[LN] Kanojo ni Uwaki Sareteita Ore ga - Volume 1 - Chapter 2

 

Chapter 2 - Christmas Party

Christmas Day.

I was seated at a restaurant that Ayaka had reserved in advance, a place that was fashionable but rarely seen by couples.

"But how did you find such a store? I thought that at this time of year, fashionable stores are usually occupied by couples."

Although the luxury and atmosphere are not as good as yesterday's restaurant, this restaurant is still more suitable for me considering that the prices are relatively reasonable and the menu has many dishes.

Ayaka, whether she knew it or not, gave a thumbs-up and grinned.

"I'm not going to surf the net, I'm going to go to the site. I'm the organizer, so I'm going to make sure everything is done right."

"That part of you is solid."

I praised her honestly, but it seemed that Ayaka was not happy with her words.

"I'm not usually firm when I say, "That's just the way I am. I am firm."

"Oh. Then I have one question, okay?"

Check across the table, facing each other.

"What? No, no, no, no."

I said, "Yeah. Why aren't the others coming?"

When I asked the question, Ayaka looked thrilled.

"Oh, you. You've heard the taboo of this gathering."

Her expression and theatrical tone are like that of an actress, with a face that all my friends say is beautiful.

But the stage of getting excited about such faces had passed in high school.

"Shut up. What do you mean there are no men, no women, no one but us?"

The caller should have said firmly that it was a joint party.

"I made a mistake with ......."

"Yes?"

"I gave them the wrong time! You're the only one who got the time an hour earlier!"

Ayaka abandoned her theatrical tone in an instant and began to speak as usual.

"I know it's my fault, but you should check your phone too. I've sent you several messages and you haven't even read them."

"Oh, seriously?"

When I checked, I found that I had received several lines around noon today.

[I'm sorry, I gave the wrong time. I'll meet you at 8:00 p.m.']

[See you at 8:00 p.m.!]

[If you don't reply, I'll have to adjust my schedule accordingly.]

[At least read me.]

[All right! You just go!]

"...... really."

Basically I'm at home hanging out on video sites and such, so they didn't notice the line notification.

It was also a disaster that I had put it on silent mode.

I thought to myself, "Why didn't you reply to me, but I guess you were probably just playing music because you were lonely living alone."

Ayaka makes a disgusted voice.

"I didn't want to make you wait at the meeting place, so I came all the way here early."

"Hmm."

Well, it was Ayaka who made the first mistake.

It's like Ayaka, for better or worse, in that she follows up on her mistakes well.

I may at least thank them later.

"Come to think of it, why did you let me in an hour before my appointment?"

"I'm still available at this time, so I've been very accommodating. I'll have to thank you when I pay the bill."

For the next forty minutes or so, we talked about nothing else until the members were all together.

As much as it pains me, Ayaka is the person I feel most comfortable with among my friends. I can't tell her because she would make fun of me most of the time, but I thought it would be more fun for us to spend time together than at a blind date.

◇◆

"Chisssss!" "Wiss!" "Hallo!"

The male members of the party visited with the college student greeters three beats later.

The level of the face is indeed high, as Ayaka has chosen.

If only they had a normal greeting, that would be a very high point.

Chisses and whisses, well, I get it, but what is a halo? If it's short for hello, it doesn't take much time to abbreviate, and besides, it's nighttime now.

"Good evening, everyone!"

Ayaka greets him smilingly.

I couldn't help but grin heartily at that.

Since high school, Ayaka has had many friends. Many people liked Ayaka, regardless of gender.

The reason for this is the current attitude and outward appearance.

As we got to know each other, her usual hard-edged demeanor became apparent, but she seemed to be playing the role of a bland, energetic girl to the men gathered here.

"Yaya, Ayaka! Thanks for calling me today."

"No, thank you for coming on such short notice! I'm glad you're here, Motosaka-kun."

"No, no, if Ayaka-chan asks me to go with her, I'll go with her anywhere."

"You won't get anything for saying that, will you?"

Ayaka was giggling, and knowing Ayaka as she usually is, I was almost giggling too.

As the party began, the men and women talked a lot.

I was told that the group had been gathered suddenly because there was no time, but the guys were talkative and the girls were all pretty.

It's hard not to get excited, even if it's about something else.

I was me, too, and despite my initial reluctance, I somehow ended up enjoying myself for about an hour.

The men and women were facing each other, and the girl in front of me and I had the same taste in comic books, so we had a lot to talk about.

However, only Motosaka, the man sitting in front of Ayaka, seemed to be concentrating on seducing Ayaka rather than talking to her.

"No, seriously, I want a girlfriend like Ayaka-chan."

"Motosaka-kun, you're so cool, you can do it in no time!"

"I don't know. Well, Ayaka is good, isn't she?"

"Oh, no!"

"Hahaha!"

Motosaka bangs the desk with his hand.

I get it. This is a serious appeal disguised as a joke.

I haven't had much experience in love, but I've seen enough of the looks on the faces of the men who come on to Ayaka.

Ayaka, too, says she wants a boyfriend, but she repels all attacks from men who seem to be frivolous.

And sadly, most of the men who are attracted by Ayaka's looks are of this type.

This was not the case in high school, but it became more pronounced once I entered college.

I once wondered about the fact that despite being such a non-preferred type for Ayaka, she was still friendly as a friend, and asked her why she got along with everyone so well.

The answer is, "For now, we won't lose money."

From my point of view, I can't help but feel that there will be more trouble, but with Ayaka's specs, I wonder if she will be able to handle it before it develops into something troublesome.

I don't know, I haven't heard that much about it.

......But then again, this Motosaka guy.

As soon as the party starts, they are gulping down their drinks and getting louder and louder.

Our group is becoming a bit conspicuous, in part because this restaurant is not a mass izakaya.

To top it all off, he started talking about vulgar topics to the girls, and as expected, Ayaka's temples twitched.

"Motosaka-kun, you may be a little loud. Also, you shouldn't talk about such things with children you've only met for a short time. ......"

"Oh, why? I'm speaking for all the guys here! I'm asking the girls what they want to ask me!"

Motosaka, in his usual loud voice, refutes the idea. And when the guys are all together, I wonder if they think I've taken the lead on the bottom line.

The two other men look at each other and chuckle.

Apparently, Motosaka's coarse behavior is solely his own problem.

"You're in trouble, girl."

When I said this, Motosaka frowned as hard as he could.

"What's with all the flippancy?"

"No, I'm not talking about a flirtation or anything like that. It's just that the atmosphere is like this right now."

"That's because you stopped talking, wasn't it?"

"No, of course not."

"How can you be so sure?"

Motosaka stared at me, not even trying to hide his grumpy voice.

"And, you know, the blind dates I've been to were like that, but this is normal, right?"

Hearing these words, Ayaka also opens her mouth to refute them.

"Sure, there may be such a party, but ......"

It was as if I could hear Ayaka's voice in my mind saying, "You should at least understand that this is not the atmosphere here.

But Motosaka, who is hopelessly perceptive, did not get the message. So, let's continue," he said, returning to the topic.

Up until now, the girls next to Ayaka had only laughed at Motosaka's stories as if they were in trouble all the time, but now their expressions were darker.

From the looks of it, Ayaka has invited a friend with whom she has never tangled much.

But it was Ayaka who called Motosaka.

Ayaka seemed to know that, too, and this time she looked up with a determined expression on her face.

"Oh, there he is, my senior!"

The first person to cheerfully jump out of the door was Shinohara, a college student who had recently retired from Santa.

"Good evening, Hasegawa-senpai!"

Shinohara approaches with a twinkle in her eye.

Shinohara, who attracts the eyes of those around her with her outstanding appearance, stood out even more from the seats at this blind date party where all the cute girls were gathered.

Ayaka, the only one who seems to be able to compete with Shinohara, now has an indescribable expression of surprise at the sudden visitor.

I was sitting at the end of the aisle, and I stood up, wondering why the timing of the event.

"Hey, man, what a coincidence."

"Senpai~, I haven't seen you since yesterday!"

Shinohara, who makes a sweet voice, looks a little different from yesterday.

I don't remember Shinohara being so sweet to me, and I'm sure he wasn't the kind of guy who would try to spoil me in public either.

How on earth did they get there today when they didn't even let us know where they were located in the first place?

As I was wondering this, an unexpected person opened his mouth.

"Hey, what are you doing, Mayu?"

It is a former hill.

Motosaka, who had not been intimidated by me or Ayaka when we warned her about her behavior, turned pale when she saw Shinohara.

Name calling and this impatience.

I thought I knew what their relationship was like.

As soon as Shinohara recognized Motosaka, he sounded chilled, different from when he was talking to me.

"Well, you know. Anyway, Mayu, why are you here?"

"I don't care why I'm here, do you? It was just a coincidence, Yudo-senpai."

Shinohara, who flies a guileless gaze, is also tremendously scary because of her usually cute face.

Shinohara glanced at the girls' side of the table and let out a small breath.

"You seem to be having a lot of fun again."

"Mayu, let me tell you something so you don't get the wrong idea. This was just a Christmas party for everyone."

"Oh, it's a party, isn't it? It doesn't look like much to me."

"No, of course not. They've learned their lesson from the last time."

Motosaka put his palm on Shinohara's head, but Shinohara waved it away.

"It's a blind date."

I opened my mouth when I sensed their relationship.

If Motosaka had said or done anything out of the ordinary, he would have remained silent.

I was in no mood to mention it now.

"You said so yourself. This is the same party you've been going to, where you're going to talk down to the girls, isn't it? What are you lying about?"

"Oh, you ......"

Motosaka stares at me with a ridiculous look on his face.

I pretended to be unaware of what was going on and stared back at him with a nonchalant expression on my face.

Upon hearing my words, Shinohara shakes his head and makes a dumbfounded gesture.

"I knew it. I am Yudou-senpai's girlfriend, after all, so please don't embarrass me."

"No, it's not! It's his boring joke!"

Motosaka clicked his tongue at me and turned to face Shinohara.

"Besides, what kind of relationship do you have with this guy, Mayu? You said you didn't have many guy friends!"

"What are you talking about, shelve yourself ...... and keep your voice down because you're annoying me."

Shinohara puts his finger to his mouth, concerned about the eyes of those around him. Then Motosaka, who had not listened to us when we warned him, immediately shushed him.

It seems that what Shinohara said yesterday, "Even if he cheats on me, he still loves me," is true.

"And, about my relationship with Hasegawa-senpai. We just spent Christmas Eve together."

"Buh."

It blows my mind.

When I opened my mouth to correct my wording, I was stopped by Shinohara's eyes.

They are saying, "Please, please, please match."

...... I'll have them buy you something to eat at a later date.

Hearing about Eve, Motosaka drew more blood from his blue face.

"No, no, no, that's ...... cheating, that's ...... cheating, you think it's okay for a woman to cheat on you?"

"Can a man cheat on his wife?"

"But not women."

Motosaka let out a whisper of defiance. But by all accounts, it was clear who had the upper hand on the spot.

There, Ayaka clapped her hands in a pan.

I said, "Okay, let's break up here for today. Let's get together again when the time is right.

The girls sitting next to me had glowing faces.

Apparently, Ayaka thought it was better to break up than to placate Motosaka and settle the situation.

"I came because ...... Ayaka invited me, but I'm not a member of the group. Please call me again at a different time."

Motosaka says, as if he is trying to be heard, and then proceeds to the cashier to pay for his own bill.

I was surprised that he still thinks Ayaka will ask him out.

"Let's go, Mayu."

Motosaka asked Shinohara to leave the restaurant, and surprisingly, Shinohara followed him with a two-fold reply.

As I was leaving the restaurant, he waved to me and said, "Well, senpai, see you later.

I raised my hand discreetly, puzzled.

I was impressed by the way he wickedly shook off Motosaka's hand that tried to touch his head.

"Sorry guys, it's Christmas. ......"

Ayaka looks unusually depressed while paying the bill.

Both men and women were following Ayaka with their mouths. I opened the door one step ahead of them, with them by my side.

The sound of the bell, which was appropriate for Christmas, sounded quite lonely.

◇◆

"Oh my God! This really sucks!"

On the way home, Ayaka and I were walking together at night.

We broke up with everyone at the party at the station and everyone went back to their respective directions.

"Well, you learned something. "Well, you learn that if you take someone with you who's never had a drink before, sometimes you get guys like that."

"That's why it's Christmas. ...... I don't know how to apologize to you guys."

"You were all following Ayaka. They were having fun until she got like that."

It was a shame that Motosaka interrupted me because I was having a lot of fun too.

We only chit-chatted, but she was a very talkative girl.

"If he was having fun, he would have asked if we could have an after-party after Motosaka was gone. I really screwed up this time."

"Really? I could hear everyone rather well."

"I was so busy with Motosaka that I couldn't talk about anything else, so I naturally made it an environment for one-on-one conversations. Both sides of me were trying hard not to stop talking. ...... is my excuse, too."

Ayaka let out a grand sigh and ruffled her hair.

He said, "Well, it looks like they had a good time at your place. They asked me to get your contact information."

I was like, "Oh, really? Maybe it's because we have the same taste in comic books."

Ayaka nodded honestly.

He said, "Since you know he's the kind of guy who spends Christmas Eve with other girls, I think he probably just wants to be friends with you in general. At least message him back."

After saying that much, Ayaka stopped as if she remembered.

"I mean, do you know Mr. Shinohara? Is she the Santa Claus that you spent Christmas Eve with?"

"Oh, yeah. Santa is Shinohara."

I was like, "Wow, what a coincidence. That girl is my junior."

So, the question I had been feeling in thin air was answered.

"I see, Ayaka told him where the restaurant was, and that's why Shinohara came."

"He asked me where I went to a party. I told Shinohara-san that I was friends with you at ....... He didn't seem too surprised. He didn't seem too surprised."

"I don't know. Maybe you just forgot."

It was common for Ayaka to be known unilaterally to others through her self-serving introductions.

Ayaka nodded, as if satisfied with the response.

We got to the road where we always part ways.

It is a busy street, so there would be no need to send him.

"I'm sorry about today. I'll make it up to you again."

"I don't need it. Don't worry about it."

"I'm not going to let you force me to go out with you. Do you want me to take you out on a date?"

Ayaka suggested while twirling her black hair.

The white light from the street lamps shows off her beautiful black hair.

I swallow these impressions and exhale.

"How self-conscious do you have to be to make up for that?"

That should make any normal boy happy.

Ayaka deliberately raised the corners of her mouth.

...... that seemed to be too much to ask for.

The difference in their expressions is easy for me to understand, since Ayaka is the one who usually teases me a lot.

You say, "...... Well, what the heck. If a guy was so easily dominated by that, we wouldn't have gotten along so well. It's fun just to talk like this."

When Ayaka heard this, her big eyes fluttered.

"......, I see."

Under a street lamp, Ayaka looks up at the night sky.

The expression on his face is not the usual pasted-on smile, but a soft smile that he only shows when the two of us are together.

Ayaka was even more beautiful than ever as she murmured, "Thank you.

◇◆

When I left Ayaka and returned home, I was greeted by my usual messy studio.

The time is still ten o'clock in the afternoon. Is it time for the couples of the world to get going?

When I open a social networking site for the first time in a while, I see posts from high school and college friends on my timeline.

There are a lot of things I'd like to tweak in this season's postings for me.

"I'm going on a date with a Christmas outfit today! But I'm not confident at all!" If that's the case, I'd like to tell them not to post photos at all.

The post "The Christmas tree is really big! is a post that shows nothing but a two-shot, and I want to tell you to take a picture of the tree.

Usually I don't think about it, but I wonder if it's because it's Christmas that I feel that way today.

I hate to admit it, but I still find myself envying the couple somewhere.

My heart is going to be devastated if I continue to look at the timeline.

I scroll through it one more time, somehow, before turning it off.

Then one post caught my eye.

['I have a feeling today is going to be a great day...']

The content was as bland as it could be anywhere.

That user icon was disgustingly familiar.

The person with light brown dyed hair is my ex-girlfriend. Her name is Reina Aisaka.

Reena cheated on me a month ago and we just broke up.

Although I was blown away in my own way, when I saw his face like this, I felt a stirring in my chest.

"...... tch."

There is no one else in the room, but they hold their tongues as if to hide their hurt feelings.

I could imagine many things just from the word "wonderful day" that Rena uttered.

From the time the one-year anniversary approached, there were signs that Reina's feelings were slipping away.

At first, the frequency of returning lines gradually decreased.

Half the time I asked her out on dates, she turned me down, and eventually she even cancelled on me.

Still, the occasional date was fun, and Rena posted on social media every time she went on a date, so she thought she could still get her feelings back.

Just then, he had an affair.

"...... Ah, stop reminding me!"

Thinking about it doesn't help.

When you broke up with me and I was depressed for a long time, you decided that once you blew it, you wouldn't be a wuss.

If I keep going on like this, I have no face to match with Ayaka, who repeatedly encouraged me in an uncharacteristic manner.

Stretch your body as much as you can, with the meaning of changing your mind.

It feels good to hear my back cracking.

Whenever I feel bothered, the best thing I can do is to move my body in this way.

...... Speaking of which.

Is Shinohara back safe and sound?

Yesterday Shinohara said something to the effect that he wanted to get even with me for cheating on him and then shake me off.

So that day was this Christmas as soon as possible.

It must have been pretty tough for that prideful Motosaka to get dumped on Christmas Day after a fight in front of everyone.

In addition, a couple's breakup is the most messy time of the year.

The saying, "Don't leave a bird in the lurch" does not apply to couples.

It is almost as if a mutually consensual breakup, with the two parties returning to being friends after a certain amount of time, is an unlikely scenario.

I found myself opening Shinohara's screen on line and pressing the call button. The ringing tone that should have been familiar to me now sounded inorganic.

Then the screen went dark without Shinohara leaving.

It's been almost an hour since we broke up, so I should have been home by now.

I have a bad feeling about this, but there is nothing I can do if I can't get in touch with him. I don't even know where Shinohara's house is located, and most of the time, my bad premonitions end up being just an imagination.

In the morning, I am sure that I will have neatly forgotten about such a slight uneasiness.

I give a big sigh and hit the switch to heat the bath.

Then a ring tone rang from my phone.

When I picked up the phone, I heard Shinohara's voice.

"Hello, senpai?"

"Oh, Shinohara. Good."

I let out a breath of relief.

Then I heard a giggle from the other end of the phone.

"Did you call me all the way out of concern?"

"I was just wondering if you could help me. Well, well,...... you know, he seemed like kind of a pain in the ass. They went on ahead of me, and I was just curious."

Haha, there's nothing to it.

They deny it with a cheerful tone of voice.

"I was actually just about to call you, too. I did a double-take when the call came from a senior."

"'Heh, that's a coincidence. What were you going to say?"

When I asked, Shinohara answered in an offended tone.

"'I wanted to apologize to ....... I'm sorry I got you into this."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry for what happened today. I made the atmosphere bad. The seniors had nothing to do with it."

"Oh, that's all right then. Even before Shinohara came, the atmosphere was terrible."

In fact, I can even say that Shinohara's arrival saved my life. It would have been worse for me if he had just kept talking like that forever.

[But still, I was her, after all.]

"Did you end up breaking up with him?"

[Well, yes.]

I was a little concerned about the implied reply, but decided not to pursue the matter. If Shinohara wants to talk, he can talk.

[I think it's also a good idea to accept a confession of love in order to be a couple. If you trace this case back to the beginning, it's because I went out with him with that kind of feeling.]

I decided to tell Shinohara, who looked a little depressed, what I had been feeling on a regular basis.

"That's just the way it is. Few couples are able to be completely in love from the beginning."

That ratio might have been higher in junior high and high school.

If couples can only be formed from a mutual love, then probably more than half of the couples in the university are not ready.

We can be certain that there are numerous people among them who long for a couple's event and to go out with someone. Nevertheless, even though there are many people who think about it, it is hard to find those who say it out loud and clear.

I was honestly happy that Shinohara was sharing her heart with me.

"What do you mean?"

['No, I thought you were good at consoling people. I thought you would say, 'Yes, I'm sorry about the current situation, and I'm sorry about Shinohara too.']

The atmosphere is like seeing something unexpected.

"You know very well that you are at fault, and you are telling me because you still can't sort out your feelings. What's the point in going out of your way to push back?"

['...... hyah']

Shinohara makes a dumb voice.

[I'm a senior. ...... I guess that's what you call being an adult, isn't it? I respect you.]

"What? I don't like it when people say things like that out of the blue."

[I don't respect people very much, you know? I look like this, but I don't respect people very much, you know?]

"I think you're out of your mind if you think that someone who doesn't respect others would respect me. You should respect Ayaka more than me. You know her, don't you?'

After only a moment's pause, Shinohara responded.

['Are you Ayaka-senpai? Well, yes. I'll think about it.']

After that, we talked about nothing else for about 30 minutes. There are not many people, with the exception of Ayaka, with whom I continue to talk even after my business is done.

One particularly lively conversation was about a certain social networking site, and it was quite funny to talk about it with Shinohara, who had similar sensitivities to me.

['Phew, I need to take a bath soon.]

"Well, I'm off to bed too."

[Yes, I'll be back soon. Then good night, senpai. I'll make it up to you later.]

"Oh!"

['......Thank you for your time today.']

With a thank you, the caller hangs up.

When did the positions become reversed?

I found that irresistibly funny, and it made me chuckle.

Besides, even if things with my boyfriend are settled for now.

"Maybe later."

I look out the window and bask in the dry winter air.

After the encounter, a new daily life begins.

Such a premonition seemed to brighten the familiar landscape.

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