Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051597934651646/episodes/2912051600579361847
With a creak.
The sound of the Literature Club’s old sliding door opening echoed through the room.
“Achi-kuuuun! I’ve been waiting for you!”
As soon as Houtarou Achi came into view, Seika Hirugami leapt at him as if propelled by a spring.
Unlike the classroom, where everyone in the class was watching, this was a private space where only club members and close friends were present.
She wasn’t trying to hide her feelings of “liking” him even a millimeter anymore.
She swung her invisible tail back and forth so violently it seemed it might snap off, her face flushed bright red as she clutched Houtarou’s uniform sleeve tightly.
“Hehehehe. Seriously, just being able to see you, Achi-kun, makes me so—shaa-seee!” (Shiawase)
“Sha-se?”
Startled by the sudden odd cry, Hotaro tilted his head in confusion.
“It means ‘happy’!”
As Seika declared this with a beaming smile, Hotaro lowered his eyes slightly.
“……Yeah. Me too.”
He muttered under his breath, in a voice so soft no one else could hear it.
Seika, pressed so close against him that her excitement had reached fever pitch, didn’t catch that clumsy affirmation.
However, it reached the ears of Miyuki Kayano, who was reading a book at a long table a short distance away.
(Haa…)
Keeping her gaze fixed on the paperback in her hands, Miyuki let out a deep sigh—she’d lost count of how many times she’d done so today. She was constantly caught in the sickly sweet atmosphere flowing between the two of them.
“So, so! It’s the long-awaited lunch!”
Seika dragged Houtarou over to the long table and pulled a cute pink furoshiki-wrapped package out of her bag.
With a smug look on her face, she puffed out her chest and energetically unwrapped the package.
“Ta-da! I made this just for you, Achi-kun!”
“…Didn’t you say this morning that you ‘made too much’?”
When Houtarou calmly pointed out the contradiction, Seika’s shoulders jerked.
“Uh, um… right! I made too much, so I’m sharing some with you, Achi-kun!”
It was a terribly flimsy excuse.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a perfectly balanced bento prepared for him from the very beginning.
Houtarou let out a small sigh without pressing the matter further.
“That’s a weak excuse. …I see.”
“Heheh, y-yeah!”
Seika flashed a goofy grin and sat right next to Houtarou.
Houtarou picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the beautifully grilled rolled omelet.
“It’s delicious.”
“Really!? Really, really?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not lying, are you? Oh, I’m not doubting you or anything, I just wanted you to say you weren’t lying!”
Houtarou replied in a matter-of-fact tone to Seika, who was leaning forward and pressing him for an answer.
“I see. It’s delicious.”
“Nuuhehehe~”
The innocent gal’s brain was melting into a gooey mess from the sweet pleasure.
Seika cupped her cheeks with both hands, leaned her body against the desk, and began writhing in ecstasy.
(Sigh…)
Fuyuki looked up from her book and quietly watched her noisy best friend and Houtarou, who was calmly eating his bento.
It was as clear as day that Seika had fallen head over heels for Houtarou.
However, what surprised Miyuki was Houtarou himself.
At first glance, he seemed aloof and indifferent, but he didn’t seem to mind Seika’s overly intense displays of affection at all.
On the contrary, just like that little murmur from earlier, it was clear that he, too, was definitely drawn to Seika.
(This… might actually work out pretty well.)
From an outsider’s perspective, it was certain they were in love with each other.
Although seeing her best friend’s romance come to fruition should be a cause for joy, a sense of “loneliness”—as if a cold wind had suddenly blown into the depths of her heart—spread through Miyuki.
If the two of them started dating, naturally, the time she spent with Seika would decrease.
Lunch, the walk home after school, outings on days off—everything would come to prioritize him.
She felt as though her best friend, who had always relied solely on her, was drifting away to a place she could no longer reach.
(This isn’t right. …Wishing for my friend’s romance to fail—thinking such a thing, taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune…)
Fuyuki shook her head slightly, trying to shake off the ugly emotion that had begun to take root within her.
With a soft thud, she closed the book she had been reading and called out to the noisy pair in a voice she tried to keep calm.
“Hey, you can make out all you want, but the club room is filled with a sweet smell.”
“Huh!? S-sorry! Do you want some rolled omelet too, Miyuki?”
“No, thanks.”
Fuyuki shrugged in exasperation and turned her gaze back to the noisy yet warm scene of everyday life.
–
–
If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate, Thank you in advance !