"Only one way to find out, Nina."
I said as I got up as well and handed her a single coin. Just as she picked up the coin from my hand, I off-handedly said,
"And whether it works or not doesn't really matter, Nina, as at the end of the day you pushed your boundaries and tried to improve yourself in an area that you weren't really good in...That's a better result than a million working vending machines can ever bring."
"Why are you talking as if you already know it's going to fail?!" Nina cried out in a desperate manner when she heard me give her assurance of failure. "Just be quiet and don't jinx anything...Pray that it works out, or I really might cry."
Nina didn't trust me to send a proper message to God, so she herself did a small prayer with her eyes closed and hands held together. And then, after opening her eyes and letting out a breath of air, she looked at me with nervous and jittery eyes and finally looked back at the vending machine to push the coin in.
Ching~
As the coin dropped into the machine and fell into the pile of coins at the bottom, Nina carefully put in the code needed to get the two bottles of Sasfra juice she wanted, while having an anxious look on her face, and confirmed the order.
I was laid-back about the whole matter since I already knew how it was going to go, unlike Nina, who was really uneasy about whether she failed or not. Unexpectedly, she even showed her hand towards me as if she were asking me to hold it to calm her nervousness, like she were checking her exam results that were going to shape her career.
I was a little confused at first, and as I really wasn't expecting her to show so much of her vulnerable side to me at the moment, and I was expecting her to act all nonchalant to keep her image of a mature adult. But when I saw her glare at me while biting her lips, I didn't hesitate any longer and held onto her hand.
Hold~
She also held onto my hand tightly for reassurance, and I could feel how jittery her hands were, showing how much this moment meant to her.
Failing after simply attempting something with a carefree attitude was one thing. But to fail even after Nina put in all her effort, while at the same time having someone guide her every step, was something that Nina couldn't handle and probably would set Nina way back in terms of self-confidence. Not to mention, it would also make her feel like she disappointed her father's legacy.
Chunk~ Chink~
"If only I could show this to my teachers and tell them that I'm not the dumb girl they thought I was who could never be taught anything, but simply someone who needed a little extra guidance...Oh, how satisfying that would be~" Nina threw her hands up in the air that she was using to hold on to my neck as a celebration and left me to carry the entirety of her weight.
Luckily, she barely weighed anything with how slender a figure she had, so it wasn't too hard to balance her no matter how much she jumped around in my embrace.
"And you, Kafka, the sole reason I feel like I've proven to my father that I am his daughter and have his blood flowing through me after all!..." Nina suddenly looked down at me below with a loving look in her eyes as she pulled on both my cheeks in a caring manner.
"You wonderful, spectacular, fantastic, excellent, marvelous, remarkable boy who suddenly entered my life!...I just want to pull you into my chest and give your cute little face kisses all over!"
Chu!~ Chu!~ Chu!~ Chu!~
I was about to make a to make a joke, saying that she should follow through with her words instead of simply uttering them. But to my utter shock, the words in my mouth were stuck when Nina seemed to have the same thought and started to kiss my face out of nowhere.
Chu!~ Chu!~ Chu!~ Chu!~
She pulled me in just like she said she would, without any hesitation whatsoever, and landed her lips all over my face.
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My eyes, nose, cheeks, forehead, and every part of my face that was within her lips reach were bombarded with her soft lips that left wet marks wherever they went.
"Mmm!♡~ Smooch!♡~ Ahhh!♡~ Kiss!♡~ Hmmm!♡~"
It seemed like she was a little too happy at the moment, and when she saw the boy who was responsible for letting her achieve something that she thought she would never be able to do in this life right in front of her in kissing range, she couldn't help herself any longer and started spreading her joy to me by holding my face and giving me a rapid fire of kisses all over.
"Mwah!♡~ Slurp!♡~ Ohh!♡~ Suck!♡~ Mmm!♡~"