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She wanted to make her the heroine.
Since it was her giving permission, I happily agreed, but she asked to pay for the drinks that day in return.
I rember she only drank soju that day, as if she was determined not to get drunk.
After getting quite intoxicated, she said sothing like this:
“Where in the world can you find soone who suits the role of a heroine so well?”
Her smiling face is still quite vivid.
Certainly, she was such a bright person that if she had gotten married, she might have beco soone’s one and only heroine in life.
Whatever the case, it’s all in the past now.
“So, is the heroine happy with the protagonist?”
“Die in the prologue.”
“Is the team leader the type to want to kill soone if they love them? Yandere or sothing?”
“Huh?”
“…Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
With those thoughts, “Miso” was created based on Jo Ayoon.
She was cheerful, caring, and had more laughter than anyone else.
Thinking back, Miso received a lot of love after the release.
So, in this life, I wanted to create a character like that, but I can’t capture the sa feelings as back then.
Those impressions have faded.
Ti is truly frightening.
“Boss…?”
Jo Ayoon poked my shoulder as I was lost in thought.
“Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought.”
“I-It’s okay!”
Hehe, Jo Ayoon laughed.
Then she handed a box wrapped in a cloth.
“My mom brought it. It’s, it’s side dishes!”
Ah, is that so?
Her mother often gives side dishes.
She’s expressing gratitude, saying sothing like, “Thank you for making my daughter a good person.”
At first, I refused, but I could see her disappointnt every ti, so now I accept it without complaint.
Most importantly, it’s a hassle to make those kinds of side dishes by my hand.
“You her know I’ll eat it well.”
“You don’t have to eat it well! It’s just a bunch of wild vegetables anyway!”
If you speak cheerfully like that, will it really be fine? Making vegetable dishes requires a lot of effort.
At tis like this, I realize how young I am.
Looking back, I used to hate greens even in my past life.
Even when eating pork belly, I would say, “There’s no room for greens in my stomach,” and just eat the at.
Suddenly, seeing that scene, sothing ca to mind.
“…smile.”
If not much has changed, wouldn’t the current Jo Ayoon also have points to apply to Miso?
Or could she serve as a good dium to recall the Jo Ayoon of the past life?
Feeling a tug at my heart, I imdiately spoke.
“Ayoon.”
“Yes?”
“Tomorrow is the weekend, what are you doing?”
Jo Ayoon’s lips were slightly raised.
“…”
“Wanna go out for so fresh air?”
“Yes!”
She answered without even thinking.
Well, I’m grateful, but…
“Where are we going?”
Jo Ayoon’s smile brightly blood.
It seed like even the creature in her eyes wanted to go out.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Umm…”
With her eyes tightly closed, Jo Ayoon pondered.
It doesn’t matter where.
The purpose was to observe her.
Eventually, Jo Ayoon responded.
“…Ah! I want to go there!”
“Hmm?”
“To the aquarium!”
An aquarium, at least it wouldn’t be noisy.
“Okay, let’s go to the aquarium then.”
That’s how the holiday plans were decided.
The next day ca, and I asked Jo Ayoon who was facing .
“Ayoon, did you go to the wedding?”
“Yes?”
For once again, she wasn’t in her frog-patterned tracksuit but wearing a skirt.
***
The wedding didn’t happen, and the change of clothes was just a simple change of mind. Maybe it’s the age of enjoying dressing up.
So, I entered the aquarium.
It’s not a matter of a few years but a few decades since I last visited an aquarium.
I’m not soone who enjoys going out often, and I’m not particularly interested in following such attractions, so it’s really the first ti since my previous life.
It wasn’t bad.
Watching the fish swimming in the tank made feel calm.
Of course, I didn’t forget observing Jo Ayoon.
“Mr. CEO…! It’s a white-fleshed fish!”
“That one has red flesh… It must be delicious.”
“A shark… Thresher shark…!”
Did she co to see the sashimi?
When I asked if she hadn’t enjoyed raw fish so much before, she replied that it’s because she’s getting older.
“I’m getting older too…”
“I, I’ll graduate next year…!”
“Did you pass all your classes?”
“…”
Jo Ayoon, a fashion university student proud of having one academic warning and three F grades, fell silent.
She just looked at the fish with a sowhat lancholic expression.
“…Shall we go eat sashimi for dinner?”
She circled back to the topic of sashimi.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
I replied and started walking.
Passing by fish and marine animals, we moved on to crustaceans and then penguins.
In the anti, I felt sothing for sure.
“Do, do you know? Penguins are actually psychopaths!”
This Jo Ayoon in this life is truly different in sentint compared to the previous life.
Even though she has the sa face, voice, and body as I rember, there were tis when it felt strange.
Of course, it’s a natural thing.
The life experiences have been different.
“I think we first t when Ayoon was twenty-five.”
In the previous life, we built our friendship around that age.
This life, we’ve been together since she was seventeen.
Opportunities to et friends of the sa age were probably rare for her as she was buried in work during the crucial period of personality formation.
Confidence… is that the right word?
There are still monts when Jo Ayoon hesitates and stamrs when choosing words.
Even the chosen words are not within the usual categories.
I feel sorry for that.
I couldn’t make her an admirable adult like I did in the previous life.
Maybe it’s because I brought this young girl and left her alone.
Lost in unnecessary thoughts, we found ourselves at the end of the aquarium.
Outside, the sun was setting.
Looking at the reddening sky, I said, “Let’s go eat. Sashimi.”
“Yes!”
We went to a nearby sashimi restaurant.
“Eat up.”
“Mr. CEO too…!”
We ordered a plate of flatfish sashimi.
Since tomorrow is a holiday, I allowed a glass of alcohol.
Jo Ayoon seed quite pleased.
After drinking about two glasses, Jo Ayoon suddenly asked, “By the way, Mr. CEO.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have any worries? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
Blinking her eyes, she asked the question. I was montarily taken aback.
Did I show a gloomy expression?
“Well…”
I carefully chose my words.
“Just… I feel sorry for not taking good care of you. I apologize for that.”
Yes, that’s the right thing to say.
Today, even going out was for the purpose of collecting sources for the Miso’s character.
Without such a purpose, I wouldn’t have spent ti separately with Jo Ayoon.
As an adult, I wondered if I had done sothing I shouldn’t have.
In the midst of such thoughts,
“Ah, no···!”
Jo Ayoon said,
“Y-You’ve been taking care of so well, boss···!”
It’s grateful when soone thinks like that.
I was trying to change the subject, thinking it would be better to avoid a gloomy conversation.
“You know. If it weren’t for the boss, I’d still be in my room···!”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“Really···!”
You would have co out into the world on your own.
But what Jo Ayoon said afterward was faster.
And it pulled out a mory that was sowhere inside .
“If it weren’t for the boss, I would have quit by now. It wouldn’t be fun.”
I’m sure I heard the sa thing from Jo Ayoon in my past life.
A surprising realization began to build up inside .
“Making things with the boss is fun···!”
“I enjoy the boss’s gas. They match my taste.”
“When I see soone working hard, I want to work hard too···!”
“Because having soone who works hard nearby is stimulating.”
“Well··· Ah! I like the company too···!”
“I don’t like my teammates, but I like the company. It’s fun to gossip with the boss.”
Jo Ayoon smiled bashfully.
The rembered image overlapped with her present self.
“Thank you for always being there for ! Taking out···!”
“Thank you for letting stay in the team. I saved my resignation letter.”
It was a montary thing.
The unfamiliarity disappeared, and what I knew of Jo Ayoon looked complete.
And so, after that fleeting mont, a sense of unnecessary longing arose and was resolved.
Even though it was undoubtedly a brief mont, amidst it, mories vividly painted the Jo Ayoon of that day at a speed I couldn’t chase.
It felt like the dust accumulated on an old fra had been swept away.
After that whole process, I finally realized.
The Jo Ayoon with clear mories on top was no different from the one from that day.
‘You…’
So clear.
No matter what it looked like on the surface, inside, she was just as clear as in my past life.
It felt like being hit on the back of the head.
Realizing that seeing Jo Ayoon differently was just a remnant of my narrow-mindedness.
Or, maybe I simply hadn’t seen her properly.
No, it could be that I didn’t see her properly.
Looking back, I felt a sense of guilt.
I felt sorry for the tis when she wasn’t treated well, yet she continued to support until the end.
I felt sorry for letting her stay in the team just because of .
I had a thought that I might be hindering her, and it might have continued into this life.
This friend who always sided with deserves a more remarkable life than my past life as a repaynt.
Those were the thoughts I had.
Maybe, this friend might not value such things as important.
“Money and fa aren’t that important? I just like enjoying every mont.”
Jo Ayoon smiled when she faced people, whether in my past life or this one.
Jo Ayoon preferred ordinary conversations over talking about things like fa.
‘···Ah.’
It wasn’t till now that it occurred to .
What I had borrowed from Jo Ayoon while creating Miso.
“Happy! If even one person is smiling, doesn’t it make others feel a little better?”
The cheerful spirit that barely held the always precarious team together.
That was the motif of the smile.
“Ma, Manager…!”
With teeth visible as she smiled brightly, Jo Ayoon was in high spirits.
“Oh, thank you for calling today! Happy birthday…!”
“Huh?”
“It’s your birthday…!”
Ah, right.
March 11th. Today is my birthday.
So it seems like the ga Jo Ayoon liked didn’t co out today.
It was just a misunderstanding, but realizing such consideration, I was grateful.
I could only manage to say, “Thanks.”
Jo Ayoon raised her glass.
“Well then, cheers…!”
“Cheers…”
The soju glasses clinked.
With the sound, it felt like a curtain that had covered my vision was pierced.
It was a sensation of finally grasping sothing that had been missing.
The gathering continued like that.
“Oh, today we live and die…!”
Jo Ayoon thoroughly practiced her own words.
“At, at your house…?”
“In front of your house.”
“Ooh…!”
…It would have been truly beautiful if it had ended there.
***
Two days later, I arrived at work and sat in front of the computer. Turning it on with a light heart, I revisited the scenario of the prologue.
“Miso said to the wriggling E-40 in bed, ‘It’s dangerous to move like that! Just endure until you’re completely better.’”
A girl who was warm to everyone and never lost her smile. A person like sunshine that lts the world with her smile. It was an expression ant to represent such a character.
And now, I realized that this expression was very mundane.
“She don’t need to be kind.”
Regardless of words, a person who spreads smiles brightens the surroundings with their kind heart alone. A person who can reach out for others sincerely shows their sincerity through actions. Therefore, the warmth that doesn’t ask for a reason sotis appeared as whimsical.
Realizing these things, I corrected the dialogue.
“If you don’t want to be fish bait, it’s better to stay quiet! I’m really good at fighting!”
Miso could beco an even more mischievous girl if she wanted to. Even then, she would still be a clear-minded child.
Now satisfied, I saved the modified file.
That’s when I heard voices.
“Oh my! Ayoon dyed her hair?”
“Yes!”
The sound reached .
When I lifted my head, Jo Ayoon was visible.
Making eye contact with , Jo Ayoon approached with a bouncing step, smiling brightly.
“Boss! How about this? It’s a two-tone dye!”
Jo Ayoon showed the tips of her hair.
Only that part was dyed pink.
I wondered what had gotten into her.
Even while contemplating, her expression showed genuine satisfaction.
As much as the hair tips dyed in pink, her smile beca even more vibrant.
When asked about my opinion, I replied, “It suits you well.”
Jo Ayoon indeed looked good in pink.
“Re-really? My mom liked it too! Oh! If you need more side dishes, just let know!”
“Okay.”
It was a refreshing spring.
An afternoon where I gained a good realization.
The smile of Jo Ayoon in her twenty-third year of this life had already beco that of a mature /RomanceMTL
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