About My Childhood Friends, Who Call Me Furuya and Morofushi

I've been keeping an eye on the boy who sits in front of me in class for days.

Blond hair, dark skin, and he looks like he's really good at foreign languages.

One day after school, I gathered my courage and walked in his shadow for quite a while, hoping we could be friends.

Before I could say a word, I somehow got caught up in a fight between boys. I lost a front tooth, but gained a good friend.

Although Ling coldly declared that our friendship would be over as soon as my tooth grew back, he was still my best friend even after I'd lost and replaced every last one of my baby teeth.

*

Xiao Jing knows so much. I! Abso! Lutely! Love! Him!

I dragged Xiao Jing over to meet Ling, excitedly announcing that I had a second best friend!

Ling just snorted and told me to look up the meaning of "best" in the dictionary again.

Marshmallows: "my favorite snack"

Strawberries: "my favorite fruit"

Xiao Jing: "my best friend"

Ling: "my very best friend"

Xiao Jing and Ling are both my best friends. I really couldn't take "best" away from either of them. After thinking it over, I shared my latest discovery with Ling in a shameless attempt to get around the problem, while Xiao Jing watched anxiously by my side.

Who knew I'd get a whole week's worth of strawberry marshmallows? Hehe.

I held a strawberry marshmallow up to Ling's face and suddenly realized that even a dark-skinned face could turn... that red!

*

I arrived late to the class reunion, and Xiao Jing confessed to me as soon as I walked in.

He must have lost a game of Truth or Dare. I totally get it! I gave Xiao Jing a knowing look and happily said yes.

Our classmates started cheering, and then Ling dragged me outside.

Half an hour later, I was crouched in the garden, desperately searching online for what I should do. I put my brain through an intense workout, but still couldn't figure out when our friendship had started to change, let alone why it had happened to both of them at once.

*

The internet didn't give me the answer I wanted, so I posted a plea for help on the car forum I love browsing.

The first reply said I was humblebragging. The second asked me to post a picture. A few replies later, everyone had joined in, accusing me of trolling. They suspected the account actually belonged to some lonely, bored old guy, because their forum wasn't supposed to have a traitor like me, someone with a fulfilling life.

A user named "Downturned Eyes Are the Hottest" messaged me out of the blue, saying he understood my troubles very well. After all, being too charming is a sin, and we'd both sinned beyond redemption.

Then "Little Curls Are Number One," a user I often chatted with, sent me a message too. He said he'd noticed my IP address was nearby, and suggested we meet in person.

And so I gained two more good friends: Downturned Eyes and Little Curls.

*

The next day, Xiao Jing and Ling found me and said the game of Truth or Dare had gone perfectly.

They regretted that I hadn't passed the group's test. I was apparently far too eager for our friendship to turn into something else. I guess "best friends" are all liars after all.

I stared at them, stunned and guilty. I felt a little relieved, but still rather apologetic as I introduced them to my other two "best friends."

And if necessary, we could go from "best friends" all the way to "very, very, very, very best friends." They could claim whatever title they liked and arrange them however they pleased.

① Just as the title says, the story mainly focuses on Jing and Ling. The other two show up much later.

② This is the first time I've written such a long blurb. I'll keep revising it. Screenshot saved for reference on 22.12.7.

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