My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

67. My Childhood Friend is Too Cute, So a Big Decision. (2)

After school.

As soon as the homeroom teacher’s dismissal bell rang, I went to Aki’s class.

Maybe, just maybe, I could see Aki’s dance again from before, so I hurried over, but peeking through the window, it was a shame. Aki was already ready to leave, chatting amicably with her classmates.

*Creak*-.

“Oh? Aki’s boyfriend is here!”

“Akiya, looks like he’s come to pick you up~”

“……”

I felt it before, but among the girls in Class 1, I’m already half, no, almost completely confirmed as Aki’s boyfriend.

Well, what can I say? She’s used so many two-shots of us as her KakaoTalk profile picture, it’s impossible not to misunderstand.

Anyway, I cleared my throat, just ’cause, and moved closer to Aki.

“Did it end early?”

“Uh-huh, we finished ten minutes ago. Woo-joo~chan’s class was late, right?”

“Yeah, the professor ran over with some things about the exam. Aren’t you still talking with your friends? Should I wait outside for a bit?”

“Heung, no. We were just talking about lip tint. It’s nothing, you can just go~”

Aki, with an adorable, petite pink bookbag slung over her shoulder, stood up.

She pushed her chair back with a *shrrk*, and skipped over to me, naturally linking her arm with mine, pressing close.

“Wow, Aki, what’s this? Your boyfriend shows up and you just leave us hanging?”

“I’m disappointed, Aki. I thought we were real friends…!”

“Tell us, Aki, him or us?”

“Woo-joo~chan, of course. Are you kidding me, you dorks?”

“Wow, you traitor! How can you say that without even hesitating?!”

“Mess up your makeup in front of your boyfriend so you’ll be totally over it!”

“Yeah, no~ Let’s go, Woo-joo~chan.”

Aki, firing back with all her might, squeezed my arm tightly with her chest, pulling me along.

My mind went a little hazy and I followed after her, thinking to myself.

‘…I see.’

Aki is different alright.

Even without being *too* close, I can feel the presence of something soft and weighty, *mung-keul mung-keul*, drawing all my attention.

I was so focused on it, I nearly forgot my original plan: ‘Buy her something sweet to put her in a good mood, sense the vibe, and confess…!’

“Aki, talk to you later!”

“Don’t forget to post about how your date went~”

“Alright, you singles!”

“…What did you say, you little…?!”

“……”

‘Even though they’re girls, the vibe is so different…’

Last time I saw them, it seemed like Aki was getting pushed around, but today it’s the opposite. I was a little fascinated by it and stared at her, and she tilted her head as if she felt my gaze.

“Why?”

“Just… a little fascinating?”

“Heung, what’s so fascinating?”

“Wow…look at her, not even glancing around ’cause she’s next to her boyfriend. Tch, is he really *that* great to you?!”

“He has a right to be great, he’s handsome, no?”

“If he’s handsome, then that’s fine, I guess….”

“…Why are you so quick to agree, you dopes!”

– *Creak*.

I shut the door to Class 1 and walked out.

Our class ended late, so the hallway was pretty deserted. Aki left the empty hallway and started walking beside me, blurting out,

“Uju-chan, there’s this new dessert shop that opened up just over there. The kids are saying they have loads of sweet and delicious things!”

Aki was brimming with a smile as she spoke.

She’s a girl who always smiles easily, but she seemed even more excited than usual, probably because she was thinking about eating tons of sweet treats. I nodded in agreement, slightly adjusting my arm across my chest.

“Okay, let’s go. But what are you going to get?”

“First, cake, and chocolate! And also, if they have tanghulu, that too!”

“Oh, they sell tanghulu at a dessert shop?”

“Yeah, they have most things, but not in large quantities. If we don’t hurry, they’ll be all sold out, you know?”

She didn’t just hurry me with her words; she gently tugged on my arm.

She seemed to be in an awful hurry, and frankly, I liked that something kept brushing against me.

“So let’s go quickly, we’re actually late already…!”

“Ah, yeah. Got it.”

* * *

The dessert shop Aki mentioned was about a 15-minute walk from school.

The location was near a main street, a place with a lot of foot traffic, and it was in a perfect spot for the students from the nearby university and our school to use. For a store that needs to get a lot of customers to profit, it was the optimal location, you could say.

But there was one problem.

“Whoa, there are so many people…!”

“Yeah, there really are a lot….”

That was, there were so many people that you had to wait an incredibly long time to even use it once.

Being a popular place, the taste was probably guaranteed, but the waiting line was quite long, so Aki and I had to wait almost 20 minutes before we could enter.

And even after entering, it wasn’t over. Because there were so many customers, if you wanted to eat something, you had to wait again.

‘Hmm, then….’

Confessing my feelings here would be impossible, I guess.

There are so many people that you could trip over them. If I confessed in a place like this, it would practically be a public confession.

Even around the school, familiar faces pop up now and then…. If they accept my confession, that’d be a blessing, but rejection out of embarrassment? That would be the worst, practically a public shaming.

So, first, I’ll indulge Aki with whatever she wants to eat and hang out with her. Then, I’ll confess at the perfect moment.

“Uju~chan, what should we eat first? Is there anything you’re craving?”

“Pick whatever you want. Anything’s fine with me.”

“Eung, really? Then…. How about we start with some hotcakes?”

“Ooh, hotcakes sound good.”

“Hehe, you said anything’s fine, but you seem really happy when I suggested hotcakes?”

“Eung, because you know I like hotcakes.”

‘……Eh, could it be that she picked hotcakes because of that?’

The thought flashed through my mind.

Hesitant, I glanced at Aki, and she giggled. Seems my hunch was right.

“Alright, shall we go eat Uju~chan’s favorite hotcakes…?”

“…….”

This is why I like my childhood friend.

Hiding my inner thoughts, I quietly followed Aki. The dessert place we came to is a buffet-style setup.

Well, more accurately, it’s buffet-style in form only. Payment is separate. You pile the desserts you want onto a plate, take it to the register, and they calculate the total. Then, we pay, grab the plate, and sit anywhere we like to eat.

This was my first time, and I came with Aki, so I just stayed quiet. Aki, having been here a few times, skillfully grabbed tongs and a plate, picking out a few pieces of hotcake and some bite-sized treats.

“Hmm…. Ah, that table’s empty. Uju~chan, let’s go sit there!”

Aki’s finger pointed to a seat by the window. It’s a spot with floor-to-ceiling glass, so you can see in from outside and see out from inside.

I nodded and walked over to sit there.

Aki, carrying the plate, sat opposite me, and I took out forks and knives for both of us and set them out.

“Hehe, looks delicious.”

“It does. Let’s dig i–”

“Ah, wait a second…!”

Just as I was about to spear a piece of hotcake with my fork, Aki stopped me.

“We have to take a picture before eating, I even decorated it for that…!”

“Ah, right?”

No wonder it was arranged so nicely.

I sheepishly pulled my hand back, and Aki took out her phone, snapping pictures of the desserts. Then, she busily sends those photos off somewhere.

“Are you sending them to your friends?”

“Uuh, just those guys from earlier. They were making such a fuss about sending them photos… Ah.”

A fleeting glance.

Aki lifted her head, looking at me.

She seemed to have something she wanted to say.

“Uju~chan.”

“Hm?”

“Uuh, by any chance… would it be alright if I took some pictures of Uju~chan?”

“Pictures? Well, I don’t mind… but why suddenly want pictures of me?”

“It came up while we were looking at albums with friends the other day, and it turns out we have lots of photos of the two of us together, but not so many of just Uju~chan. So, I thought while the idea was fresh, maybe I could take one or two…?”

“Ah.”

I see.

To be honest, I don’t quite understand what she’s getting at, but I definitely get that she wants to take pictures of me alone.

It’s a bit odd, seeing as we’re in a dessert place, but oh well, I guess it doesn’t really matter. I straightened my back, signaling she could take them whenever she wanted.

“If it’s alright with you, could you even pose…?”

“Huh? What kind of pose?”

“Like that one, holding the chocolate from the plate and pretending to put it in your mouth…!”

“…….”

If I’m good to her now, my chances of her accepting my confession later will probably increase, right…?

I thought she was asking for a lot, but I held the chocolate in my hand as Aki instructed, stopping just before it reached my mouth.

“Don’t look here, keep your gaze natural!”

“Like this?”

“Uhm, stay right there! Okay, I’m taking it…?”

Click.

The picture was taken.

“All done?”

“Ju, just one, no, maybe a few more…?”

“……Sure.”

Click, click-.

More photos were snapped.

Aki, holding her phone in both hands, stared intently at the me on the screen, not at me myself.

“How is it? Did it turn out well?”

“Yeah, it turned out *really* well…”

Aki’s cheeks flushed a little pink.

Wondering if it was *that* good to make her this happy, I leaned in for a peek, but she startled, recoiling back.

“Ah, you can’t look…!”

“Huh? Why?”

“…It’s, uh, filtered. It’s a little silly, so, Uju~chan shouldn’t see it.”

“…….”

The reason her face was red wasn’t because she was fl*stered, but because she was holding back laughter…?

Feeling slightly betrayed, my mind went blank.

And then, in the very next instant, this thought struck me.

I need to get revenge.

“…Aki.”

“Mm…?”

“Can I take some pictures too? Now that I think about it, I don’t have many pictures of just you on my phone.”

“Ah, um…. Should you…?”

Aki straightened her back at the mention of taking pictures.

The model *was* a model, so even as is, it would look like a painting, but if I just took a normal picture, it would just be an everyday photo of a pretty close friend, lacking any real fun.

I turned on a pre-editing app and activated a filter that put cat whiskers and ears on people’s faces.

Then, after adjusting it so Aki was in the frame.

Click.

I took the picture.

“…Pfft.”

Seeing the result made me involuntarily burst out laughing.

Aki in the photo looked a little shy, but with cat whiskers on her face and cat ears on her head, she was simply adorable.

“Wow, Aki, you really photograph well…. You look so pretty?”

“Really? How did it turn out…?”

Leaning closer, peering.

Aki showed a shy interest.

“Alright, take a peek.”

I flipped my phone around, displaying the photo.

“……”

Stiffness.

Aki’s face tightened just so.

Not quite the reaction I was expecting, but funny in its own way, so I couldn’t help the snickers that escaped my lips.

“Well? Came out pretty good, right?”

“What… is this?”

“What else? It’s Cat-Aki.”

“De-, delete it!”

Aki reached out, grabbing for my phone.

I quickly pulled it away, chuckling playfully.

“The photo came out so well though. Maybe I should make it my profile picture?”

“……Eeeegh?!”

“Let’s see… ah, there.”

The photo of Aki, complete with a cat filter, was now my profile picture.

Once finished, I spun my phone back around to show Aki the updated picture.

Aki, well.

“Wa-, wait a second… you actually did it…?!”

“Yeah, it’s cute.”

“……”

Her face flushed crimson, barely suppressing her ire.

“…Get over here.”

“Why?”

“I’m putting a weird filter on you too, Woo-joo~!”

“Again? You said you already did.”

“I don’t care, I’m doing it again! …Get over here! Why aren’t you coming?!”