July had fairer skin than the original me. He said he hardly ever went out, and that he hated getting tanned so he meticulously applied sunblock (apparently, when his family saw him carefully doing skin makeup before drawing on eyeliner, they became even more convinced he was ‘gay’).
“…Feet don’t get tanned by the sun.”
I responded gruffly for no reason. The wet fingers caressing everything from my ankles to my toes, the tops of my feet, my heels and soles tickled. My stomach tightened unnecessarily and my body kept flinching. But had Dave already noticed I was embarrassed? He just looked up at me and smiled quietly, then started fiddling with my elbow.
“But you’re pale here too.”
“Nngh…! Elbows don’t tan easily either.”
The moment his wet hand touched the inside of my elbow, that delicate skin, I got goosebumps. Whether Dave didn’t notice or was ignoring how tense I was, this time he stroked my cheek.
“You’re pale here too.”
“Just being pale… isn’t that great.”
Dave’s skin as an athlete was tanned by the sun, somewhat dark. If you looked closely, he even had freckles on the bridge of his nose. It must be from playing under the sun since childhood. The phrase “sun-kissed boy” came to mind. Dave really seemed like he’d been kissed by the sun. Was it because he resembled the sun? His blond hair, his smile, his characteristic bright energy. Everything seemed to belong to the sunny side.
“Dave, being healthy like you looks good.”
“Me? I’m just too tanned.”
Dave raised his arms and examined his body from various angles. Water droplets rolled down his firm chest and arm muscles, his broad shoulders. Same with his hair and face. Wasn’t there a saying that handsome men are dangerous when wet? It truly was so. Feeling my heart flutter, I looked down for no reason and changed the subject.
“…Have you been swimming since you were little?”
“Yeah. I must have started when I was about one or two. My mom put me in the water early. She said babies can swim early because they remember being in amniotic fluid. It’s a wonder I didn’t die, really.”
Dave giggled. I was blankly staring at the water droplet running down the bridge of his nose, my lips parting stupidly.
“July?”
“…Huh?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Water… is dripping. You really look like a merman.”
He really did. He matched so well with water. Both his swimming skills and his appearance. Dave, who had been tilting his head to drain water from his ear, pulled up the corners of his mouth while still in that crooked position.
“Then are you the prince of the land?”
“Does it work that way…?”
“If I’m a merman and you’re a prince, then I have a one-sided crush on you? I don’t like The Little Mermaid though. It’s too sad. Well, the Disney version is fine. I always like happy endings.”
“Nngh…!”
Dave’s left hand casually caressed my ankle, then soon moved up to my calf. There was a disconnect between that hand and his cheerful tone.
“Your Highness, may I receive one last kiss before I turn into sea foam?”
“If it’s the last… that’s a sad ending.”
I tried to pretend not to notice Dave’s fingers that had entered inside my pants, pressing and tickling the inside of my knee. I deliberately spoke with rational pronunciation, trying to sound level-headed. Nevertheless, Dave continued his performance.
“Then just a kiss. As a wish for a good afternoon.”
Dave’s hand, which had slipped out of my pants, pressed against the floor outside the pool. Then Dave slowly lifted his body and smooch! Quickly kissed my lips before going back down. His wet lips were so moist they were damp, like pressing a sponge full of water against them. …No, I was just escaping into that feeling because I was too embarrassed. Smooch, smooch, smooch… The wet sounds echoed in my ears. It was too stimulating.
“July, bend down just a little. This is kind of hard.”
“……”
I bit my lower lip, feeling dangerous. Nevertheless, my body was already moving, slowly bending at the waist. Dave’s face, smiling as if satisfied, came closer and closer, and soon our lips touched.
Dave’s wet hand stroked my cheek. As if familiar, Dave skillfully entered my mouth and rubbed his tongue against my piercing as usual. Then after kissing as he pleased, he pulled his lips away.
“July, your face is super red.”
At a distance where our noses touched, Dave whispered. Haa! His breath tickled me. Only when the system window started appearing above Dave’s head did I finally come to my senses.
NEW!
Romance index has increased by 5%!
NEW!
Queer index has increased by 5%!
NEW!
Rotten Pineapple index has increased by 2%!
SYSTEM
Viewer A says, “A pool kiss! So romantic!” 🙂
Viewer C also says, “Young people’s innocent romance is always nice.” 🙂
Viewer D writes on social media, ‘Pizza Saver this episode, the kiss scene is amazing!’ 🙂
NEW!
Rotten Pineapple index has increased by 1%!
【Rotten Pineapple】
Current [46]%
◈ High-Teen: 100%
◈ Romance: 12%
◈ Queer: 12%
…Why did the Romance and Queer indexes go up by 5% this time? It’s not even the first kiss? Because it’s a pool? Because Dave is shirtless? What is it?
When viewer reactions are enthusiastic, stats rise more than usual. 🙂
Ah, I guess it looked different to others too. After all, a pool where we’re alone together is much more romantic than a cleaning supply closet full of dust and bulk detergent.
“…Aren’t you cold?”
I feigned indifference out of embarrassment. Not knowing my feelings, Dave spread his arms wide.
“I’m cold. So hug me.”
“You’re all wet.”
“Then just a kiss.”
“……”
Even if lips get a bit wet, well…
I lowered my head again to kiss Dave. As our noses brushed, our breaths touched, and our lips were about to meet,
“Ahh!”
“Hahaha! July!”
“*Cough*, k-*cough*! Kup!”
Dave had pushed me into the pool. Water got in my nose and ears making it agonizing, but Dave just laughed at me like this. I flailed around for a while before finally grabbing the wall and getting out, panting. Water poured from my nose and mouth.
“Heu, heuk, huk!”
“Ah, bless you.”
I was annoyed at Dave for saying something out of the blue. Even though I knew it was American custom to say such things when someone coughs.
What? Bless? Blessing or whatever, my nose is burning like I’m dying right now! Plus, shouldn’t you ask if I’m okay first?! What am I going to do with no spare clothes? If I go home like this, there might be a family meeting excluding me. The topic would be [July Seems to Be Getting Bullied at School, How Do We Solve This?].
“It’s okay. The water was just changed not long ago so it’s clean.”
Dave splashed water next to me. That’s not what I’m worried about, you young brat… If only you weren’t sixteen… Ugh, whatever, I just lay down on the floor. Above, I could see the high domed ceiling.
* * *
Fortunately, Dave had spare clothes in his car so I wore those and went home. Since no one was home, there was no family meeting excluding me. After finishing my shower and drying my hair, I lay on the bed and opened the status window.
<Status Window>
【Quest】
Secure Season 2 Broadcasting Rights for ‘Pizza Saver’!
【Rotten Pineapple】
Current [46]%
◈ High-Teen: 100%
◈ Romance: 12%
◈ Queer: 12%
I’d already raised the Rotten Pineapple index by 6%, which had seemed so daunting before. To succeed in the final quest, it needed to be over 90%, so I needed to raise it by at least 44% more. And I also needed to raise the Romance index by 3% more. Raising the Romance index was a piece of cake now. And after opening the character status window for the first time in a while, I sighed.
<Character Status Window>
◈ Name: July Baek (Korean name: Baek Woogeon)
◈ Age: 18 years old (12th grade)
◈ Popularity: 18%
◈ Nicknames: Goth Asian, Baek Something, January, February, March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November, December
◈ Special Notes: Main character in the drama ‘Pizza Saver’
“I followed them on Stargram but they didn’t follow back. Do they dislike me?”
Look at that mess of nicknames. They must really hate calling me ‘July’, huh? And I don’t know who left that comment, but I went on Stargram and followed back everyone who followed me.
Things seemed to be going more smoothly than expected. Isn’t this too easy?
“Hey, System.”
??
“What if I hit 100% at this rate?”
ZZZ…
Annoying thing. I’m the one helping out here, and yet it never says anything nice to me.
* * *
It was drama class day. I quite liked drama class. It was conducted with teaching methods I couldn’t learn in Korea, and it was fun. However, if there was one disadvantage…
“……”
“……”
It was that Joel Gomez was there. The son of a bitch who ordered all kinds of food at the diner, didn’t pay, and bit my cheek before leaving—as soon as our eyes met, hmph! He turned his head away. He’s not even a child, so why is he sulking? What did I do wrong?
I have my own circumstances too! Are you going to raise the Romance and Rotten Pineapple indexes by kissing Dave? Huh? I’m working so hard to save this world! I’m only kissing Dave to prevent its destruction! …Of course, I did seem to be liking Dave a bit more… And the kisses that had felt so strange and unfamiliar seemed to be getting somewhat okay too…
“…Ugh.”
Did I blush without realizing it? Joel wrinkled his face at me as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have. Then don’t look! I moved to a seat as far from Joel as possible. Coincidentally, the person next to me was someone I knew. I smiled brightly at them.
