Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093076684326416/episodes/16818093076686662922
“Good morning ! What’s wrong Ken, you’re not in good spirits !”
The next morning, Akari’s cheerful voice, which knew nothing of Takeru’s struggles, stimulated his sleep-deprived head.
“Good morning, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Studying or something?”
Akari comes up to him and looks into his face. Takeru was inwardly nervous at the sudden proximity, but he tried not to show it on his face.
“No, that’s not the case…..”
Takeru is about to ask her whose fault it is, but he steps back and makes room for Akari to enter, urging her to hurry up and get inside.
Akari nodded her head, but went up to the house toward the living room.
Takeru is just about to arrange Akari’s shoes when he notices that they are black high-heeled shoes he has never seen before.
“You bought new shoes.”
At the sound of Takeru’s voice, Akari turns around with the door to the living room open.
“A-ah, this. I bought it yesterday, you know?”
“Yeah, nice. Did Akari pick them out?”
The heels had no particular decorations, which was unusual for Akari, who likes flashy things, so she was an unusually modest choice, which caught his attention.
“Hmm? Well, a friend did.”
Akari said crisply, without making eye contact, and went into the living room.
A friend….huh…. I guess it could be said that, but many of Akari’s friends are flashy. There are even some gals with heavy makeup and a girl who is rumored to be a magazine model.
Would her friends choose these simple high heels? I can’t help but feel that they have a masculine sense.
No, I was thinking too much. I’m just associating everything with what happened the other day.
Takeru shook his head to shake off the blur and followed her to the living room.
After breakfast, he and Akari leave the house at the usual time.
Akari’s walking pace is fast, and Takeru is a little behind her as he moves forward at a brisk pace. This positional relationship has not changed since elementary school. Her back figure seems to be taller than usual. Is it because of those black high-heeled shoes?
“Ken, you don’t seem to be in good spirits today, do you?”
She suddenly turned around in front of the gate of the university and said so. Takeru tried not to show his upset face as he replied.
“I don’t think so. I just haven’t been sleeping well…”
“That’s a lie ! I can tell, something is bothering you, right?”
Akari interrupts Takeru’s words and comes closer to his face. Because of the heels, their faces were closer than usual. Takeru lowers his eyes and averts his gaze from Akari.
“See, you’re looking away again. Ken is really easy to understand, isn’t he? Look, why don’t you tell me? I can’t say I’ll do everything, but I’ll help you as much as I can.”
Akari’s mouth formed an omega shape and she poked Takeru’s arm with her elbow with a smug look on her face.
As a childhood friend, Akari is able to accurately read Takeru’s emotions from his facial expressions and subtle movements. It seems that he cannot hide anything from her.
Takeru sighs in a sign of resignation and opens his mouth, thinking about how to open it.
“Um, you see. Akari..it’s about Yasaka senpai…”
At that moment, a male voice sidled in, interrupting Takeru’s words.
“Hm? Akari chan? What’re you doing in front of the gate?”
With that voice, a slender, tall, blond man…..Yasaka appeared from within the university grounds. Rumor has it that he is something.
Suddenly approached by Yasaka, Akari looks panicked.
“G-good morning ! It’s a beautiful day right now, isn’t it !”
“Good morning. Weather? It’s certainly nice, but…haha, what kind of greeting is that?] Yasaka said with a wry smile, then turned his attention to Takeru, who was standing behind Akari. [Umm, this is my first time meeting you. Are you Akari chan’s friend?]
Takeru chokes on his words as he is asked this in a gentle tone. It was the first time for him to see Yasaka up close. He is taller than Takeru, who is about the average height of a man, and he has a fresh face that rivals that of a model, but he has a soft demeanor that doesn’t make him look snobbish. I was so overwhelmed by Yasaka’s aura that he could not speak quickly.
As Takeru’s mouth was clamped shut in nervousness, Akari interrupted him.
“Yes, we’re just childhood friends ! We just ran into each other by chance a little while ago !”
Just a childhood friend…..met by chance…Hearing Akari’s words, I felt like a heavy weight was being placed on my chest.
By even lying that they met by chance, Akari probably doesn’t want Yasaka to suspect her relationship with Takeru.
“So, what’s the matter, Yasaka senpai? You must’ve something to do with me.”
“Ah, right. You left this at my house yesterday, Akari chan, so I brought this for you.”
Yasaka said as he took out a familiar clear file from his bag. There was something Takeru lent to Akari yesterday.
“Ah, that’s mine…”
Takeru couldn’t help but let out a yelp.
[Ah, this is yours] Yasaka said with a refreshing smile as he handed Takeru the clear file. [It was well organized. It helped me too, thank you.]
“Ah, no.”
Takeru receives the notebook with a short reply.
Yasaka and Akari continued their conversation, but Takeru’s mind was not on it.
Yasaka said that Akari had left this notebook at home yesterday, which means that Akari had left it at Yasaka’s house yesterday.
It might not have been just the two of them, there might have been other people there, or they might have really just been working on an assignment.
However, Takeru’s imagination went from bad to worse.
“Well, class is about to start, so let’s get going.”
When he came back to himself at Akari’s words, he saw that Yasaka had left before he knew it, and all he could see was Akari with a blank expression on her face.
“I know we’re running out of time, but I’ll ask Ken’s problems another time, so think about what you’re going to tell me, okay?”
“Y-yeah….”
In response to Takeru’s reflexive response, Akari said [Okay !] with a smile and walked towards the university.
Takeru reaches for Akari’s back as she moves away from him. That height, which has always been within reach, recedes over time and becomes out of reach.
“Akari, wait a minute !”
I called out to her unintentionally. At Takeru’s words, Akari turned around and looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face.
[It’s nothing] he tried to say reflexively, but swallowed his words.
No, if I don’t make it clear here, it will drag on for a long time afterwards.
Takeru is determined and looks Akari squarely in the eye.
“Akari, by any chance…are you dating Yasaka senpai?”
Takeru’s question makes Akari’s eyes widen. She wanders her gaze and mumbles a few words.
Seeing her reaction, Takeru somehow guessed what it was, but he could not give up a ray of hope and waited for her to speak.
Akari hesitated for a few seconds, then opened her mouth with a slight blush on her cheeks.
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