Chapter 5 Proof of Clinginess
Oom Eisaya had a plan.
It was not a good plan.
It was not a well-thought-out plan.
It was, however, a plan.
“…I’m going to prove it,” she muttered to herself, crouched behind a vending machine like someone about to commit a very questionable life decision.
The target?
Bam Saralee.
The objective?
Confirm whether last night was real… or if Oom had officially lost her mind.
The method?
“…I’m going to stay late again.”
Oom paused.
“…why did I say that like it’s normal?”
It was not normal.
Nothing about this situation was normal.
But here she was, gripping a canned coffee like it was emotional support, staring at the entrance of the Psychology Wellness Club room from across the hallway.
“You look like a stalker.”
Oom nearly dropped the can.
“Yada—!”
Her cousin leaned casually against the wall, sipping her drink with far too much amusement.
“I leave you alone for one day, and you evolve into this.”
“I am not stalking anyone.”
“You’re hiding behind a vending machine.”
“I’m observing.”
“You’re obsessed.”
“I am investigating.”
Yada grinned. “Ah, yes. Academic research. Very respectable.”
Oom groaned.
“Go away.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
Oom took a deep breath.
“Fine. I’ll tell you something.”
Yada leaned in immediately. “I’m listening.”
“…if you stay here, I will never tell you anything ever again.”
A beat.
Yada straightened.
“…you drive a hard bargain.”
“Leave.”
“Okay, okay,” Yada said, backing away slowly. “But if this turns into a love confession, I expect a full report.”
“It’s not going to—”
“I’ll be nearby,” Yada added, already walking off.
Oom watched her leave.
Then slumped slightly.
“…I hate my life.”
She looked back at the club room.
The lights were still on.
Good.
That meant Bam was still inside.
Oom checked the time.
9:12 PM.
Okay. Just like last time.
Her heart started beating faster.
If it happens again… then it’s real.
“And if it doesn’t,” she whispered, “I go home and pretend none of this ever existed.”
Simple.
Clean.
Emotionally devastating, but manageable.
Oom straightened her posture.
Took a deep breath.
And walked toward the door.
---
The room was quiet again.
Dimly lit.
Peaceful.
Exactly like the night before.
Oom stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her.
Her eyes immediately scanned the room—
And landed on the couch.
Empty.
“…oh.”
Her chest dropped slightly.
Maybe she hasn’t fallen asleep yet.
Oom shifted her gaze.
Bam was there.
Sitting at one of the desks, her head slightly lowered, pen moving across a notebook.
Awake.
Composed.
Normal.
Oom froze.
“…okay,” she whispered to herself. “New variable.”
Bam looked up.
Their eyes met.
And just like that, Oom’s entire internal system panicked again.
“…Oom Eisaya.”
“Hi,” Oom said, because apparently that was the only word she knew now.
There was a brief pause.
“Do you need something?” Bam asked.
Oom blinked.
“No.”
“…then why are you here?”
Good question.
Excellent question.
Oom’s brain scrambled.
“I—uh—I forgot something.”
“What?”
“…myself.”
A pause.
Oom closed her eyes briefly.
Abort. Abort. That made no sense.
Bam stared at her.
“…you forgot yourself.”
“Yes.”
“…and came back to retrieve it.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then—
“I see,” Bam said.
She did not sound like she saw.
At all.
Oom cleared her throat.
“I’ll just—uh—look around.”
“Mm.”
Bam went back to her notebook.
Conversation over.
Again.
Oom stood there awkwardly for a moment before slowly moving to the other side of the room.
Her heart was racing.
Okay. She’s awake. That’s fine. We wait.
So she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Time passed.
Minutes stretched.
The quiet filled the space between them.
Oom pretended to check things.
The shelves.
The windows.
The… very ventilated ventilation.
Meanwhile, Bam continued writing.
Focused.
Unbothered.
Untouchable.
“…this is useless,” Oom whispered.
Maybe it really was nothing.
Maybe she had imagined everything.
Maybe—
A soft sound interrupted her thoughts.
Oom looked up.
Bam’s pen had stopped moving.
Her posture had shifted slightly, her shoulders relaxing, her head tilting just a fraction.
“…senpai?” Oom called softly.
No response.
Oom took a cautious step forward.
“Bam?”
Still nothing.
Her breathing had changed.
Slower.
Heavier.
Oom’s heart skipped.
“…no way.”
Carefully, she approached.
Each step felt louder than it should.
Closer.
Closer.
Until she was standing right beside her.
Bam’s eyes were closed.
She had fallen asleep at the desk.
“…again?” Oom whispered.
A strange mix of emotions flooded her chest.
Relief.
Nervousness.
Something dangerously close to anticipation.
Okay.
This is it.
This is the test.
Oom hesitated.
Then—
Slowly, gently—
She reached out and touched Bam’s shoulder.
The reaction was instant.
Bam’s hand shot up—
And grabbed her wrist.
“Ah—!”
Oom barely had time to react before Bam stood up abruptly, pulling her forward with unexpected strength.
“O—okay—wait—!”
Oom stumbled.
And then—
She was pulled into an embrace.
Tight.
Immediate.
Unavoidable.
Oom froze.
“…don’t go…”
There it was again.
That soft, pleading voice.
Completely different from the Bam she knew.
Oom’s brain shut down.
IT’S REAL.
Her hands hovered awkwardly in the air again, unsure where to go, what to do, how to exist.
“Senpai—”
Bam didn’t let go.
If anything, she pulled her closer.
Her arms wrapped securely around Oom’s waist, holding her like she was something precious.
Something needed.
Oom’s heart was no longer beating normally.
It had entered a completely different dimension.
“I—I’m not leaving,” she said automatically, voice shaky.
Bam’s grip tightened.
Her face pressed into Oom’s neck again.
Warm.
Soft.
Familiar.
Oom stopped functioning for the second time in two days.
“…you came back…”
The words were muffled against her skin.
Oom’s brain short-circuited.
She knows.
She remembers—
“…I waited…”
Oom.exe has stopped working.
“I—what—”
Her thoughts crashed into each other, forming nothing coherent.
Bam shifted slightly.
Her hands moved.
One sliding up Oom’s back.
The other gripping her shirt again.
“…stay…”
Oom inhaled sharply.
“I am staying,” she said quickly. “I’m literally not moving. I physically cannot move.”
Bam hummed softly.
Content.
Comfortable.
Like this was exactly where she wanted to be.
Oom’s entire existence melted.
This was real.
This was actually real.
Not a hallucination.
Not a dream.
Bam Saralee—
Was clinging to her.
Again.
Oom let out a shaky breath.
Carefully, hesitantly, she placed her hands on Bam’s shoulders.
Testing.
Bam didn’t pull away.
Instead—
She leaned in closer.
Closer.
Until—
Her lips brushed against Oom’s skin.
Soft.
Warm.
Barely there.
Right along her neck.
Oom’s brain exploded.
“…?!”
It wasn’t intentional.
It wasn’t calculated.
It was something in between—
A half-asleep, instinctive movement.
A soft, accidental kiss.
Oom ceased to exist.
Her soul left her body.
Her consciousness disconnected.
Her entire system shut down.
This is not a drill.
Bam didn’t seem to notice what she had done.
Or maybe—
She didn’t care.
Because she stayed there, her face still buried in Oom’s neck, her breathing slow and steady.
“…don’t leave me…”
Oom’s hands trembled slightly.
“I—”
Words failed her.
Completely.
Her mind replayed the moment.
The feeling.
The contact.
The way Bam had said it.
Not just “don’t leave.”
But—
“Don’t leave me.”
Oom’s heart did something irreversible.
“…I won’t,” she whispered.
And this time—
She meant it.
Bam relaxed further in her arms, her grip loosening just slightly, her body settling.
Trusting.
Completely.
Oom stood there, frozen in place, holding onto the reality that had just shattered everything she thought she understood.
This wasn’t one moment.
This wasn’t an accident.
This was a pattern.
A secret.
Something only she had seen.
Something only she was experiencing.
“…this is bad,” Oom whispered softly.
Because now—
There was no denying it.
Bam Saralee had two sides.
And somehow—
Oom had become the only one who knew.
The only one she reached for.
The only one she held onto like this.
Oom tightened her grip slightly, just enough to steady herself.
Her heart was still racing.
Her thoughts still chaotic.
But one thing was clear now.
This wasn’t something she could walk away from.
Not anymore.
Because Bam—
Cold, untouchable Bam—
Had just kissed her.
Even if she didn’t remember it.
Even if she never would.
Oom would.