Saved a Heroine From the Brink of Death

[ Side story 2. Date (2) ]

[ Side story 2. Date (2) ]

I could only say that it was nonsense.

Cynthia, who had been trying to see something, suddenly turned pale and her face turned red like a ripe apple. Cynthia immediately shrank down and buried her head in her knees.

‘I want to die. I want to die. I want to die.’

s*x appeal, physical attractiveness.

Those words were lingering in her head. And Cynthia was thinking of asking, “Am I unattractive?” But the filter in her head seemed to have broken down, and the word “s*x appeal” suddenly came out of her mouth. Cynthia was flustered, and stopped talking in surprise after saying only “s*x.”

All of them were the worst choices.

‘Do I look like a pervert? No, why are you suddenly saying that… I was trying to ask you a normal question. Ahhh… My past self. Why did you do that…!’

Cynthia was chastising her past self.

“Uh, um… are you okay?”

“… … I’m not okay at all.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that just now.”

Han Sung-jin said calmly, scratching his cheek. If it were the usual Cynthia, she would nod and stand up, suppressing her shame as much as possible. However, if that happens, there will be no further progress.

Holding hands or walking with your arm around her. Hugging her once in a while. Gathering up the courage to kiss her on the cheek, that’s all. It’s not that I didn’t like those things, but they weren’t enough. And it would take more time to get closer than that.

Cynthia hated it.

So, Cynthia decided to swallow her shame and turn the situation around.

“… I hate it when people say they didn’t hear something.”

“huh?”

“It’s true that it’s embarrassing and shameful… but I don’t want to pretend not to hear it.”

Cynthia raised her head. Her face was still flushed. She looked into Han Sungjin’s eyes, blushing from her cheeks to her ears.

“When I think about it, it’s strange. Well, then, isn’t that something that lovers can do? What’s wrong with that?”

Cynthia thought in a perfectly reasonable way.

Couples who have become close can have a relationship, and can’t they talk about their relationship directly? I haven’t done it yet… Anyway! There’s absolutely no reason to be embarrassed by just saying one word.

And there’s no reason to pretend you didn’t hear it.

No, if you think about it, Han Sung-jin has his own reasons. It’s under the pretext of caring for Cynthia.

Close lovers can casually exchange words indicating their relationship, but if they are not close, their relationship can become awkward. And being close is a matter of personal opinion. Even if Han Sung-jin thinks he is close to Cynthia, Cynthia may not think so. Even if they like and love each other, they may think, ‘We are not at this level yet.’

Han Sung-jin took such things into consideration when he was considerate of Cynthia, and it was Cynthia’s obvious mistake that led to such consideration.

In the process of trying to recover from this mistake, Cynthia chose to push Han Sung-jin. It was problematic for him to do this when he was the one who had made the mistake, but she believed that this was the only way to confirm each other’s sincerity.

“Is it because I’m not that great?”

Han Sung-jin shook his head repeatedly in embarrassment. Cynthia held his face with both hands as he shook his head and stared into his eyes.

“Or is it a goja?”

“no!”

“Then, what’s the reason? Actually, I was going to ask you this, but I got the words out of the way… Anyway! I need a definitive answer here. Why do you keep ignoring me even when I actively appeal to you?”

Han Seong-jin turned his eyes away and avoided Cynthia’s gaze.

“My eyes. Look straight at me.”

Cynthia felt the eyes of those around her, but she ignored them and grabbed Han Sungjin’s cheek and brought her face closer. Since she was shorter than him, she had no choice but to lift her toes. Even with heels on, Cynthia was still shorter than Han Sungjin.

They were close enough to feel each other’s breath. Cynthia looked into Han Seong-jin’s eyes from a distance where their noses were almost touching.

“If you don’t like it, tell me.”

It couldn’t stay like this. They would eventually get closer, but Cynthia didn’t want to endure that time. It wasn’t a sin to show affection to someone you liked, so why should she wait?

Unless you hate it, unless there’s a reason for it.

There was no reason not to do it.

“Huh——”

It felt soft. It was a feeling I had once felt. When I met Illien in the cave, Cynthia had kissed Han Sungjin.

I don’t know if it really happened or if it was just a dream reflecting my own hopes.

‘It feels the same as back then.’

But, it’s definitely the feeling I had back then.

When our lips met, our vision became so close that I couldn’t see Han Seong-jin’s expression. I couldn’t tell if his eyes were open.

‘Someone said kissing is sweet, but is that true?’

People have said that their first kiss tastes like oranges, and some say it tastes like lemons. Does that mean when lips touch? Or…

‘If you’re curious, just find out.’

Excuse me a little. Cynthia apologized to Han Sungjin inwardly and went one step further than the ordinary kiss.

Cynthia knew the truth. However, she lied to herself to gain courage. Her mouth opened and Han Sungjin’s eyes widened. Surprised, Han Sungjin grabbed Cynthia’s shoulder and pushed her gently.

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t hate it, I was just flustered.”

“It’s okay. But——”

Cynthia slowly touched her lips with her hand, recalling the sensation from just a moment ago. She too was surprised.

“Does your first kiss really taste like lemons?”

Cynthia smiled faintly.

***

It was a mistake. I had no choice but to admit it.

I was planning to approach Cynthia slowly without putting pressure on her. I guess it seemed different to her. She could easily have misunderstood me because I whispered my love on the outside but didn’t take any action.

“Does your first kiss really taste like lemons?”

Cynthia, with a foxy smile, came back to me and hugged my arm.

‘…I’m glad I used the lemon-scented breath freshener.’

I didn’t use it because I thought something like this might happen, but I use it occasionally when I have to see people and talk to them. It just so happened that the one I used today was lemon scented.

I was lucky. I was able to leave Sia with one memorable memory.

“People are staring at me. I can’t stay in the park any longer. Hehehe.”

“So what if someone sees it?”

“Hmm, that’s true. Why don’t I just stamp it here once more to say it’s mine?”

Cynthia smiled slyly and put her hand to her lips.

“That’s okay too.”

“… Really?”

“Is that true?”

“P-are you kidding me again?”

It’s not a joke. I’ve been holding back a lot. I was about to say something to Cynthia, but then I felt something tapping my hand and looked up at the sky.

Thud—— A drop of water fell and hit my shoulder.

Thud thud thud——

Toodo—— Toodoodootuk——

Thud thud——

“Huh? It’s raining?”

“It was definitely clear until just now, so let’s go out of the park for now.”

“I wanted to eat lunch together at the park… What a shame.”

Raindrops fell lightly. It was lighter than a drizzle, so Cynthia and I left the park at a brisk pace.

No, I was trying to get out.

“Ouch, shoo, it’s pouring!” Toodo— toodoodoodoodoodoodook———

Suddenly, it started to rain heavily.

Cynthia and I suddenly found ourselves head over heels in love.

Wasn’t it clear and cloudless just a moment ago?

***

“Whoa… It’s really pouring down a lot.”

“Yeah, I got soaked before I could even take out my umbrella.”

There was an umbrella in the subspace.

But before I could take it out, a sudden downpour came down hard and my clothes got soaked. The rain was still falling. It didn’t seem like it would stop for a while.

We were taking shelter from the rain under a pavilion in the park.

“If things continue like this, I won’t be able to go to the aquarium… .”

Cynthia’s clothes were soaking wet. And her underwear was visible under her white blouse. Not only her clothes, but her hair was also damp from the water, and if she stayed like this, she would catch a cold.

“Then a scroll——”

As Han Seong-jin tried to take out the scroll containing the drying magic, Cynthia shook her head.

“I’d rather change into something neat. I also want to dry my hair.”

“Then should I go back home?”

“Then the mood is too bad. What the heck? It’s raining like this on our first date.”

Han Seong-jin, who heard Cynthia’s words, was worried about what to do. He also wanted to change his clothes. Even if he dried them with a magic scroll, the smell of rain would remain on his clothes. Since he usually didn’t carry deodorant in his subspace, there was no way to remove the smell of rain.

But there is no place to change clothes other than at home. Both Han Sung-jin and Cynthia have extra clothes in the subspace, but there is no place to wear them… .

It was when Han Seong-jin was thinking like that.

Cynthia tapped Han Sung-jin on the shoulder and pointed to a nearby building.

“Wait a minute, do you want to take a break over there?”

“…?”

My gaze followed Cynthia’s hand.

There was a familiar building there. No, the expression familiar building would be a bit inappropriate. I don’t remember visiting or seeing that building. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that kind of building was familiar.

“How about washing up, changing clothes, and taking a short break until the rain stops, then going to the aquarium? What do you think?”

[ HOTEL HAPPINESS ]

It was a hotel.

“Are you okay?”

A small smile appeared on Cynthia’s lips.