Chapter 58: Your Own Pace

“And then Hinami flipped over.”

“…Hmm.”

 

After school, he and Chiaki went to a diner, but Asahi’s spirits were lower than ever. He gazed blankly at the empty sky for no reason, and sometimes he would lie down on the table and bury his face in his arms.

He looked so distracted that Chiaki had to raise an eyebrow in dismay.

“Excuse me, is there a doctor nearby―”

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Oh, you’re back. I thought you were sick because you suddenly collapsed.”

“I didn’t collapse. I’m just sleepy because of the lack of sleep.”

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately. It’s not in character, you know.”

“…yawn.”

“Wow, this looks severe…”

Chiaki was slightly taken back, but Asahi didn’t possess the energy to react.

He remembered the email that Fuyuka had received last night.

The sender was Tachibana Kaori. (Please refer back to chapter 27.5)

That name was familiar to Asahi.

「I will be returning to work as your housekeeper next week, Miss Fuyuka.」

Fuyuka stared at the email with surprise and a somewhat unhappy expression on her face.

As for Fuyuka, the housekeeper should be able to help her a lot with her meals while living alone, but maybe she had some thoughts on the matter.

It was already late that night, so they dismissed the matter and Asahi was left with mixed feelings.

The return of the housekeeper would definitely benefit Fuyuka. However, it inevitably had the possibility that Fuyuka would stop coming to Asahi’s house.

Gathering around for dinner with the person you love every day. Asahi knew that such a dreamy scenario could not be taken for granted.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“I get you, Asahi. You’re looking forward to next week so much you can’t sleep, right?”

Chiaki pointed a finger at him and made a smug face.

Speaking of next week, Fuyuka’s housekeeper returns.

This was not something Chiaki knew about, nor was it something Asahi was looking forward to.

“You’re missing the point.”

“Oh, man. I thought you’re excited about the coming February 14th.”

“…The 14th?”

“No, no, you should be able to get this.”

Asahi looked at the calendar on his phone, which Chiaki held out to him, and saw that it was marked for February 14th “Valentines’ Day”, exactly one week from now.

“Come to think of it, there was a day like that.”

 

“There it is, the ‘I’m not interested expression.’”

“What do you mean?”

“The main character in a famous game used to say.”

“I know that one.”

What he wanted to hear was the meaning of the words.

However, he had no intention of asking Chiaki for a detailed explanation.

“Well, last year, too. You left right away and didn’t seem to care.”

With a bitter smile, Chiaki flashed back to the past with nostalgia.

Last year, and before that, Asahi had never been involved in a romance, nor had he been involved in Valentine’s Day.

This year, however, he couldn’t say the same.

As if he had read Asahi’s mind, Chiaki opened his mouth with a grin.

“But don’t you want to get chocolates from Himuro-san this year?”

“…I guess.”

“Yep, yep, right… Hm? Huh, huh, huh?”

Chiaki’s eyes widened at Asahi’s all-too-natural affirmation.

Needless to say, a barrage of questions awaited him after that.

However, Asahi proceeded with his talk quite calmly.

“I just thought that I like her, that’s all.”

“It’s not like there’s any special moment.”

“I just found myself falling in love with Fuyuka.”

“Heh…”

Listening to Asahi, Chiaki nodded his head with deep emotion.

“So you’re not gonna confess?”

“…Ha?”

“You realized that you like Himuro-san, right? Then why don’t you just tell her?”

“No one confesses that quickly.”

“You think? I’m sure there are a few.”

“For example.”

“Me.”

“Oh, yeah.”

 

Remembering the beginning of Chiaki and Hinami’s relationship, which he had listened to over and over again, Asahi chuckled in exasperation.

However, not everyone was able to expose their feelings in the same way as these lovebirds.

Many people spend an endless amount of time trying to convey just three words, “I love you”. Some even choose not to confess in the first place, or hide their feelings and pretend they never existed.

Love was a conundrum in life.

This was a difficult problem that involved a complex mix of factors.

It could be a matter of one’s own feelings, the feelings of the other person, or sometimes the feelings of a third party.

“Tell her how you feel and listen to her answer. That’s all there is to confessing.”

“It’s not that simple. You have to consider the other person’s feelings, too.”

“What do you mean?”

 

“You hear a lot about unwanted help being annoying, right?”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that one.”

“…Why?”

 

“I told you before that you two are exceptionally close. In other words, isn’t that a positive?”

 

“That’s…”

 

‘That’s wrong.’ He couldn’t deny it to his face.

Indeed, Fuyuka may be treating Asahi with a special distance that was different from others.

However, it was never based on romantic feelings. That was what Asahi took as self-deprecating.

He listened to Fuyuka’s story and saw Fuyuka’s tears, which made him think about it.

It just so happened that he was the one who reached out to her.

It just happened that they had a special relationship.

He didn’t want to take advantage of that.

“Well, it’s best to take love at your own pace. I’ll support you without doing anything unnecessary.”

“I’d appreciate it if you would.”

 

As for Asahi, this was his first love.

That was why he was more cautious than he needed to be.

There were many things to think about, but the most important was Fuyuka’s feelings.

He was glad that she thought of him as someone special. But it was as a neighbor who reached out to her.

Asahi fell in love with Himuro Fuyuka, not the Ice Lady.

He wanted Fuyuka to like him as Asahi, not as a meddlesome neighbor.

Only then, Asahi thought, would he be able to express his feelings.

“Perhaps you told me so I won’t do anything unnecessary?”

“…That’s not true.”

“Don’t look away. I’m sure that’s what you wanted.”

Chiaki’s mouth twitched in frustration, but Asahi laughed with a wry smile.

“Well, I could use a little advice.”

“Great, that’s what I’m talking about! Let’s restart the Asahi Handsome Project!”

Chiaki grinned hatefully, as he always did.

It was still annoying, but for a change, Asahi’s mind was refreshed.

Asahi now understood why people talked about love so much.

It was hard to keep this overflowing feeling inside. So, they shared it with someone.

By putting your feelings of love into words, you were confirming to yourself that you were in love.

“Don’t tell Hinami yet, alright? I’ll tell her when I’m ready.”

“I understand. ‘I’ won’t tell her.”

Although he had doubts about the implication, Asahi decided not to worry about it.

As he drank the water out of the glass, the remaining ice made a noise.