I Became Artemis’ Boyfriend

Since we were in the mountains, the sun that had been hovering above had disappeared, and a dim night had crept in.

“Ugh! I’m so full! I can’t eat anymore!”

Artemis had polished off the last hamburger of the evening.

Leaning back against a log, she rubbed her protruding belly.

Perhaps because she was wearing a crop top, her belly stood out even more.

“Ah~ look at that belly.”

I’ve never seen a woman eat six hamburgers in a row in my life.

Moreover, starting from the third hamburger, they were double-patty burgers with two slices of cheese.

I could never eat like this.

All I could feel was how incredible her stomach must be.

Still, I realized that the happiness of seeing my girlfriend enjoy the food I made was invaluable.

It was worth every bit of one gold coin.

“Well, wh-what are you staring at like that? I’m Artemis. I run through these mountains every day, so I deserve to eat this much!”

“Who said anything?”

It seemed like she herself realized she’d overeaten, as a blush crept onto her cheeks, and she stuck out her lips.

Covering her belly with her arms, Artemis kept making excuses in a pitiful manner.

For a while, I nodded at her excuses half-heartedly, and before long,

the sounds of grasshoppers grew louder, and the surrounding darkness became even more lonely.

“It’s really night now. Let’s clean up and go to the tent.”

We tidied up our area, each of us grabbing a water jug and standing in front of our respective tents.

Just as she was about to enter the tent by lifting the flap,

“Ah, by the way, Artemis.”

I snapped my fingers and called her back as if I’d forgotten something important.

At my call, she merely turned her head and looked at me, without saying a word.

Hehehe…

Finally, it was time.

I had to really scare her with this chilling ghost story.

“This continuous boom, boom sound, what could it be?”

“What?”

Artemis frowned at my rambling.

“Just listen. It’s boom, boom even now. It’s like a big metal ball falling to the floor, and there’s also the rolling sound…”

“…What noise? Stop joking around.”

Artemis threatened me with an intimidating voice, as if warning me to stop the joke now.

Her serious expression clearly showed how she was taking what I said.

It made sense.

There were only Artemis and me here.

We were at the top of a mountain where people rarely passed by.

And to make things worse, the wind had stopped, so I couldn’t even say it was the branches moving.

So, I dramatically turned my head and continued my performance of lies.

Hehehe!

Actually, normal ghost stories are predictable.

Like the uncle outside the window turned out to have been unable to see outside due to a film coating on the window, or

the one where you got kicked off a train, only to find out it was a non-existent train number heading to Hell,

these stories might be creepy in the moment,

but they lack longevity.

My goal was to make Artemis feel uneasy alone in the tent.

To do that, an ongoing ghost story would be most effective.

1. “Hey, actually, there’s a ghost roaming this alley.”

2. “Hey, someone is watching you from behind the alley.”

Which is more chilling between 1 and 2?

Definitely 2.

The present, right now is far more terrifying!

There’s nothing more terrifying.

“Ah, seriously! Stop being annoying and just tell me. What’s that boom sound? And what’s the rolling sound?”

“Can’t you hear it? Boom, boom, something keeps falling.”

“Tsk! It’s just the two of us here. What sound could it possibly be!?”

She raised her voice, glancing around uneasily.

It was clearly an attempt to drown out my words with her loud voice.

Good job! It’s working!

This is the finish!

“Heh, hehehe. Artemis? It was a joke, a joke.”

I pretentiously laughed awkwardly, acting like I cared.

As if, there was such a strange sound, but since it made you unnecessarily scared, I tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

Had my intent been conveyed properly? Artemis didn’t seem to believe a word of my joke.

“…”

She silently lowered her head.

Just as I started to worry if I had scared her too much, Artemis approached with her head bowed.

Arriving in front of me, she slowly raised her head, and her face was half hidden by the flickering lamplight.

Her irate and frustrated eyes had lost all their spark, like they were dead.

“If… that sound shouldn’t be heard…”

“Eh? What sound, Artemis?”

“That… I should be the only one to hear it…”

“…”

Her unexpected response completely caught me off guard.

Her words had sent a chill down my spine, like a cold hand had swept down my back.

The situation was strangely unsettling and spine-chilling, making goosebumps rise on my arms.

What? What is this?

Why is this story intertwining?

This was just a made-up story by me, right?

There’s no way you could hear something like the sound of something boom falling or rolling around.

But if it shouldn’t be heard?

If only you can hear it?

Why?

“Do you want to know what that boom and rolling sound is?”

“Huh… Uh…?”

Though my simple lies, tension and urgency flowed, revealing hidden secrets.

“The headless ghost wanders around us all day. Every time the ghost walks, they drop their own head, making that sound.”

“Eh… Uh?”

“There’s the ghost… standing right behind you now.”

“!!!”

As I was about to turn my head to check, Artemis hastily grabbed my head with both hands.

“Don’t look back!”

“…”

“It’s right behind you! The moment you look back, it will think you’ve made eye contact and chase you forever!”

“Why, how…?”

“The ghost will think you can see them!”

As bone-chilling imagined scenarios dominated my mind, fear started to wrap around my body.

I couldn’t believe it.

It was just something I made up, and it turned out to be true?

A ghost, no less?!

It felt like when a child jokes to their parents on April Fool’s Day by saying, “I’m actually adopted,”

and the parents’ faces instantly darken in surprise.

Why does the story have to intertwine like this on a chilling night?

Is it a coincidence?

In a terrifying situation I couldn’t believe, all I could do was swallow dryly.

“I guess since you’re a priest too, you can now sense the ghost.”

“Me? I?”

“But this can’t go on. Gods can drive away ghosts, but you can only sense the ghost’s presence without actually being able to exorcise it. For sure, all the evil spirits would cling to you.”

“Cling?!”

“Becoming possessed, they call it. It seems like the ghost behind you is already looking for a chance to take over your body. Be careful. The moment you’re possessed, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

“W-What should I do then?”

“How about this: just pretend ignorance and survive. I’m sleepy. I’m going in first.”

With a serious expression, she listed explanations and clicked her tongue pitifully, shaking her head repeatedly.

After uttering terrifying statements, she irresponsibly entered her tent.

All I could do was stare at her with a resentful look.

The flap of the tent closed with a thud, and surely enough, I was left alone.

Clearly,

When Artemis had stopped me just as I was about to look back, she had acted decisively.

Someone who dislikes touching others had gone that far.

Was there really… a ghost?

“Hehehehe. It’s a lie, right? It has to be!”

Despite my words, my mind was full of “what ifs.”

Moreover, what if I look back and the story Artemis told turns out to be true?

“Ah, I don’t care, I don’t care! I’m just going to sleep.”

I violently shook my head to rid myself of the scary illusions.

In a bizarre manner, my body twisted robot-like as I entered the tent.

The first thing I did after entering was brighten the lamp’s light.

The darkness felt especially scary tonight.

For the first time, I felt so uneasy being alone.

Tonight, I would sleep without turning off the lamp.

Or rather, could I even sleep?

As the ghost floated around in my mind, my eyelids wouldn’t close.

“Ugh! All because of that idiot Liam! I’m even more scared now!!”

Already saturated with fear, I vented my anger on Liam.

The success of the hamburger was the least of my concerns.

I just lay there, unable to close my eyes, keeping my ears perked for any potential situations.

Suddenly,

“Crunch! Pft! Sssh!”

The sound of someone’s footsteps from the bushes outside the tent.

“Growl growl.”

The hungry growl of a wild animal was heard.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

In the middle of the night, a woman’s heartrending sobs were heard.

“Boom! Rolll…”

Now, the sound of something dropping to the floor and rolling had really started.

The unbearable fact was,

Artemis’s tent was to my right,

and all these chilling noises were coming from my left.

“Sh-Shit!”

Clutching my sleeping bag and pillow, I fled my tent and pitifully stood outside Artemis’s tent entrance, staring at her silhouette.

I agonized over ringing the bell by her door dozens of times.

Then, her voice from inside the tent came first.

“Can you see some shadows outside? Come in.”

“…Alright.”

I darted into the tent quickly and stopped right at the entrance.

I needed permission for even the smallest actions since I was stepping into a goddess’s tent at night.

She, who was reading a book, scanned me from top to bottom after noticing my pathetic state.

The moment she saw the sleeping bag and pillow in my hands, she smirked and grinned widely.

It was a kind of taunting laugh, like she’d gained a life-long tease and was thrilled about it.

“Oooohhooo. Oh Ark child, scared? Did you come here for salt because you’re about to pee the bed? Hahaha!”

Artemis mocked me by kicking her blanket with her feet and clutching her stomach with her hands.

She seized the opportunity and continuously provoked me without breathing.

There was nothing I could do with the sleeping bag and pillow in my hands,

and what’s worse, her mockery didn’t embarrass me at all. Instead, it brought a sense of relief knowing that we were together.

“Hem! Well… Can I stay here? Even a corner will do.”

“Hmm~ I wonder… Let me think about it…”

She seemed delightedly lost in thought for a moment.

Seeing my gloomy expression, she finally smiled with a nod.

“WHAT?!”

“As long as you vow to offer me hamburgers for life whenever I want.”

“Of course!”

Afraid she might change her mind, I quickly laid down the sleeping bag and settled in the corner opposite her in her tent.

Then, Artemis went outside and came back with a long log, placing it right in the middle of the tent.

“If you cross this log, I’ll make sure you get a hole in your forehead.”

“But… I won’t cross it… Anyway, Artemis, I’m technically your boyfriend, right?”

“Yup~ Temporary boyfriend with tied hands and feet! Hahaha!!”

Dammit.

Today, Artemis was in peak condition so none of my attempts got through to her.

She retaliated effortlessly after defending herself.

Still, why?

Even though I lost to her today, I didn’t feel bad at all.

Maybe it’s because she’s my girlfriend,

or perhaps it’s because the situation had flipped, allowing us to share this tranquil night sky together.

“Artemis, should we have confession time?”

“What kind of confession?”

“More like a confession of remorse? A time where anything you confess is forgiven.”

“Alright! You go first, Ark.”

Acting like forgiveness was her divine right, Artemis turned toward me confidently.

I also turned toward her and lay down, confessing the truth about today’s ghost story.

“Actually, that boom and rolling sound thing? It was all a lie.”

“Why did you make up that lie?”

“To make you rely on me when you’re scared? Hmm… Maybe I just wanted to share some quality time like this at the end of our date.”

I confessed everything to her as if truly repenting.

Then, she covered her mouth with her hand and stifled laughter.

“Hey, Ark. Did you think I wouldn’t catch on to your obvious act?”

“Eh?”

“Ho! How could your story be so identical to what I did with my older sister when I was little?”

“Could the ghost story have…?”

“Yup~ Your lie perfectly matched mine. That’s called a counter. Hahaha!”

“Ah~ You’re really competitive when it comes to losing, huh?”

The terrifying ghost turned out to be an illusion created by my own fear.

Ultimately, I had been played like a doll in Artemis’s palm the whole time.

Still, I was relieved that the ghost, so bone-chilling and terrifying, had actually been a lie.

She grinned mischievously, forming a V with her fingers as if celebrating her victory.

I envisioned a future where we would fondly recall this day as a cherished memory.

Her gentle smile infected me, and I found myself beaming joyfully too.

“So, what did my older sister tell me back then…”

Even though the ghost was fake, I didn’t return to my tent,

and she too naturally continued sharing her memories with me as if it were a girls’ talk.

In that way, our first date ended with us exchanging stories under the sleepless night sky until dawn.

A day filled with both proud and embarrassing moments in front of Artemis.

Still, showing her my unadorned self made it a very satisfying first date.

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