CH 23

Proofreader: Mowaso

“―Sorry for making you wait.”

On Saturday, as Yō was waiting at their designated place for his meeting at 4pm, he heard a cute voice that he has been hearing a lot lately.

When he looked up in response to the voice, he saw Marin in a light blue chiffon dress with frilly shoulders, looking up at him with a smile.

She was wearing a white wide-brimmed ladies hat on her head, which went well with her beautiful blonde hair.

She was a beautiful, innocent girl, and she looked down at her phone.

“Just in time, as expected from an honor student.”

“Is that a sarcastic remark? I didn’t expect you to come here before me.”

Yō arrived thirty minutes before the appointed meeting time, but of course Marin didn’t know that.

However, she was genuinely surprised that he had arrived earlier than her.

“Well, it’s kind of a habit.”

“Habit…?”

“Don’t worry about it. We don’t have much time to relax, so let’s get moving.”

When Marin tilted her head, Yō cut her words short and called a cab.

The reason why they can’t take their time is because there is a time limit on the scenery they are going to see.

He lets Marin ride into the cab first.

She thought he was a very considerate man for letting her ride first, but there was another reason why he let her ride first.

While she was in the car, Yō glanced behind him.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he followed Marin into the cab.

“Even so, I was surprised that we didn’t meet up in the morning.”

As they took the cab to their destination, Marin looked up at Yō, who was sitting next to her.

She had thought that she would be going out with Yō in the morning, but this was the time that Yō had specified on the phone the other day.

That didn’t sit well with her.

“It’s not a long trip this time, and being with me in the morning is a burden, right?

“Ah… no, or rather…”

When Marin heard Yō’s words, she understood that she was being taken care of and immediately said so.

But then she realized what she had unconsciously tried to say and hurriedly shut her mouth.

Yō didn’t make any comment on it, but instead let his eyes wander to the view from the window.

Marin blushed slightly as she stared at Yō.

(There’s no way I can say that I’m rather comfortable… being with you…)

Right now, she’s just taking advantage of Yō.

And yet, there’s no way she can say something that might cause misunderstandings.

More than anything, Marin knew that Yō didn’t want to hear those words either.

(Even so, that’s really sweet of you… You may look cold towards others, but you’re actually very caring… Why is it that you’re so cold towards everyone else…?)

In the past few days, Marin’s opinion of Yō has completely changed since she started spending time with him.

Although he’s not very good with words, he pays attention to Marin’s condition.

If Marin seemed to be in a gloomy mood, he would talk about something else, and if she was having trouble with other boys talking to her, he would interrupt the conversation and get rid of them.

That was very gratifying for Marin.

Well… Marin’s idea that Yō is a tsundere is even deeper.

But this is why Marin thinks.

She wondered why someone who cared so much about others was doing things that pushed them away.

The first thing that comes to mind is the existence of Kasumi Nemoto.

Marin was staring at the possibility that she was the reason why Yō was trying to push others away.

“What’s wrong?”

As she was staring at him, Yō realizing that he was being watched, called out to Marin.

Marin, who was thinking about something, hurriedly shook her head and looked around at Yō to see if there was anything she could cover up.

Then, a rather large bag that Yō wore over his shoulder caught Marin’s attention.

“Umm, what’s in that bag?”

“Ah, this… no, it’s nothing.”

Yō was about to answer for a moment, but he paused for a moment and shook his head from side to side.

This completely shifts Marin’s interest to it.

The man misrepresented himself for some reason― In which, Marin came up with an answer.

“Could it be that… it’s something disreputable!?”

Immediately after Marin said this, the driver, not Yō, became upset, and the steering wheel became erratic, causing the car to sway wildly from side to side.

This caused the petite Marin’s body to swing and she jumped into Yō’s chest.

“Ah…”

Marin, who was unintentionally attached to Yō, put her hands on Yō’s chest and gazed upward at Yō’s face, looking embarrassed.

In response, Yō quickly removed the hand that had been wrapped around the body of Marin, turned his face away and turned his gaze outside again.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.

“You’re a lot chubbier than I thought you’d be.”

When she was told that, Marin felt incredibly embarrassed and was unable to refute it.

―At this time, Marin was too upset to notice… But in fact, Yō’s cheeks had turned red.

(The feeling, it’s totally different…)