‘Beep’ ‘Beep’ ‘Beep’ 

At the sound of my annoying alarm, I opened my eyes. I saw a familiar sight—it was my ceiling back at home. 

‘Strange…’ I feebly uttered. 

But…. What’s so strange about that? 

Somehow, things just don’t feel right. I had a dream, and I was in immense pain. And… right now, I feel good—per usual, I guess. 

Somehow things feel a little hazy, and I honestly don’t know why. Anyhow, I grabbed my phone, and it was still 10 in the morning. 

Well… soon lunch, I guess. 

—Right. 

Today Aska asked me to go shopping. He said something about wanting some new clothes before the second year. 

I’m pretty sure his sister has better style than me, yet he asks me… ah… my taste is superb… hahaha….

Well… that’s not even why he asks me in the first place…

But I don’t wanna leave beeeed~!

‘Sigh’ 

And as I let out a soft sigh, I received a message from Freja. 

—Freja | date? 💗 today? | 

…I feel bad, but I have prior plans with Aska. So I’ll have to refuse… but I really do want to go on a date with her~. 

—Me | sorry… I have something planned today. how about the day after? | 

—Freja | …why not tomorrow? | 

—Me | me and the boys will be going to a climbing course |

—Freja | I seeeeee… no girls? | 

…c’mon, I said me and da bois, right…? Of course, no girls. 

—Freja | …no girls, right? | 

—Me | you asked that alredy! tes. no girls! you already know I only have female classmates and not a single female friend! | 

Ah… I misspelt. 

...you may think that Freja is a bit possessive, and… she kinda is? But not really, she’s cute~! 

Ah… wait, there is a reason for it, though. 

When we went on our first date about 2 weeks ago, she left me alone for just 5 minutes, and when she returned, I was chatting with some ladies who wanted some directions. 

At first, I had no clue as to why she was so sulky. But as it turned out. The ladies tried hitting on me, and Freja explained that it truly was the case. Because when she made eye contact with one of them. They fled the scene without their supposedly needed direction…. 

Thinking back, that sure was the case, huh…. But I’ve never been approached like that before, though… so why then? 

—Freja | …i know! | 

—Freja | but! but! | 

—Freja | umm… | 

—Freja | sorry… |

—Me | no worries! I promise to take you to the cafe you want to go to and the amusement park! | 

—Freja | ooh! that sounds like fun! I’ll ask my older brother to drive us there! |

Her brother… huh? Ugh… I feel nervous, and we’ve only started dating. But her family lives a little deep into the woods, so I’ve never really had the chance to meet them. 

But if I remember correctly, her brother lives in a city further up… but isn’t he busy with university stuff to be driving us? 

Hmm~ he does sound like a doting older brother, though. At least based on what little info I have. 

Wait… doesn’t she have a twin brother as well? At least, I’m pretty sure she mentioned it once when we first met. 

—Me | sounds great! I’ve wanted to meet your brother as well! Also, doesn’t he go to one of the best private universities in the country? you sure he has time? | 

—Freja | I texted him and he said yes! Don’t worry about it! |

…how cute, well… this just made my day, and I suppose I have the energy to get off the bed now! 

—Me | I see, then… love ya, see you in two days! | 

—Freja | 💔 | 

…and she texted me a broken heart.

Ahh! 

It feels like my chest’s been stabbed! 

—Freja | you won't call tonight…? | 

…that’s what this is about? 

—Me | oh! that’s what you meant! of course, I’ll call! 💗 | 

—Freja | it feels weird when you use emojis… | 

…excuse me then…! I was just matching your energy…! 

—Me | ……… | 

—Freja | just kidding! | 

—Me | ……. | 

—Freja | ….. | 

—Me | … | 

—Freja | ……... | 

What are we even doing? 

— :::: — 

Later that day, as I left the house, I found Aska waiting for me at the train station. There was a bunch of dudes surrounding him. 

“—I keep telling you! I have a boyfriend!” Aska said with a sour expression on his face. 

And when he spotted me, I gave a sharp look to the men hitting on him, and he came running to me and grabbed my arm. Making a ‘bleeh!’ sound while sticking out his tongue.  

…how immature. 

Then again, I’m not any more mature than he is…. 

I kept looking at the men until they gave in and clicked their tongues before walking in the other direction. 

“Why didn’t you just say you’re a guy?” I teasingly asked. I already knew the reason, of course. 

“Dude… 8 out of 10 wouldn’t believe me, and guess what? They were that bunch out of 10!” he exclaimed before letting go of my arm. 

…honestly can’t blame them. I mean… despite dressing like a guy, he still looks like a girl in guy's clothing. 

Well, it does suit him since he has a good sense of fashion. And… I’ve been his bodyguard of sorts every time we go out… 

Aaaah, what a pain… 

Well… that’s not true, though, I do enjoy it, and it’s nice hanging out with him. We can just do whatever, and it isn’t boring. 

“Oh, by the way, I see that you’ve gained more muscles,” Aska randomly commented. 

…have I? 

Wait… how can he even tell!? 

“...I guess that’s why my weight has gone up… I thought I was gaining fat again…” I replied. 

Aska shrugged, saying, “Well, you were more chubby in middle school. Look at you now! Slim and muscular!” 

Hearing that made me happy. But it does feel embarrassing when he’s so blunt about it. I won’t let my bashful self show, though. 

“...okay? What does that have to do with your previous comment?” I reluctantly asked. 

“Guess,” Aska replied with a smug grin. 

Umm? Okay? What does he want me to guess— 

“—wait a sec… are we buying me clothes as well?” 

He winked at me and said, “Yup!” before dragging me along. 

“...is it necessary, though? Sure, some of my clothes have become slightly tighter, but I have loose ones from when I was a bit more chubby—” 

“—Right, but they’re short, right? You’ve grown in length, you know? Besides, aren’t you like… 176 now?” 

“178, actually.” 

What…? I had to correct him! 

‘Tsk…’  

“Hey, what are you pissed about!?” 

Aska crossed his arms and let out a soft sigh. “You’re now exactly two digits taller than me since middle school!” 

…see? Immature…. 

“Huh…? You’re still 168?” 

“Still? This guy said still!? Hmpf!” Despite being sulky, Aska softly smiled. “Well… seeing you working on yourself sure is rewarding to watch,” he suddenly commented. 

“...that’s out of the blue.” 

“Is it, though?” he replied with a cute head tilt. “I mean, you’ve been on a diet since middle school and got slim to high school, but you didn’t really do weight training—at least until about a year ago.” 

…well, I reached my goal of losing weight and keeping that weight. So it’s reasonable for him to ask since this level of exercise wasn’t in my training regiment at first. 

…around that time, in our early freshmen year, I met Freja in the city, getting hit on by some guys. And I got to know her. I didn’t know we went to the same school, though, and she was apparently new around this city. Since she went to middle school in a different and much smaller city. 

This and that happened, and I showed her around. We, of course, didn’t speak at school since… I found out that she was one of the popular first-year girls. 

And I didn’t really think I was any good. 

She didn’t say anything to me either, since in her mind, I was just some dude that just happened to show her around. 

And then… one day, after school, I found a note with a number in my shoe locker—I ignored it and threw it away. 

But… 

I found the same note with the same number in my shoe lock the very next day—I threw that away as well…. 

It kept happening until I decided to just contact the person, and we met up in the place stated in the text. 

To my surprise, it was Freja…. 

She said she’d wanted to speak to me at school but didn’t know how to approach me. And it wasn’t easier since we were in different classes…. 

I felt self-conscious about it and asked her to keep this a secret. At the time… she looked a little sad but didn’t say anything. 

…I can’t say when I fell for her, but I thought that it’d be nice if she was my girlfriend, and so. I started to work more on myself.

As time went by, and as we spent more time together, sometimes calling each other at night—we weren’t dating at the time per se. But… I thought that I wanted to confess to her one day. Hoping for a yes, of course. 

And despite those plans of mine, Freja one day asked, “A-are… we da-dating…?” with a shy look on her face. 

She sat across the table, fidgeting and playing with her platinum blond hair. Her silver-coloured eyes were darting around the cafe, and I noticed that her lips were slightly quivering. 

I’m not an expert in romance, but even I could tell that she liked me at that point. 

I… I wasn’t fully satisfied with myself yet. But… denying it would only hurt both of us. 

“I-if that’s how you see it, then… I’d be happy to be your boyfriend.” I tried sounding as calm as possible, but I guess I did stutter a little. 

After she heard my reply, her eyes started to sparkle, and her expression lit up, but she then became shy again and gave me a nod. 

I found it incredibly adorable and was so happy that day. Well… that was, like… two weeks ago? It was our first official date. Even though our previous ‘hang-outs’ could be considered dates…. 

“...Hey, Isak, what’s with that dumb smirk of yours?” Aska suddenly asked. 

…man… couldn’t you let me reminisce a little more? “Oh… right….” 

“Whatever… were here!” he excitedly exclaimed. 

Seeing him like that made me chuckle, “Well then, pick me something suitable!” Of course, I hope to look handsome for Freja on our next date! 

Aska blankly and suspiciously peered at me, asking, “Aren’t you weirdly excited?” 

Well, of course! I have an upcoming date! 

But… 

I still haven’t told him that I’ve got a girlfriend—I’m planning on introducing them when school starts again! I can’t wait to see the look on his face! 

Hahahaha

"Whaaaatever~! Let’s go!”