gumi gently took off her headphones, having chosen the CD she wanted to buy. She glanced around to find Kotomi, who was standing nearby, her soft pink eyes quietly watching and waiting for her.
"Were you standing here waiting the whole ti?" gumi smiled as she walked up to Kotomi.
"I wandered around a bit, but then I saw you with your headphones on, listening to music, so I didn't want to interrupt."
"Silly girl, like you could ever interrupt . No music could compare to your voice." gumi reached over to gently pinch Kotomi's nose with a playful smile.
Kotomi pursed her lips slightly, then curiously looked gumi up and down, as if studying sothing strange.
"Kotomi, is there sothing weird about ?" Noticing the frankness in Kotomi's gaze, gumi's face grew warm as she spoke, slightly embarrassed.
Did Kotomi realize how irresistibly attractive her gaze could be?
"There's nothing weird, but... I just think there's sothing so different about you since I agreed to date you this morning," Kotomi admitted, her cheeks pink.
"A big difference?"
"Yeah! I had no idea you were so good at sweet-talking! Every line you say today is so smooth and unique. It's been surprising all day, so I started wondering…" Kotomi's face grew even pinker as she gathered her courage to ask, "Just how did you get so good at saying these sweet things?!"
gumi blinked, surprised. She had been intentionally trying to please Kotomi today with so romantic words. She never expected Kotomi would start wondering why she seed so "skilled" at it.
And Kotomi's expression—that tiny hint of jealousy—could it be she was imagining gumi saying these things to other girls before her?
Realizing this, gumi couldn't help but burst into laughter. She tried to hold it back, but each ti she looked at Kotomi's slightly jealous expression, she couldn't resist letting out another chuckle. Especially knowing that this was Kotomi's own wild imagination running away with her. Who would have thought Kotomi would get jealous over her own fantasy?
The more gumi thought about it, the more her laughter bubbled up.
"Why are you laughing so loudly? We're in a record store; keep it down!" Kotomi huffed, tilting her head.
"Sorry, sorry! I just couldn't hold back, seeing how adorably jealous you looked. Haha, Kotomi, I didn't know you had it in you to be such a little bundle of jealousy." gumi tried to contain her laughter as she looked at Kotomi, amused and exasperated.
Knowing she'd been caught in her own imagination, Kotomi blushed even harder and reluctantly admitted, "Actually, the mont I said it, I knew it was my own silly jealousy. But I couldn't help it… I got caught up wondering and let my imagination run wild…"
"So you got jealous over nothing?" gumi "helpfully" filled in the rest of her thought.
"...Yes." Kotomi nodded, face fully flushed.
"Do you know why I've been so good at sweet-talking you today, coming up with all these lines without repeating myself?"
"No idea."
"It's because I've been thinking about confessing to you for a long ti now. I wanted to plan out just what to say to you when the ti ca, and copying lines off the internet felt too shallow. I wanted to tell you sothing truly unique. So, ever since I made up my mind, I'd sit by myself and think it over. Whenever I ca up with sothing good, I'd jot it down in my notebook."
gumi spoke softly, a gentle smile on her lips as she continued.
"Then I'd practice by myself, looking at a picture of you, morizing each line by heart. That's why I sound so natural now."
Kotomi understood, but learning that gumi had been planning her confession for so long only made her blush harder. Today, it seed that any little thing gumi did was making her heart race.
"You—you've been planning to confess to for that long? And you actually wrote down lines just for ?" Kotomi stamred, wide-eyed.
"Well, it's not been that long. I decided back in September when school started." gumi shrugged, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"What?! So you've been planning to confess since the start of the term?"
"Yup, I had my eye on you from the first day of school," gumi admitted with a mischievous grin. She leaned in, lowering her voice. "And if you're wondering when I first started liking you, that was even earlier. Want to know when it was? Hmm, I think I'll keep that one a secret~"
Learning all this left Kotomi feeling flustered, and it brought up mories of certain monts in class. She rembered how, during class, she would occasionally feel gumi's gaze from the side. Whenever Kotomi glanced over, gumi would look away, then open a notebook and start scribbling.
Kotomi had always thought she was just taking notes. But now she realized—it wasn't notes at all; it was all love notes and sweet nothings ant for her! If gumi handed her that notebook now, it would probably read like a thick book of love letters!
"gumi, you're way too good at this…" Kotomi murmured, her voice overflowing with happiness rather than embarrassnt.
One of the most wonderful feelings in the world is knowing that soone loves you.
Just as they were about to leave, Kotomi suddenly tugged gumi aside into a secluded corner of the store.
"So, just how many lines did you write down for ?" she asked, her eyes full of eager anticipation.
gumi tapped her forehead, giving her a doting smile. "Do you think it's that easy to co up with a good line? If it's so easy, why don't you make one up for right now?" she teased. "I started thinking about things to say a long ti ago, but nobody can be endlessly inspired. Now that I've used up so many lines today, I'll have to go back and write so new ones tonight."
"But I've already said yes to your confession. Why would you need more lines?" Kotomi asked, tilting her head.
"Because I love seeing you blush," gumi replied confidently with a smile.
Kotomi thought for a mont, then asked, "gumi, how much do you like ?"
"Oh, I didn't expect you to ask that! Hmm, I'd say… a lot, a whole lot!" gumi said, stretching her arms out as wide as they would go to show just how much she liked her.
"Oh-ho~"
Taking advantage of gumi's open arms, Kotomi smirked, spreading her own arms wide before throwing herself at gumi, wrapping her up in a tight hug. She whispered softly, "That's how much I like you too~"
Pfft
gumi rarely blushed, but now her cheeks were turning pink as Kotomi held her close.
"gumi, that's what I wanted to say to you," Kotomi whispered as she nestled into gumi's arms.
"Kotomi, can you let go of ? You've been hugging for over an hour…"
"Nope~! gumi, I'm going to kiss you now."
"Wait, not here—mmm!"
gumi's words were cut off as Kotomi pressed her soft lips against hers. For a brief mont, ti seed to slow, the warmth of Kotomi's lips overwhelming her senses.
After savoring the soft, sweet taste of Kotomi's lips to her heart's content, gumi finally let her go. Though Kotomi looked sweet and well-behaved, if gumi didn't hold her tightly enough, she'd never be able to keep hold of this little penguin.
Kotomi, who'd made the first move to wrap gumi up in a close embrace, was now gazing happily at gumi, whose cheeks were flushed from Kotomi's sudden hug. Yes, Kotomi thought to herself, there's at least an eighty percent chance that I'm the dominant one here!
But as she was about to release her hold, Kotomi felt gumi's arms, previously stretched out in surprise, sneak around her back, hugging her even closer. No matter how much she tried to pull away, she couldn't escape gumi's grasp and simply surrendered to gumi's tight embrace.
To Kotomi's surprise, not only had gumi "seized control," but she had also leaned in for a kiss.
In the end, it seed she was the one being devoured. Leaning against the wall, cheeks flushed, Kotomi swallowed and caught her breath.
"So, you set up a little trap for , huh? Lured in and surprised with a sneak attack. When did you get so cunning? Were you 'educated' by another girl? If that's the case, maybe I'll have to punish you properly," gumi said, gently lifting a strand of Kotomi's white hair with a soft smile.
With her back against the wall and gumi close, Kotomi lowered her gaze, her lips trembling slightly as though she were quietly, expectantly, waiting for sothing.
"Let's go. It's getting dark, and didn't you want Burger King for dinner?" gumi said, extending a hand to Kotomi rather than continuing her teasing.
Kotomi stood in place, staring at gumi's outstretched hand. gumi's hands are so beautiful, she thought with a touch of disappointnt. Are we really stopping here? I want more… but I can't bring myself to say it out loud. She nodded and said, "Yes! I want Burger King!"
Taking gumi's hand, Kotomi walked to the counter, paid for the CD she'd picked out, and left the store.
Although there were quite a few Burger Kings in Shinagawa, neither of them knew which location was closest since they weren't familiar with the area. Thankfully, in this day and age, you can search for just about anything on a smartphone. After setting their location and checking a map app, they found the nearest Burger King.
But despite finding the closest one, they were still a bit far, and the half-hour walk left Kotomi feeling hungry again by the ti they arrived.
Right before they reached the Burger King entrance, Kotomi caught sight of a large poster on the wall.
[The 12-Patty Commorative Whopper – Special Promotion!]
[Single-person challenge! Finish a 12-patty Whopper within the ti limit, and your al is free! Successful challengers will also receive a commorative ¥50,000 gift certificate valid at Burger King stores throughout Japan!]
[Challenge details: One 12-patty Whopper. Complete the challenge solo to win. Friends can enjoy the free al, too. Participants can select the number of 12-patty Whoppers to tackle based on personal capacity. However, the chosen quantity must be t or exceeded.]
"[Double-challenge victories may qualify participants for upgraded certificates up to ¥500,000!]
[Warning: Please choose your challenge level responsibly. If you fail, you will be required to pay for the chosen Whopper(s).]
"Oh! You can get the 12-patty Whopper here?" Kotomi's eyes sparkled with excitent as she looked at the massive burger on the poster.
When she was a kid, she'd had the commorative seven-patty Whopper, but back then, her appetite was much smaller, so she hadn't eaten much of it.
The Whopper was always her must-order item whenever she visited Burger King. If she didn't have one, it felt like a wasted trip. She'd heard about the 12-patty commorative Whopper being released the previous Monday and knew there'd be a challenge to go with it. However, the promotion wasn't at every location; only select stores were participating.
She had forgotten to check where those locations were and realized that by sheer luck, she'd chosen one of the promo locations today.
gumi, who was already holding the door, noticed Kotomi hadn't followed and turned back to look for her, only to find Kotomi standing transfixed, staring in awe at the poster.
Curious about what had captured Kotomi's attention, gumi walked over to see for herself. A beautiful girl in nothing but stockings, perhaps?
To her surprise, it was sothing even more enticing—a towering, 12-patty commorative Whopper!
The towering burger patties exuded a sense of imnse heft and grandeur; it was a veritable at-lover's paradise. Anyone with a modest appetite would surely shrink back at the sight of it.
gumi was one of those people. She could admire it on a poster or in videos, but a 12-patty Whopper was a bit beyond her reach.
No way could I finish that, she thought, nearly breaking into a cold sweat just looking at it. A double challenge? They'd be lucky if I managed a single one. Only a superhuman could pull that off!
This was the largest burger she'd ever seen in her life, and it left her utterly overwheld.
Seeing Kotomi eyeing the poster like she was ready to dive in, gumi asked, "Kotomi, don't tell you're thinking of eating that?"
"Yup! I want ten of them!" Kotomi replied with bright, twinkling eyes, looking as excited as a kid in a toy store.
"Ten? Look at the size of that thing. Didn't you read the poster? If you don't finish, you'll have to pay for it."
"I know!"
Just then, the Burger King doors swung open, and four people erged, carrying a huge, muscular man by his arms and legs.
"Olga just had to be macho and try eating two 12-patty Whoppers. He barely made it halfway through the second one before collapsing," one of them muttered.
"Even finishing one is impressive! I wouldn't get through five patties," said another.
"That was one brutal challenge," added a third.
"Next ti, let's have our guild et-up sowhere else," the last one said.
"Totally. He promised us a raid tonight, but I think we're getting ghosted."
"He's always canceling when we're supposed to raid, though, isn't he?"
"Exactly why I warned him not to use 'Olga' as his nickna… yet here we are, and he's the guild leader."
The group carrying their "guild leader" left the area with a dramatic exit.
"Are you really going to try the 12-patty Whopper, Kotomi?" gumi asked, but Kotomi had already reached the door, beckoning her inside.
"Co on, gumi! I'm starving; let's go eat!" Kotomi said with a wave.
Seeing Kotomi so eager, gumi sighed in resignation and followed her inside.
"What am I going to do with you? Let's hope Burger King survives this," gumi said with a smile.
Burger King, your ruler has returned!
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