Movie Theater Story (2)

“How was the movie this time? You seemed to watch it pretty seriously.”

“I watched it all.”

So I asked, and Rurin coolly admitted it.

“Was it fun?”

“Fun? No, it wasn’t fun. It was better than before though. Earlier I was just yawning, but this one was at least watchable.”

“Right? This is what a movie is. You watch a story.”

“But, all the characters were bad and pathetic. If it were me, I would have killed them all already. If I were that first wife—ugh! Thinking about it makes me mad. Honestly, I kept watching because I was angry.”

“Really?”

Suddenly recalling the movie, Rurin grumbled.

“But then I concluded humans can be idiots, so I lost my feelings about it. That’s because they’re so different from you that I just laughed at them. If I’m to marry, it should be you. Hehe, you don’t care about other women except me.”

“Well, that’s true. I don’t care about other women.”

“Hehe. I know.”

“Well, I might have had a first love in my childhood too? Even if now it’s only you, back then!”

“…?”

Rurin’s smiling face stiffened. I instantly regretted it. What nonsense did I just say? What an idiot I am.

In reality, my childhood was a dark void. There was no such thing as a first love. In elementary school, I wasn’t interested in that. In middle school, I understood the opposite sex but went to an all-boys school. There was no one to love. Then in high school, I was transferred.

To the battlefield.

“Who is she? I’ll kill her first!”

“Calm down. What will you do after killing her?”

“You only care about me, but still I feel uneasy!”

“…Don’t be uneasy.”

“No. If such a thing exists, I’ll kill your first love!”

Her eyes spun wildly. She was in chaos and rampaging. She even tried to use magic. The small amount of mana Rurin had stored concentrated and emitted a blue glow.

A look as if she wanted to crash a meteor on Earth.

Since she didn’t know who my first love was, she intended to destroy the whole Earth. That’s a problem, so I whispered the truth in her ear. For Earth’s peace.

“You’re saying you’ll kill my first love, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s you. I never liked anyone before. After I met you, I liked you, so you’re my first love. So dear, you’ll be killing yourself.”

I spoke clearly, emphasizing “first love”. Then the rampaging feet and hands suddenly stopped.

In that state, she tilted her head stiffly like a robot and looked at me.

“Uh, uh, uh? Am I really that troublesome first love? Ugh, I’m both the first love and the wife, so according to the movie we just watched, I’m two people!”

In the movie we watched, the first love and the married wife were different people.

“Hehe, but why me? So should I kill myself?”

“Something like that.”

“Then I will kill me.”

“Huh? What do you mean kill?”

“Not now!”

“Then?”

“After you die?”

“What are you saying? You should never die no matter when! Anyway, come here. Let’s leave this place.”

“Uh-huh.”

I held Rurin’s hand, whose face looked relieved to know the identity of my first love, and left the movie theater.

The next destination was a nearby restaurant. The streets were getting livelier. It was rush hour, getting crowded.

So we quickly ate dinner.

And the place we arrived at was the movie theater again. Given the time, this would be the last movie we’d watch.

We wouldn’t come to a movie theater for a while. Even less so once we returned to the other world. Since Rurin had finally started enjoying movies, we planned to try one more.

On the bucket list of normal dates, holding hands in a movie theater had to be tried before finishing.

“What? Here again?”

This was Rurin’s first line upon returning.

“Don’t you like it…?”

“That’s not it. If it’s the same as before, I can tolerate it for now.”

“Right?”

Nodding.

Rurin nodded and glanced at the popcorn. I asked, thinking she might want more.

“You want to eat popcorn again? Aren’t you tired of it? You’ve been eating so much since before.”

She shook her head.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem interested in popcorn. She shook her head and didn’t beg for more. So I bought other movie snacks instead: butter squid and nacho chips.

“Not popcorn, but let’s have these to cleanse the palate.”

“What’s this? The one on the left looks like the usual snack.”

She showed interest in the squid and had a normal reaction to the nacho chips.

Rurin picked up the squid, sniffed it, then popped it into her mouth. She chewed diligently, then suddenly her eyes lit up. She sucked the butter seasoning off her finger and exclaimed.

“Dear. Beer! It’s beer! The moment I ate this, I thought of beer! Buy me beer! Beer, beer!”

“Drink beer at home.”

“Ugh! Beer!”

Her eyes looked desperate. When she looks at me like that, I’m weak.

“Alright, alright. Then just one can?”

I couldn’t help it, so I bought a can of beer sold at the theater and handed it to her. With her wish fulfilled, Rurin started drinking happily.

With time before the movie started, I just watched Rurin sitting at the table, enjoying squid and beer as dessert.

“Aren’t you going to eat? It’s refreshing.”

“I’ve been eating like that since morning? I can’t eat more. My stomach isn’t like a dragon’s.”

“Humans are problematic like this. But with you in front of me, the alcohol tastes better. In the lair, secretly bringing beer and drinking alone isn’t this good. You’re the best drinking companion!”

“Mm-hmm. Exactly.”

She nodded, looked at me, drank beer, glanced at me again, looked at the squid and then at me, ate the squid, and drank beer again.

“Graaah!”

“Hey, do you know what a miser is?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s someone who hangs fish to dry, eats plain rice, and just watches it, eating plain rice and watching it again. It feels a lot like you…”

Of course, that comes from a spirit of frugality, and Rurin has nothing to do with saving now, but the way she uses me as a drinking companion somehow reminds me of a miser.

“Hmm? What’s that? You’re the best drinking companion. I wish you’d kiss me.”

“Suddenly?”

“Hehe, I think it’s because you’re the drinking companion.”

“What are you saying? Are you already drunk?”

“…I’m not drunk.”

“Oh dear, don’t be funny. It’s time, so let’s enter the screening room.”

“Got it. I just finished drinking!”

Rurin finished a whole can in a snap and we entered the screening room. It was the third time. Rurin was already familiar and found her seat very quickly.

She even found the seat herself and called me over.

“Dear, over here!”

“Oh, that’s quick.”

“Because it’s me.”

We sat in the assigned seats Rurin found. Darkness soon fell and the movie began. The movie we chose this time was also a romance. It was clear this was the genre Rurin could at least show some interest in.

She had no interest in anything else but this thing called love.

Proving that, she didn’t fall asleep again this time. In fact, she seemed even more absorbed than before.

The theme of this movie was love and forgetfulness. It was a film that well expressed the aching feeling of forgetting.

It was about a couple deeply in love, but the female lead suffers from a disease that causes memory loss.

The beginning was about the two growing their love. Rurin showed a lot of interest in this part.

Since it was a romantic scene, I took it as the moment and placed my hand on the back of Rurin’s hand.

A bucket list realization!

Rurin was staring at the screen in the dark, but seemed to notice the touch and glanced at me.

Then she grabbed my hand tightly. Our hands completely overlapped. The warmth was touching, so using the darkness as a shield, I lightly kissed Rurin’s lips.

At that moment, the movie was showing a kissing scene.

Rurin looked surprised but then reached out to hold my face.

It looked like she wanted a real kiss, not just a peck—her tongue was already slightly out.

“No. Just a light peck. There are a lot of people. It’s a public place.”

“A light peck is okay? Then again!”

“No, actually that’s not okay either. I made a wish and it came true, so it’s pretty lovely that I can’t help it. No no, be quiet and watch the screen again, don’t look at me.”

“Ugh? I like kissing you more than watching others kiss.”

“The kissing scene is over, so watch the screen.”

We were whispering quietly now. Quietly, of course. But whispering is probably still a nuisance. I put my finger on Rurin’s soft lips and shushed her.

We then refocused on the movie. The story progressed and finally, the scene of forgetting a loved one began.

Rurin was deeply absorbed. In the darkness, the light from the screen reflected on her furrowed brows growing tighter.

Her eyes seemed to be glistening.

Proof that she was very focused and immersed in the scene.

“Uu…”

She even let out a slightly choked voice. It was a sad enough scene that everyone else was crying.

It was the scene where the male lead just looks at the female lead who forgot everything.

And the movie ended like that.

The lights came on with the ending credits, but Rurin puffed her cheeks and didn’t move. Her face was very gloomy.

I left her to savor the afterglow, and after a minute, she stood and approached me, who was still sitting.

“Dear.”

“Hmm?”

“I want a hug.”

Out of the blue?

Rurin put her hand on my shoulder. She seemed like she was about to cry, fragile. It was an atmosphere unlike the usual Rurin.

“Hug me!”

Her face looked serious. So I stood and hugged Rurin, patting her back. She looked very sad.

“Are you okay?”

“One side looked too pitiful.”

“Isn’t that right?”

“It’s strange that other humans look pitiful. Earlier, I couldn’t relate because you’d never like another woman, but this one was scary.”

“It’s okay. Rurin, you’re a dragon, so you have way more brain cells than humans and would never forget anything.”

“Then what about you…?”

“I’m healthy too, so no way.”

“But you’re human, so who knows! Ugh, I hate it. Why are you human? Be a dragon.”

Rurin voiced an absurd wish.

“Well, I’m about half dragon. Because my heart is a dragon’s.”

“Then, then you don’t lose memories?”

“You fool. What’s there to worry about? Even if you forget me, I’ll make you like me again.”

“Again?”

“Yes.”

“But how do you make me like you? Somehow you ended up liking me.”

“Idiot, so to make you like me again, I just have to stay as I am.”

“As you are?”

“Yes. If I just show my usual self, you can’t help but like me.”

“Huh? How can it be that easy?”

“Right? It’s really easy.”

“Hehe, but! I still hate forgetting you. I’ve engraved you in my cells. I accepted all your skin! But I don’t think you did, so I’ll dissect you! Dissect you, put my cells in you, then seal it again.”

“Hey, what kind of nonsense is that? I’d die before that!”

“You won’t dieee!”

Suddenly, the darkened Rurin tried to open my body to insert her biological tissue, so I fled outside the screening room.

“Stop right there!”

Of course, Rurin followed.

Today was passing by safely.

Although I was about to be dissected.