Although there was a brief unpleasant incident, we managed to arrive without further issues at the goldfish fishing store operated by someone Karen knew.
“Hello, miss!”
A mustached man with short hair and black sunglasses abruptly stood up and bowed.
“Oh, hello.”
The store owner naturally spoke respectfully, and Karen took it as a matter of course.
To any observer, the hierarchy between them was clear.
I’ve seen this so often that I’m used to it now, but to the uninitiated, it would seem strange.
And as expected, Yaguchi, standing behind us, asked Karen in a hushed, serious tone,
“Karen, who is that man?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. He’s a former subordinate of my father. He retired and now runs a flower shop around here as a pastime.”“A flower shop?”
Yaguchi looked surprised, as the man’s appearance didn’t match his occupation.
Honestly, it was a mismatch.
Yuika, the only one seemingly in a position of common sense, muttered, “Subordinate…?” but we decided to ignore it.
“We’re planning to do some goldfish fishing.”
“Oh, feel free to fish as much as you want. If you’re friends of the lady here, it’s on the house.”
“How much could this possibly cost?”
The store owner tried to refuse payment, but Karen insisted, pulling out a thousand-yen bill from her wallet and briefly arguing.
Eventually, the reluctant store owner accepted Karen’s money and handed each of us a small scoop net.
Sasha swung her scoop net in the air and asked,
“Can we really catch goldfish with this?”
Karen rolled up her yukata sleeve and nodded.
“It’s made of paper and tears easily, but it’s not that hard if you know the technique.”
Saying this, Karen focused on the tank, shouted, “Ha!” and swung her scoop net.
Flutter! Flutter!
The small net captured a lively red goldfish.
She proudly pushed out her chest and asked, “How’s that?”
Definitely the handiwork of a pro.
I would have certainly torn it apart, unable to control my strength.
Following Karen’s demonstration, we each took a scoop net and crouched in front of the tank to start fishing for goldfish.
“Ah! It tore!”
Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded, so many of us ended up tearing our scoop nets.
We soon had to buy replacement nets.
“Kim Yu-seong, aren’t you participating?”
“No, I’m good. I’m not great at delicate tasks like this. Will you do it for me?”
As I offered my net to her, Sasha took it and muttered, “Is that so…?” as she crouched in front of the tank.
“Then I’ll catch them for both of us.”
“What?”
Even though it was surely her first-time goldfish fishing, where did this confidence come from?
But surprisingly,
“Ha!”
Sasha neatly caught a goldfish in one go.
And not just beginner’s luck, but three times in a row.
Seeing this, Rika exclaimed in surprise,
“Sasha-chan, wasn’t this your first time?!”
Then Sasha laughed and bragged.
“I copied the movements Karen showed earlier. If I don’t know how to do it, I just mimic someone who does.”
After saying that, Sasha quickly caught five more goldfish, discarded the torn wet net, and continued fishing with the spare net I gave her.
Her skill was almost godlike, so we, mesmerized by her performance, could only look in astonishment as she proudly presented the bag full of goldfish to the store owner.
“Hmm, that was quite fun.”
Sasha said that, lifting three goldfish in a plastic bag up to eye level.
In fact, she had caught many more, but she didn’t feel the need to take them all, so she returned the rest.
The store owner, who almost had to close for the day due to the success, kept bowing in gratitude.
This was why experts were dangerous…
As we all headed to a nearby hill to watch the fireworks, Ryuji spoke up first.
“Time for us to head out.”
“What?”
I looked at Ryuji, wondering what he meant, but he gave a sly smile at the foreign ghost, gave a thumbs up, and then left with Yaguchi and his sister.
Suddenly losing our reliable backup, I swallowed nervously.
Now, it was just me and four girls.
Excluding Minato, who was more or less just a text friend, it seemed the others all had favorable feelings toward me.
Honestly, it was quite a burden for me.
In typical love comedies, the summer festival, or Natsumatsuri, was an event where the male lead and heroines confirmed their mutual feelings.
But as an outsider intruding into the original story, I was a bit scared.
If their feelings were not natural but artificially induced, it would be hard to accept them if they were due to some irresistible flow of events, making them favor me over Ryuji, the main character.
Considering my current size and appearance, it was hard to receive normal affection.
If there were still people who would like me despite that, honestly, it would be a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck.
But when such luck happens not just once but twice, three times, and consecutively, even I couldn’t help but be skeptical.
It was just too much popularity.
Naturally, I couldn’t help but have my doubts, right?
Unlike others, I knew that this was a world inside a manga.
And even if, by chance, a romantic relationship developed, it would be a problem.
Just as I suddenly became conscious and found myself in Kim Yu-seong’s body, I might wake up and find myself back in my original body.
In that case, it would not only hurt me but also leave an indelible scar on the other person.
I was afraid of that happening.
“Now, what should we do?”
“Huh?”
Lost in thought for a while, I responded dumbfoundedly to Rika’s sudden question.
Realizing that I hadn’t been listening to her just now, Rika slightly puffed her cheeks and said,
“The fireworks are about to start. I was asking what we’re going to do. Are we going to stick together till the end?”
That was the case.
My earlier suggestion to stick together was just a temporary solution.
And now, the moment to make a decision I had momentarily deferred has come back.
Choosing who to watch the fireworks with could instantly turn the pleasant atmosphere cold.
I made eye contact with each of the four people surrounding me.
Rika, pretending to be calm but with an anxious expression, was looking at me.
Karen, with a look like a drenched cat, was watching me.
Sasha, confident but with a somewhat forced smile.
And Minato, smiling brightly, as if she trusted me completely.
It was indeed a cruel choice to make.
No matter whom I chose, it seemed difficult to part with smiling faces after the fireworks.
After pondering for a long while, I finally spoke up.
“I will…”
“Hehe! In the end, I get to monopolize senior!”
The one I ultimately chose was my junior, Minato.
The reason was the pretext that my promise to her was the first.
In truth, by choosing her—a third party—I prevented the three friends from becoming divided.
Because I didn’t want our current relationship to fall apart.
But unaware of these thoughts, Minato clung to my arm, giggling happily.
Watching her, I felt a tinge of guilt.
As we climbed the hill together, I asked,
“Minato, how was today?”
Minato looked at me and smiled playfully,
“It was fun. Everyone was kind to me, even though it was their first time meeting me. It was refreshing to be treated like a regular person instead of a celebrity for a change.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Everyone was so nice. Honestly, I was surprised.”
“What surprised you?”
Then Minato, putting her index finger to her chin, said,
“Actually, kids my age are usually intimidated by me. Maybe it’s like I’m from a different world? Maybe because I became successful too early. Ah, of course, I know this sounds like a privileged complaint. But I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have friends my age, and today felt like that wish was fulfilled.”
Mentioning the earlier incident, Minato smiled cheerfully.
“Thinking about it, it’s all thanks to you, Senior.”
“What did I do?”
“You stood firmly in the middle, like a solid pillar. Maybe that’s why such people gather around you.”
I didn’t know how to react to the continuous shower of compliments.
As I awkwardly scratched the back of my head, she, who had reached the top of the hill first, made a ‘V’ sign with her fingers and said,
“Come on up, Senior. The fireworks are about to start.”
“Alright.”
I quickened my pace.
Eventually, I reached the top of the hill with an open view, and I could hear people counting down below.
“10! 9! 8! 7! 6!”
At that moment, Minato, standing beside me and looking at the night sky, clenched her fist and said,
“Senior, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“5! 4! 3! 2!”
“Suddenly? What is it?”
“1!”
Minato, who had been biting her lip, finally looked at me straight and said,
Bang! Pop! Bang! Bang!
“I like you.”
As colorful fireworks exploded in the sky, I heard her voice clearly.
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