My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty - Chapter 159



Side Story 3. Counting Stars (1)

The time, our early twenties.

Aki and I had just begun living together, spending each day in a fervor of hot-blooded, verdant newness, still in that liminal space before proper university students.

A weekend afternoon, the day so fine it instilled a languid weariness; I lay upon the bed, gazing idly at the screen of my mobile.

Not that there was any particular errand at hand, no. I was simply thus, until Aki finished the clearing up in the kitchen. Aki doesn’t much care for me helping with kitchen things, you see. If I so much as seem inclined to assist, she emphatically dissuades me. Saying that if I have strength to spare, I should save it, to lavish upon her later, that’s all.

“…….”

Well, regardless.

With nothing particular to do, I opened the group chat with my high school friends. As it was a weekend afternoon, the conversation was flowing lively. The topic: ‘Weekend afternoon, 5-man ranked flex queue, anyone down?’ Something along those lines.

[When else will we get together like this? Since the topic’s come up, ㄱ?]

[ㄱㄱㄱㄱ]

[ㄱㄷ Booting up PC]

[We a 5-man party? We’re one short]

[If we’re short, just call anyone]

[@KimSeungwoo @JooWooJoo @KwonByeongJae Hey one of you just needs to come and we’re 5]

[Quickly someone come, this is pissing me off]

[I’m out?]

[Me too lol]

[Ah, what ‘out’ is this now]

[Fucking KwonByeongJae KimSeungwoo, useless, always backing out]

[frfrㅋㅋ]

[But what’s ‘backing out’?]

[Breaking a promise, you dumb fuck]

[@JooWooJoo what’s this b*stard up to]

“Erm….”

I wondered if I could just quietly fade into the background, but as expected, the arrow comes for me as well, huh. I placed both thumbs upon the mobile’s keypad and pondered for a moment. What to reply?

‘If it’s just me going, we’d be 5, and it’s been a little while since we played 5-man together….’

[Only need me to make 5?]

[Wanna game?]

[Yeah, just need you ㄱ]

[Everyone’s here but you]

[Oh really? I’ll log in now]

[Oh? What’s this, a surprise?]

[ㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱ]

“Oop-cha.”

Might as well play some computer games for a change, huh. Thinking that, I tossed off the blanket and got out of bed.

Then, it happened.

──*Kkeu-eek.*

“Honey, all the cleaning up is done~”

The closed bedroom door opened, and that familiar girl came inside. Before I knew it, my gaze went to her.

The swaying pink hair, clear-cut features, a gentle smile playing on her lips, the way the off-shoulder t-shirt clung to her, making those generous curves stand out even more…

“Uh? Why are you just standing there?”

“……”

Hmm. No matter how I look at her, it’s my girlfriend, Aki. I naturally changed course, away from the computer. As I approached, Aki looked up at me.

“Eung. Good work. Should I give you a shoulder massage?”

“Eh… A massage? Now?”

“You mentioned it yesterday? That your shoulders were a bit stiff lately. Come here, let me rub them.”

Reaching out, I took Aki’s hand and walked towards the bed. Glancing back as we walked, I saw Aki following, looking slightly fl*stered. Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to realize I was about to play computer games.

“Here, sit down.”

I sat Aki down on the edge of the bed. The moment she sat, she started glancing at me, turning just her head slightly. It’s like she wasn’t saying anything, but her eyes were asking, ‘Why is he suddenly offering a massage…?’

Well, if it’s all good, there’s no need to give a reason, right? I pretended not to notice her gaze and grasped her shoulders from behind. Even just placing my palms there, I could feel how stiff her muscles were. This… even if it started out all willy-nilly, I should probably massage her seriously.

*Kkuuk, kkuuk-*

“Is this okay?”

“Um, um… Maybe a little harder…?”

“Harder, like this?”

“Eung. This feels just right.”

“Okay. This pressure, got it? Alright, here we go…?”

I massaged her, recalling the times I kneaded my parents’ weary shoulders, slowly working my fingers. The core of a good massage lies in a delicate balance of pressure.

Too hard, and it’s just pain; too soft, and it does nothing at all. It might look simple, but a massage is no easy thing.

“Ah… hnn…”

“You can make noise. It’s harder if you hold it in.”

“Mmm… this… mmm, mmm… hnn, hhhn…”

“How is it? Good?”

“Mmm, good. It’s good, but… ah…”

“Good, but?”

“Th-that’s why maybe… I feel like I keep having strange sensations… or something…”

“Strange sensations…? Ah, is it because the massage is working well?”

“It’s… a little, different than that, maybe…”

“Different? Specifically, how is it different?”

“W-well, how to say it… ah, a little…”

“A little?”

“A, a little… hhuuht, mmm… ♡”

Aki’s back and hips shuddered. Just a little extra pressure, and she’s reacting this much. Seems like her saying her shoulders were stiff wasn’t just a throwaway comment.

If I’m loosening her up, I should really loosen her up. Thinking something like that, I was about to continue the massage… when, after another full-body shudder, Aki suddenly refused my touch, pushing her hips to the side and out of reach.

“Aki, what’s wrong?”

I stared at her, still half-kneeling. Was my massage too painful, perhaps?

She cautiously shook her head, as if answering my unspoken question. Then what could it be? It couldn’t be my technique that was the problem.

“Ah, w-well…”

“Mmm?”

“…Ah, it’s nothing. Mmm. This is probably enough.”

“I still felt some knots in there…”

I spoke, smacking my lips slightly, out of a sense of disappointment. It felt like I was just getting started, really.

‘…But, what’s that stain?’

My gaze drifted, and I accidentally saw it. The bedsheet where Aki had been resting her hips was subtly damp.

‘What is that,’ I wondered, and tried to look more closely. At that moment, Aki grabbed my forearm. Her cheeks were flushed, perhaps from the massage.

“No, it’s fine… Mmm. I’m okay…!”

“Mmm. Is that so? Then, well.”

“Umm. I’m okay now, so… now, shall I give *seobangnim* a massage instead…?”

“Ah, hold on a second. Instead of a massage, could you maybe do something else?”

“Something else?”

“Yeah. Something else. Could you help me with my workout? I’ve been skipping it a lot lately, so I should really do some now.”

“……”

Aki stares at me with a pouty face.

For some reason, she looks a little sulky. I’m not exactly sure why.

“It’s nothing difficult. Can’t you?”

“……How should I help?”

Aki reluctantly nodded her head. Okay, good. I grin and get up from my seat. And I immediately go down off the bed and plant my hands on the floor. The position commonly known as “push-up position.”

“Climb on my back.”

“Climb on your back?”

“You’ve done it a few times before, right? As long as you’re sitting on it properly, the position doesn’t matter.”

“Ah, that thing from before….”

Aki’s voice echoes from behind me. I lower myself to make it easier for Aki to sit comfortably and wait quietly. After a moment, a light weight settles on my back. Aki has settled her bottom onto my back.

‘Huh, it feels slightly heavier than a few months ago…’

I get the feeling that it’s gotten heavier. There are two possibilities. Either my muscles have diminished, or Aki has gained weight.

“Aki, do you happen to know your current weight?”

“……Why do you suddenly ask?”

“I want to know for sure if my muscles have weakened, or if you’ve gotten heavier. If you’ve gained a little, based on how it feels, it would be around the low 50s in kilograms…”

*Thump-*!

Aki, on my back, shifted violently once. Thanks to that, I ended up swallowing the words I was about to say, and unknowingly let out a “whoosh” sound from my lungs.

“*Seobangnim*, aren’t you going to work out…?”

Aki’s voice became slightly cold. I quickly shut my mouth and began to move.

Not a half-assed one, but a proper form. Going down rather slowly, coming up faster than that. Slowly savoring the feeling of the muscle being strained as I started the repetition.

“One, two, three, four, five.”

“Hiss…”

“Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”

“Hoo…”

“……Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Huh, why did you stop?”

“One minute rest, then we’ll go again. This is more effective for the workout.”

“Hmm. Or is it just because you’re finding it hard?”

I hear Aki’s low chuckle from behind. But I’m indignant. It’s truly much harder to split a set into slower, properly executed reps, than just banging out a lot quickly, going back and forth, ending it in a blink. And it’s definitely harder holding this pose, bearing the weight, before starting again.

“Aki, shall we go out somewhere for dinner tonight?”

“Trying to change the subject because you’re at a disadvantage, are we?”

“Around six, maybe? Wanna see a movie? There are a lot of interesting ones that opened recently.”

“Will you buy me dinner afterward?”

“Of course. What do you want to eat?”

“Something sweet and delicious.”

“Hmm, something sweet and delicious….”

What could that be? I was just about to mull it over, but Aki on my back announced that a minute had passed. She must have been counting the whole time we were talking. It doesn’t feel like it’s been a minute, but Aki’s probably more accurate, so I resumed the exercise.

Naturally, the second set is harder than the first. But it’s still manageable, so I slowly completed 40 reps.

“What shall we do after dinner?”

“Hmm. Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“I wanna go stargazing, atashi.”

“Huh? Stars?”

“Mhm, mhm. When I lived in Japan, I used to go often with Mama.”

“Ah~ really? You can still see stars in Japan?”

“Eung…. Nah. You can’t see them unless you’re way out in the countryside, even in Japan. What atashi meant was a planetarium.”

“A planetarium? Oh, you mean like an observatory. But does Korea even have one of those?”

“I looked it up and there’s one in Nowon-gu. And since it’s January, they’re doing nighttime openings, and you can even look at stars directly through a telescope, apparently.”

I see. I hummed in agreement, thinking to myself. Seeing as she knows this much detail, she must really want to go. So, I should be the one to suggest we go. That’s what an attentive boyfriend would do.

“Then, now that it’s come up, shall we go tonight?”

“……Really?”

Aki immediately perked up as soon as I said it.

It was the reaction I’d already anticipated, so I smiled and said,

“Really. Wanna go?”

“Mhm. Wanna go!”