lesser person.
While I definitely wasn’t on the same level as Han Seo-ah, I had received confessions a few times myself and considered myself objectively decent-looking.
However.
The phrase ‘childhood friend.’
Our deeply precious relationship, which had lasted so long.
It bound me like an unbreakable curse.
I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing someone else standing next to you, but I also couldn’t imagine a world without you beside me.
The coward who lacked the courage to break this curse for a happy ending would only run away again and again.
“Ah… damn.”
Just a little while ago, I was completely happy and joyful.
But that little spark had rapidly turned into a blazing fire, filling my mind to the brim, making it unbearable to extinguish.
At times like these—
“It’s got to be adult stuff.”
Han Seo-ah? Who’s that?
I’m invincible! Adult stuff is my god!
Sitting down in my chair, I powered on my computer and searched for the folder where my beloved ones were waiting.
[Playful Fox Girl]
Though it was an old-school method that no one used anymore, it delighted me.
Classics never die!
Full of excitement as I entered the folder, just when I finished my preparations to set out for America today, I suddenly noticed my long-standing childhood friend, (right) hand-girl.
I cautiously lifted my hand to sniff it, and there, I felt—
The faint yet unmistakable scent of strawberries lingered, as if it hadn’t completely vanished yet.
Ah, how meaningless this was!
After bidding farewell to the girl on the screen, I turned off my computer and lay down on my bed.
In that moment, the room was filled with what felt like a sweet scent of approval, lulling me into a peaceful sleep.
That night, Han Seo-ah appeared in my dreams.