Yuri

Lunch break came, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I could finally get lost in the new webcomic I started last night. This one’s about this girl and these emperors, and it has this amazing title—

“Is that My Darling Ice-Bodied Emperor you’re reading?”

I finally made eye contact with her. And thus, my lungs forgot how to work.

Breathe, dammit! I need air if I’m gonna respond to her!

With a goofy smile stuck to her face, she showed me her webcomic history. She whispered, “I’m reading that one too!”

My heart started beating faster. “Which other ones are you reading?”

We went through our lists, laughing every time we saw something that we both read. She didn’t exclusively read romance, either. She loved other ones like NotTypical, All-Knowing Bookworm, and even Escapades of Allah!

I knew then that I was caught up in her rhythm. There was just something so attractive about someone passionately talking about something they liked. Her smile never left her face, and she’d always turn to look at me with her chocolate brown eyes to see my reactions to what she said.

A familiar feeling started coming over me, and I immediately shut it out. I didn’t need to be thinking about that. She’s just a stranger I’m getting to know right now. There’s no need to rush any of it.

“Besides webcomics, I sometimes watch Japanese stuff too.”

She’s a new student, and we’re both second-years. I’ve got time to be her friend and really get to know her.

“I watch romance, but the action-y stuff is awesome too!”

Be patient! She’s just uncharacteristically cool!

“I know it’s kind of mainstream, but I’ve been binging Orphan Ninja lately.”

“You watch Orphan Ninja!?”

It’s whatever. Self-control is overrated anyway!

“I do! It was one of the first shows to really resonate with me.” I asked her to explain more. Orphan Ninja may have been a popular show, but I rarely ever talked to other fans of it other than the occasional comment section online.

My sudden increased interest must have surprised Sarang because her face started getting redder, and she started to twirl the tip of her hair with her right hand. “I-I really relate to the main character, Marudo. I may not be an orphan or a ninja—as far as you know!—but I know what it’s like to be judged because of what people think they know about you.”

Sarang broke eye contact and looked towards the ground. One of her shoes was tapping rapidly. “Do you mind if I tell you something a little…personal?”

I nodded. “I’m okay with it, but let’s find a better place to talk about it.” She agreed with a nod of her own, and the two of us left the classroom. A few eyes glanced in our direction, but after the spectacle that was Clover and I, I doubted anyone would say anything.

I led her to the roof entrance and her eyes lit up. “Isn’t that usually locked?”

I grinned. “Not during the janitor’s smoke break!” I gave the roof door a slight push, and the sky itself seemed to open itself for us. “He forgets to lock it sometimes, and it’s a great place for when you wanna be alone.”

Sarang lightly grabbed my sleeve. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble?” he looked doubtful, but I could sense the excitement in her eyes.

I nonchalantly shrugged. “I mean, we didn’t open it, and I don’t see any signs saying we can’t go in.” There used to be one, but thankfully they never replaced it. I stepped onto the rooftop, and after a pause, Sarang followed my lead.

Her unexpected hesitation made me burst into laughter. “Now we’re partners in crime!” Even she couldn’t suppress her smile.

We found a place to sit down, and after the mood settled, she began to speak.

“I want to thank you for being so nice to me. You don’t know how much I appreciate it. I don’t know if you’re just nice to everyone like this, but it helps me out more than you’d think.”

I was grateful, but a little confused. “No problem, but where’s this coming from?” She’d quickly made friends after transferring in. Whenever I saw her around, she would either be laughing at something or smiling.

Sarang took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” For some reason, her smile twitched after saying it. “I know this might be rude, but can I ask you a question before answering yours?” I nodded. “How many…friends do you still have from elementary school?”

Elementary school? I hadn’t thought about those other kids in years.

“Pretty much none. We talked for the first part of middle school, but even that fizzled out by the time second semester came around.”

She nodded as if she knew what my answer would be before I said it. “That’s my greatest fear.” She scooched a little closer to me. “I don’t want the friends I make now to end up like the ones I had in the past.”

“But you’ve got Reily, right?”

Her face brightened up at the sound of her best friend’s name. “Yeah, I do! I’m just scared that all the time I’m spending to get to know people will go to waste once we graduate. I’m afraid that it’ll all disappear, and I’ll never hear from some people again.” Her eyes looked around us as if she were thinking of what to say next. “Then comes…you!”

“Me?” I said in fake exasperation.

She giggled. “Yes, you dummy!” She lightly punched my shoulder. It didn’t hurt at all and only served to make my heart race. “The thing with you is that I can imagine myself knowing you years from now. It usually takes me a while to warm up to someone, but I feel like I can be myself around you.”

She slowly started to twirl her finger around the tip of her hair. “We clicked during my first week here, and because of you, I’ve had another reason for looking forward to coming to school every day. I was okay just having Clover as a close friend, but at heart, I’m a greedy person. I wanna stay friends with you too!”

Sarang took her pointer finger and poked my nose with a verbal “Boop!” Before I could react to the gesture, she said, “That’s the contract for being my friend. A boop on the nose!” She closed her eyes and lead her face in front of mine.

What!? I was mentally freaking out! In this position, it almost looked like she wanted me to lean in and…I didn’t know what she wanted me to do, and my mouth decided that it was time to install updates and shut down without my permission.

We’re sorry, but your voice could not be found. Please hang up and try again!

She opened one eye slightly. “Boop me back!”

I sighed with relief and…disappointment? I’m not mad! She definitely didn’t look ready for a kiss or anything just now. I looked at my own pointer finger, hesitant, and very gently poked the tip of her nose.

Sarang frowned. “That was weak.” She put her hand on my clip and pulled me closer, using her free hand to poke my nose with a little more force. “Be a little more aggressive with it. I know those big hands aren’t just for show!”

Her eyes closed again, but she had a smirk on her face. Her ears had reddened without me noticing, and that made me feel more embarrassed. I had a feeling that she was doing this on purpose.

Regardless, she was right. I had to be more aggressive. Now’s not the time to wimp out. There’s a cute girl in front of me asking me to poke her nose. If I mess something as simple as this up, then I don’t have the right to call myself a man!

And like the man I am, I messed up.

Our faces were still inches away from each other, and I underestimated just how much force my finger could muster.

Moving my hand quickly, my head leaned forward and collided with hers. Sarang then opened her eyes and moved her head up to look at me.

Her top lip and my bottom lip touched, but the surprise must have made her jump because with that little jolt, our lips were connected.

I froze, not knowing what to do.

Other than kisses on the cheek from my grandma when I was little, something like this had never happened to me before.

D-did this count as my first even though it’s an accident?

How’s she reacting?

After a few seconds, she moved away from me and turned around. Her ears were redder than they’d been before.

“S-sorry!” I could barely get the words out because of how panicked I was. She had thanked me for being my friend, and a minute later we half-kissed! “I didn’t mean for that to happen!”

“I-it’s okay!” Her voice sounded higher than usual. “Accidents happen, and I was one that looked up without thinking!”

I wasn’t gonna let her take the blame here. “Well, I should’ve poked you aggressively the first time!”

She whipped back around with a red face and an embarrassed smile. “It’s my fault for asking you to redo it!”

We went back and forth like this before realizing that lunch period was almost over. We snuck our way from the roof and back to our classroom. We’d been gone for over half the period, and there was no way to talk our way out of this if someone asked.

After sitting back at my desk, Sarang leaned close and whispered in my ear:

“The kiss can be our little secret, promise?”

“Promise!” Apparently, my response wasn’t good enough. She shook her head, disappointed in it. Once again, I was confused.

She held out her pinky towards me. I wondered if she was joking, but her face said she was dead serious. We sealed the promise with our pinkies and tried to pay attention to the class.

They were so soft.

Well, I lasted a good minute. After something like that, how could any healthy person be expected to not think about it!?

I looked to my side. Sarang looked calm while taking notes and I couldn’t believe it.

Thinking back to that accidental kiss—I was gonna get a 70 on this test anyway—I’d noticed how her eyes closed again when both of our lips touched. I felt weird for keeping my eyes open at all, but come on, those circumstances weren’t normal anyway!

Did she do it…on purpose?

Class ended as I thought about it, and we started making our way to the locker rooms for gym. I started thinking about the other thing Sarang talked about.

I couldn’t be one to judge since I have a more isolated lifestyle myself. I’ve got a few friends, but I tend to spend most of my time alone. Some of it’s because of the weird way the other students view me, and the other half is totally my own fault. I can hold a conversation, but I’m pretty bad at starting them with people I don’t know well.

“Hey…person! Did you enjoy the sports ball game the other night?”

“What?”

Yeah. There’s still room for improvement.

Anyways, gym time!

I locked eyes with Sarang as she left the girl’s locker room, but we both looked away. I shook my head and tried to get the lecherous thoughts to leave my head. I was in my favorite class, and it’s volleyball day!

The gym teacher asked Sarang to go grab the balls from the storage closet. Reily pointed the room out to her, and she skip-walked to and through the door. The volleyballs were kept in a large rolling basket. She shouldn’t have any problems rolling it out, right?

Shortly after that thought, I heard a crash coming from the direction of the storage closet.

Before I could even think, I ran in her direction.

I couldn’t see her from outside the closet. Another guy rushed in before I could. I hoped something bad hadn’t happened to her.

“Are you okay?” The person that had gotten there before me asked her this. I felt my body tense up. I was glad that he’d helped her, but the kindness I heard in his voice unnerved me. I wasn’t used to hearing him sound genuine like this.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” I sighed with relief. She still sounded like her usual self. “Not a bruise or bump to be found!” I took a few more steps and looked in the entrance.

No.

I refused to believe what my eyes were seeing.

It was a moment taken straight out of the romance stories she and I loved reading, but it felt corrupted. Up until now, I’d felt so happy thinking about the kiss from earlier and what her actions could’ve meant.

Not once did I think that she might end up with someone else, and of all people, him. It was a fleeting thought, but I felt ready to throw up because of it. If it weren’t for the small chance of her getting hurt in the process, I would’ve punched him.

Sarang was on the ground with volleyballs sprawled around her. Her hair was disheveled, and in any other situation, she’d look majestic. Yet on top of her, ruining this beautiful scene, was none other than Kim Sora.