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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Imprint
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[Kyaaaah! OMG! OMG! Oh my god! Kyaaah!]
I felt the author's gushing voice in my head, along with the warmth of the person holding me.
Right. Before I knew it, Yu Siwoo was hugging me.
...Hah, I'm such an idiot. It was just a normal conversation, about how I might like someone someday.
To think I started spouting all sorts of strange things, as if a trigger had been pulled by just that one phrase.
The fortunate thing, I suppose, is that Yu Siwoo seemed not to understand what I meant. The author, too, kept loudly babbling about dates and whatnot, but it seemed she only half-heard it.
I should reflect on how excited I got.
It seems coming to an amusement park made the dolls look like people for a moment, and I wavered.
But that couldn't be true.
I guess I get emotional sometimes too. Thinking all sorts of useless thoughts.
"Haha. How embarrassing. You really didn't need to go this far."
"...No. It's fine. When you're having a hard time, just having someone by your side can help."
Because that's what happened to me.
Siwoo said that and hugged me again.
Being hugged and comforted by someone else felt a bit embarrassing, but there was one thing that bothered me even more.
[H-Hieee... So cool. The protagonist's warm embrace and comfort, I love it so much...]
...I couldn't stand the author's gushing.
I'm not some old lady gushing over a morning drama, what is this?
He should be giving these hugs to Amelia, not me. Why do I have to feel this strange sensation...?
But Siwoo didn't seem like he was going to let go, so I stayed still for a long time, until the Ferris wheel gradually started to slow down.
"...Um, it's getting a bit hot. The Ferris wheel is almost over, and I'm really fine now, so could you let me go?"
"Oh, uh. Right. Sorry."
Only then did Siwoo let me go.
Haa. It felt like hugging a teddy bear on a summer night. I thought I was going to die from the heat.
[How long are you going to hug?! Kyaaah! This, this...! Uhehe, uhehehe.]
Shut up, Author.
I muttered that in my mind. It was a meaningless complaint since the author couldn't hear me anyway.
Perhaps because he had been hugging me for so long? When I looked at Yu Siwoo's face, it was flushed bright red.
No, he was hot too, so why was he hugging me like that?
Is it like, 'The protagonist doesn't abandon his friends'?
"Haha, I'm sorry. But thanks to you, Siwoo, I feel much better. Thank you."
"Uh, un... That's good."
Still, it was an act born of concern for me, so I should express my gratitude.
The protagonist, who had been so manly moments ago, suddenly couldn't meet my gaze.
I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I was in no position to speak.
The author was still gushing in my head.
[Hehe, hehe... Ehehehehehe... I-I saw something good. So, so good...! They should have just kissed there. Passionately!]
Ugh, damn it. My head hurts.
Kiss? Are you crazy? Do something like that?
He should do that to Amelia.
What if he did that to me, a non-heroine, and people started saying I was being 'shipped'?
Ah, no, not 'shipped.' I'm planning to live single forever anyway.
"...Ah. It looks like it's ending soon."
Ah, it was such a shame. The view outside was really pretty.
That feeling of looking down at a view you normally don't see from high in the sky.
It was truly regrettable that I ruined the view by suddenly getting annoyed while at the highest point.
And on the way down, I was being hugged, so I didn't have time to look at the scenery.
"Huh, Amelia... where did she go?"
"I wonder. Bathroom?"
Was her stomach still hurting? ...Did she eat something bad?
As 10, then 20 minutes passed while we waited.
Just as Siwoo was about to call Amelia, who showed no sign of returning, she appeared from an unexpected place.
It was Amelia who unexpectedly got off the Ferris wheel.
"...It was worse than I thought. Haa."
"Amelia?! Why are you coming from there?"
"I told you to go ahead. I rode it alone separately. But it wasn't as fun as I thought."
"...O-Oh. Right."
Come to think of it, did she say something like that? To go ahead.
I thought she was just saying it, but it seems she really went up to ride it alone. That's amazing.
I don't think I could ride something like this alone; I'd feel too self-conscious.
"Phew, so where should we go now?"
"What, what?! You're going to play more?"
"Of course! We have time. Did you think we'd just ride a few things and be done? Come on, let's go! Time is ticking!"
Amelia, you're excited.
She kept saying it was "lame" and "not fun," but I could tell.
She was more excited than usual. Was spending time with friends itself enjoyable for her?
Since her background was that she had no friends she could open up to, maybe she truly considers us friends.
...My mood dropped again. Right, this is just a puppet show after all.
Even if the protagonist and those around him can't be easily touched due to 'setting errors,' they are still just dolls.
Amelia, Teacher Claire, Spira, Laira.
I haven't messed with their settings yet, but Investigator Lee Hayul, too, if I just tug on her strings once...
I shook my head. Thinking about this just gives me a headache, so let's not think about it.
"...Alright. Let's go."
I decided to enjoy myself, following her lead.
Since I was here, it would be a waste not to enjoy it.
***
"Haa. I'm exhausted."
As soon as Siwoo returned to his room, he threw himself onto the bed.
Perhaps it was because Amelia was so excited that she dragged them around for a long time afterward?
Despite being a superhuman, he felt utterly drained.
"...She's here again today. Isn't she tired?"
Just in case, he subtly opened the curtain, and sure enough.
She was watching him again today.
When he first realized she was watching him, he was so scared he cried into his pillow.
Thinking about it now, maybe it's even a memory.
Now, far from being scared, he just thought, 'She's here again today,' and nothing more.
Being scared is fine once or twice. But she watches him every day and doesn't harm him, so it gradually stopped being scary.
No, far from being scared, he was trying to play 'spot the difference' to see where she might be watching him from.
"Today, she's behind the utility pole. That's rare."
Usually, she'd hide behind a tree or on top of power lines.
Was she a little tired too? She was watching him from a spot where she was easier to spot than usual.
At first, it was scarier because she would appear and disappear.
But at some point, did he get the hang of it, or did his intuition grow stronger?
It became easier to find her.
"You changed back into your uniform."
Her casual clothes, they were pretty.
It was just a T-shirt and normal jeans, but perhaps because of her figure.
Her physical features were more accentuated than when she wore her uniform, giving a fresh impression.
She always wore her uniform when she secretly watched him, so he thought she didn't have any casual clothes.
But maybe she just didn't want to wear them?
"...Ah, damn it. It's coming back to me again."
He hurriedly closed the curtain and lay down on the bed.
Thinking of her kept bringing back the events of today.
When he was calming down Arte, who seemed unstable, he had hugged her.
She had hugged him during the Chameleon Villain incident too.
For a while, that wouldn't leave his mind, and the bad memory just faded away, didn't it?
...But this was on a whole different level.
She didn't hug him from behind. He hugged her. From the front.
When he was comforting her, he hugged her urgently at first. Only after some time passed did he realize.
It was a very dangerous situation.
He didn't want to think about what was dangerous in detail. He nearly died socially.
But it was undoubtedly a dangerous situation.
That soft sensation he felt during the back hug. Her scent he noticed when he infiltrated the women's changing room.
Even her soft hair and slightly cool body temperature.
When he came to his senses, he was facing a huge danger.
"If I had been caught doing that while comforting her... Haa."
He shook his head at the chilling thought that suddenly came to him.
Luckily, he wasn't caught, but what if he had been?
"Calm down, Yu Siwoo. Think of something else. Calm down, calm down..."
Siwoo repeated it to himself, trying somehow to forget the sensation and scent that kept coming back to him.
But they say the more you try not to think about something, the more it comes to mind.
The more he repeated it, the more clearly that scene was imprinted in Siwoo's mind.
"...Haa. Looks like I won't be sleeping tonight either."
Siwoo had a premonition.
That deep sleep would be impossible tonight too.
It would be better to not sleep because of fear, like before.
Siwoo briefly fell into self-loathing, thinking, 'Was I really such a person?'
But soon, even that thought was instantly erased by the scene that resurfaced.
...And, as he expected, Siwoo had a restless night.