My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

28. Date, Date, Date! (1)

March 14th.

The grand White Day.

The day I had been waiting and waiting for, the day I made a date with Aki about a week ago, had finally arrived.

Fluttering with excitement, nervousness, and pounding heart, I barely slept four hours, but my condition was still at its peak.

I woke up at the crack of dawn, finished a shower using a generous amount of body wash, and stood on my two feet in front of the full-length mirror in my room.

“……Let’s see.”

Muttering to myself, I began my outward appearance check.

Starting with my hair, I went down, literally scanning from head to toe.

My hairstyle was neat, and my going-out outfit had a decent fit.

No, actually, it was good.

Piling on too much stuff would only make it look messy, so choosing a clean, solid-blue shirt with black slacks that fell just short of my ankles was a stroke of genius.

“……”

Well, saying this myself is just some ugly self-praise, but…

Anyway.

Nothing too jarring caught my eye, so I lifted my gaze.

The current time was 10:30.

Usually, the meeting spot would be right in front of my place or Aki’s, so leaving 15 minutes early was plenty, but for some reason, today Aki had demanded, ‘Meet me at the station on White Day, absolutely, absolutely!’ so I had to leave earlier than usual.

“Leaving now is kind of early, though…”

It’s much better to arrive early than to be late for the agreed time.

Thinking that, I grabbed my phone, wristwatch, and my trump card, the wallet containing my ‘dad’s card’.

‘……Yeah, I knew it.’

Just having that card, ready to be used if needed, made me feel secure.

Even though they weren’t here right now, I gave thanks to my parents, working hard for the nation far away in the States.

“I’m heading out!”

I slipped on a light jacket and left my room.

* * *

In front of the station, the megaplex.

I got off at the bus stop near our meeting place and looked around.

Even though it was still a weekend morning, there were so many people, it suddenly crossed my mind, ‘I could easily miss Aki if I’m not careful.’

“Whoa…”

Should I have suggested meeting up even earlier?

Hmm, no. Aki’s a girl, it might be a burden for her if I suggest meeting too early. Unlike guys, she probably has a lot of things to prepare.

Leaning my back slightly against a building pillar, I leisurely took out my phone.

Aki doesn’t seem to have arrived yet, so I’ll take this chance to check my messenger.

The group chat with the guys, originally six, but yesterday Kim Seungwoo was added and now there were seven, all of them relatively close to me, was bustling with conversation since this morning.

[s*x]

[PC bang ㄱ?]

[Dude, did you see the EPL yesterday? Liverpool stomped Man City]

[Anyone know what math textbook we were told to buy for midterm?]

“……”

Wait, is this not a conversation, but a collective monologue…?

Staring silently at the group chat where no back-and-forth was happening, just everyone diligently saying their own thing, I tapped a few words on my phone and sent a message.

[I’m at the movie theater]

Short and to the point.

The response was immediate.

[At this hour?]

[What’d you go see?]

[Seoul’s Spring]

[Seriously, you watched *that* now?]

[When spring comes to Seoul? Seoul’s Spring lol]

[That’s the one where Chun Doo-gwang wins in the end]

[So who did you go with?]

If I honestly said who I came with, I’d get showered with all sorts of curses.

Even with that thought, a subtle excitement rose in me, and I sent a reply while laughing silently.

[Came with Aki, just the two of us]

……

……

……

*Ding, ding-*!

[Ah, fuck]

[What’s with the flexing so early in the morning? Fuck]

[Some of us are at home scratching our balls and on the computer, but some are at the movies with their girlfriends, fuck]

[You fucker]

[Anyone who wants Ju-woo-ju to trip on the street, embarrass himself, and break up with his girl, thumbs up lol]

[Thumbs Up]

[Crying and recommending]

“……Hmm.”

Countless crude curses, wishes and vows that Aki and I would break up. And friends agreeing with them.

A reaction that didn’t deviate an inch from what I expected, but.

[Going straight to the baseball stadium after the movie?]

[Nah, gonna grab food and walk around a bit to kill time. Catch up on things too]

[(Expressionless cat giving a thumbs-up emoji)]

[Fighting lol]

Just one person, one friend offering support instead of curses.

That friend, none other than Kim Seungwoo.

[Wow, look at Kim Seungwoo straight-up being a simp?]

[Yeah, but Ju-woo-ju won’t set him up]

[For real, he has a gf and everything]

[Can’t stand to see someone else doing well, I guess]

Of course, that one comment got him carpet-bombed along with me by the other friends.

‘……Still, I’m thankful.’

Guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

[Seungwoo-ya]

[If you ever need an intro, just say the word]

[I won’t do it for the others, but I’ll make sure to do it for you]

[What? No, fuck, I’m saying]

[Ju Woo-ju, you son of a b*tch, you never did it when we asked!]

[Honestly, if Kim Seung-woo is in cahoots with Ju Woo-ju, thumbs up]

[Gotcha]

[We gotta give him the blanket treatment, right?]

[I’m bringing a baseball bat to school on Monday, peace out]

[Bring rope too, we’ll tie him up together]

[Ooh, yeah]

“Heh…”

Every time I say something, I get back five, ten words filled with curses, so I can’t even speak.

Well, to be honest, I kinda expected this kind of reaction when I sent it.

“──Ah, Woo-ju~chan!”

Just when I was looking at the group chat and smiling, a familiar girl’s voice came from afar.

That distinctive high-pitched tone, that unique nickname that’s like no other in this world.

A girl was waving from far away, as if asking me to look at her, coming this way.

“Woo-ju~chan, Atashi (I)’m here~!”

It was Aki.

I immediately peeled my back off the pillar, stashed my phone, and went towards Aki.

“Sorry, did you wait long, Woo-ju~chan?”

“Nah, I just got here too.”

Aki’s outfit: a black tennis skirt, a soft-looking, bluish-tinged off-the-shoulder tee.

Aside from a dark-colored coat casually draped over her shoulders, it’s subtly similar to my own color scheme.

“Woo-joo~chan, how does this outfit look? Do you think it’s okay?”

Aki gently touched the shoulder of her coat, then beamed a smile as she asked for my opinion.

To that, I told her exactly what I was feeling.

“It looks great on you, cute, and pretty?”

“……Ah, really? Heh, that’s a relief.”

Aki, seeming a little awkward at my praise, hid her mouth with her slightly long sleeve as she laughed.

It might be nothing to someone else, but maybe because of her outfit, even her shyness felt incredibly cute, like an act of endearment, and my heart fluttered.

‘Ah, she’s cute….’

It was worth getting up early to prepare for this date.

We haven’t even done anything yet, we’ve just said hello, but I get to see Aki looking this cute…

God, thank you.

Even as an atheist, I gave thanks to God, barely managing to contain the corners of my mouth from twitching up into a grin.

“And you, Woo-joo~chan, you look so cool! You’re always mature…but, y-you seem even more mature right now…!”

“……Uh-huh, thank you.”

My face flushes for no reason at just that one comment.

I can brush off praise from other people, but for some reason, I can’t just laugh and accept Aki’s praise…?

It’s definitely the same praise, so where does this difference come from? I was about to seriously ponder that when Aki glanced at the clock at the top of the subway station building.

“Woo-joo~chan, our movie starts at 11:35, right?”

“Ah, yeah. We just need to go in before it starts, like 10 minutes beforehand.”

“Then, wouldn’t it be better to head in and wait?”

“Yeah, right? It’s better to go in with time to spare instead of rushing, I guess.”

They start checking tickets 10 minutes before showtime, and since it’s 11 now, we’ve got about 25 minutes left. Not enough time to do anything outside, so I gotta find something to do with Aki inside.

What should we do? Browse clothes at a shop, or go to the arcade? The arcade is probably more fun for both of us, though.

I took a step forward, thinking about it.

But Aki didn’t follow, just hesitated behind me.

“Aki, what’s wrong?”

Is something the matter?

I looked at her like, hurry up, what are you doing, and Aki glanced at me, her eyes shifting nervously as she fidgeted with her right hand.

“……Ahem.”

And on top of that, a totally awkward cough.

For a second, I was completely lost, not understanding why Aki was acting like this.

‘Oh, wait….’

My eyes snapped open when I saw her hand fumbling near the hem of her tennis skirt.

Is this… her asking to hold hands…?

“……”

“……”

I hoped I wasn’t reading too much into it.

But it would be stupid to voice this kind of thing out loud, when you can’t read their mind anyway.

Gotta just grab it first, and if the other person wanted it too, great. If not, the best move is to play it cool, like “Oh, sorry. Thought you wanted me to hold your hand.”

…that’s what I read in some book about dating techniques.

Well, can’t say for sure that everything written in there is a hundred percent right, but…

I want to hold Aki’s hand too, so first, I’ll just grab it, and figure out what to do after if it goes wrong.

I just grabbed Aki’s hand firmly.

“…Let’s go.”

“…Ah, okay.”

Thankfully, Aki followed me quietly.

* * *

7th floor, in front of the movie ticket booth inside the building.

“Aki, I’m going to go get popcorn. What flavor do you want?”

“……”

“Aki…?”

“……Huh? Ah.”

I asked her but she didn’t answer, so I stared at her intensely, and the moment our eyes met, Aki jumped and flinched.

What is she thinking about so hard? Not even hearing when someone’s talking. It was kinda cute, so I chuckled, and Aki started patting her cheeks all over, working hard to get her expression under control.

“W-Woo-joo-chan, what flavor are *you* getting…?”

“Me? I’m getting honey butter.”

“Honey butter…. Hmm, then, I’ll get caramel….”

“Caramel? Got it. I’ll go buy it, so wait here a sec.”

“……Ugh, yeah. I’ll be waiting.”

Nod nod, Aki diligently nodding, face slightly flushed.

Somehow, Aki seemed extra cute today. I sat her down at a nearby seat and headed out alone to the vending stand selling all sorts of snacks.

Looking at the menu board hanging overhead, there were dried squid and a bunch of other stuff, but neither Aki nor I particularly liked anything besides popcorn, so there was no need to buy anything else.

I smiled back at the friendly part-timer who greeted me cheerfully and ordered a two-person couple set with caramel popcorn for Aki, honey butter popcorn for me, and two colas.

The reason I was getting honey butter popcorn, by the way, was because…

I’d heard somewhere that honey butter popcorn made kissing feel good.

‘…No, I mean, it’s not like.’

It’s not like I’m definitely going to kiss Aki, or anything.

But who knows what might happen?

Better safe than sorry, no harm in preparing in advance…

“……”

“Sir, your popcorn is ready~”

“……Ah, thank you.”

I snapped out of my bad thoughts.

Taking the popcorn and drinks from the cheerful part-timer, I cleared my throat, and went back to where Aki was sitting.

Aki seemed to be texting someone on her phone while waiting for me…

“……Heh.”

Did something good happen while I was gone? She was squirming and giggling, not even noticing me approaching.

She seemed so happy, I felt the urge to peek at her phone screen, but that’d be rude, wouldn’t it?

I made a point of making my presence known with a little extra noise.

“Aki, I’m here.”

“……Ah, Uju~chan, you came?”

“Yeah, here’s your popcorn and cola.”

I handed Aki her popcorn and cola, and sat down next to her.

“Mmm, thank you. I’ll send you the popcorn money later.”

“Nah, you bought the movie tickets, so let’s call it even.”

Aki paid for the tickets, it’d be rude to split the popcorn cost on top of that.

Aki said something like ‘Still, I’m the one eating it…’ but I wasn’t budging on this, shaking my head firmly.

Then, Aki reluctantly nodded, or so it seemed.

“……Umm, Uju~chan.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“There’s…something I didn’t tell you about in advance…?”

*Squeeze-*

She hugged the popcorn tub, as big as her head, in both hands and slowly looked at my eyes.

‘…What is it?’

Something she couldn’t tell me beforehand?

Oh, no way.

That she couldn’t go to the baseball game today…?

“……Why, what is it? Are you saying you can’t go to the baseball game today?”

“Aah, no, it’s not…! It’s not like that, it’s not….”

Hesitating, fidgeting.

Instead of saying it clearly, Aki just fiddles nervously with her popcorn bucket.

Aki glances at me like she’s done something wrong, then slowly moves her lips.

“Uju~chan and I, we were originally going to see ‘Seoul’s Spring,’ right…?”

“Yeah, that’s right?”

“….Um, I. I booked a different movie.”

“You booked a different movie…?”

“Yeah, I thought this one would be more fun than ‘Seoul’s Spring.’ ….Sorry.”

“No, well… You don’t have to apologize to me.”

I wondered what movie she wanted to see so badly that she’d pass up a blockbuster like that, and I just stared at Aki.

Aki seemed to vaguely pick up on my unspoken thoughts in my gaze, and she wiggled her fingers to pull out her phone.

“Um, this is it.”

“Hmm, ‘If Only’…?”

“Yeah, it’s a re-release this year for the 20th anniversary… I really enjoyed this one? So, I wanted to see it with Uju~chan…!”

“Oh, really?”

Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do about it.

It’s not just anyone; it’s a movie Aki really wanted to see with me.

“Sounds fun. What genre is it?”

As if the glumness had never been there, Aki’s expression brightened the moment I showed interest.

“Ah, the genre is… super, like re~ally super deep!”

“Deep?”

“Romance, duh!”

“Ah. Romance. ……Huh? Romance?”

“Yeah, yeah, romance!”

“…….”

She wants to watch a romance movie with me…?