CH 49

“Huh? Aoi?”

I hear a man’s voice and I turn toward him.

There he was, waving his hand, Jinguji kun.

“What are you doing here?”

“……Well I do what I want.”

“Arara. That’s cold.”

I sleeve Jinguji kun as he approaches me.

(TL/N : I don’t know what this meant)

Still, Jinguji kun doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. On the contrary, he is smiling.

“I wonder if you are alone in a place like this.”

“No, I’m here with a friend, or a childhood friend, I guess.”

“……..is that right?”

I hadn’t heard much about Jinguji kun’s friendships outside of school.

I didn’t know he had a childhood friend.

“So Aoi is alone?”

“….Yeah”

“I see. Do you want to play together if you want?”

“I’m not in the mood. I have things to do. Leave me alone.”

Once again, I cold-shoulder him.

“Ren. Sorry, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Oh, Kou. I don’t mind.”

At that moment, another man approached Jinguji kun and called out to him.

This voice …… somewhere ……?

“Tss!”

Then I looked in the direction of the voice and the sound of my heart jumped.

I desperately look away from that person.

What ……? Why ……?

My head is filled with such questions.

My heart was pounding faster and faster.

“Hey, is that girl over there an acquaintance of Ren’s?”

“Oh. That’s right. Same class.”

“Ohh~”

Then he called him “Kou,” and he looked at me with a stern stare.

It’s as if he’s trying to decide what to buy.

I turn my face away from him so that my eyes do not meet his. I try not to look impatient in my expression.

The tension is starting to seep through my hands, and I start to sweat.

Calm down. He shouldn’t know anything about me now.

It’s okay. Take a deep breath.

“She’s a pretty girl.”

“T……Thanks. I’m sorry. I have some errands to run.”

With that said, I frantically moved away from the place without looking aside.

◆

Aoi left Jinguji and the others, leaving only the two of them. Jinguji’s childhood friend, called Kou, in their place.

They watch Aoi’s back as she leaves and begin to talk.

“That girl just now, I know I’ve seen her somewhere before.”

“Oh, yeah. Maybe it’s someone you used to do it with?”

“No, I think I’d remember a beauty like that if I did it once.”

“That’s all right then. I don’t want to be a girl with the fingerprints of Kou.”

“Don’t worry about it. Maybe it’s a girl I don’t know. What’s her name? Tell me.”

“………….”

“No, no, no, I’m not going to touch your girl, no matter how much I want to. Maybe.”

“I don’t trust you.”

They began to move from the spot while having a condescending conversation.

Hence, all the girls who pass by look back equally.

Then, when their eyes meet, they wave briskly, and the girls who are waved at are colorful.

“Is that the girl you were after?”

“Well”

“Oh, poor guy. Such a fresh-faced prick targeted her.”

“How can you talk about others?　You’re just as quick to put on a sweet face for a girl and do whatever you want.”

“No doubt about it.”

The two exchange light banter and laughter.

“That’s unusual, even for you. I can’t think of anyone that Ren is that obsessed with.”

“She’s not really interested in me. That’s what makes it interesting. I’ve lost a lot of guys like that in the past. This one is no different. She’s tougher than I’ve ever been.”

“Here you go, dawg, how many women have you made cry because of it?”

In terms of making women cry, this man called Kou was no different.

They are both haunted and play the role of polite, respectful, honor students in public.

However, behind the scenes, they had two sides to them, a womanizer.

“So what’s her name?”

“Oh, it’s Ichikawa Aoi”

“Ichikawa Aoi…..? I feel like…..I’ve heard it…..Ah”

“What’s wrong”

“Aah, Ahaha. I remembered”

Kou grinned and smiled wickedly.

“I knew you knew each other.”

“I’ll tell you something good.”

Saying this, Kou began to tell Jinguji in detail about her girlfriend in junior high school.

◆

“Haa………Ha………Haa……….”

I found myself running a long distance at a fast pace, forgetting to breathe.

“………Fuu”

I take a deep breath once more to regulate my disordered breathing.

Finally, things are calming down.

“I-Ichikawa san!”

“Ts!”

It was my lover, Komiya kun, who came to me.

Now he has come to the place I least want him to come.

“I finally found …… feet, too fast ……”

Komiya kun puts his hands on his knees and gasps for air.

Apparently, he had been frantically chasing after me since he found me.

I didn’t notice it at all because I was thinking.

More than that.

“Why are you here? Weren’t you playing with Tohno san?”

“Uh, about that.”

Komiya kun scratched his cheek awkwardly.

I wonder what happened. Did they get into a fight? But I don’t think that Tohno san would get into a fight.

“Actually, we’ve already disbanded for the day.”

“….Eh? What’s wrong?”

“It’s a long story. …… But more to the point, I knew it was Ichikawa san behind me at the movie theater.”

“Eh, yeah”

“I wanted to clear up that …… misunderstanding.”

“I don’t see what the misunderstanding is about. I don’t care. Anyway…….”

I wanted to go home right away.

Talking with Komiya kun like this makes me feel a little better.

But I didn’t want to keep showing myself that is weak.

“Ichikawa san, you look pale, are you okay?”

“Ts”

I realize that after being told.

“I-It’s nothing. I’m going home now.”

Not wanting him to worry, I quickly make my way to the exit.

“I’ll walk you home then!”

“It’s fine. I’ll go home alone today.”

“No, I can’t let you go home alone with such a pale face—!”

I pressed my own against his lips as if to cut off Komiya kun’s worry.

I can see the puzzled look on his face.

“Fufu, Komiya kun. I’m really okay. Please.”

“……”

I left the place, leaving Komiya kun frozen in place.

◆

“What was that about ……?”

It seemed to me that she was somewhat overwhelmed.

But so was being kissed in public like this, and I couldn’t help but listen to her if she asked me for a favor like that.

People around me were watching them and saying things like, “It’s nice to be young!”

Simple embarrassment and Ichikawa san’s sudden change.

And my head hurt when I thought about Tohno san’s confession.

“Oh, oh, was that …… Aoi and Komiya kun? Were they kissing? Huh? Huh? Is that what you mean ……? That’s ……”

And I had no idea at this time that I was being watched by someone I knew.

(TL/N : I hope nothing really “bad” happened about Ichikawa and her “ex”)