CH 14

“I am absolutely not wearing this…”

“Eh~, if Kaede wears this, I’m sure Ren will be very pleased with it~”

“….Really….?”

“Really, really! A man who is not pleased with this costume is not a man at all.”

“…The heck are you doing, Takuto?”

“What? I wonder if Chinatsu and Shimizu-san are talking like this right now.”

“There’s no way they are….”

I was a little taken aback by Takuto and took a sip of the juice the manager had prepared for me.

A little later, girls in costumes came out of the locker room. They were dressed as mummies, witches, and zombies.

(That’s some high level…)

As I was thinking this, I spotted one of the girls clinging to the door of the locker room.

The girl did not move even though Chinatsu was pulling her hand.

Chinatsu was whispering something in the girl’s ear. Then, the girl who had been clinging to the door and not moving at all came out of the door.

Then, in the next moment, the men shouted “Oh!!!” and “I’ve been waiting for you!!”

The girl was so embarrassed that even her ears were bright red.

“How is it·…?”

For some reason, she stood right in front of me and asked. I looked closer and saw that it was the same blonde hair I always see.

Then I finally realized that the girl was Kaede.

“K-Kaede!?… I think it looks good on you.”

“Really!? Fufu!”

She was dressed up as Snow White. She was slightly blushing and smiling.

Some people might say, “Snow White must have black hair.”

However, even with blonde hair, she looked more than suitable for the occasion.

“Hayasaka-kun..you also look cool.”

“I’m not cool”

“You look cool!”

“Hey, hey, don’t start that kind of conversation here!”

Takuto said while flirting with Chinatsu.

I wanted to retort and say, “I don’t want to hear that from you.”

“You’d better watch out, because there’s a lot of people who don’t know your relationship.”

“M-my bad…”

I honestly admitted my fault and apologized. I am quick to admit my wrongdoings.

“Look! It looks good on me, right?!” Chinatsu asked me,

“Ooh, you look good”

“What’s that? You definitely don’t think so, do you?”

Chinatsu showed her own costume to me.

Chinatsu was dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. She was kind of like an innocent child, so she was more like what I pictured.

At first I didn’t want to go because everyone was making so much noise and having so much fun, but after coming I thought sometimes this kind of atmosphere is nice, and my face started to relax.

Kaede, perhaps seeing this, giggled.

Embarrassed, I brought my costume’s cloak near my face and hid it.

◇◇◇◇◇

In the midst of the pleasant atmosphere, I heard one of the girls say something.

“You make me sick~~”

I think she was joking, but even though these words were not directed at me, they brought back traumas that had been planted in my past.

(Why….even up to this moment, I’ve been thinking about her, my ‘ex-girlfriend’….)

I noticed that I had a grim look on my face, so I quietly put the glass I was about to drink on the table and walked out of the shop so as not to worry everyone, and most importantly, not to ruin this pleasant atmosphere.

I sat on the small steps outside the shope, sitting and thinking in the breeze.

I wonder how long I’ll keep thinking about her, my ex-girlfriend. I know I need to get over it, but even though I know in my head that not all women are like that, my body still reacts.

“May I sit next to you?”

Then I heard a gentle voice behind me that seemed to blow away such thoughts.

Wanting to know the identity of the voice, I turned around and saw an Angel in costume standing there.

“Snow White…? But blonde hair… could it be Cinderella?”

“Fufu~, Mou~, What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, Forget it….”

“Then I’ll forget about it.”

And then Kaede, smiling, sat down next to me. But she did not ask me anything.

Next to me, her blonde hair was swaying in the wind and her white cheeks were illuminated by the lights of the shop.

However, it felt comfortable. Kaede had become, unbeknownst to me, the person with whom I didn’t have to worry about anything.

“Won’t you ask me anything?”

“That’s true, however, just like you did for me, I will wait until you talk to me, Hayasaka-kun.”

“Then will you wait for me? I’ll definitely, definitely talk to you.”

“Of course,” she said, tapping her chest and embarrassed saying, “At that time, Onee-san will pamper you.”

I knew I would never be pampered by Kaede, but I wondered how comfortable it would be if I did …. I began to think about that.

“Despite this, they’re still not dating, huh, Mrs. Chinatsu?”

(T/N: Here He calls Chinatsu his wife “Chinatsu oku-san” )

“No, no, They’re just embarrassed, Takuto-san.”

I heard someone whispering behind me and turned around to see Chinatsu and Takuto grinning at me as they watched our backs.

“You guys…”

“I was worried about you, but I guess there was no need.” Takuto said,

“Right, We were worried”

“Thanks ….”

When I replied, shyly, she said, “Okay!” and smiled. Chinatsu looked cuter than usual.

Takuto was staring at me, probably jealous of that.

But then I thought about it, and yes, …. I had Kaede next to me. After talking to her for a bit, I had forgotten about my ex.

No, no…

“May I come in next to you?”

When I heard those words, I wasn’t thinking about my ex-girlfriend anymore.

Perhaps Kaede….

(…No, no way….)

“Let’s go, shall we?”

Kaede grabbed my hand and led me back into the shop. Her hand was warmer than the last time I touched it, and for some reason I felt like crying.