Chapter 272 - An intense d.e.s.i.r.e to copulate with him

Yamashina Chiyo stares at the glass filled with beer. Though her gaze is fixed on the foam in the glass, her mind is filled with thoughts of Kawamoto Ren.

She had never been infected by love before, and she was never interested in having a relationship either. But her head is filled with Kawamoto Ren's face after he came out of the shower. The water was dripping from his ridiculous blue hair and he looked at her with his lively brown eyes. 

Chiyo grabs the glass and gulps the beer down in one breath. 

Imada Masao watches her slam down the glass and huff. She turns her head toward him and asks with a calm voice that doesn't match the rage in her eyes. "So, this anime character is a girl who was a duck once?"

"It was based on the story of an ugly duckling and swan lake." He scratches his chin, creasing his forehead. He has never seen her like this before. "Did someone give you that t-shirt as a gift?"

"No." She sighs, slumping her shoulders. It was certainly not a gift. "It was an emergency. He lent it to me for a day, I think."

"He?" His ears perk up. Imada Masao leans closer to her. A man did drop her in front of the lab this morning. She doesn't have a brother. It could only be a cousin or… a friend. Hopefully, it's not a friend. "Was it your cousin?"

"It's someone who…," She pokes the takoyaki with her chopsticks, "Who…"

"Who?" He furrows his brows. She's acting a little different.

"Who…" Yamashina Chiyo c.o.c.ks her head, sighing. "Activated my womanly hormones."

The corner of his lips twitches. Activated what? 

"I have an intense d.e.s.i.r.e to copulate with him." She shoves the piece of Takoyaki in her mouth. The soft and moist piece melts in her mouth. However, the usual savoury food tastes bland to her. She knows why. Kawamoto Ren doesn't like her as a woman. He doesn't even like her as a human being. He is a good person. That's why he helped her. 

She… Imada Masao covers his mouth, looking at her with his widened eyes. "Do you like him?"

"Like?" Yamashina Chiyo looks up at the ceiling in a daze. "He's not bad."

"..." He turns his gaze back to his glass of beer. Who is this man? How did this man manage to make this woman feel something? He's been working with her for a year, but he's sure that she didn't look at him properly. "Yamashina Chiyo, you are heartless."

"I've heard that before," She mutters as she picks up her second glass of beer. She has an urge to cry. Why? Should she blame her amygdala and hippocampus for causing her to feel sad? Nope! It's that blue-haired man. He's making her sad. He's not even here. 

Imada Masao lets out an exasperated sigh. He's not used to seeing her like this. "I have told you that I liked you so many times." 

She frowns. "What?"

"You never saw me as a man." He glances at her. "You didn't even see me as a person. You suddenly have feelings for some other man. I feel horrible."

"But…" She curves her brows. Someone had thought of her as a woman? "I don't think that you told me that you liked me."

"I did, five times." Imada Masao raises his palm and spreads his fingers. "You thought that I was trying to flatter you for your dissection skills. You even made me observe you when you had a corpse who was shot in his b.u.t.t."

Her face is expressionless. She did think that he was just flattering her to get her recommendation. How would she know that he liked her for real? "That corpse was interesting… His wife shot him right at his butthole."

"Not as interesting as you are." He exclaims. She notices that there's something else in his eyes. Something that she can recognize now. Maybe it's because she d.e.s.i.r.es a certain man. Without a doubt, her feelings are one-sided

She purses her lips, looking away. Is she becoming a human suddenly? Being miserable with someone else who has feelings for her…"Why do you like me?"

"I like how you are unaffected by people's opinions. You are cool-headed and a perfectionist. You are devoted to your work. Even now, you can talk to me as if we are talking about the weather." Imada Masao tells her with a light tone, "And, Miss Yamashina, you are beautiful."

Unaffected? That's not true. She is affected by Kawamoto Ren's opinions for her.

It's not like she had never tried to get along with other people. Whenever she did it, it felt like she was out of the place. She was always a step behind and the people looked at her as if she was an odd one. She had interests in things that people feared. She doesn't know exactly when she stopped trying. It stopped being a matter to her. 

Listening to the tales told by the corpses became more important to her. The dead always speak the truth. It didn't look at her oddly. It didn't question her interest or made her feel that she didn't belong. Everything was fine until she saw Nina's smile.

She wanted to know the tale behind that smile. That led her to Kawamoto Ren who acted like he lost the world when that woman died. She understands Nina a little. Once, she sneered when she found out the reason behind Nina's smile. 

As usual, her face is calm, hiding the underlying currents. She has no idea how to say it in words that other people understand. At the same time, it doesn't matter anymore. She can't change herself. She's a cold woman who is closer to the dead than people. 

"Will you go out with me, Yamashina-san?" Imada Masao asks her.

"No," Yamashina Chiyo replies with a quiet voice. She turns her head and meets his heartbroken gaze with an eerie calm. "Imada, I don't have any interest in copulating with you."

However, it's also true that the person who makes her heart flutter is Kawamoto Ren. She doesn't love that man. It's only physical d.e.s.i.r.e.