CH 45

“Speaking of which, Ren, are you going to celebrate your birthday on the same day as usual?”

Mom casually turned from the passenger seat in the car and asks me. I thought about it for a minute, but then I grabbed my chest and told her because I’ve already changed.

“No, I’m fine with January 3rd, my real birthday.”

“Fufuf, I really am thankful to you, Kaede-chan.”

“Yeah, thank you.”

Kaede hid her face with her arms in embarrassment as me and mom thanked her.

“Why is that? I did nothing….”

“Actually, I was cheated on on my birthday, and then I was so traumatized that my family decided to celebrate my birthday on January 2nd.”

Kaede was sorry to hear that.

◆◆◆◆◆

At noon, the alarm went off noisily, and when I woke up, and went to the living room dwonstairs, a party popper welcomed me.

I had just woken up, so I couldn’t catch up with what was going on.

(Ah yeah…. it’s my birthday, today…)

I giggled a little at the fact that I had forgotten my own birthday.

“Happy birthday, Ren!”

Mom congratulated me, and Kaede, Hina, and Dad said “Happy birthday” to me.

After that, we all had dinner together, talked about various things, and Mom and Dad bought me sneakers as a birthday present .

Hina gave me a pair of socks, and although I told her she didn’t have to buy them, I was still happy to receive a present from her, even if it was from my sister.

Finally, Kaede, with a red face, handed me a wrapped bag with Hina pushing her back.

“I-I don’t know if you’ll like it, but here…”

“Can I open it?”

Kaede nodded her head.

I removed the wrapping, feeling it was a bit of a waste, and took out the contents to find what looked like a necklace.

“Necklace…?”

“Yes, I thought it would look good on you…”

“Thank you, I will treasure it.”

To be honest, I was most happy with the present I received from Kaede, although I was sorry for Mom and Hina.

It’s a secret that Hina almost caught me in tears.

“I’m so happy for you, Ren.”

“Yeah.”

Mom’s expression at that moment was not her usual grinning face, but a very relieved expression.

“Um,…Ren-kun? Can I have a word with you later?”

Kaede muttered in my ear so that the others would not hear her.

She smelled soft, sweet, and nice, and her silky hair flowed to the side.

“I understand…”

I replied with a small nod.

◆◆◆◆◆

After finishing dinner, Kaede took me out to the upstairs balcony.

“I’m sorry, Taking up so much of your time.”

Kaede bowed her head. I was a little nervous, wondering if there was a serious problem, but then I saw Kaede’s shy face and soft smile, and all my nervousness vanished.

“So, what is it?”

I looked at Kaede and saw that her lips were trembling a little.

“I can’t stand it after all, so I’m going to be direct.”

I felt like I heard a ping, but I concentrated on Kaede’s story.

“Please go out with me.”

When I heard Kaede say “go out with me,” I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

My heart started pounding faster.

“Of course, that’s fine, but the previous promise was…”

When I looked at Kaede’s face, it was very red and her eyes were so livid that I could see tears coming from her eyes.

“Then, let’s call it a temporary relationship, and when Ren-kun has more confidence in himself, you can confess your feelings to me when that time comes.”

Hearing that, I felt like crying, or rather, tears spontaneously came out.

Rather than sadness, I was crying with relief and happiness.

Kaede saw my crying face, giggled a little, and held out her hand in front of me.

I already had the answer.

I grabbed Kaede’s hand, pulled it to my chest, and hugged her as hard as I could.

“It’s nice to meet you, even though it’s temporary….”

As I was hugging her tightly, Kaede’s hand squeezed my back and hugged me back.

It was very comfortable and very warm.

◆◆◆◆◆

The day after I decided to have a temporary relationship with Kaede, I came back to my own house, and Mom immediately found out that we had started dating.

It seemed that the atmosphere has become something like that.

“It feels like it’s been a really long time.”

I fell into bed as soon as I got back to my own house.

“Somehow, I feel calmer.”

“Yeah, if it’s not the two of us anymore, I’ll not be able to calm down.”

“Fufu, I’m very happy right now.”

“….What a coincidence, me too.”

With that, Third semester begins.

(T/N: Just wait and read ahead if that “temporary relationship” annoyed you)