Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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Soo-ah’s lips brushed against my cheek.
It was incredibly soft and warm.
Perhaps there was a slightly sticky sensation.
After all, Soo-ah had applied lip gloss.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have been able to just let it pass, but having experienced much stronger stimulation just a moment ago, I managed to keep my composure to some extent.
Yes, to “some extent.”
Even though I had been kissed several times by two beautiful girls, it didn’t mean I had gotten used to it.
In my previous life, I had never even dated, let alone kissed a girl, so I was quite sensitive in this area.
As I turned my head, my face flushed red, there was Soo-ah, whose face was just as red.
“I like you.”
I lost my words at the expression on her face, which looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Soo-ah was leaning over, looking at me over my shoulder, and I had turned my head to look at her.
We gazed into each other’s eyes.
Soo-ah’s clear eyes, like a lake, were on the verge of raining.
Perhaps, Soo-ah was also feeling an overwhelming amount of embarrassment.
To the point where she might cry.
Of course, Soo-ah was holding it in well.
That made her look even more pitiful.
“I don’t know what answer you gave to Ha-neul. But, no matter what you said, no matter what kind of relationship you have with Ha-neul, I like you. I think I liked you before Ha-neul did.”
It sounded like she knew exactly what Ha-neul had done after she left.
Well, maybe it wasn’t surprising.
Soo-ah had come in not long after Ha-neul had left.
And she had seen the “friendship ring” on my left hand.
I could guess what she was imagining.
Yes, I was at least thinking that much.
However, even though Soo-ah had some misunderstanding, I couldn’t easily clear it up.
Because my throat felt tight, and I couldn’t speak.
Soo-ah’s kiss on my cheek was less stimulating than Ha-neul’s repeated kisses.
Naturally.
But still, the idea of “two girls confessing to me in one day” was far more stimulating than the act itself.
Especially for someone like me, who had never been popular with girls in my past life.
Moreover…
Moreover, what did Soo-ah just say to me?
Yes, “before Ha-neul liked you.”
Of course, that might just be Soo-ah’s own assumption.
I didn’t know the exact moment when Ha-neul began to like me romantically.
Soo-ah probably didn’t either.
Perhaps she was sympathizing and relating as someone who also had feelings for someone.
Ha-neul said she liked me even before she met Sara.
Assuming she fell for me during a short time period—or even assuming she fell in love at first sight—
That would mean Soo-ah did too.
…Does that mean she didn’t fall for me but for Sara?
Sara is beautiful, after all.
Plenty of people would be attracted to her just by her looks.
As I was organizing my thoughts like that,
“When I first talked to you, I felt it. You were the one who treated me without any prejudice, even when I spoke to you first. Even though you had been treated unfairly by others, and you knew that I was part of the problem, you accepted me without a second thought. I admired that.”
“Uh, no, Soo-ah, wait a second.”
If you think about it, the person who was there before wasn’t me but Sara.
Just like how Soo-ah should have apologized to Sara, she must have mistaken my attitude for Sara’s when she saw our opposite reactions.
However, before I could even say that,
“I know.”
She quickly cut me off in the middle.
“I know. I know it was a misunderstanding. I know the feelings I first had for you were just my mistake, and that the real ‘Sara’ was someone else. I know that now.”
Perhaps she had calmed down as she spoke because the tears that seemed ready to fall were no longer there.
Instead, there was a certain resolve beyond her blue eyes.
That resolve, I guess, was her determination to confront me with her true feelings.
After all, this was finally the moment she had been waiting for, just the two of us.
“But I don’t regret it. Because I’ve seen you since then. I’ve seen what the person I like has been doing. How kind you are…”
Soo-ah swallowed dryly.
“…And how wonderful you are.”
“…”
My mouth, which had been hanging open in shock, wouldn’t close.
My jaw muscles must have malfunctioned.
As I stared blankly at Soo-ah for a long while, she straightened up.
Then she slowly moved back in front of me.
Naturally, my gaze followed her face.
Now, we were facing each other.
Normally, Soo-ah was just a little bit shorter than me, but since I was sitting in a chair, I had to look up at her, and she looked down at me.
“So, I like you.”
Soo-ah smiled brightly.
The face that had looked like she was about to cry a moment ago was no longer there.
It was as if just thinking of me made her that happy.
Soo-ah was beaming with a wide smile.
“I like you.”
And Soo-ah’s face came closer to mine.
This time, it wasn’t my cheek—it was my lips.
*
“…”
With a soft sound, Soo-ah gave me a very, very brief—briefer than Ha-neul’s or Sara’s—kiss on the lips, and then she quickly turned around and rushed out.
As I sat there in the chair for a long time, I buried my face in my hands once again.
I wanted to scream.
No, it wasn’t because of fear or anything like that.
Rather, I wanted to scream out of embarrassment.
The girls around me liked me this much, yet I had been completely unaware.
No, more than that, this whole situation didn’t make sense.
In the game this world was based on, Yoo Ha-neul was supposed to be the protagonist.
The charm of the game was that you could woo all kinds of beautiful girls and boys through different choices.
Naturally, I thought this world would revolve around Ha-neul too.
So, if anyone were to form a harem, it would be Ha-neul.
But Ha-neul’s choice was me.
That’s why, until Soo-ah came in, I thought I was on some sort of modified “Sara route.”
So I was seriously thinking about how to deal with it…
But could it be that I’m the one on the harem route?
…No, wait a second.
A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
In typical harem stories, the protagonist only realizes the harem is forming much later.
By then, the harem is already complete, and once one confession starts, they just keep coming until the protagonist is overwhelmed.
Eventually, the protagonist can’t date anyone and is left in a hopeless situation.
So, maybe…
“…No way.”
The first person that came to mind was So-hee, who was always by my side.
She showed me tremendous affection and would go out of her way to help me with anything I needed.
…Come to think of it, even though she was a scary delinquent in front of others, she acted like a big puppy around me.
She had been incredibly jealous when Soo-ah and I bathed together…
…
Oh.
Bathing.
…
Lately, I had been alternating between bathing with Ha-neul, Soo-ah, and So-hee, taking turns because there was only one shower room.
If two of those people liked me…
Does that mean I’ve been bathing with girls who liked me?
“Ah, aah…”
I didn’t scream “Aah!”
Once again, let me emphasize, there was still a party going on beyond that door.
“…”
Just in case, I stared at the door intently.
Would someone else come in?
Would someone else come in to give me a present and confess?
…
But even though I stared at it for what felt like more than five minutes, no one else seemed to be coming.
“Hoo.”
I let out a deep breath and placed my hand over my chest.
My pounding heart slowly began to calm down.
Yes, for now, I would deal with the fact that two people confessed to me tonight.
I’ll rationally analyze how this happened and why they like me.
…But no matter what, my mind was still that of a man in his twenties.
It felt nice that such pretty girls liked me, but that didn’t mean I could cross any lines.
…Somehow, I’d have to make them understand that part.
After taking a deep breath, I was about to head out to the party when I realized that I was still wearing Ha-neul’s friendship ring on my finger.
…I can’t just take this off.
After all, it’s a gift that holds Ha-neul’s feelings.
So, as a last resort, I moved the ring to my pinky finger.
It didn’t fit as perfectly as my fourth finger, but at least it wouldn’t fall off.
I clenched my fist consciously.
I have to make sure I never lose this.
At the very least, I couldn’t ignore the precious feelings that were given to me.