Chapter 46 – Christmas on Fire! (Karen’s warning)
February 27, 2022
December 24th, the fateful Christmas Eve.
Karen and I were on our way to a small international restaurant between Hamamatsucho and Takeshiba.
This is where our club’s Christmas party will be held today.
The restaurant was reserved for us, and the Hotel Intercontinental Tokyo Bay was a short walk away.
“The prizes for the Christmas party are going to be pretty big this time!”
Karen said in an upbeat tone.
“Really?”
I replied, but maybe not with much emotion.
I already knew what the prize would be at the end of the party.
“I’m looking forward to it! Let’s get it for sure!”
“Yeah, I’d like to win it.
While I was saying that, I was thinking about something else.
At the …… party, me and Touko-senpai are going to expose Kamokura and Karen’s affair. And we’re going to declare them both insulated on the spot. ……
That’s as far as the plot goes.
The problem is after that.
“Who is the one who will be spending this evening with Touko-senpai?”
About a week ago, on the day of the home-cooked food tasting at Touko-senpai’s house.
She told me that she wanted me to wait and not say anything.
True to her words, I didn’t ask her anything.
But today, as of now, I have not heard anything from Touko senpai.
I wonder what Touko-senpai thinks about this. ……
I was worried about that.
Does it mean that she doesn’t want to spend the night with me?
Does it mean that she will choose someone else?
Or is she going to …… get back together with Kamokura after all?
She once said to me, “If Karen is remorseful, shouldn’t we continue our relationship? She had denied it at the time.
She denied it at the time, but wasn’t she expressing her own feelings about it?
“Yu-kun, Yu-kun!”
Karen tugged on my arm.
What is it?
“What’s the matter, you’re so absent-minded.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Yes, Karen was. Karen kept trying to talk to you, but you kept answering her absent-mindedly.”
“Really? I’m sorry. So what were we talking about?”
“It’s about today’s Christmas party. Until last year, couples and singles were separated, But this year, they decided to have the whole party together!” she said.
Yes, it seems that last year and the year before, the circle Christmas party was held separately for “couples” and “singles”.
However, this year, because of the “affair exposure,” in order to attract my friends and Touko-senpai’s allies, we said, “Wouldn’t it be better if we held the party as a whole circle? We called out to them.
“You’re talking about that? Since this year’s event will be held as a circle event, wouldn’t it be better for everyone to be together?”
“But the reason why they were originally doing it separately was because three years ago there was an incident where a couple started making out in front of each other and the girl who had a crush on them started crying. I wondered why they went back to doing it as a whole this year.”
“Would you have preferred Karen to do it separately?”
“I don’t really care either way, whether it’s just a couple or a couple with no boyfriend or girlfriend.”
But Karen looked a little unhappy.
The women told me that Karen was very attached to the boys and tried to “mount” the girls who didn’t have boyfriends by telling them that she had a boyfriend, which seemed to have alienated the other girls.
Suddenly, Karen walked around in front of me.
I stopped in my tracks.
“What’s wrong?”
“Yuu-kun, have you been getting carried away with all the girls talking to you lately?”
She stared up at me.
“I don’t mean to.”
“You know, the last time we were at the tailgating camp, you left Karen alone and talked happily with the other girls.”
“No, we were just having a normal conversation.”
“No, You were having fun! And you ignored Karen when she asked you to.”
…… You say, “Serve me my food first,” “Bring me my drink! “I’m tired, give me a chair!” How does not listening to the request immediately become “ignoring”? ……
I said, suppressing my annoyance.
“It’s not. But I’m sorry if Karen felt that way.”
“Lately, it seems like you’ve been helping other girls with their program assignments behind Karen’s back.”
“I’m not hiding anything from you. I told you that.”
Karen narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
“Also, Yuu-kun, did something happen with Touko-senpai?”
I was taken aback.
I rarely talk to Touko-senpai on campus, and I’ve never even mentioned her name in front of Karen.
…… Is she sensing something? ……
“What are you talking about? She’ s my senior, right? There’s no way there’s anything going on.”
I replied, feigning calm.
“Is that so? But, Touko-senpai has been watching Yuu-kun a lot lately, right? It’s never happened before.”
…… Touko-senpai has been watching me? ……
I didn’t notice it at all, though.
In the first place, do we pay attention to such subtle things as the gaze of others?
“I don’t think so. You’re worrying too much about Karen. You’re dealing with that Touko-senpai. How could she be interested in me?”
Then Karen turned around and started walking again.
“That’s fine. But I’ll tell you one thing. Karen hates Touko-senpai. Yuu-kun, don’t talk too much with Touko-senpai!”
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