CH 78

Chapter 78 – The Day of the Date (Morning)

Saturday.

I woke up to the sound of the alarm I had set last night. I didn’t sleep well, but strangely, I didn’t feel tired.

Maybe it was because I ate a lot of meat and garlic yesterday? Both Umi and I ate a lot last night, to the point that Amami-san gave us a strange look. Also, apparently Amami-san couldn’t handle smelly food like garlic. 

She gave us a bitter look while saying, ‘aren’t you guys gonna go on a date tomorrow?’ and told us to mind the odor, but at this point, we both smelled anyway, so we decided to not worry about it. 

“The date starts at 11 am… We’ll meet up in front of the station… Right?”

I confirmed the schedule over and over since waking up.

Currently it is 8 am. Normally at this hour I would be relaxing in my sleepwear, but today I felt restless.

I couldn’t even eat well, so I had a light breakfast before putting on the clothes we bought yesterday.

Whether the clothes suited me or not, I wasn’t sure, but all I knew was that it looked better than my usual attire.

I really should be more mindful about my appearance from now on… But the money… I should consider getting a part-time job. Asking mom to buy me more clothes would be embarrassing.

But, a part-time job, huh? …Could I even work properly? Well, I have to prepare myself for work anyway, I’ll be graduating in a few years… And in the future if Umi and I were to… No, wait, stop thinking about strange things!

I should think about the date. The funds I had today were the leftover money I had yesterday and another ten thousand yen that my mom gave me for today’s date. But Umi and I decided that we would split the bills for everything, so we wouldn’t need this much money. Either way, I’ll bring it along in case of emergencies.

I changed my clothes and put everything that I needed inside a bag.

“Now, time to dress up some more…”

I used some hair wax and styled my hair, following the way Umi taught me, but I had difficulties doing it.

This was my first time trying to take care of my appearances. I never expected that it would be this difficult.

Now I’m really wondering why one of the cutest girls in class somehow got along with me to the point of going on a date together. 

“Uh… This doesn’t seem quite right, but if I keep messing with it, I’d definitely make it look worse…”

While I was struggling with my bangs, the doorbell rang.

Who the hell would visit at this hour… But then I realized that there is a certain girl that would do exactly that.

{Yo…}

“Umi?”

{It’s cold here, can you let me in first, please?}

“Ah, yes, come in…”

We were supposed to meet up later, but who cares, this is more convenient, I’ll have her take a look at my hair.

“G-Good morning, Maki…”

“Good–”

But, the moment she walked inside the house, my mind went blank.

A single thought popped into my mind after seeing her. She’s beautiful.

I didn’t know anything about fashion, I didn’t understand styles or whatnot, all I knew was that she looked really pretty right now.

I should be used to looking at her face, but I couldn’t help but feel mesmerized by her current appearance.

“Jeez! What are you staring at? Answer my greeting properly…”

“A-Ah… Yeah… Good morning…”

“Good. Then, excuse me… Fuuh… As expected, Maki’s house is warm! Maki, do you want coffee or tea?”

“I want some tea… Wait, what are you doing? I’ll make it for you.”

“It’s fine. Just sit over there and relax, okay?”

As soon as Umi entered the living room, she immediately went to the kitchen to prepare drinks for the two of us. By now, she was familiar with the layout of the kitchen.

“Do you want sugar or milk?”

“Neither, I’m not in the mood for sweet drinks.”

“‘Kay.”

I found myself staring at Umi. Her cheeks were whiter than usual and her lips looked glossier. I’m not sure about her eyebrows or eyelashes because I couldn’t see them clearly  from here, but I’m sure she took care of them as well.

As far as I could see, the only accessory she wore was a single hairpin, but she looked beautiful enough that the lack of accessories was practically unnoticeable.

I’d heard that makeup could change women, but this was my first time seeing it. Well, my mom did wear makeup, but… No comment…

“Thanks for waiting~ Can I sit next to you?”

“…Go ahead…”

“‘Kay.”

She sat down next to me.

“Maki, were you staring at my legs… No, my thighs?”

“I wasn’t! A-Anyway, don’t you feel cold dressed like that?”

She was wearing a short skirt, but she wasn’t wearing her tights today. In other words, I’m seeing her bare thighs right now. God, I wanted to touch them…

I’m a man too, okay? This was a natural reaction. Also, this was Umi’s thighs we’re talking about, you can’t blame me for having indecent thoughts.

“Actually, yes, it’s cold. The moment I left the house, I kinda regretted dressing up this way…”

“Then, why didn’t you change?”

“Because I want you to see how cute I am, Maki… I don’t want to do it half-heartedly…”

Umi placed her hand on top of mine. We did this all the time, but today I felt so nervous I couldn’t even look her in the eyes.

“I-I see… I can tell that you did your best in dressing up, yeah…”

“Mhm! I was brooding over it since yesterday you know? Like, how should I balance it between my attire and yours? How should I find the perfect balance between flashy and plain? That kind of thing.”

“…I see…”

I didn’t have to put much thought into it since I bought the whole outfit yesterday. But I guess it was different in Umi’s case, since she had to consider matching with me. 

She didn’t need to coordinate her attire with mine, but she was Asanagi Umi, the girl who was always fixated on small details like this.

“So, why are you here so early? Aren’t we gonna meet at 11?”

“…Well… I wanted you to see me in this outfit as soon as possible…”

I knew it.

I mean, she looked amazing, of course she’d want to show off.

“Maki, what do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think of me today? Give me your honest impression! I want you to spell it out.”

Should I tell her that I was so mesmerized by her appearance that I couldn’t form sentences anymore?

Jeez, why was this so hard?

“…This is embarrassing…”

“Hm?”

I could feel my cheeks warm up.

“Y-You look pretty, Umi…”

“…”

There should be a lot of words I could use to praise her appearance, but that was the best word I could say to her.

“I-I see… T-Thank you… I-I guess this was worth the effort…”

“I-I guess so, huh? G-Good for you…”

“Mhm! Ehehe…”

I felt like my response to her was lackluster, but she looked happy, so I guess it was fine.

…But, jeez, this is so embarrassing…