[Kyaaaah! Amazing! Amazing! Oh my gosh! Eek!]

I could hear the Author’s voice making a fuss in my head and feel the warmth of the person hugging me.

When I came to my senses, Siwoo was hugging me.

…Haha, I’m so stupid too. It was just a casual remark that I might have someone I like someday.

But that one comment made me feel like a seizure button had been pressed, and I started spouting all sorts of weird things.

Fortunately, Siwoo doesn’t seem to understand what I meant.

The Author was also babbling loudly about dates and whatnot, ignoring what I said.

However, I should reflect,

Coming to the amusement park, the puppets momentarily looked like people, shaking me up.

There’s no way that could be the case.

I guess I can get sentimental once in a while.

Now I got lost thinking all sorts of pointless thoughts.

“Haha. This is embarrassing. You don’t need to go this far.”

“…No. It’s okay. When you’re struggling, having someone by your side can be helpful.”

Siwoo said that and hugged me again.

Being hugged and comforted by someone else was kind of embarrassing…

But there was one thing bothering me.

[Hee, heheh… So cool. The protagonist’s warm hug and comfort. Must be nice…]

…The Author’s commentary was so annoying that I couldn’t stand it.

She’s not some ahjumma* squealing over a morning drama, so why is she doing this?

Tell Siwoo to give hugs like this to Amelia, not me. Why do I have to feel these subtle emotions…

But he showed no sign of letting me go, so I stayed still until the Ferris wheel gradually neared the bottom.

“…Um, it’s getting hot, so  if you’re okay now, can you let go?”

“Oh, r-right. Sorry.”

Only then did Siwoo let go of me.

Sigh. It felt like hugging a teddy bear on a midsummer night. I thought I’d die from the heat.

[You really hugged the whole way down? Hehe… This is, this is…! Uhehe, uhehehe.]

Shut up, Author.

I muttered that in my mind. It’s a meaningless complaint since the Author can’t hear it anyway.

When I looked at Siwoo’s face, it was flushed red.

Maybe it was because he had been hugging me for a while?

Hey, why were you hugging me for so long  if you were hot, too?

Is it something like the protagonist doesn’t abandon his friends?

“Haha, I’m sorry. But thanks to you, Siwoo, I feel much better. Thank you.”

“Oh, sure… I’m glad.”

Still, since it was done out of concern for me, I should express my gratitude, right?

I don’t know where that manly side he showed earlier disappeared, but the protagonist suddenly couldn’t make eye contact with me.

I wanted to ask the Author what had happened, but I was not in a position to start a conversation.

Because she was still fangirling in my head.

[Heh, hehe…! Ehehehehehe…! Th-That was so good to see. So, so nice…! You should have kissed right there. A deep one!]

Ugh, damn it. My head hurts.

A kiss, are you crazy? Do something like that?

Tell him to do that to Amelia.

If he did that to me, who’s not even the heroine? What will I do if I get called a cheat?

I plan to stay single for life and can’t let anything ruin that!

“…Oh. Looks like it’s ending soon.”

Ahh, it was so regrettable. The outside scenery was really pretty.

That feeling of looking down at a view you can’t normally see from high up in the sky.

I was disappointed I couldn’t properly enjoy the scenery because I suddenly threw a fit.

While coming down, Siwoo was hugging me, so I didn’t have time to look at the view then either.

“Huh, Amelia… Where did she go?”

“Who knows? The restroom, maybe?”

Is her stomach still hurting? …Did she eat something bad?

After 10 minutes, then 20 minutes of waiting passed by,

Just as Siwoo was about to call Amelia, who showed no sign of coming back, she appeared in an unexpected place.

She came off the Ferris wheel.

“…It was more disappointing than I thought. Sigh.”

“Amelia?! Why are you coming out of there?”

“I told you guys to go ahead. I rode it alone separately. But it wasn’t as fun as I expected.”

“…I-I see.”

Come to think of it, did she say something like that?

I thought it was just something she blurted out, but she really went up to ride alone. Impressive.

I don’t think I could ride it alone in a place like this because it would feel burdensome.

“Phew, so where should we go now?”

“Wh-What?! You want to play more?”

“Of course. We still have time. Did you think we’d be done after riding just a few things? Come on, let’s go! Time is ticking!”

How are you still so energetic?

She said it was nothing special and not fun, but I could tell.

She’s more upbeat than usual. Is she happy just spending time with friends?

According to her setting, she didn’t have friends she could open up to, so maybe she considers us real friends.

…My mood sank again.

Right, in the end, this is a puppet show.

Even if the Author can’t easily touch the protagonist and those around him because it might cause a setting inconsistency, they’re still puppets.

Amelia, Claire, Lyla, and Spira…

I shook my head once. Thinking about this hurts my head, so let’s not think about it.

“…Alright. Let’s go.”

I decided to enjoy myself and follow her.

Since we’re here, it would be a waste not to have fun.

***

“Sigh. I’m exhausted.”

As soon as he returned to his room, Siwoo flopped onto the bed as if throwing his body.

Was it because Amelia dragged us around the whole park?

Despite being a superhuman, he felt exhausted.

“… She’s here today, too. Isn’t she tired?”

Just in case, he slightly opened the curtains to check, and sure enough.

She was watching over him today too.

When he first found out she was watching over him, he wet his pillows in tears and didn’t get a wink of sleep.

Thinking about it now, it might be a memory.

Far from being scary, he only had the impression of, “Oh, she’s here today too.”

Something scary only lasts once or twice. Since she watched daily without doing anything else, he gradually stopped being afraid.

Far from being scared, Siwoo was attempting to play eye spy, wondering where she was watching me from.

“Behind the utility pole today, huh? That’s rare.”

Usually, she would hide behind a tree or on the power lines.

She must be tired, too. She was watching from a position where it was easier to be spotted than usual.

At first, it was scarier because she would appear and disappear.

But at some point, he got the knack for it. Or maybe his intuition got better?

It became easier to find where she was.

“Changed back into her school uniform, I see.”

The casual clothes were pretty.

They were plain clothes, but she felt like a completely different person.

A T-shirt and plain jeans.

They accentuated her physical features more than when she wore her school uniform.

He thought she might not have casual clothes since she always wears her school uniform, even when hiding and watching him.

Or maybe she just didn’t want to wear them?

“…Ah, damn it. It’s coming to mind again.”

He hurriedly closed the curtains and lay down on the bed.

Thinking of her kept reminding him of what happened today.

To calm the anxious-looking Arte, he hugged her.

It’s not like there was no physical contact at all before. During the Chameleon villain incident, she hugged me too.

That lingered in his mind, allowing the bad memory to be glossed over.

…But this was on a different level.

She didn’t hug him from behind. He hugged her from the front.

Only after some time passed did he realize.

It was a very dangerous situation.

The same soft sensation from the back hug and her scent when he snuck into the women’s changing room.

Her soft hair and slightly cool body temperature, too.

When he came to his senses, he was faced with a huge danger.

“If Amelia saw what I was doing… Phew.”

I shook my head at the chilling thought that suddenly came to mind.

Luckily, I didn’t get caught.

…But what would have happened if I had?

“Calm down, Siwoo. Think about something else. Calm down, calm…”

Siwoo chanted to somehow forget that sensation and scent that kept coming to mind.

But they say the more you try not to think about something, the more it comes to mind.

The more he chanted, the more that moment became vividly engraved in Siwoo’s mind.

“…Sigh. Guess I won’t be sleeping well tonight either.”

Siwoo had a premonition.

That he wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly tonight either.

At least it wasn’t out of fear this time.

Siwoo briefly fell into self-loathing, thinking if this was all he amounted to as a person.

But soon, even those thoughts were instantly erased by that scene that came to mind again.

…And just as he thought, Siwoo couldn’t sleep.

_______________________________

Author’s Notes

Ruminas, have a pleasant evening today too!

It’s hot these days, so you shouldn’t pull an all-nighter like Siwoo, you know?

Wink.

Oho, my thousand coin virginity was taken! Feels like an ultra sponsorship, waaah ♡

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