As Long as I Don't Go Any Further, That's All That Matters

“Whoa, you're giving me more?”

“…Isn't it obvious?”

Since that day, somehow my routine at daycare had become building all sorts of things out of LEGO.

The next day, I got chocolate again, so I made something and gave it to him. Before I knew it, I'd gotten into building things with LEGO….

Unlike when I was a kid, YouTube and the like hadn't really taken off in the dating sim world, and a five-year-old brat could hardly use a computer, so I had to dredge up the memories in my head and build things from them.

Still, when I worked hard to build something and gave it to the protagonist beside me, his enthusiastic reactions made me feel good.

…Well, I'd have to tear that building down to make another one tomorrow anyway, but as long as I'm happy right now, isn't that all that matters?

Since that first day, he hadn't grabbed my hand, gotten too close, or done anything else overly touchy. And talking to someone else was so novel and fun that somehow we ended up sticking together every day.

‘…Huh, this is so different from what I first resolved to do.’

It felt a little off, but.

Still, nothing seemed likely to go in that direction, and whenever there was any excessive physical contact, I stopped it right away, so it didn't seem like a problem.

“Thanks again for today! Here, have some chocolate!”

“You think you can get anything you want just by giving me chocolate, you idio—”

“I'll give you two pieces today!”

“…Idiot?”

The protagonist gave me more chocolate, apparently because he liked the LEGO building I'd made for him.

He looked like he was training me or something, so I was about to answer curtly, but when I heard he was giving me two, I stumbled over my words.

Two pieces…?

I thought of the chocolates I'd gotten after taking the wrapper from the ones I'd eaten that day to Mom and pestering her to buy me more.

…I even acted cute for the first time in my twenty years of life while begging, and spent the next three days kicking myself under the covers over it, but anyway!

Thanks to Mom, who wouldn't let me have more than two a day for fear of cavities, I still couldn't eat as much chocolate as I wanted, even though I'd stocked up….

Still, thanks to the protagonist giving me one piece at a time, I could easily eat three—but four in one day was a first.

Before possessing this body, I hadn't been so obsessed with chocolate that I'd even thought of eating around four pieces a day. But strangely, ever since I possessed this body, chocolate tasted so good that I wanted to keep eating it.

‘I've already eaten all my chocolate for today….’

I'd already eaten all the chocolate Mom gave me, and if I accepted all that chocolate, it'd be twice my usual amount.

‘…Sh-should I just close my eyes and take it? Or ignore him?’

If he'd only given me one piece, I would've had just two instead of three, and I'd have wanted that much more chocolate. But I'm an adult, so I can hold back.

But four? I could eat two more?

“Hmm, hmmm….”

I really wanted to eat the chocolate in that little hand right now, but after saying all that just now, I couldn't just take it shamelessly.

No, seriously, where did this kid get so much chocolate?

Seeing how he gave tons of chocolate to other girls too, not just me, he seemed like the son of a family that owned a chocolate factory.

“You don't want it? If you don't, never mind—”

“W-who said I don't want it? I was just thinking for a second, idiot…!”

While I was thinking, the protagonist apparently took it as a refusal and started to take the chocolate back, so I hurriedly snatched it from him.

…This feels weird.

‘Why do I feel like I lost…?’

Feeling a little defeated, I glanced at the protagonist and saw him looking completely triumphant.

…He got me…!

By a five-year-old brat, no less…!

‘…Have I been living as a five-year-old so long that my intelligence has dropped to a five-year-old's too?’

Over something as minor as chocolate, of all things.

Of course, if you asked me what my favorite food was right now, I'd say chocolate, but I didn't like it enough to pull a stunt like this.

“…? What's wrong?”

“Doesn't matter, idiot….”

This guy was the problem.

If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have to worry about getting involved with a guy, and I wouldn't have made such an ugly spectacle of myself over chocolate just now…!

‘I won't forgive you…!’

I'll get revenge somehow.

“By the way, why do you keep calling me an idiot?”

“…Huh?”

The protagonist gave me a puzzled look as I trembled a little, then, as if just remembering, asked me, “Why do you keep calling me ‘idiot’?”

…….

‘…I hadn't really thought about it.’

To begin with, speaking out loud to people in real life had been rare in my old life, and the only things that counted as conversation for me were online forums and dating sims.

I thought using the other heroines' ways of speaking would get me involved too easily, so ironically, I ended up using Kim Siyeon's way of speaking—the easiest to get entangled with, but also the most aggressive.

Besides, saying “idiot” over and over somehow rolled off the tongue, so before I knew it, I'd started saying it naturally….

“…D-do you maybe not like it?”

Since it had been so long since I'd talked to anyone, I wondered if I might've hurt his feelings by getting too comfortable, so I asked in a tiny voice.

…Honestly, I don't know what it was like before, but talking was way more fun than I'd expected.

How should I put it…? It was like I'd had a new experience that I'd never known before, and now I could never go back to the way things were.

“Huh? That's not it. I was just wondering why you say it like that.”

“…I-it's just comfortable….”

“Really?”

He said he didn't mind, but the fact that my reason for calling him an idiot was just ‘because’ bothered me somehow, and my voice sank lower and lower.

It was a bit like when Mom asked, “Why did you do it this way?” Even if I hadn't done anything wrong, I'd feel like I had….

“Does that mean I'm the person you're most comfortable with?”

“Y-yeah…?”

“You said that way of talking is comfortable, so doesn't that mean I'm the person you're most comfortable with?”

…Is that right?

I still wanted Mom to think well of me, so I was a little careful about how I spoke to her.

When it came to my teacher or the other kids, I felt awkward, so I'd either use polite speech or just give short answers and end the conversation.

‘Now that I think about it, maybe Han Seojin is the person I'm closest to right now…?’

A strong feeling that something was wrong washed over me, but I couldn't lie, so I nodded carefully, and I saw the protagonist look incredibly happy.

…Was he that happy?

Of course, he was a five-year-old brat, so maybe anything could make him happy, but even taking that into account, wasn't he way too happy?

That thought crossed my mind, but seeing how happy and innocent he looked was somehow nice.

So I smiled a little.

“Huh? You smiled!”

…….

But I immediately wiped the smile off my face.

That was close.

Thinking about what had just happened, I almost ended up as a heroine.

A tsundere childhood-friend heroine was exactly the kind of heroine destined to lose.

‘As long as I don't go any further than this, it'll be fine. Yeah, yeah.’

After drawing a clear line in my head again, I quietly climbed under my blanket and fell asleep when the teacher announced nap time.

==========

“Mom.”

“Yes, Siyeon?”

“We're going on a field trip soon.”

After safely getting home on the daycare bus, I waited quietly. When Mom came in with a “I'm back!” and hugged me tight, I spoke to her softly.

That's right, the highlight of daycare—a field trip—was coming up…!

We went on field trips almost every month, but since this was my first one, just saying it out loud made me feel excited.

Did Mom know how much courage it had taken me to bring up the field trip?

“A field trip…? Oh, is it already that day?”

‘Thank goodness….’

Mom checked the living room calendar, where [The day our Siyeon goes on a field trip] was written in big letters, with five stars drawn beside it.

“Then shall we go buy ingredients for your lunch?”

“…Huh…?”

“Well, you're the one who's going to eat it, so you should choose what's on the menu, right?”

I mean, even if you say that, my body is five years old right now…?

Thank goodness I was twenty on the inside. If my body and soul had both been five, I probably would've stammered and said, “You pick, Mom!”

Wait, more importantly, she wanted me to go to the supermarket with her?

“I-I like everything you make, Mom….”

“Liar. You're way too kind for your own good, Siyeon. Come on, let's go to the supermarket!”

My attempt to dodge with a little flattery failed completely.

“A-and I haven't washed up since I got home, so going outside is a little….”

After realizing flattery wouldn't get me out of it, I tried to escape by revealing a little of how I really felt.

Mom had come home later than me, but I'd just gotten back too, and I was a little sweaty and felt sticky.

‘At least I don't want to go out right this second….’

It'd be best not to go out at all, but if I had to, it would be better to wash up first.

“Hm? Is that so?”

Mom asked rather loudly in response.

“Then how about we bathe together for the first time in a while?”

“…W-what?!”

Taken by surprise by this ordeal after so long, I shook my head vigorously.

I mean, of course that's impossible?!

Of course, this wasn't the first time I'd bathed with Mom, but that didn't mean we should keep doing it together.

To begin with, I'm a guy, and because Mom is so beautiful, my thoughts start wandering into all sorts of inappropriate places.

Even if it's because of the guilt, I don't want to…!

“You're refusing again. This time, we're definitely bathing together!”

“Yes….”

But Mom stared at me with eyes that looked ready to strip my clothes off right then and there, as if she'd already decided we were bathing together.

In the end, I gave in and prepared to confess to a god I didn't even believe in.