My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

13. At 14, we slowly begin to realize our feelings for each other (4)

After solving our meal with the pizza delivered late in the evening, it was already 8 PM.

Normally, this would be the time Aki would start saying goodbye and head back, but today, for some reason, he followed me all the way up to the second floor where my room is.

‘…What, is he not going?’

After dinner, I usually prepare to walk Aki to his house, as part of my daily routine.

I was curious about the reason, but first, I opened the door and let Aki sit on the bed, then pulled a chair in front of the desk.

Screech-.

“It’s 8 PM now, aren’t you going home?”

I asked, glancing at the darkened window, and Aki immediately nodded.

“Yeah, I’m not going.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Mom and Dad are on a date and said they’d be late, so they told me to sleep over at your place today.”

“I didn’t hear anything about that…”

“I just got a text a little while ago. Do you want to see it, Woojoo~chan?”

Aki took out his phone from his skirt pocket, displayed something, and showed it to me.

Wondering what it was, I looked closely, and it was a text from Aki’s mother to Aki. To summarize the content briefly, it was something like [We’ll be late today, so stay over at Woojoo’s place~].

“See, right?”

“Yeah…”

Aki’s parents seem to get along just as well as my mom and dad.

“Alright. Hold on, I’ll call my parents now.”

It wouldn’t matter if Mom and Dad were home, but they’re not right now. Even if she’s a childhood friend, I thought it wouldn’t be right to let a girl stay over without telling them and getting their permission first.

At that moment, Aki gently grabbed my sleeve.

“No need to call. Woojoo~chan. I’ve already got permission.”

“…Huh?”

“Here.”

Aki slid the screen to the side, showing me another text message.

[Mom, I’m sorry for texting so late. I was wondering if it would be okay for me to stay over at your place tonight?]

[Of course, it’s fine. Our Aki can stay over anytime~]

[Thank you, Mom! Enjoy your time with Dad~!]

[Sure, you and Woojoo have a good time too~ (winking dog emoji)]

“……”

Seeing the conversation between Aki and my mom, I was dumbfounded.

I mean, I’m the one who’s going to be sleeping in the same house as Aki, so why didn’t they ask for my opinion?

I was not only shocked that my opinion was ignored, but also that my mom used emojis she never uses with me when talking to Aki.

It’s not that I’m upset over something like this at my age, but what should I say? It feels like I’m being sidelined? Just the fact that they only told Aki about their outing says it all.

They didn’t use to be like this when I was younger, but lately, it feels like they care more about Aki than me…

“…Why do they contact others more than me?”

“Others? Woojoo~chan! Are we ‘others’?!”

“Huh? No, that’s not what I meant…”

I was about to explain something but closed my mouth. Adding unnecessary details would only make my head more complicated.

“Where are you going, Uju-chan?”

“To brush my teeth, I need to get ready for bed.”

“Oh, I see. What time do you usually go to bed, Uju-chan?”

“Usually at 10, but if it’s late, around 11… What about you, Aki?”

“I go to bed at 9:30, and no later than 10.”

We had been texting each other goodnight around 9 PM, but I didn’t know the exact time we fell asleep until today.

Maybe it’s because I’ve seen my friends stay up until 11 or even 1 AM, but I think Aki goes to bed quite early.

“Aki, you go to bed really early. Do you feel sleepy at that time?”

“Yes, it’s a habit. After 9, I get sleepy. But even if I’m not sleepy, I force myself to sleep.”

“Really? Why do you force yourself to sleep?”

I asked while sipping water from the tumbler on my desk.

Aki placed her right hand on her chest.

“My mama said that girls need to sleep early and a lot to grow their breasts.”

“……”

I almost spat out my drink.

‘I thought I misheard…’

I quickly put down the tumbler and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

Aki continued speaking with her right hand still on her chest, seemingly unaware of my embarrassment.

“From 10 PM, growth hormones are released, making you taller and bigger like mama. So, since I was little, I’ve always gone to bed before 10.”

“R-Really…?”

“Yeah, yeah, so Uju-chan, you should go to bed as soon as possible too!”

“O-Okay….”

Continuing this conversation is uncomfortable.

I gave appropriate responses and entered the bathroom on the second floor.

──Creak.

Creak, whoosh-.

I turned on the water at the sink, squeezed toothpaste onto my toothbrush, and started brushing my teeth while thinking.

‘…Breasts, huh.’

I’ve heard that sleeping early helps you grow taller, but this is the first time I’ve heard it helps your breasts grow.

I thought growth hormones only affected height, but do women’s growth hormones also affect that area…?

Maybe I should look it up later out of curiosity.

With such idle thoughts, I rinsed my mouth with water from the cup and spat it out.

Then, to look a bit cleaner, I washed my face with soap and imagined this in my head.

Aki, who is still a young 14-year-old.

If she continues to go to bed early like today and grows up to be a beauty like her mother.

‘Well, she’s already cute now, but…’

Anyway, if she grows up to look like her mother.

I wonder what she will look like in the future.

“…….”

I don’t know for sure, but she must be incredibly beautiful.

Aki often gets confessions from boys in other classes even now, so in a few years, she would probably grow into a beautiful girl that anyone would fall for.

I had no basis for it, but for some reason, I was convinced of it.

“Hmm…”

She shouldn’t become too beautiful.

If she becomes more popular here, she might forget all about playing with me later.

──Uju~chan, are you done yet~~?

“Oh, sorry. I’ll be out soon!”

I snapped out of my daze when I heard Aki’s voice.

I hurriedly rinsed off the soap, dried myself with a towel, and checked my face in the mirror just in case before returning to my room.

“I’m back, Aki.”

“Yeah, come over here and sit down, Uju~chan.”

As I approached as instructed, Aki’s outfit caught my eye.

Before I went out, she was wearing the school uniform, but now she had changed into pink pajamas that matched her hair color.

“Huh? Aki, when did you change clothes?”

“While Uju~chan was washing up, I went downstairs to wash and change too. But Uju~chan, did you fall while washing?”

“Huh? No, why?”

“Because you were washing for almost 20 minutes, I thought something might have happened. If not, then it’s fine!”

“……”

I only brushed my teeth and washed my face, but 20 minutes had passed. Was I spacing out for that long?

“Sorry, I guess I lost track of time scrubbing so thoroughly.”

“Hmm, is that so…?”

Then, suddenly, Aki starts giving me this subtle look.

That gaze was making me self-conscious, so I awkwardly asked.

“What, Aki?”

“It’s just, when Uju-chan said you scrubbed so thoroughly…. I got curious.”

“You’re curious if I *really* scrubbed thoroughly?”

“Nooo, I’m curious *why* you scrubbed so thoroughly~?”

Aki dragged out her words and leaned her upper body slightly towards me.

“Maybe… you were worried about sleeping in the same bed as watashi…?”

“……What are you talking about. I’m going to lay out a futon on the floor to sleep, okay?”

“Ah, nande (why)…?!”

As I moved back a little and blurted that out, Aki’s eyes went wide with this fresh look of shock.

I casually stood up from my spot and pulled a futon out of the closet, answering in a tone that asked why she’d even ask something so obvious.

“We’re fourteen now, so we should sleep separately. We’re not kindergarteners, we can’t keep sleeping together forever, right?”

‘…Actually, it’s because I’ve become too conscious of Aki.’

When we were innocent, I could share a bed with Aki without any ulterior motives, but as I got older and hit puberty, I know all the things I need to know, and I can’t treat Aki with just a pure heart anymore.

Simply put, sleeping with Aki makes me worry about all sorts of things.

Especially since Aki’s body has been getting curves lately. If I slept in the same bed with her, I feel like I’d start to harbor some weird feelings.

No, actually, I’ve already half harbored them…

“Anyway, since the bed is small, let’s sleep separately from today.”

“…No, there’s enough space for both Uju-chan and me to sleep!”

“Enough space? It’s a super single, so we’d have to sleep almost glued together. It would be really uncomfortable to sleep together.”

“Uju-chan, is it uncomfortable to sleep with me? Huh? Is that it?”

“Aki, are you going to act like a child?”

“Yes, I’m still a child. Fourteen years old is still a child, right?”

“In the old days, you would have been married by now. Fourteen is already grown up.”

“…Ugh.”

Aki puffed out her cheeks and looked at me as if something was seriously bothering her.

I had a hunch.

If I let Aki sleep in this state, she would be 100% sulking by tomorrow morning.

‘…I just managed to cheer her up earlier.’

I couldn’t let Aki sulk just because of sleeping arrangements.

I put my blanket on the floor and thought about it.

A way to soothe Aki and still sleep separately.

“……”

“……”

Hmm, is there such a way…?

“Uju-chan, you idiot, sea cucumber, sea anemone.”

“……”

“You said you’d marry me, you said we’d get married, and then you change your mind in a single day, you liar.”

“Idiot, idiot, a real idiot, you space-pervert!”

“……Ah.”

Right, there is that way.

After hearing Aki’s cute insults, a single, flashing idea sparked.

That was, for me to become a pervert.

‘……That phrasing is a little strange.’

Of course, it’s not about actually becoming a pervert, it’s just acting like one.

“Hey, Aki.”

Having made up my mind, I stared intently down at Aki and opened my mouth.

“If I sleep with you, Aki, I’ll do weird things.”

“……Weird things?”

Aki, who had been about to start insulting me, stopped talking.

Making eye contact with Aki, I deliberately murmured slowly.

“I’ll touch you, grope you, blow in your ear and stuff like that. ……I’ll keep doing it even if you say you hate it.”

“U, ugh……?!”

Just as I’d expected, Aki’s face instantly turned bright red.

Seizing the moment, I slowly moved closer to Aki to drive the wedge in deeper.

“So, how about it, Aki? Do you still want to sleep with me after this?”

“…….”

With a face flushed red, Aki just stared at me without saying a word.

‘…Around this time, slowly.’

I could just say it was a joke. If I push too hard, Aki might get angry.

Thinking that, I stopped in my tracks and opened my mouth.

“So, Aki, from now on…”

“…Wa, watashi!”

But Aki’s mouth opened before mine.

“If it’s Uju-chan, a, a little bit…”

Aki glanced at me with a face flushed red, fidgeting her fingers cutely.

“It’s, okay…?”

“….”

…Huh?