My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

35. I Came to the Baseball Stadium With My Childhood Friend, But What If We Got Caught in Kiss Cam…?!

“Uh uh…. Uh uh uh, uh uh uhh…!”

Aki, as if she hadn’t even imagined our faces would appear on the screen, startled and covered her mouth with her right hand, and I, next to her, also flinched, my body twitching.

Aki’s reaction was so huge that even though I knew we were on Kiss Cam, I was still surprised. Because of that, my calm heart began to race, my chest pounding in an instant.

‘The moment I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived…!’

How long have I waited for this moment, honestly?

I didn’t show it, but frankly, all I’ve been thinking about for the past week was, ‘How can I kiss her naturally?’

Of course, it didn’t mean much, but still.

“U, uuu…. uuu, Uju-chan…?!”

She seemed utterly shocked, flustered and unable to even speak properly.

Her cheeks were dyed a cute red, and Aki’s bewildered expression was being broadcast to everyone in Jamsil Baseball Stadium, but.

“U, Uju~chan, th, th, this uh…”

Truth be told, she doesn’t seem aware of that, and instead of looking at the screen, she just stares at me, next to her, asking.

She probably wants to ask, ‘How did this happen…?!’

There’s no way I can answer that.

It’s not like I knew all the context and didn’t tell her on purpose, afraid of being found out or anything.

Just, I’m so nervous I don’t know what to say. Even knowing we’d get caught in a kiss time doesn’t make me any less nervous.

“Uh, it looks like…we got caught…?”

I just threw out some words that felt okay.

This kind of thing, it’s gotta be natural, right?

“Ah, uh-huh… I guess so…”

When I mumbled, acting like it was nothing, Akki, who had been panicking, calmed down a little, probably influenced by me.

But, that’s it.

I completely forgot the ‘Kiss Time Code of Conduct’ I had pictured in my head and just froze, and Akki was no different, just glancing at my face.

“……Do they just catch any guy and girl who are together?”

“U-um. I, I don’t really…know…”

“……”

“……”

The camera’s been on us for about 10 seconds now.

We’re just too nervous to even think about what to do, just stalled there, but everyone around us thinks we’re just stalling, so they started chanting “Kiss, kiss!” and clapping rhythmically.

‘…No, I *want* to, too.’

But when I actually imagine doing it, my body won’t move.

If we’d kissed a few times already, I could probably do it without hesitation, but like I said before, we’ve never even kissed on the lips before.

Even though everyone’s urging us, is it okay to just kiss Akki without her permission…? That doubt even creeps into my mind.

“……Hey, Akki.”

“Oh, uh…? …W-why?”

“Uh…”

I almost asked if it was okay to kiss.

But suddenly, I thought, this isn’t right.

Even though I’ve never been in a relationship, a total noob when it comes to dating…

I’ve seen and heard so much from all over the place, I’m confident I know as much about romance as anyone.

‘When a guy wants something…’

They say you don’t ask with words.

You ask with your body, and decide based on the woman’s reaction.

There was no real basis for it, but with some kind of confidence, I was sure of it.

– Hey, the guy initiates the kiss!

– Yeah, kiss her, kiss her!

Tired of waiting, the people around us were urging us on, but the camera director was on our side anyway.

He’d probably be waiting for a full-on kiss between Aki and me—enough to trade a premium seat for it—so I figured it was okay to drag it out a little longer.

‘Well, actually it’s probably not okay…’

I had to think like that to calm my nerves.

“…Wh, what, is there… something you wanted to say?”

Aki glanced at me, asking cautiously.

Instead of answering with words,

‘Stay calm…’

I took a deep breath to compose myself and then started to act, to ask Aki with my body.

First, I gently reach my right arm towards Aki, the one I’d instinctively let go of earlier from the shock.

“U, Uju-chan…?”

Aki’s shoulders twitched once, but she didn’t pull away from my approaching hand.

Emboldened by that, I opened my palm and softly stroked Aki’s head.

“……Ah.”

Aki’s cheeks flared up, bright red.

It seems she hadn’t imagined I’d suddenly start stroking her head in this situation.

I could see that Aki’s reaction wasn’t entirely unpleasant, so I carefully lowered my hand, touching the back of her hair, making it natural for Aki to look at me.

Then, our gazes met in the air.

I didn’t say a word, just looked at Aki.

The unspoken question in my eyes as I looked at Aki: ‘Can I kiss you?’

“…….”

Aki’s cheeks were as red as they could possibly get, absolutely burning.

She probably vaguely realized why I was looking at her so intently.

“……Uht.”

Aki bit her lower lip, then covered her mouth with her right hand.

And, her face, so red that even her long fingers couldn’t hide it, she tilted it up slightly, looking up at me with eyes soaked in embarrassment.

To be honest,

I don’t really understand the feelings hidden in Aki’s eyes.

Whether it’s okay for me to do it, or if she’s shy and wants me to stop.

“……when you don’t really know.”

Asking directly would be right.

Of course, the means of asking wouldn’t be words, but my body.

I decided to gently take Aki’s wrist with my left hand, and try to lower it slowly, without applying any force.

If Aki frowned or I felt her resist with strength, I would stop there.

‘Please…’

I hoped she wouldn’t dislike it.

If Aki disliked me doing this.

Regardless of whether or not we could kiss today, I felt like my heart would ache a lot from the sense of loss that would come from Aki rejecting me.

“……”

“……”

I carefully lowered her wrist while maintaining eye contact with Aki.

But then, Aki suddenly tensed up and resisted.

In that moment, I was truly overcome with a shock that felt like the whole world was collapsing.

Because, for Aki to resist meant she didn’t want to kiss me.

It meant she only thought of me as a childhood friend, that she had never considered me to be anything more than that……!

“……h-hand.”

But, that wasn’t it.

“……?”

“Hold my hand, please……”

“……!”

The reason Aki didn’t lower her wrist, but held it there, was because she wanted to hold my hand.

My mood, which had been scraping the bottom, instantly soared back up, reaching the ceiling, and I hurriedly grabbed her hand, afraid Aki’s mind might change.

“…Is, is it okay?”

“Mmm…”

Aki nodded shyly.

Because my assumption was wrong, I reflexively felt relieved.

But then, my heart began to pound again.

Aki letting me hold her hand meant she was showing me her lips.

And, right now, her showing me her lips meant…

It meant I could kiss her.

“…Woo-joo.”

The moment that thought reached me, Aki softly called my name and her eyelids slowly closed.

Looking at Aki, who had closed her eyes so calmly, I unknowingly swallowed hard.

It really means I can, right.

“…….”

“…….”

I really can.

Right…?

“…….”

“……”

“……”

“……”

A blink like forever.

A forever like a blink, continuing for a moment.

I.

…I.

“……Aki.”

“……Yeah.”

—A smack.

I pressed my lips to Aki’s.

…Just for a bit, maybe 0.5 seconds.

“……?”

Aki’s eyelids fluttered open.

And then, just looked at me.

Quietly, without a word.

“……”

“……”

For some reason, Aki seemed a little angry.

‘……Why is she doing that?’

Did you maybe hate that kiss?

“……Wooju.”

“Huh? …Why?”

“What are you…doing…”

[A Deep One, One More Time!]

Just then, some weird phrase popped up on the electronic board and the background changed.

I don’t really get what “A Deep One, One More Time!” means, but I guess it’s something they do after the fourth couple.

*Pop*, the electronic board flipped.

On the new screen, Aki and I were back on again.

“Huh?”

Why are we on again? Wasn’t it just one time per couple?

-One more time, one more time!

-Kiss, one more time!!

Barely had the thought crossed my mind when the cheers around us got ridiculously loud, and almost everyone started yelling, “One more time!” in unison.

‘Ah, no way…’

Did [A Deep One, One More Time] mean that couples who already kissed had to do it again…?

“……Wooju.”

“Uh, yeah?”

Without thinking, I turned my head towards Aki.

And then, suddenly, Aki’s arms wrapped around my neck.

“……Haaum.”

“……Eup?!”

And then, Aki’s lips pressed onto mine.

*Kkuuuk*──.

*Kkuuk, kkuuuk*──!

“Ugh, eup….”

It was so overlapped it made me wonder if lips were even supposed to fit like that.

“……Chop. …Chhoop.”

Aki, she caught my lower lip between hers, then made sucking sounds, drawing on it with force.

“Ugh, pahhaa…….”

Aki abruptly pulled her lips away, then gulped down saliva – whose, I couldn’t tell.

I blankly stared at the sight, then belatedly snapped back and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

“……?! …?, …?!”

Aki, looking at me, curled up one corner of her mouth into a soft smile.

“That’s how you do a kiss…. Understood?”

A smile that seemed strangely alluring.

“…….”

Thump-thump.

My heart, it’s going wild……

“……Universe.”

“……Uh, uh?”

“Next time… should we get matching uniforms and come cheer together?”

“……”

The moment I heard Aki say that.

I made a decision in my heart.

I was going to dedicate my bones to the Lotte Giants.

“Uh-huh, let’s do that….”

“……Heh, okay.”

*Chomp.*

Aki kissed my cheek.

And then, as if nothing had happened, she linked arms with me and leaned her head on my shoulder.

“Do you think we can get on the Kiss Cam next time too?”

“……Dunno.”

“It would be nice if we did. …Right?”

“……”

Yes.