Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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What I thought was just my misunderstanding.
For some reason, when I brought Son A-reum inside, Ha-neul and Soo-ah’s expressions seemed to tense up slightly.
Thinking about it again, now that I’ve been confessed to, excuses like ‘because we’re both girls’ or ‘because we’re friends’ won’t work anymore.
If I hang out with another girl, it will automatically become ‘I accepted the confession but am now flirting with another girl.’
But, really, it’s not like they wouldn’t get jealous if I hung out with a guy either.
Even in this world, dating between men and women is much more common.
No, the romantic feelings in this world are something I’ll never be able to fully grasp.
If it’s a problem to get close to a guy and also a problem to get close to a girl, then who am I supposed to befriend?
…No, this is all just an excuse on my part.
The issue is that I’ve received confessions from three girls and now I’m bringing a new girl into the mix.
At the very least, it wouldn’t be as bad if I had firmly rejected their confessions.
Though, I ran away before I could reject them, so, well, whatever.
When I think about it this way, it kind of feels unfair again…
…Is it all Sara’s fault?
Did this all happen because Sara is too pretty?
Who knows.
If Sara wasn’t this pretty, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out like this.
But if I trace the cause back, ultimately Sara was born pretty.
Being born pretty means Sara’s biological mother and father must have been just as good-looking.
In conclusion, Sara had no choice but to be beautiful.
And so, I come full circle.
As I let out a small sigh inwardly, there was a knock at the door.
Could it be Yang Hye-in, done handing out gifts and coming back?
“I’ll go check!”
Shouting that, I quickly got up and opened the door.
“Happy Birthday!”
So-hee stood there holding a cake.
The cake So-hee was holding wasn’t as fancy as the one from the party earlier, but it looked like she had made it herself.
It was a bit messy, with the words ‘Happy Birthday to You!’ written on it.
In the middle was a large candle, lit with a small flame.
I thought it was impressive if she’d managed to keep it lit all the way here from outside.
“Wow, woooow…”
I gave a somewhat weak cheer and stepped aside, letting So-hee walk in with the cake, smiling brightly as she placed it on the table.
“Oh, A-reum is here too. Hello.”
“Ah, h-hello…”
Thankfully, So-hee responded casually after seeing A-reum.
It didn’t seem like she considered her a rival.
“Come on, everyone, gather around. Sara needs to make a wish.”
“Oh, uh, okay…”
“Y-yeah, sure…”
Soo-ah and Ha-neul, a bit flustered by So-hee’s carefree attitude, hesitated but soon shuffled over to the table.
Son A-reum joined them as well, naturally.
“Oh, right, right.”
Clapping her hands, So-hee suddenly exclaimed and hurried to turn off the room’s lights.
The room instantly plunged into darkness.
Now, the only light source was the single candle flickering atop the cake.
As we moved around, the candle flame swayed precariously.
The soft orange glow it cast added to the atmosphere.
“Happy~ birth~ day~ to~ you~~”
The moment the lights went out, So-hee clapped and began to sing.
“Happy~ birth~ day~ to~ you~~”
Caught off guard, the rest of us awkwardly followed her lead, singing along.
Even I, the birthday girl, did the same.
“Happy~ birth~ day~ dear~”
Only halfway through the song did I remember that this party was supposed to be for Sara’s birthday.
“Sara~~”
So, well, there was no reason for me to stop the birthday song.
“Happy birthday to you!”
And we all clapped together.
Although the song had started a bit abruptly, everyone was now wholeheartedly singing in unison.
As I listened to the sound of clapping, I blew out the candle.
The room was once again enveloped in darkness.
And then, all of a sudden, something soft touched my cheek and quickly withdrew.
Even when the lights came back on, I never found out whose lips those were.
*
Even though we didn’t eat anything during the party, we couldn’t finish the entire cake by ourselves.
Honestly, we’d already eaten a full meal before the party, and during the party, most of what we ate was cake, so it was only natural to feel a bit sick of it.
Despite being made by an amateur, the cake was well-made and tasted pretty good.
“Did you make this?”
“Yep. My senior helped a lot, though.”
Ah, so that’s why So-hee disappeared for a while.
I wondered why she was gone for so long.
“Good job. It’s delicious.”
“Hehe.”
So-hee giggled shyly at my compliment.
And watching her, Son A-reum was looking at her as if she were some kind of fascinating animal.
“Why, what? Got a problem?”
Noticing her gaze, So-hee blushed slightly and grumbled.
“No, it’s just… You’re so different from how you are at school.”
Well, that’s understandable.
Even I couldn’t believe how different So-hee’s behavior was compared to when I first met her.
But… that’s probably because she likes me.
…Then when exactly did So-hee start liking me?
Looking back, it seems like it was much longer ago than I thought.
I can’t pinpoint a specific moment, but it doesn’t seem like it was too long after we first met.
At least, it feels like it was way before she started working as a maid…
Soo-ah claimed she liked me before Ha-neul did, and Ha-neul said she liked me from our very first meeting.
That means these three girls have liked me for an incredibly long time.
‘Tsk.’
That sound echoed in my head.
…So, you’ve finally woken up.
‘……’
Even though I said that, Sara didn’t respond.
She must be sulking pretty hard.
…Come to think of it, Sara has liked me for a long time, too—
‘Waaaah!!’
Whoa, that startled me.
Sara’s sudden scream filling my head startled me so much I flinched.
Fortunately, the others were lost in their own thoughts and didn’t seem to notice.
…You don’t have to be so embarrassed.
‘Then, are you not embarrassed after being kissed by all three of them? Where’s your sense of virtue?’
It seemed she had been reading my memories in the meantime.
No, but, the first kiss— I mean, Ha-neul’s kiss happened because you couldn’t stop it.
‘……’
See?
You have nothing to say.
‘Who said anything!?’
You totally did.
Still, hearing Sara’s voice made me feel a bit relieved.
It’s less awkward being embarrassed together than facing it alone.
‘D-don’t say such scary things…’
But it’s the reality.
“Hey, Sara.”
“Hm?”
While eating some cake and getting lost in thought, So-hee, who was sitting next to me, called my name.
“You’ve got cream on your mouth.”
“Ah, okay.”
Distracted by my thoughts, I hadn’t realized something was on my mouth.
I set the fork I was holding in my right hand on the plate in my left hand and reached up to wipe my mouth.
Tap.
So-hee grabbed my hand.
“Huh?”
I wasn’t the only one who made that sound.
Even Son A-reum, who had seemed indifferent, as well as Ha-neul and Soo-ah, who probably sensed So-hee was about to do something, let out a similar sound in response to the sudden situation.
Of course, I was no exception.
“W-wait, wait, So-hee!”
I shouted, but it was too late.
So-hee was already moving in.
The only thing I could do was desperately try not to drop the cake I was holding in my left hand.
Clatter.
From the sound of it, I didn’t manage to keep the fork from falling, though.
Without paying any attention to the other girls standing up a beat too late, So-hee leaned in and—
Well, how should I describe it?
Would ‘licked’ be the right word?
That’s it.
She didn’t go so far as to lick it with her tongue.
Instead, it was like she took a big bite with her lips, licking my lips clean.
Our faces were slightly tilted towards each other.
So-hee’s upper lip touched the corner of my right lip.
So-hee’s lower lip touched the corner of my left lip.
Then, as So-hee’s lips closed, she gently licked the cream off my upper and lower lips.
I could feel the sensation of her closing lips clearly through my own.
Although it was only for a moment, that moment felt incredibly long.
When it finally ended, So-hee slowly pulled her face back.
There was still a bit of whipped cream on So-hee’s lips.
It was clear evidence that our lips had just touched.
So-hee deliberately stuck out her tongue a little and licked the cream into her mouth.
“Ah!”
Then, belatedly, three voices cried out in unison.
Turning my head in fear, I saw Ha-neul, Soo-ah, and even Son A-reum standing up abruptly.
I couldn’t help but think it was impressive they hadn’t dropped their cakes in the process.
“Hehe.”
So-hee made a V-sign with her fingers towards the three of them.
…Um, So-hee.
Couldn’t you, like, read the room a little better?