Chapter 21 Fish in aquarium

She suddenly grabs her BL manga and holds it up. She asks me what I see when I look at it, and if I can say anything positive about it.

​I look at it with a sneer, feeling a wave of disgust at the lewd cover. "A sinful book containing obscene images of men fooling around, owned by a perverted fujoshi who's practically drooling while reading it?"

​Lea stands up, her face pale with embarrassment. "W-wha—? You jerk!" she screams, hitting me with a plastic bottle.

​It hurt, but since we were in public, I didn't react—mostly because her screaming and hitting already drew the attention of everyone around us.

​"Wait, why are you mad? I just answered your question!" I snapped. I took the water bottle from her and took a drink.

​"Like I said, we're both Otakus. But the difference between us is that I don't look at the negative side of things even though I know the reality of the world—like this marriage of ours."

​She looks me up and down, as if she's appraising my entire being. "You're not handsome. You're not rich, not smart, not particularly kind, and there's nothing about you that would make someone fall in love. I know you've been 'NoGirlfriend Since Birth,' you're a virgin, and no girl has ever had a crush on you."

​I nearly choked on my water. Coughing. "Wow. I'm impressed by how you can insult someone while trying to 'teach' them a lesson," I whispered.

After finishing her lecture, she suddenly grabs me by the collar, looks me dead in the eye, and seriously declares her stance on our agreement.

​"You don't have the qualities of a perfect husband, but I am dead serious about marrying you in any church!" she yells.

​I couldn't speak. I was stunned. I didn't know what to say because I was floored by her boldness to shout that out loud, especially since she doesn't look like the type to do something so awkward. My heart pounded against my chest as I looked into her determined, shimmering eyes.

​"This is for the sake of Yaoi... and for Lord Levi," she added.

​"Huh?"

​My interest in the moment vanished instantly. The truth was, she was only doing this for her hobby as a fujoshi—a hobby her family didn't approve of.

​I realized that for a split second, I actually hoped she meant what she said, like some romantic scene in a movie. I felt a surge of embarrassment because she was still holding my collar in front of all these people, so I grabbed her hand to make her let go.

​"Could you not make a scene? This is embarrassing."

​"So what? People here think we're a couple. It's normal for couples to flirt here," she replied.

​"Tsk. Yeah, but the problem is we don't love each other. So what's the point of this date?" I asked.

Because of what I said, she lectured me again about how our "dates" are part of the act for our families—to prove we really are seeing each other. Then she said that while our date might not be about romance, it was an important way for us to get comfortable with one another before we move in together.

​"There are three things a couple needs for a good married life," Lea said. "First is love for each other, then responsibility, and finally, acceptance of God as a firm foundation."

​"In our setup, love is the only thing we're missing, but we're still going to do the other two. In short, we are each other's responsibility until we grow old, and we will promise before God to stay together through thick and thin."

​I smirked, secretly admiring her courage as she spoke with such conviction. "It's easy to say, but how do you plan on enduring life with someone who doesn't even matter to you?" I asked.

​"Tsk, why not? Even your mom endured you and took care of you until now even if she didn't love you— why? It's simple: because you are her responsibility," she said.

​I just smirked. I felt a twinge of annoyance and wondered if I could just smack her. But looking at it, she did have a point; it's just that the way she said it was incredibly insulting.

​I was about to argue back, but she suddenly whacked me on the head with her book.

​"Why do you keep hitting me?!" I asked.

​"Don't you see? The reason you can't see anything positive is because you're so bitter about life," she said. "You're making yourself suffer with all this negativity. Fine, as your girlfriend, let me tell you a nice story."

​I looked away immediately. "If it's about your lewd BL manga, I'm not interested."

​"F*ck you! Can you just listen?" she snapped.

​She sat back down and began her story. She said she was going to tell me about a fish in an aquarium. Of course, I had no choice but to listen. Even if I wanted to protest, I had no other option—especially since we still had a long way to go on this date.

​She began her story by introducing its characters.

​According to her, there was once a beautiful, expansive aquarium where two fish lived. She pointedly named one of them Daniel. I could only shake my head; it was obvious she was teasing me, but I stayed quiet and let her continue.

​"Daniel was a cheerful, friendly fish who spent his days swimming and playing with his companion," she said. "To Daniel, it was the perfect home—a place where they could live happily forever. But one day, he noticed a crack in the glass. Water began to leak out, drop by drop. Because Daniel understood the reality of their world—knowing he would die the moment the water ran out—he spiraled into a panic, his mind consumed by dark thoughts."

​"As the days passed and the water level dropped, poor Daniel grew more paralyzed with fear. He did nothing but mope in the corner, staring obsessively at every drop escaping through the fractured glass. He was stressed, unable to sleep or eat, haunted by the grim fate awaiting him. Soon, everything around him felt meaningless. The beauty of the aquarium vanished; in his eyes, everything was worthless because he believed he only had a few days left to live."

​"He became bitter, blaming everyone else for his misfortune. He even questioned the very purpose of existence, knowing he was destined for suffering. He didn't realize that by rotting in that corner, he was wasting the precious time he had left in a beautiful home he once loved."

​Lea leaned her chin on her hand, looking at me with mock pity. "Poor Daniel. If only he knew how miserable his life truly was. What a tragic, unlucky fish," she added with a smirk, clearly enjoying the fact that the fish shared my name.

​I tried to keep my cool, but I eventually slammed my hand on the table. Her constant staring and the way she insulted the "fish" felt like a direct attack on my character.

​"Can you please just change the name of the fish in your story?!" I barked.

​She ignored me and kept going. "More days passed. The water was so low there was barely any room to swim. Suddenly, their owner arrived, panicked for their safety, and immediately moved them to a brand-new, even better aquarium." She finished the story there.

​"Tsk. So they lived happily ever after? Your storytelling is boring," I retorted.

​Because I insulted her plot, she decided to twist the knife. She claimed there was no happy ending—at least not for Daniel. She said he didn't survive the move because he had already succumbed to a heart attack brought on by the sheer stress and terror he felt before help even arrived.

​"Why does it feel like you're intentionally trying to kill the Daniel in your story?" I asked.