Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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“…I didn’t dislike it.”
In the end, that was the only thing I could say.
Yeah, to be honest, I didn’t dislike it.
If I had to choose between like or dislike, I liked it.
There was no way I wouldn’t.
Having someone as beautiful as Soo-ah like me was something I couldn’t hate.
Plus, we were already very close friends emotionally.
For the same reason, I liked Ha-neul and So-hee’s kisses too.
I was happy.
It made me feel good to have people who liked me so much.
‘…And what about me?’
You’re the same.
Isn’t that obvious?
‘Hehe…’
…
Anyway, somehow in this situation—
“What about me, what about me?”
After hearing my response, So-hee quickly asked.
“Huh?”
“How did you feel when you kissed me?”
“…”
Well, it wasn’t quite like what I saw in movies and other media, but out of the three, hers was definitely the most intense.
…Again, if I had to choose between like or dislike, I could only pick like.
Instead of answering, I nodded, and So-hee’s smile grew even brighter.
Really, if it weren’t for the reason behind that smile, it would’ve been a truly lovely one that suited her perfectly.
“And what about me…?”
Then came the third question, and I ended up placing my hand on my forehead.
Ha-neul, not you too.
No, if I think about it, Ha-neul was the one who started this whole situation in the first place.
She was the first to find me while I was resting, slip a ring on my finger, push me against the wall, and kiss me.
“…I didn’t dislike it.”
In the end, I couldn’t help but respond that way, losing to Ha-neul’s sparkling gaze.
Looking at Ha-neul, who clearly liked me, I ended up grabbing my head with both hands.
These girls, they aren’t making any sense right now.
*
The conversation ultimately became about “how to make the kisses fair.”
“So, in other words, So-hee only got to kiss you once, right?”
Ha-neul said with an extremely serious expression.
Is this really something to talk about so seriously…?
“And I kissed you twice, and So-hee also kissed you twice including just now, so if Soo-ah kisses you one more time, that would make everything fair, right?”
Soo-ah nodded at Ha-neul’s words, but So-hee raised her hand.
“I object.”
“…What’s your objection?”
At Ha-neul’s question, So-hee responded with an equally serious expression.
“Among the three of us, Ha-neul was the first one to kiss you, right?”
“That’s… true?”
Ha-neul tilted her head at So-hee’s words.
“That means Ha-neul took the first kiss.”
…
Faced with such a blunt conversation, I ended up covering my face with my hands.
Should I run?
Even if I tried, I feel like they’d catch me.
“The value of a first kiss is immeasurable, but if we start thinking like that, it’ll never end, so I’ll count it as just two kisses.”
“What?”
“…That’s true.”
Soo-ah, who had started this whole mess, nodded in agreement with So-hee’s words.
“Yeah. It feels a bit off to treat the first kiss as just any other kiss…”
“…Hey, girls.”
In the end, I couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up.
“Is this really something to be discussed so seriously?”
Well, sure.
I guess it’s a serious topic.
Emotions like liking someone aren’t things to be taken lightly.
But still, I don’t think we need to be having such an intense discussion about kissing like this.
“What do you mean? We’re having this conversation to protect you.”
“…Protect?”
When I asked So-hee, who didn’t seem to sound very serious despite her serious expression,
“Have you ever thought about what might happen if we don’t keep things fair?”
So-hee, who I thought was the least likely to respect boundaries, asked that question.
“…What would happen?”
“Whenever someone gets a chance, they’ll try to kiss you again. Sure, they wouldn’t go further without your consent, but—”
“…”
“And then others would get jealous, and they’ll try to monopolize you, so they’ll try again, and then others would do the same, and it’ll keep repeating. That’s why we’re setting these boundaries. If we have a rule that says we can only kiss you a certain number of times, no one would just randomly do it. After all, if I kiss you, the others would have to watch and kiss you too.”
It sounded like some grand political and clever reasoning, but it was just nonsense disguised as something intelligent, layering kisses over mutually assured destruction.
And of course, So-hee wasn’t the only one seriously discussing this nonsense.
…
As I sat speechless, So-hee gave me a smug smile as if she had just made a groundbreaking revelation and turned back to continue the meaningless debate.
“…What’s she saying?”
“Beats me.”
*
“…I told you. That wasn’t Sara’s first kiss.”
“Do you really think a kiss with yourself inside your own mind counts? Are you stupid? If that were the case, no one in the world would be a virgin.”
“But Sara is special. She really has two distinct personalities.”
It sounded like some deep psychoanalytic or philosophical conversation, but really, it was just nonsense.
The debate showed no signs of ending anytime soon.
It was probably the most meaningless debate I’d ever seen in my life.
I sat on the bed, hugging my knees, watching this tiresome debate in a daze.
“Wait a minute.”
So-hee raised her hand, stopping Ha-neul mid-sentence.
“So, okay. Let’s assume ‘Sara’ and Sara are two different people, and that your kiss wasn’t Sara’s first kiss.”
“Okay.”
At So-hee’s words, Ha-neul nodded seriously with an unnecessary amount of focus.
“Then you’ve kissed both ‘Sara’ and Sara, right?”
“…”
Ha-neul was at a loss for words.
No, to be precise, it wasn’t just that she was speechless—it was more like she was caught off guard.
Soo-ah was quietly waiting for them to come to a conclusion.
…She was the only one who had kissed me just once so far, so she was probably calculating that she could get her second kiss regardless of who won.
Judging by how she was subtly siding with So-hee, she probably wanted to increase her kisses from one to two.
“…Should I get you some popcorn?”
Seeing Son A-reum, whose face had turned red while watching all of this unfold, I asked.
“No, no, I’m fine. Really.”
When So-hee first kissed me, A-reum had been freaked out, saying it was wrong.
…Well, by now, I didn’t really care anymore.
“If ‘Sara’ and Sara are different people, doesn’t that mean I have the right to kiss ‘Sara’ too? Right?”
“But, but still, the action itself was only one kiss…”
Oh, Ha-neul was being backed into a corner.
“I already said, a kiss in the mind is still a kiss. And if your personalities switch during the kiss, that counts as two kisses. Plus, you like Sara, not ‘Sara.’ So even if I have the right to kiss ‘Sara,’ you’re not losing anything, are you?”
…
Naturally, there’s no difference in pronunciation or emphasis between ‘Sara’ and Sara.
Yet here they are, seriously treating them as distinct words.
It’s amazing.
All three seem to understand the difference too.
But more than that, So-hee suddenly seems oddly smarter than usual.
I mean, not that she’s usually dumb, but…
Is it because she’s spouting such complicated nonsense with a straight face?
‘What is she even saying?’
Sara, now finding herself in the danger of kissing someone other than me, reacted sensitively.
“‘Sara’ says, ‘What’s she saying?’”
In a state of resignation, I relayed Sara’s words, and So-hee’s head whipped toward me.
“Can you ask ‘Sara’ if she dislikes me?”
Dislike?
‘Of course not. No way. She’s your frie—’
“She says she doesn’t dislike you.”
Having given up on thinking, I simply relayed the message without waiting for Sara to finish.
“Then that’s settled.”
So-hee coolly replied.
‘Hey!’
Sara was mad, but come on, what?
Why?
You jump on me all the time too.
Try being on the receiving end for once.
See how it feels.
When I said that, Sara fell silent.
“But there’s one problem.”
Ha-neul countered with a serious expression.
“‘Sara’ passes out when kissed. She’ll definitely switch to Sara’s personality in the middle of the kiss, so that means it counts as two, just like me.”
“In that case, I’ll make sure you both get your fair chance.”
Clearly wanting one more kiss, So-hee confidently declared.
‘Ugh…’
Sara, who had unintentionally exposed her weakness, let out a furious noise.
‘I’m not weak!’
Sure thing.
Watching from a third-person perspective, this really was a popcorn-worthy moment.
Now I understood how Son A-reum felt.
But this is my story, isn’t it?
“…Sigh.”
I let out a deep sigh, as if the ground was sinking beneath me.