My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty - Chapter 132



131. A sudden New Change…? (1)

*Ttrrring, ttrrring-!*

“…Ughh…”

*Thump.*

The shrill ring of the cell phone. A fumbled swat, and the alarm silenced.

Intending to drift back under, the realization struck – Monday.

‘Ah, school…’

Morning lecture.

Loath to rise, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, forcing them open. Beside me, Aki slumbered soundly.

Skin smooth and bare, not a stitch of clothing upon her. The nape of her neck, the curve of her br*east, dotted with the marks I had left.

Wondering if I was in similar straits, I glanced down… my own torso bore a comparable, perhaps even greater, collection of marks. My neck, my pectorals, my abdomen, even venturing onto my shoulder.

My memory was hazy, clouded with alcohol, but judging by the evidence, last night had been…agreeable, to say the least.

A chuckle escaped me, and I gently poked Aki’s cheek.

“Aki, it’s morning. Wake up.”

“…Uhn.”

“Already half-past eight. Lecture at ten, you need to rise and shine…?”

I murmured, massaging the tender skin of her nape as if offering an impromptu *anma*. She giggled, her body subtly recoiling from my touch.

“Uhn, ticklish….”

“I’ll stop if you get up. Now, rise and shine…!”

“Hng… Uhn, alright… I’ll get up… stooop…!”

“…Heh. Sleep well?”

I said, gazing down at Aki.

Her eyelids fluttered open, slow and languid. She puffed out her cheek slightly and flicked the back of my hand with her finger.

“Baka.”

“Why ‘baka’ so early in the morning?”

“*Danna-sama* was tormenting *atashi* last night.”

“Me, tormenting you, Aki?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“No. Not really…”

Just how did I torment her, exactly?

As if reading my silent question, Aki tapped a finger on a k*ss mark adorning her chest.

“This….”

And then, she pulled back the covers, revealing her smooth, pale lower abdomen. Several sizable marks stood out against her milky skin.

“This. *Danna-sama* made these.”

“…Did I do that?”

“Then, is there someone else who’s been with me other than you, dear?”

“……”

Of course, there wouldn’t be.

Though the memory eludes me, there’s no one else in this world who would leave marks like these on Aki’s body. The thought settled in, and I cleared my throat awkwardly.

“Sorry, did it hurt…?”

“Yes. It hurt. But it’s alright. I left plenty of marks on you in return, dear….”

“Ah…. That explains why there seem to be more marks than usual….”

More than five were visible to the naked eye. One or two, I could cover with a bandage and make up some excuse about bug bites, but this was beyond all possibility.

While I self-consciously traced the love bites on my own skin, Aki slowly got up and began to put on her undergarments.

I went behind her to offer my assistance. And, with familiar ease, fastened the clasp of her bra.

“Aki, what are you up to after work today?”

“Well, I’m meeting a high school friend for a bit, then coming straight home to catch up on housework and grocery shopping. How about you, dear?”

“I’ll do some homework, maybe exercise a little… Hmm, how about I tag along when you go grocery shopping?”

“Hmm…. So, you’ll be my porter?”

“Like it’s something new. I do it every day anyway. Besides, it’s convenient to have a porter, isn’t it?”

“It is convenient, isn’t it? It’d be even more convenient if you didn’t beg for potato chips…”

“……You know that butcher at the regular shop we go to? The one who’s a little chubby? He thinks we’re newlyweds.”

From noble mtl dot com

“Oh…. Really?”

“Yeah, really. The other day when I went alone, he asked, ‘Your wife isn’t with you today?’”

“Aha. So, what did you say, dear?”

“I don’t think I said much? Maybe just that my wife was busy and I came alone……”

Aki isn’t my wife, but my girlfriend. Because we frequent this neighborhood mart together, the staff who see us often assume Aki and I are newlyweds.

And, in this age of low birth rates, they heap various services and blessings on us, saying young people have to be patriotic, a bonus, no less.

*Ding, ding-a-ling!*

“Oh? A call…”

“Who is it?”

“A friend. The one I told you about, do you remember Sungchan?”

“Sungchan? …Ah, the coworker I set you up with on a blind date?”

“Yeah. That’s him.”

But what brings her around at this hour? She shouldn’t have morning classes on a Monday. I answered the phone, though puzzled.

“Hello?”

It was then.

The very instant I, without a second thought, held the phone to my ear, Aki’s eyebrows did a little wiggle, oh so cute. Her expression brimming with mischief, she shifted her body.

She pounced, quick as a whip, on the lower half hidden beneath the blanket, and that… thing that had awakened, healthy as ever, this morning… she grasped it, without hesitation, firmly.

“……?!”

I gasped, a sharp intake of breath.

Literally caught by my weak spot, I looked down at Aki, every muscle in my body tensed.

“Aki, you….”

Before I could even ask ‘What are you doing?’, Aki tilted her head up slightly.

For reasons I couldn’t quite fathom, she looked utterly delighted.

“What are you doing? Keep talking on the phone, dear husband….”

“No, but you’re….”

[Uh, hello? Are you busy?]

“……No. Why?”

[You have morning classes today, right? Later this afternoon, the guys in our department are starting preparations for the festival stall──.]

“Mmph…”

“…….”

“Slurp, slurrrp….”

[──so it’s going to be really busy. You’re coming to help too, right?]

“……Sorry, what was that?”

[No, this afternoon, everyone’s getting together for festival prep──.]

“Yeah, yeah…♡”

“…….”

Damn it.

I’m going crazy…….

* * *

“……Ah, I’m beat.”

I collapsed face-first onto the desk in the lecture hall.

Having spent the morning expending energy punishing Aki for her wicked prank during the phone call, the fatigue and hangover from last night ganged up on me, merging into a complete physical meltdown.

“Hey, Joo Woo-joo!”

“…Uh, why.”

I answered without even turning around. Sung-chan was behind me, but I didn’t have the strength to look.

“What is it? Did you start drinking in the morning?”

“No, I drank last night…”

“Ah, a hangover? A guy like you with a hangover? Not exactly manly.”

“You know, that’s, like, a derogatory comment towards homos*xuals…”

I mumbled, struggling to pull myself upright. Unlike me, Sung-chan looked perfectly fine. His face came into view.

“Anyway… what?”

“What do you mean, what? I came to get an answer. You said we’re preparing for the festival today.”

“Ah… that pub our department is doing?”

“Yeah, yeah. That. We’re doing a ‘hunting pocha’ concept, and we’re supposed to set up the tent and tables in advance. You coming, right?”

“I don’t know, I’ll have to see how the time goes…”

“Why? You busy?”

“Yeah. I have some things to do with my girlfriend this afternoon…”

“Then, I’ll tell the guys not to expect you. But you absolutely have to come on the day of the festival.”

“Why on the day of the festival?”

“Why do you think? You gotta come serve. The girls won’t come if you’re not there.”

“Hmm… Okay. Got it. I’ll rest today and go serve on the day of the festival instead.”

“What, you’re actually going to do it? Unexpected?”

Sung-chan whistled and plopped down in front of me. Turns out the festival stall prep wasn’t the only reason he came.

“Hey, did you get your physical for conscription?”

“Physical? Yeah. Got it done last time.”

“What grade did you get?”

“Why are you even asking? Obviously, a Grade 1…”

Even as I said it, I felt a deep despair. I was in perfect health, but I had hoped for some hidden ailment that would prevent me from going to the army. But no such luck. I got the Grade 1, in tip-top shape verdict.

I’d expected a Grade 1, seeing as how I didn’t really have any problems. But now that I actually got it, it felt bitter. It was like being a cow dragged to the slaughterhouse and being told you’re a top-grade Hanwoo…

The fact that there isn’t much difference is similar, at least. For a guy in his twenties, the army is pretty much a slaughterhouse anyway.

“Did you get your physical?”

“Got it done last Friday.”

“Really? What level are you?”

“Shit, Level 1, what else would it be….”

“…….”

“…….”

We stared at each other in silence.

I don’t know why, but I felt like the bond of our friendship had gotten just a bit tighter.

“Ah, this s*cks…. When are you heading to the army?”

“I haven’t really thought about it specifically, but maybe after my first year…?”

“Really? If things go well, I could end up being your senior. I’m going right after finishing the first semester.”

“Wow, right after the first semester…. Then you barely have six months left, right? These days, if you apply, you practically go right away.”

I heard that ten years ago, even if you wanted to go, you couldn’t just go whenever…. Whatever. Sungchan fiddles with the back of his head, clearly feeling complicated.

“Not even six months, almost just three. Since it’s early May now.”

“Ah, that’s right. Three months, huh….”

“…….”

“…….”

“If you tear your ACL, do you really not have to go to the army?”

Sungchan muttered with a serious face.

He looked like he might actually consider rupturing his ACL if I said yes, so I grabbed Sungchan’s arm and said earnestly,

“I heard it’s better to just cut off a little bit of your pinky finger.”

“…….”

“…….”

“……Thanks for the pro tip. But what about you?”

“Huh? What about what.”

“You have a girlfriend, right? You won’t be able to see her for a year and a half when you go to the army. What are you going to do?”

“…….”

That’s right.

The truth is, that’s a pretty big problem. The fact that there’s no good solution is an even bigger problem.

“If you have a kid, you automatically get assigned to local reserve duty, right? No thoughts on that?”

“What, have a kid just to get local reserve duty….”

“Not have a kid *just* to get local reserve duty, but… kill two birds with one stone, you know? Kill two birds with one stone. Our department can get a job anywhere as long as we graduate, so get a stamp of approval beforehand and then serve in the local reserves. Huh?”

“……”

To have a child through earnest discussion and mutual agreement, that’s one thing. But I couldn’t let Aki bear such an enormous burden simply for my sake.

I shook my head, back and forth.

“That’s impossible. I’d rather join the army.”

“Well, yeah, that wouldn’t be ideal…”

*Tting-.*

My phone buzzed. A personal message. The sender: Aki.

[Darling ㅠㅠ]

[Atashi’s at the hospital now…]

[Hospital?? Why????]

[Are you hurt somewhere????]

[No, not that…. I’ve felt so nauseous since a little while ago ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[I thought I was gonna puke if I stayed put, so I rushed to the hospital ㅠㅠㅠ]

“……”

I shot up from my seat.

[Where are you?]