I-It's Not Just Something Like That, You Idiot...!

The place we went for our field trip was an amusement park.

Usually, amusement parks are enormous, and if you just let little kids wander around, it's easy for them to get lost.

That's why kids are usually paired up and walk around together, and even then, they usually stay with a teacher.

…So I could understand sticking together in case one of us got lost.

I'm five, after all. Unless all the other kids have also regressed, been possessed, or reincarnated like me, making a five-year-old go around alone is obviously insane.

I know that, I really do…!

“Make sure you hold your partner's hand and follow along, okay?”

“Yeees!”

“Yeees….”

But it wasn't like I wanted to hold hands and walk around with him just because they called us partners.

The one who'd been paired with me happened to be none other than the protagonist, so I expressed my distress by fidgeting with my fingers.

…O-of course, I do think he's better than the other boys I haven't even talked to much.

‘C-couldn't I hold hands with someone of the same sex…?’

Of course, it wasn't because I was a guy mentally and wanted to satisfy my desires; it was because that would obviously keep a romance from starting.

I may like women, but I'm not a pedophile who likes little girls, and the protagonist's the lead in a dating sim, so there's no way he likes men.

…Now that I think about it, if the protagonist started a romance with someone else, that'd be a good thing for me, so I did wonder why I was thinking like this.

Anyway.

“Aren't you going to hold my hand?”

“Ugh….”

The other kids all took each other's hands, even if they looked reluctant, but the protagonist and I still hadn't, and were just staring at each other.

…No, he was holding his hand out as if he didn't care either way, while I was the one fidgeting and hesitating.

I felt a little aggrieved, like I was the only one taking this so seriously, but honestly, I had plenty to say.

‘Do you know how much courage it takes to hold someone's hand…!’

How long had it been since I'd touched anyone besides family?

Ever since I started daycare, I'd had some physical contact with other people, but I'd never had such intimate physical contact as holding hands.

“Hup!”

“…Eek?!”

Seeing me keep stalling and eyeing the protagonist's outstretched hand without being able to take it, he couldn't wait any longer and forcibly pulled my hand out, then took it.

“W-what do you think you're doing…!”

“Why are you making such a big deal out of just holding hands?”

“I-it's not just something like that, you idiot…!”

Naturally extroverted guys like you wouldn't get it, but an introverted loser like me needs a ton of resolve even for something this trivial…!

I glared at him to show my displeasure, but he squeezed my hand tightly, as if to show that my glare wasn't going to work.

…His hand is soft.

N-no, that's not the point.

“L-let go of my hand, you idiot…!”

I flailed the hand he was holding around, doing everything I could to make him let go.

I wasn't mentally prepared yet, for one thing, and I had no idea when I might turn into a heroine, so something like this could get me involved with him.

“Nope.”

“…What?”

I'd been desperately trying to get free, and at his answer, I stared blankly at the protagonist.

…He said no?

“You kept calling me an idiot, so I'm getting revenge, you idiot. Hehe.”

“Huh…?”

Maybe it had been bothering him that I always called him an idiot, because he called me one as he laughed, squeezing the hand holding mine tighter, but not hard enough to hurt.

“…L-let go already!”

“All right, everyone has their partner's hand, right? Let's go!”

I came to my senses a little late and quietly yelled for him to let go, but when the teacher said it was time to go, the kids ahead of me started moving one by one.

“Let's go too!”

“W-wait…! L-let go of my hand first…!”

Seeing that, the protagonist started walking without letting go of my hand, and I was practically dragged along, hurrying after him while continuing to demand he let go.

==========

“All right, everyone, let's spread out our mats and have lunch!”

““Yeees!!””

In the end, I walked around with my hand held until lunchtime….

Despite his pretty-boy looks, he was unexpectedly strong, and no matter how hard I tried to pull my hand free, it wouldn't budge. And when I tried talking to him, all he did was laugh and call me “idiot.”

If he hadn't given me chocolate to calm me down along the way, I think I would've charged into him ages ago.

…Seriously, if it weren't for the chocolate, I think I would've kicked him in the shin or something.

“…Let go of my hand now, you idiot. Everyone else let go already.”

“Okay!”

Everyone else had let go and spread out their mats, so I told the protagonist, who was still holding my hand, to hurry up and release me. Only then did he let go.

I was free of his grip for only a moment—

-Grrr.

“…….”

“Are you hungry?”

My face went bright red at the embarrassing sound of my stomach growling. Without saying anything, I quietly took out my mat, spread it out, and sat down.

Thanks to Mom preparing a fairly large mat so I could eat comfortably, it took a little while to straighten it out since it kept bunching up oddly.

The protagonist watched me sit down, grinned, and immediately plopped down on my mat.

…?

“Why are you sitting on my mat when you have your own?”

“Huh? I lost mine.”

I stared at him in disbelief as he brazenly said he'd lost it, but all I could do was sigh at the protagonist, who only said things like, “Want some more chocolate?”

If you eat chocolate before lunch, you won't be able to eat much, you idiot.

‘I brought a lot of side dishes on purpose, so he can't just eat a little.’

If he'd even lost his mat, his lunch probably wasn't anything special either.

That's what I figured, so I had no choice but to share the extra side dishes I'd brought.

…It's absolutely not because Mom packed extra so I could share with a friend.

Thinking that, I confidently pulled out my lunchbox, ready for him to be impressed.

“Ta-da!”

“Uh….”

I could only stare blankly at the protagonist's lunchbox, which was far more elaborate than I'd imagined.

Kimchi fried rice topped with an omelet, and bulgogi, spicy pork, and dakgalbi lined up as side dishes.

…Every single one of them was something I liked.

You could say, “Who doesn't like meat?” but I mean those three are dishes I absolutely adore.

And I'd never expected to see them in a lunchbox.

‘Th-this wasn't what I expected…?’

I'd planned to generously share my food and use that to stop him from holding my hand after lunch, but now everything had gone completely sideways…!

“Let's eat together!”

“Y-yeah….”

Of course, I had no intention of looking down on the food Mom had made with so much care, but compared to his lunchbox, mine looked so pathetic….

And on top of that, I wanted to eat his lunch.

‘…Hah, what am I thinking?’

It's not like I'm so picky that I won't eat mini meat patties or rolled omelet.

I only picked those because I was trying to cater to that idiot, and now look what happened….

“I like mini meat patties. Can I have one?”

“…!”

Feeling a little down, I quietly popped a piece of kimbap into my mouth. Then the protagonist looked at my lunchbox and asked if he could have one mini meat patty.

…I've got a good idea.

“If you give me some of your side dishes, I'll think about it.”

“Really? Take whatever you want!”

After settling on a trade, I put a little bulgogi and dakgalbi in my lunchbox, then gave him two mini meat patties.

…Am I being too greedy?

I hadn't taken that much, so proportionally it was about even, but I still felt guilty, so I gave him two more mini meat patties and a piece of rolled omelet, then took a little spicy pork too. I was reasonably satisfied.

…Even if two-thirds of the mini meat patties are gone, it'll be fine.

‘It's delicious.’

I savored the home-cooked taste of the bulgogi, not the flavor of a chain restaurant, and felt a little happy.

This is what a field trip is all about….

==========

I hadn't been feeling this way at all when we were eating lunch.

“…A-are we really going in?”

“Yep! Let's go!”

“U-ugh.”

After getting thoroughly worked up by the kids screaming in front of the haunted house, I stared blankly at the teacher as she went in, then eventually followed.

…I-I really am terrified of horror stuff.

Ever since I saw a horror movie on TV that Dad had put on late at night when I was little and tearfully called for Mom, it seemed to have become a trauma. I absolutely couldn't handle anything horror-related, so a haunted house was the worst possible thing.

I was scared of even NaXuto ShippXden when I saw those black rod-like things stuck in someone's face, so how could I possibly go into a haunted house…!

“Are you scared?”

“…D-do you think I'm scared? Idiot.”

I was scared.

I was genuinely so terrified that all I could think about was running away right now.

But one comment from the protagonist had gotten under my skin, and I'd gone and done it, so there was no way to back out now.

“Aaaah?! S-someone help me…! I-I'm scared…!”

I screamed pathetically, then eventually fainted….