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Figuring out the finger size didn’t take as long as I thought it would.

Come to think of it, all three of them are girls.

I, who used to be a man in my previous life, didn’t particularly care about my appearance, but Ha-yoon, Ji-hye, and Jua seem to be a bit different. They have several hair ties of different styles and quite a few clothes.

Especially lately, the three of them seem to be having a blast making me look good. In the past, it was just Ha-yoon dressing me up with various things, but now that the four of us live in the same house…

Naturally, there were quite a few accessories. Necklaces and bracelets, among other things. Some of those were gifts from me as well.

While the four of us were hanging out, we occasionally wandered into accessory shops that caught our eye. There were days when we bought things, and days when we didn’t, but we browsed around and tried things on.

And that day was no different.

On our way out after the movie, I don’t really remember who spoke first, but somehow we all ended up entering one of those shops.

There were a few people inside. They were startled to see our faces and retreated to the corner of the shop, but thankfully, they didn’t run away. If they had, it would have been a nuisance to the store.

Honestly, I wasn’t very interested in that place. Unless it was a wedding ring, I didn’t think about buying accessories to wear.

Hmm, how should I put it… it seemed cumbersome. I’d wear them if the kids gave them to me, but still.

“Oh, this is pretty.”

Ha-yoon suddenly said while picking up a ring.

I didn’t really understand, but—

“Hmm, it doesn’t fit.”

Ha-yoon tried the ring on her right middle finger, tilted her head, and then instead slipped it onto her right ring finger.

And that’s when it hit me.

There’s no rule that says the sizes of the right hand and the left hand have to be the same, but generally, there shouldn’t be a huge difference.

I quickly hid my surprise and subtly checked where the ring Ha-yoon had picked up came from. And the size too.

“Oh, that one’s a little pretty. Can I try it on as well?”

Jua chimed in as she came over.

“Sure.”

Ha-yoon passed the ring over to Jua. Jua tried it on and tilted her head.

“Hmm, it’s a bit loose. I think I prefer this one instead. Don’t you think?”

Jua took off the ring Ha-yoon had handed her and slid on the one she had chosen. It fit perfectly.

“Uh, yeah, it looks pretty good on you.”

I subtly shifted to check where Jua had gotten the ring. I kept reminding myself of the size over and over—

“Ji-eun, what about this? How about this one?”

Ji-hye said, reaching out to me.

Oh, right.

I had completely forgotten that this was an option.

Of course, asking directly would be akin to outright saying I’d be proposing soon, which is like announcing I’d be proposing.

If possible, I’d like to surprise her when she’s not expecting it at all.

As I thought this, I made sure to remember Ji-hye’s size accurately. The three were all close in size. Jua was just a size smaller than the rest.

“Hmm? What? Does it suit me that much? Why are you all grinning like that?”

Ji-hye said, sounding quite mischievous, just as Jua poked her in the side. Ha-yoon merely smiled awkwardly at the two.

I kept my expression as neutral as possible and cleared my throat to ease the situation.

Hmm, I’d say that was fairly natural.

*

And as soon as I had a moment to myself, I snuck back to the place where the rings were fitted to share the size.

The adjustments were made quickly. They were all average-sized rings anyway, so Jua’s size was all it took.

After receiving all four rings, my heart raced like crazy.

I scheduled the proposal for several days later.

Actually, Cherry, who had gone to customize her necklace ahead of me, had suggested various restaurants. It seemed she thought proposing “on the table” would be too casual, so she was just browsing around for restaurants instead.

Among them, I settled on a place that served steak without any fuss. It just seemed like the atmosphere would be the best.

I couldn’t exactly book a completely private place, but I managed to reserve a spot with tables somewhat separated. It was a nice spot that allowed for good views of the scenery.

“…”

Hmm.

I’ve eaten at nice places and gone out together to have fun. Honestly, now that we’ve mixed things up, feeling shy about our relationship seems a bit odd.

But still, I felt a little shy.

Although we already lived together—and institutionally, our arrangement was kind of absurd and challenging to validate—I do think our marriage is more about our own satisfaction.

Still, I genuinely saw our marriage as a heartfelt thing.

Even without a marriage certificate, I wanted to uphold the vow to love each other for life.

I had just been living to survive after landing in this world—but those girls were the ones who gave me another reason to exist.

So, I felt a little shy about saying it.

Regardless of the system or how others view us.

Whatever situations we end up in.

I would shout that I intend to love all three of them for the rest of my life.

It struck me that such words wouldn’t suffice without a fair amount of courage.

But…

“I’ll do it.”

I murmured to myself and nodded.

“Phew.”

I exhaled and headed home.

Well, there are still a few days left.

I’ll prepare my heart as best as I can—surely it’ll work out somehow?

I’ve always been good in a pinch.

…Or maybe I’ve just lived a life always in emergencies.

*

Just as planned, we arrived at a beautiful spot overlooking the city.

With a large window beside us, the outside lights twinkled.

Though it was a square table, it seemed like everyone was satisfied with their seating arrangement. Ha-yoon was beside me, Ji-hye was directly across from me, while Jua was diagonally across. The distance wasn’t that far apart.

Since this arrangement had been made through random selection, it would have made things a bit awkward if someone was unhappy with their seating.

Even while carving my steak, I kept an eye on the three.

They seemed to be worried that I was going to bring up something serious since none of them dared to meet my gaze. Ah, maybe Jua felt a bit more comfortable sitting as she was because of that reason.

If she were sitting next to or across from me, she’d surely be uneasy seeing my expression.

“…”

While I cut my steak earnestly, I let out a gentle sigh.

“Um, hey.”

As soon as I spoke, all four pairs of eyes turned to me.

That startled me a little. They’re all kids that I’ve roughly pushed down onto the bed before, after all.

I tried my best to keep my voice steady while fiddling with the bag I had brought. Ah, looking back, that probably seemed a little suspicious. I usually found these kinds of bags a hassle to carry.

“…”

Ah, forget it.

I took a deep breath and exhaled.

I focused on my gaze a little.

“Um, I have something really important to say.”

Upon hearing that, the three looked a bit more serious. None of them could manage a verbal response, and they just stared at my face.

I opened the bag and pulled out the four small boxes inside one by one.

Anyone could see they were jewelry boxes containing rings.

I felt a slight sense of satisfaction as they all took a breath in, and I began to present the rings one by one.

I remembered whose was whose. I could easily differentiate the ring sizes with my eyes, after all.

“Alright… all three of you, give me your hands.”

At my words, the kids looked at each other.

And somewhat shyly, they stretched their hands out to me.

This was a bit awkward too. Who should I put the ring on first?

…

Right, rather…

I grasped all three of their hands at once. The three of them slightly leaned towards me.

With quick movements, I slid the rings onto their fingers.

Okay, I knew the mood might drop a little.

But still.

I didn’t want to seem like I was favoring anyone.

But thankfully, the kids were gazing at the rings on their fingers with sparkling eyes.

“Ahem.”

However, I wasn’t done with what I had to say.

I opened the last box, which held the ring that fit my own finger.

And as I held it up, I looked at each of them in turn and said.

“Put this on for me. All three of you together.”

At that, their mouths slightly dropped open.

But soon, their expressions formed a gentle smile.

The hands that three of them held at once felt incredibly warm.

 

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