The girl looked at the boy, her eyes shining like dewdrops.
The sounds of people around me seemed to suddenly become quieter, and time flowed peacefully and comfortably.
The eyes are intertwined.
Kato Yusuke was a little frightened.
Ever since the day of the Houye Festival, his relationship with Hui had been at a standstill.
When he moves forward, the opponent moves back.
It's like two people facing each other across the bank, separated by an invisible river, drawing a dividing line.
But now, there seems to be an extra tree on the shore.
He might be able to build a boat, or he might be able to do nothing with it.
Kato Yusuke took a gentle breath, then slowly exhaled it from his chest, and looked directly at the other person and said word by word:
"...Maybe my request is selfish, but I hope Hui can always stay by my side."
that moment.
The girl was stunned for a moment and lowered her eyelashes.
There seemed to be something extra in those clear eyes, but it was like a mirage in the heat wave, making it difficult to see clearly.
The other party did not respond immediately, but gently raised a hand to pick up the hair that was left in front of his face, and then asked calmly:
"...So, Yusuke, in what capacity or position do you have to say this to me?"
"...What's your identity?" Kato Yusuke repeated in a low voice.
"Because there seem to be some unreasonable demands in what you just said. Even if you want me to consider it, you must first let me know what attitude I should adopt, or whether I am qualified to think about it, right?"
"...If I say there is no reason and I just think so, what will you do?"
Kato Yusuke paused for a moment and continued: "Just like what Megumi said just now, our studio also needs you, so I hope you can stay."
"Right……"
The girl agreed vaguely, neither agreeing nor denying the words, and looked over with her eyes as if to indicate that he should continue.
"..."
Kato Yusuke reached out and picked up the matcha latte on the table and took a sip.
Before I knew it, the coffee had completely gone cold.
It tastes like iced sweet milk, and the taste of matcha is slightly astringent. The taste is hard to describe.
During this period, Hui just kept staring at him, waiting for the follow-up.
"Honestly..."
He lowered his gaze slightly, moved away from the other person's eyes, and then slowly said:
"I'm not ready to see you interacting with other people, and I don't want to be mentally prepared."
"That is to say... Yusuke will feel unhappy when he sees me with other boys. Can I understand that?"
"Um."
A brief silence.
"That's it..."
The girl had the same expression on her face as before, and said calmly:
"Seriously, wasn't your opening statement too oblique? You just have to say that from the beginning."
There was a hint of lightness in his tone, mixed with a hint of sarcasm.
She seemed finally satisfied.
Kato Yusuke was speechless, not knowing how to react.
Hui leaned on the back of the chair and whispered softly:
"However, just like you will be unhappy when you see me going out with others. On the other hand, the same goes for me..."
As for what it is, it naturally refers to his affairs with other girls.
Kato Yusuke's lips moved and he whispered an apology.
After hearing this, the other party expressed it like this.
""You'd better think more about the meaning of apologizing to me in this situation?" Do you still remember what I said before?"
"……of course I remember."
"Can I ask you this now? Why do you have to apologize to me?"
Kato Yusuke pondered for a moment, then looked directly into the other person's eyes.
"Because I ruined our relationship and kissed you without permission on the school rooftop... However, I don't regret it."
"——!"
As if she didn't expect that he would suddenly mention that matter, the girl couldn't help but be stunned, and then immediately lowered her head.
Under the sunset, the face seemed to be slightly red.
After a while, she finally raised her head again, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes.
"...I feel like I've misjudged how shameless you are."
Kato Yusuke touched his nose and said, "Actually, I have been thinking about this later, so are you really angry because of this?"
"angry?"
The girl blinked twice, her long and thick eyelashes gently fanning like a fan, and then she let out a meaningful sound.
"Well, it's not that I'm not angry at all, but it may be a little different from what you think."
She paused and then said: "... To be precise, I'm just a little angry about the meaning behind it."
"Huh……?"
Kato Yusuke asked without confidence: "...the meaning behind it?"
"Let me ask you, Yusuke."
Hui stared at him, her eyes more serious than usual, "...do you understand the meaning of kissing me in that situation?"
Kato Yusuke kept silent and used silence instead of answering.
"well……"
A sigh reached my ears.
"Because you won't step on the brakes, I have to say it straight, okay?
Regarding Kasumigaoka-senpai and the others, Yusuke, what are you going to do? Or...how do you want me to deal with this matter?"
Kato Yusuke's heart tightened.
Before he could speak, he added another sentence casually.
"Ah, let me tell you in advance that a harem hero like Galgame is really bad and I won't accept it, okay?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the air seemed to vibrate slightly.
The two fell into silence.
Kato Yusuke opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
The girl's statement was serious and solemn, and her seemingly indifferent tone was full of unshakable determination.
——It was clearly conveyed into his heart.
This short conversation brought to light the gap that both parties knew well but had always buried.
The clear meaning in her words seemed to make the current situation even more embarrassing.
That subtle atmosphere invisibly blocked Kato Yusuke's throat, and he couldn't say anything else.
The store was noisy and crowded at the moment, and the air was very dull.
He leaned lightly on the back of the chair, a little unsure of what to do.
For quite a while, no one spoke at the table.
Kato Yusuke's brain was running at high speed, and one idea after another kept popping up in his mind, and then dissipated one by one like bubbles.
Although the other party didn't say everything, he already understood what she meant.
To describe it simply, the current situation is like doing a multiple-choice question.
And he can only choose one, or one side.
Kato Yusuke frowned tightly and unconsciously clenched his trousers with both hands. While mentally overlooking the situation at hand, he tried his best to find an opportunity to break the deadlock.
However.
There is no right answer to this kind of thing.
Unknowingly, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Megumi, Shiyu, Kano, and Sayu in memory flashed in my mind one by one.
A shadow appeared in Kato Yusuke's heart, and at the same time he felt a dull pain and indescribable self-loathing.
"Can I leave Shiyu-senpai and Kano-chan alone?"
He asked himself in his heart.
Logically speaking.
Hasumi Kanoko's life has become much easier now that she no longer has the pressure of a house. She can take care of herself even without him.
As for Senior Shiyu.
The relationship between the two has not yet reached its final breakthrough, and perhaps they can use other methods to compensate each other...
But--!
That’s not how things work out, right—?
Thinking of this, Kato Yusuke's expression couldn't help but become distorted, and he couldn't help but grit his teeth tightly.
He can indeed make up for it materially, but what about other aspects?
To put it bluntly.
After experiencing so many things.
Can he live up to Shi Yu, who has never looked back for him, and can he live up to Xiao Kano, who is devoted to him?
But on the other hand.
Can he afford to lose Kei?
"..."
The young man raised his head fearfully and looked at the girl in front of him who had said she would stay by his side. His Adam's apple kept rolling up and down.
The other party's eyes were still as indifferent as before, but they also showed a hint of thinking, as if they had been silently observing his reaction.
"benefit……"
He took a deep breath, and the sound coming out of his throat was dry and inexplicable.
The girl looked at his tense face, her expression changed for a moment, and then she lightly pursed her lips.
"...I'm sorry, I seem to have said some nasty words that bothered you so much."
"No, this is me..."
Kato Yusuke was only halfway through what he said when the other party interrupted him.
"Otherwise this would be better."
Hui tilted his head slightly and said thoughtfully:
"Actually, I've been thinking about how to get along with you and how to treat our relationship...and then, I finally thought of it just now."
Kato Yusuke said nothing, but listened carefully.
"Yusuke...no, Kato Yusuke-san."
The indifferent tone suddenly became formal.
"Basically, our recent relationship is indeed not quite right, and I don't think it's good, so I should explain it clearly to you."
Hearing this, Kato Yusuke subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but still nodded.
Based on the following conversation, it will be decided where their relationship will go in the future.
He clearly recognized this and felt a little nervous for no reason.
While Hui studied his reaction, she lightly pressed a hand on her chest and took a shallow breath.
"...Anyway, you don't need to make a decision now. After all, we are still high school students...I will wait until college."
"University……?"
Kato Yusuke murmured to himself, and his thoughts stopped for a moment.
Ignoring his reaction, the other party stared down at the table and continued talking.
"That said, I can wait until we go to college.
If you still like me, Yusuke, I would like to be your...lover and date you.
Before that, you have a long time to think about it carefully. I will wait patiently for you to make a decision and try not to interfere with you.
That’s basically it.”
Kato Yusuke opened his mouth in astonishment, his mind was drained by this unexpected development, and he couldn't help blurting out: "What about before college?"
As if she had read through his inner thoughts, Hui's tone softened slightly, and her light hair flowed downwards.
"It's okay, just like we agreed, I will continue to stay with you."
"..."
Kato Yusuke closed his eyes in silence, thinking quietly.
Judging from the results alone, it seems that he got on base safely.
In a quite clear manner, the other party clearly gave him a conclusion.
He didn't have to make an immediate decision; the issue was deferred to college.
Before that, he had about two years to think about it, or to make arrangements and deal with it.
Then, he needs to make the final decision at that time.
To sum it up in one sentence, it's like changing from the death penalty to a suspended death sentence.
After clarifying the key, Kato Yusuke slowly opened his eyes. In his heart, he felt both the joy of surviving the disaster and some kind of indescribable loss.
Megumi Kato is always Megumi Kato and will not compromise easily just because she has a good impression of someone.
Think of this.
Whether it was joy or disappointment, it all turned into a long sigh in the end.
"……I see."
Kato Yusuke nodded slightly.
Hearing his sigh, Hui frowned slightly for a moment, as if she was a little dissatisfied, but she immediately returned to her original state.
"...By the way, today is actually the first time in my life that I have been confessed to by someone. Although I refused, but..."
Crystal clear eyes stared at him.
"...This is my first love affair since childhood. It would be great if the partner could be someone I like..."
The girl said in a thin voice, then lowered her eyes quietly.
Kato Yusuke's breathing stagnated slightly.
The feeling Hui gave him at this moment was like looking at the moon underwater through thick ice.
She seemed far away, yet so clear.
"...Okay, anyway, I've said everything I want to say, so let's do it, Yusuke. I will temporarily forget about this matter from tomorrow on, so bye~"
Without giving him a chance to respond, Hui said goodbye in one breath, and then hurriedly left as if running away, leaving him where he was.
◇
After leaving the shopping mall.
The girl got into her cousin's car and went home together.
The newly purchased Audi S6 drives smoothly on the road.
"Let me tell you, Xiaohui."
Kato Keiichi looked at the co-pilot with his peripheral vision and asked, "Is it really okay to just leave Kato-kun alone?"
"Huh? But I said goodbye properly."
Hui, who was playing with his cell phone, replied without looking up, his tone full of confusion.
"I'm not talking about that."
Kato Keiichi smiled bitterly.
"It's just that he is your friend after all, and he is also someone you like. You can actually chat with him for a while, don't worry about me..."
"Well, I think it's better for Keiichi-nii to concentrate on driving? Also, I don't think I've ever talked about the person I like with anyone, right?"
Hearing the displeasure and resistance in the girl's words, Kato Keiichi couldn't help but feel a little speechless, and then sighed with emotion.
"Okay, since you don't want to talk about it, forget it.
By the way, you haven’t talked about that topic before, but Sister Hiromi has already spread the story about Kato-kun in our family.”
"Sister, she is really——!"
After hearing this, Hui complained a little unbearably, and for a while she complained about her sister who was about to become a bride, but still had a naughty personality.
But after a while, I returned to my normal state of mind.
Not wanting to see the smiling smile of her cousin next door, she leaned her elbow on the car door with one hand on her chin and looked out the window.
Even though the car had driven quite a distance, Ikebukuro Sunshine City in the distance still looked very tall.
She quietly stared at the tall building that was gradually shrouded in darkness, feeling as if her thoughts were still stuck in that Starbucks.
Take a step back, be respectful and reserved.
Taking a step closer, I feel unwilling to do so.
So she took a half-step gently and stretched out her hand.
As long as you stand with the other person and stretch out your hand, you can go to her place and wait quietly.
"I will stay with that person closer than anyone else."
When she made this promise, she didn't say any panic.
——But there are always some things that cannot be compromised.
Just like the relationship between people, it will change due to certain opportunities.
When I saw his tears for the first time.
When one person monopolizes his sleeping face.
When you understand that you can't monopolize him alone.
──I hope that she is the one who stays by that person’s side and lives in my heart.
She couldn't help but pray so deeply.
Looking back, from the moment the two people met.
From the moment I was pulled out of a world where there was nothing, neither far nor close to the people around me.
The love heart that rolled out because the lid slid open will definitely not be able to be closed again.
She wants to be his "uncompromising number one" and is willing to go through all the obstacles to do so.
I hope that one day I can face him with all the emotions hidden in my heart.
In order for him to only look at her.
In order to keep her in his heart.
So that the hands holding each other will never be separated.
In order to be able to hug him tightly at night when the moon cannot be seen.