CH 12

I wonder what’s wrong with this subtly awkward atmosphere.

As I ate my omelette, I looked at Hoshimiya, who was sitting across from me. She, too, was chipping away at her omelette, scooping it up with a spoon and bringing it to her mouth.

In the end, there is an awkward atmosphere until this moment leading up to dinner.

Hoshimiya doesn’t say anything, and her eyes meet mine, she immediately looks the other way.

“H, hey, Hoshimiya.”

“Wh, what is it, Kuromine-kun!?”

She’s really upset. There’s ketchup on the edge of her mouth.

“Umm…This omelette is delicious.”

“Re, really? Thanks.”

Hoshimiya turns her head down in embarrassment and says thank you. This omelette is her handiwork.

“You have ketchup on your mouth.”

“Eh, really!?”

“No, not there. Ah, please don’t move.”

I leaned over the table and wiped off the ketchup on the edge of Hoshimiya’s mouth with my finger.

I looked for a tissue to wipe my fingers, but I couldn’t find one, so I had no choice but to lick it off.

“Ku, ku, ku….Kuromine-kun…!”

“Hm?”

Hoshimiya’s face was reddening as if she were about to let out steam.

Seeing her like that, I had finally realised what I had done. I had done to Hoshimiya, whom I had only known for a short time, what I had done to Haruno, whom I considered like family. Even though I did this unconsciously, this is not good.

“That’s not it, Hoshimiya! This…I didn’t have anything to wipe it with, okay?”

“Th, th, that’s right!? There’s no deeper meaning, right!?”

“Obviously! There’s no deeper meaning or anything! I don’t care about it, and I wouldn’t!”

“………I see……You don’t care at all, not even a bit……”

“Hoshimiya!?”

Hoshimiya is depressed and her shoulders go down. She is giving off a crazy dark aura. She looks like she’s about to go out and buy a hanging rope.

“Ah, no…It’s not like I don’t care at all…”

“Liar. You licked it without hesitation. You’re a terrible liar, Kuromine-kun.”

“Ugh!”

“Ahaha…I’m a simple girl anyway~. Everyone says I’m a gal or something, but in reality I’m just a plain girl with a shaggy face…”

“You’ve got a negative aura! You’re too depressed!”

“…Because you said it, Kuromine-kun. You said I was in sober mode.”

“D, did that bother you…No, it’s just that there was a gap between you and the Hoshimiya at school.”

“Right…Here, eat your omelette, it’s getting cold.”

“Y, yes…”

“……”

“……”

We both were moving the omelette to our mouths. There is no conversation at all.

The silence was too painful for my heart, even though I was eating.

…S, someone help me!

I don’t care if it’s Monmon! Please come!

My wishes were in vain, and the doorbell was not pressed.

That is, isn’t it? Hoshimiya is rather concerned about what I say, isn’t she?

I’ll be careful from now on.

○

The day goes by like this, and it’s time for bed.

I moved to the wall to get away from the bed and lay down.

“Good night, Hoshimiya.”

“Hey, Kuromine-kun.”

“Hm?”

Hoshimiya, who was sitting on the bed, spoke to me. This is the first conversation I’ve had with her since dinner.

“…Sleep in bed?”

“Eh, then where will you sleep, Hoshimiya?”

“…On the bed.”

“Does that mean…?”

Hoshimiya nodded silently.

R, really? Seriously?

It seems a bit like I could imagine this development, but I couldn’t.

“It’s a one-person bed, so…It might be a little small, but…”

“I’m not sure this is a good idea……We’re not even dating.”

“But sleeping on the floor isn’t a good idea.”

“Yeah, but…”

“It’s fine. You’re not even aware of me, are you~?”

Hoshimiya’s lips twitched in dissatisfaction.

You’re still dragging it out!

One ketchup and I was rooted to the spot.

…No, it’s perfectly natural for me and Hoshimiya to have different sensibilities.

“L, let’s go to sleep.”

“W, well then…Excuse me.”

I move like a robot towards the bed. Hoshimiya gives me a suspicious look, but I manage to lay down on the bed. Her bed was soft and smelled good.

“I’ll turn off the light.”

Hoshimiya used the remote control to turn off the lights in the room.

In the pitch-dark space, I feel the warmth of the girl right next to me. I feel like my head is going to explode.

“What do we do about the pillows? This is a bit small, for the both of us……”

“G, go ahead. Please use it alone.”

“U, un. Thank you.”

It took a lot of courage just to sleep on a girl’s bed, but to use her pillow on top of that? It’s impossible.

“……”

“……”

We don’t say anything to each other.

With that said, we turned our backs to each other and kept a subtle distance between us.

…I wonder what happened today to Hoshimiya.

To be precise, she started acting strange after she was hugged by me.

Hypothetically, this is just hypothetically but.

If Hoshimiya is in love with me even a little bit…

“……Kuromine-kun.”

“……?”

My name was whispered from behind my back. I listened carefully and wondered what it was.

“I like you, Kuromine-kun…”

“——!”

S, seriously? My heart jumped so fast that my vision blurred.

I raise my body and check Hoshimiya’s face.

And what I see is that Hoshimiya has a very happy sleeping face———

“Ski…Ski jump…Kuromine-kun, you’re so skilled….Suu, suu……”

“You’re sleep talking……!”

It’s too cliche. And I’ve never been skiing.

“Haa, I’m going to sleep too.”

Looking at Hoshimiya’s sleeping face, I feel like an idiot for thinking about it.

After all, the idea that “Hoshimiya might like me?” is a delusion, after all.

…Even if that’s true, my feelings for Hoshimiya will never change.

“Ah, it’s okay, Hoshimiya. No matter what you think of me, I will protect you from your stalker.”

“……”

An embarrassing line that I would never be able to say if she was awake.

Without Hoshimiya, I wouldn’t be alive today.

If the person who saved my life is in trouble, it is natural to want to help.

With determination in my heart, I slowly close my eyes.

In my fading consciousness, I thought I heard a faint “…Kuromine-kun”——