CH 3

The house where Hoshimiya lived was a two-story wooden apartment. The walls were blackened, giving it a shabby look. It didn’t look like the kind of house a gal would live in.

「This way.」

Hoshimiya led me to park my bicycle at the bicycle parking lot. ……..That’s it.

It’s nerve-wracking to come to the house of a girl from my class.

It’s also very late at night.

I’ve been to my childhood friend’s house many times, but I’ve never been to another girl’s house.

I walked up the rusty stairs, my footsteps echoing with a clank.

Hoshimiya’s room was on the second floor, on the far right. So she lives here alone.

「Why do you live alone?」

「Well, you know. My mother went with my father on a business trip.」

「So Hoshimiya stayed behind,」

「Yes, I have friends here. But I heard that they’ll be back in a year.」

「Even so, you miss them, right?」

「Yeah. But I know we’ll meet again…」

Hoshimiya looked away from me and said in a dark voice. Did she remember my situation?

「Hoshimiya. You don’t have to worry too much about it. As you can see, I’m fine.」

「That’s not convincing from someone who was just about to commit suicide just a moment ago.」

I don’t like it when people say that.

People always live according to their moods at the moment.

But in my case, the swings might be a little too big.

「Don’t people often say that about you, Kuromine-kun? You may look quiet, but inside you’re a little different.」

「No, not at all. The reputation of the people around me is that you are a serious and sober boy. That’s what Hoshimiya thought, too.」

「Un.」

「…」

She simply affirmed it, and it hit me hard in the chest. I told her that, but I wish she would have been a little more deceptive.

「I thought Kuromine-kun was someone who couldn’t talk to people. I guess you never really know a person until you talk to them.」

「That’s terrible. I’m hurt」

「Ahaha, sorry, sorry.」

Hoshimiya gave a mischievous smile before bowing her head. In some cases it might be annoying, but she had a charm that made her seem rather cute.

That lightheartedness is very girly.

「I’m home.」

Hoshimiya opens the door and steps into the foyer. Of course, it’s pitch black inside and no one is home. And yet, she says, “I’m home”.

「Sorry for the bother.」

「Go ahead.」

Smiling gently, Hoshimiya answered me. I’m a little nervous.

「I’m sorry, Kuromine-kun. Could you wait at the door for a moment?」

「All right.」

Taking off her shoes at the entrance, Hoshimiya walked past the kitchen, opened the door and entered the room. She must be cleaning.

It looks like it’s a 1K. The kitchen is near the entrance. Doors leading to the bath and toilet. The room that Hoshimiya entered would be the space where she would spend her daily life.

「I’m sorry to keep you waiting.」

In less than ten minutes, Hoshimiya came back.

…Don’t you recognize your own face?

「Come in- come in-」

Hoshimiya led me up to the room with the kitchen at its side. It’s a girlish room with pink as its base colour.

It was about eight tatami mats in size.

The floor is not wood flooring, but tatami. She has a rug on the floor.

The bed, storage shelves, TV, and desk…… were well arranged so that the room did not feel too small.

A family photo is displayed on the desk. On it are three people, her kind looking parents and a smiling Hoshimiya.

「What do you think? Is my room…. weird?」

「No, not at all. Isn’t it normal? I’ve never been in a girl’s room enough to have an opinion, though.」

Well, I think it’s more organised than my childhood friend’s room.

「Are you sure I can stay?」

「Un, of course.」

「Is your boyfriend okay with it or something? I think it’s going to be rather problematic….」

When I said that, Hoshimiya buzzed and shook her head in panic.

「No, it’s okay I don’t have a boyfriend!」

「Seriously. You’ve been confessed to before, right?」

「No, no! I’ve never gotten confessed before….」

I don’t feel like she’s lying from the fact that she denies it as if she’s surprised.

I find that hard to believe. A girl like Hoshimiya could be a popular being on this planet.

「There are a lot of guys around me who like Hoshimiya, though.」

「E, eeeeeeeeeh!? That’s not true!」

「It’s true. Regardless of what Hoshimiya thinks of herself, she is a very pretty girl. She’s very popular.」

I’m not joking, she’s really popular.

If I make a ranking of the girls in my class, you can be sure that she would be at the top.

「Th, th, th, that’s…. what should I do…?」

Hoshimiya’s face is red and she puts her hands on her cheeks. She’s so innocent.

In the classroom, Hoshimiya looks like a girly girl who would be popular with anyone, but the reality is completely different.

She seems to have less experience in love than I do. By far.

「Hey, where should I sleep?」

「Um….. What should I do? I hadn’t thought of that.」

There was only one bed. There didn’t seem to be any spare bedding. The two of us pondered what to do.

「Do you want…. to sleep in my bed?」

「That’s not how it works……. I’ll sleep at the doorstep. I can’t sleep in the same room with a girl.」

「No, no, no! You’ll catch a cold! And you’ll hurt yourself!」

「What are we going to do then? Do we both sleep in the same bed?」

「Eh, eh…. That’s….. no good. We don’t know each other very well yet….」

「No, I was just kidding.」

「….. Kuromine-kun, you have a different personality than you look.」

Hoshimiya turns from blushing to giving me a cold stare. It’s a girl who changes her expression all the time.

「I’m really good with sleeping at the front door.」

「I wonder if I can’t make my guest sleep in the doorway. Oh, then I’ll sleep in the doorway!」

「That’s the worst case scenario. Then I’ll sleep in front with you.」

「My bed is empty! We haven’t solved anything!」

And we’re sleeping together in the doorway. I don’t understand anymore.

「Let’s see….. we’ll figure out where to sleep later. Right now, we should eat and take a bath, right?」

「You don’t have to go that far.」

「But you’re all sweaty and sticky, aren’t you? And you’re starving, right?」

「I was sweating, but my stomach was――――」

Right after I said that, I heard a gurgling sound from my stomach. It was like something out of a comic book.

「Fufu, you’re honest. Now go and take a bath. I’ll cook some dinner while you’re at it.」

「……Thank you very much.」

「Yes. It’s good being honest. A change of clothes…… Yes, I wonder where is my father’s jersey.」

「Do you have any of your father’s clothes?」

「Yeah. I guess it got lost in the shuffle when I was getting ready to move. I was wondering if I should throw it away……. but I guess I was right not to throw it」

Hoshimiya smiles warmly. This girl is really a good girl. I guess that’s what it means to be a good person at heart.

I guess I’ll just have to be honest this time.

….But I wonder. This feeling. I feel something is wrong.

The atmosphere in this room and Hoshimiya’s behaviour…… something is off.

I tried to think a little about what the discomfort was, but in the end I couldn’t figure it out.