91. Cozily at the Hot Springs with Aki (2)

“Un, chwop….”

“…….”

“……Sluurp.”

“…….”

“……Haa, un. …Chwop.”

Bodies pressed together in the scalding onsen water, heavy breaths fogging each other’s faces, lost in a k*ss so deep it felt like drowning.

I kept indulging Aki, whose tongue was constantly tangling with mine, s*cking and pulling, as if already k*ssing but begging for even more, and wondered if there was any way to make up for the slip of the tongue from earlier.

“Eung…. Sluurp….”

“…….”

Was there even a way…?

If I said I misspoke, I’d deserve a slap and a breakup. And if I suggested doing it… but later… I’d likely get slapped for toying with her.

Because the words that escaped my lips were, ‘As quickly as possible…?’

From Aki’s perspective, it might seem like I was leading her on with a marriage proposal, only to change my mind five minutes later, as if I was playing with her feelings. It might be an overreaction, but it wasn’t impossible.

Because in this world, there’s no such thing as absolute or unconditional.

No matter how low the probability, as long as it’s not zero, the possibility──.

“……Un.”

Thump.

Aki’s hand crept up onto my stomach.

Somehow managing to keep my train of thought going through my hazy mind, I finally snapped to attention and gently separated our conjoined lips.

“Haa….”

“……Heeeuh.”

Our s*liva stretched between us like a glistening thread.

As our lips parted, the s*liva clinging between them elongated, then dripped down, *plink*, into the water below.

A lingering strand of s*liva, proof of the k*ss’s length and depth, I regarded it silently.

My head swam lightly as I wiped my lips with the back of my hand. Aki, still wanting more, smacked his lips and stared at me intently.

“Why did you stop?”

“…Huh?”

“Why did you stop? It was getting good…”

“…”

Words caught in my throat.

I couldn’t answer Aki immediately.

*‘I stopped because I felt like I should…’*

Come to think of it, there was no real reason to stop the k*ss. Aki touching my body while we k*ssed had always been a frequent occurrence anyway.

“…Talk.”

“Talk?”

“I wanted to…talk a little?”

A pathetic excuse slipped from my lips.

I couldn’t think of a legitimate reason to stop k*ssing him, so I hurriedly made one up. Fortunately, Aki didn’t seem suspicious.

“Oh, really? What do you want to talk about?”

“…Uh, well.”

“Ah, perhaps…”

Aki leaned his upper body closer.

“Is it about…the wedding?”

“…Huh?”

I blurted out without thinking. And then I realized. In this situation, there was no more fitting topic of conversation.

Well, whether I intended it or not, I’d already half-proposed to Aki. At this point, it would be stranger to talk about anything other than marriage.

Unable to take back the words I’d spoken, I nodded my head with a sense of resignation.

“Ah, right. The wedding…it’s about that.”

“Yeah, yeah, what is it?”

“…”

For the second time, my words failed me.

Because, on closer inspection, bringing up the topic of marriage right now was akin to digging my own grave.

When I should be convincing Aki to postpone it as much as possible, was it really right to launch into a discussion about marriage like I wanted to get married right away? Really?

Doesn’t feel quite right…

“Uju~chan?”

‘…Ah!’

A thought, sparkling and bright, flashed through my troubled mind.

Right, why hadn’t I thought of that?

I looked at Aki.

“That.”

“Huh? That?”

“Yes, that. That honorific.”

“Honorific…?”

Aki tilted her head adorably.

“…First, sit next to me.”

“Ah, okay.”

I sat Aki down beside me and handed her a bath towel.

It’s not like covering up really matters anymore since I’ve seen it all, but Aki fussily wrapped the towel around herself.

“Call my name once, Aki.”

“Uh… you want me to?”

“Just like you usually do, casually.”

“Ahhang. …Ahem. Uju~chan?”

“Yes, you just called me Uju~chan, right? With ‘chan’ at the end.”

“Uh-huh. I did. But why?”

“Think about it carefully. Usually, you wouldn’t call your fiancé by his name with ‘chan’ attached, would you?”

Yobisute, a uniquely Japanese honorific culture where the suffix attached to someone’s name changes depending on how close you are to them.

It was a lengthy explanation, but ultimately, I meant for her to change the way she addressed me.

Aki seemed to realize this, as her eyes widened.

“…Ah, you’re right?”

“Exactly. …So in my opinion, I think it would be alright if you started calling me something different.”

I glanced sidelong at Aki.

I was looking to see if she would repeat something she’d said before, like that it was still too early, or the timing wasn’t right.

But Aki seemed to think there was merit to what I was saying; she crossed her arms, supporting them under her chest, and pondered, making a ‘Hmm…’ sound.

“……Hmmm.”

“…….”

“……hhhmm. …Hmm.”

“…….”

“……Hmm!”

Aki unfolded her arms.

“Alright.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah, really. Thinking about it, Uju~chan is right.”

“……Right? It’s a little strange, isn’t it?”

‘Wow, is she finally going to change it…?’

I could count on one hand the number of times Aki had called me by my name in the decade-plus we’d known each other. To finally maybe, just maybe, be called by name after nearly three years of dating.

It was nothing much, but it touched me a little.

“How are you going to change the way you call me?”

“Hmm…. It’s a secret. I’ll tell you after the wedding. No, I’ll *call* you.”

“Wait a minute. You’ll *call* me after the wedding?”

“Yeah.”

What? She wasn’t going to change it right now?

I’d gotten my hopes up and felt my energy drain away. Seeing my disappointment, Aki chuckled.

“Why~?”

“No, it’s nothing….”

I thought I was about to hear the two syllables ‘Uju’ from Aki’s lips, but that wasn’t the case.

I almost told her the truth, but. For a fleeting moment, that peculiar male pride flared up, and I swallowed the words.

“……hhh.”

As if she understood even that, Aki reached out and gently stroked my face.

“We’re not married yet, are we? Do you still want me to change it and call you that?”

“Well, it’s not that I *need* you to… Hmm, well…. …Hmm.”

“……Ah, seriously.”

Splash-.

Aki stood up from her seat.

Slipping the towel I’d wrapped around myself off to the side of the bath, she straddled my thighs again, just as before, and enveloped me in a tight embrace.

“Who said you could be so cute…?”

*Squeeze.*

Aki’s chest pressed against my face.

Or rather, Aki guided my cheek to the cleavage where her br*easts pooled together, pressing the back of my head, holding me firmly against her.

“Seriously. You’re twice my size, but it’s just not fair to be this cute, is it…or is it not?”

“……”

I couldn’t speak.

With Aki’s chest against my face, all I could do was breathe quietly, savoring this soft sensation.

Aki whispered repeatedly into my ear, “Cute, you’re like a big puppy, I really like you, really, really cute…” Then, she ruffled my slightly damp hair, pressed her lips to my forehead, and pulled me even closer.

Naturally, Aki’s soft br*easts were…

‘……Wow.’

So that’s why guys want to bury their faces in girls’ br*easts and die.

It might sound perverted to say, but honestly, I felt like I wanted to do that if I could. I don’t know what she put on her skin, but Aki’s chest smelled like sweet honey.

If the day ever comes when I’m going to die, I want to be buried in Aki’s chest, where just smelling it makes me happy.

My head is spinning.

“Uju~chan.”

“……Huh?”

Lost in those crazy thoughts, I snapped back to reality.

Aki, who had called my name, released me slightly, met my gaze, and asked softly.

“If Uju~chan wants, I’ll switch to calling you that now.”

“……”

What, is she serious?

Is she just saying that, and if I honestly say I want her to, she’ll laugh and tease me…?

Having been tricked before, that suspicion immediately arose. Aki must have sensed my doubt in my eyes, because this time she spoke as if she really meant it.

“If I’m lying, I’ll do anything Uju~chan says.”

“……Really?”

“Uh-huh, really. I don’t lie, do I?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“You don’t want to? Never mind then, we’ll wait until after the wedding, or…”

“…No, wait just a moment. I didn’t say I didn’t like it, did I?”

I hastily stopped Aki’s words.

Aki, as if testing the waters with me, smiled as though she knew this would happen, and I felt myself being played by her.

‘Well, seeing as I’ve already been teased to no end…’

It occurred to me that suffering a little more wouldn’t hurt.

So, I just closed my eyes tight and blurted it out.

“Call me that, instead.”

“Okay, I will.”

“…Call me now.”

“Heehee… Alright.”

As if telling me not to worry, Aki met my gaze and gave a subtle eye-smile.

Realizing that Aki wasn’t lying, I desperately tried to suppress my fluttering heart as I waited for her to call me.

‘Wow, finally…’

I’m finally going to hear the two syllables, “Woo-joo,” from Aki’s lips.

Moreover, not just this once, but I’ll be able to hear it forever. Thinking that, I couldn’t contain my excitement, and I impulsively grabbed Aki’s hand.

Then.

“…My Lord.”

“…Huh?”

“My Lord… Is that settled?”

A strange title popped out of Aki’s mouth.

“…”

My Lord, of all things.

Did I just mishear something?

For a moment, I seriously doubted my own hearing, and I blankly blinked my eyelids, while Aki, perhaps misunderstanding my reaction, let out a deep sigh as if she couldn’t help it.

*Chuu*-.

“…There, all done. My Lord?”

Aki’s lips pressed against my cheek.

I stood there dumbfounded, then touched the cheek where Aki’s lips had been.

“…Aki.”

“Mm?”

“……Did you just call me ‘Seobangnim’?”

“Ah, uh-huh….”

Aki blushed prettily, her cheeks turning a soft rose.

“…….”

Her bashful demeanor was endearing, a pleasure to behold, but separately, a certain question began to crowd my mind.

No.

Why that appellation, ‘Seobangnim’…?

Isn’t it normal to use names these days…?

My head swam.

“……Do you dislike it?”

“Ah. No, it’s not that I dislike it….”

I’d expected her to call me Woojoo, but this utterly unexpected form of address made my head spin a little.

And so, I hesitated for a moment, wondering how to explain to Aki this heart of mine, which was pleased, yet also dumbfounded, complicated, and dizzying.

And the result.

“Uh… hold on, what’s wrong with your eyes?”

“……Huh? What is it?”

“They’ve lost focus, are you okay…. Uh, uh?”

“……Ah.”

Thud.

“U-Uh, uh…? Seobangnim, Seobang, A, Woo, Woojoo~chan…?!”

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, and I lost consciousness…….