Volume 2 Chapter 7

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♥

The elevator reached its destination.

“Right there… Where the light is.” Takkun nervously pointed at the room with the blinking light. It seems that the system told you the room you picked in the entrance through blinking lights.

We walked next to each other on the carpeted hallway, listening to the unpleasant sounds of water dripping.

We were soaked entirely from head to toe. The inside of our clothes and even our shoes were soaked.

When we went in the room, it looked just like an ordinary hotel room.

“Whoa… It’s far more normal then I expected.”

“Yeah… surprisingly so…”

“…Takkun, have you been in a place like this already?”

“O-Of course not! What about you, Ayako-san?”

“Ehhh?! N-No! It’s also my first time today!”

After an awkward exchange, we left our things in the floor.

I used a room’s towel to clean up my clothes and bag.

“Well then, Ayako-san,” said Takkun. “Please go take a shower first.”

“…Eh?”

It was probably because of my bewildered voice.

Takkun started to explain himself hurriedly.

“T-That’s not what I meant! Ah, well… It is what I meant, but despite what it sounds like, I didn’t mean it that way… I meant it in the way that I don’t want you catching a cold.”

“I-I understand. I’m also sorry for misinterpreting.” I apologized in a hurry. “…Well then, if you don’t mind, I’ll go first.”

I headed to the bathroom alone.

Unlike an ordinary hotel, there was no separation between the dressing room and the bedroom, and everything was completely visible from the room.

I didn’t know what to do, so I went to the bathroom with my wet clothes and took them off there.

“…Haah…” I sighed.

Despite my body being cold due to the rain, my face was extremely hot.

Why?

How did this happen?

I thought the date had gone pretty well.

So… Why are we together in a love hotel…?!

Let’s go back in time a bit.

After coming down from the Ferris wheel, we looked back at some memories… and left the amusement park before the sunset.

We didn’t have any more plans for the rest of the day, so we were going straight back home.

It was a bit early to wrap up an adult date, but the weather forecast said there would be heavy rain at night.

Takkun said it would be better to return home early.

Of course… There was no kind of development like ‘And what if I said I didn’t want to go back just yet?” Yup, not at all, there was no such thing.

A date that ends the same day is better!

“I’m sorry for making you drive, Ayako-san.”

“It’s alright, don’t mind it. You did take me everywhere today, so this is the least I can do.”

Inside the car, on the way home…

I offered to drive us as a token of appreciation for today.

I went to the highway through the intersection and took the main road.

In 30 more minutes, the date would end.

“Looks like we’ll make it there before it starts raining.” Said Takkun from the passenger’s seat.

Dark clouds were gathering in the sky in front of us.

“Yeah, it’s a relief. I don’t want my new clothes to get wet.”

“Oh, so those clothes are new.”

“Eh… Ah! C-Coincident! It’s just a coincidence that it’s new! I didn’t buy it specifically for today—” I started making up excuses, but immediately after…

Boom.

The sound of something blowing up resounded heavily in the car.

And the steering wheel in my hands started to act up in a weird manner.

“Eh… Eh? W-What was that sound…?”

“…I think the tire blew out.”

“Ehh?! N-No way… Eh? What do we do now then?!”

“Please, calm down!”

I was about to have a panic attack and then Takkun spoke to me in a reliable voice.

“Don’t step hard on the brakes, just lower the speed and park on the side of the street. A blowout isn’t the end of the world… Don’t panic and everything will be fine.”

“…Y-Yes…”

Thanks to his calming voice, I somehow managed to regain my composure.

We stopped at the side of the road and went out the car… and saw one of the rear tires was punctured. Air had gone out and the tire had been crushed by the weight of the car.

“I wonder if I drove over something…”

“Probably. It’s a pretty big hole… Ayako-san, how long have you been using those tires?” Asked Takkun after inspecting it.

“Uhm… Since I bought the car, so I guess around 5 years.”

“Then it’s already done its job. The tires are pretty wasted by now. Well, I’m happy that it didn’t happen in the highway. Ayako-san, do you have some sort of road assistance service contract?”

“Ah, yes… It was recommended when I bought the car, and I’ve had it since then. Although, I’ve never used it… Uhm, where did I put the card…?”

“Maybe in the glove compartment? It seems that a lot of people put everything there.”

“Ah, that’s right! I just remembered I have it there!”

Unlike me, who didn’t know what to do, Takkun was really calm and gave me instructions smoothly.

I got in contact with the service, but…

“…Yes. I understand…”

“What did they say?”

“…It seems like they’ve received a lot of calls today… They won’t be able to come immediately. We’ll have to wait around 1 hour.”

“I see…”

The sun was setting, and the dark clouds were gathering in the sky. If we waited for an hour, the area would see itself flooded by heavy rain.

Ah… Why did this happen…? Despite having such a fun date, I can’t believe an accident like this happened at the last minute.

“Ayako-san.”

I was dejected when Takkun got close to me.

“Maybe I could try to fix the tire?”

“…Eh?”

“Well, not fix it, but rather change the tire.”

“C-Change it…?”

“There should be a replacement on the trunk for situations like these.” He said and opened the trunk.

And when he turned the carpet… there was a mysterious space.

There was a pretty thin tire, a jack and other tools there.

“What a relief. Lately, many cars come with a repair kit as standard equipment, but not with a replacement tire… The hole is pretty big, so you could hardly patch it up.”

“Eh? Eh? What’s this? This… had a space below? Why is there a tire here…? Eh? I didn’t put it here.”

I got in a small panic when something I wasn’t aware of, came out of the space I didn’t know existed, in a car I had been driving for years.

“Depending on the car, some come with a replacement tire and a toolkit in the trunk. Well… A lot f people tend forget. Although, they teach this to you at driver’s school.” Said Takkun with a wry smile.

Now that I think about it… I think I learned something like that at driver’s school… maybe.

Argh… It’s no use. I can’t remember it at all.

After all… It’s been over 10 years since I got my license.

“Good.”

He took out the tire and the tools from the trunk and placed them near the punctured tire.

“Takkun… Can you fix a tire with such a big hole?”

“Well, I think that I can at least change it.”

“A-Amazing…”

“It’s nothing special. It’s just changing a tire.”

“But… You don’t even have your own car. So, how do you know how…?”

“I’ve been changing tires during winters for a long time. For both my mom’s and my dad’s cars. They charge you 2,000 yens per vehicle at a mechanic to replace them, so I did it instead to earn some money.”

Oh… Now that I think about it, he may have done that.

I’ve seen Takkun work with tires at the Aterazawa’s household’s parking a few times.

“This is the first time I’ve changed it using a replacement tire… But I think I can handle it. I’ve been practicing.”

“Practicing?”

“Uhm…”

When I asked him, he made a ‘I messed up’ face for a moment and then started talking.

“For the date we were supposed to have last week, I had prepared for all sorts of accidents… Including a punctured tire…”

“Y-You even thought about that?”

“…Haha… Sounds absurd, doesn’t it? And due to preparing for all sorts of accidents like this one… I didn’t sleep enough and got sick.” He smiled mockingly at himself and put the jack under the car. “But it looks like it’s going to be useful, so it’s alright.”

“Takkun… I-Is there something I can do to help? I’ll do anything, just tell me.”

“Thanks. Then, could you use your phone’s lantern app to help me see? It’s getting a bit dark.”

“Sure.”

I turned on the lantern app on my phone and lighted up the area for him.

Takkun skillfully handled the tools and lifted the car to change the tire. While I watched him work, the expression on his face looked very reliable to me.

The replacement tires are only for emergency use and it’s not recommended to drive long distances with them.

So after changing the tire, we headed to an auto repair along the national highway.

We were in a local city.

There were a lot of these kinds of workshops near the intersection.

We entered one of them and had them check the car… and told us the punctured tire was in such a bad state that we had to replace it. They also told us that it was about time to replace the other tires as well, so in the end, I decided to replace them all with new ones.

It looked like the work would take until noon tomorrow.

We left the workshop and walked along the highway to the bus stop.

Unfortunately, none of the rental cars were available, so we had to walk.

“Tomorrow, I’ll bring you to the auto repair again. I’ll borrow my mom’s car.”

“That would be really helpful, thank you.”

The sun had already set completely.

We walked by the path illuminated by the stores, gradually accelerating as we went.

We couldn’t take it easy.

Because it was starting to rain.

And the nearest bus stop… was still a while away.

“I’m sorry, I should have brought a better umbrella.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. Rather, I’m the one who should apologize for forgetting my umbrella…”

“No, there’s no need to apologize. After all, we were supposed to return before it rained.”

The weather forecast said that it would start raining at night, that’s why I didn’t bring my umbrella. So now, the 2 of us were under the disposable umbrella that Takkun brought with him.

We were under the same umbrella… But it didn’t feel romantic at all.

There wasn’t enough space for both of us.

If the rain got heavier as forecasted, it would be impossible to cover up 2 adults with such a small umbrella.

We hastily ran towards the bus stop… However…

“…Ayako-san, are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine… Well, maybe not… I’m sorry… The shoes I came with are hard to run in…”

“Then don’t run too fast.”

“B-But the rain—”

And as soon as I said that…

Zaa zaa.

The rain got heavier instantly.

Like a full bucket being knocked over, the rain hit the asphalt strongly.

“Uwaa… W-What a heavy rain.”

“It’s raining a lot… Ayako-san, let’s take refuge over there for now.”

Under the torrential rain, we ran toward a roofed place.

The gusty rain was so intense that the small disposable umbrella wasn’t enough to protect me from it. Takkun tried his best to incline the umbrella to my side… and that gesture make me really happy… but the rain slid down the umbrella and fell over me, heartlessly drenching my newly bought clothes as if it couldn’t care any less about the boy’s kindness.

When we reached an empty store’s eaves with a big “Looking for tenants” sign, we were both completely soaked.

“Haa, haa… What a heavy rain. I never thought it would rain so hard…”

“Me neither…”

“Takkun, here. Dry yourself up with this handkerchief. Although it may not be of much help…”

“Ayako-san, please use it on yourself first—…?!”

Halfway through, Takkun started blushing and looked elsewhere.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uhm… Ayako-san, your clothes…”

“Eh… Kyaaa!”

When I looked down… The upper side of my outfit was almost see-through.

The white cloth was glued to my skin and my underwear was almost visible.

This is bad…

It was bad enough that my clothes were see-though… but the bra I had right now made it worse. Because today… just in case, in the unlikely chance that something would happen, I was wearing my lucky underwear…

“Uuh… I-It’s not what you’re thinking, Takkun! I-I don’t always wear this kind of black underwear… I just happened to wear it today by chance…”

“Huh? Uh… A-Anyways, please use this.”

I panicked and he softly put his jacket over me.

“It’s wet, but I think it will help cover you a bit.”

“T-Thank you.”

“But… What can we do now…?”

Takkun looked at the sky.

The torrential rain kept falling from the dark night sky.

“…Doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop any time soon.”

“According to the forecast, it won’t stop until tomorrow morning.”

“Oh no… Then what should we do now? We can’t even take a taxi because we’re so drenched… Ugh…”

I suddenly felt cold and shivered. My clothes and underwear seemed like they were taking even more body heat from me.

“Are you alright, Ayako-san? Are you cold?”

“No, I’m more worried about you than me. It will be an issue if you catch a cold again. We need to take refuge in a warm place…”

We started looking around… And realized almost at the same time.

We had found the ideal place.

We were at a local city.

And near the intersection… there were a lot of love hotels.

““…””

The atmosphere turned strange immediately. The sign with the hotel’s name and the room prices shined with a striking pink color that left us speechless.

I get it.

I get it in my head.

In the current situation… a hotel is the most adequate place to be in. You can take refuge and take a shower. You can dry your clothes with a hair dryer, and you can stay there until tomorrow morning.

There simply was no better option.

But… The fact that it was a special hotel that encouraged certain activities made me quite uneasy.

Uuh… Why…? Why?!

Why does it have to be a love hotel?!

Even if we were to go to an ordinary hotel together, I’d we overly conscious of it… But in a love hotel, I’m not going to be able to think about anything other than that…

“A-Ahaha… Surely that’s not a good place to stay at… right?”

I laughed it off, trying to do something about the awkward silence, but…

“…Let’s go.” Said Takkun.

With a slightly red face, but with a serious look.

“I don’t see any other option… So please.”

“B-But…”

“Please! I promise I won’t do anything…!” He said with complete sincerity and lowered his head.

If he asks me like that… I have no choice but to accept.

And so.

We had no choice but to go to a love hotel to take refuge from the heavy torrential rain.

Even though it was Takkun’s suggestion, I knew there was no hidden meaning behind it.

He simply was worried about me, and I also wanted him to not catch a cold again.

We both were thinking about the other and acted in the most rational way possible.

I understood it rationally.

But.

A part of me couldn’t accept it… That ended up warping my thoughts and made my heart beat faster.

Since we entered the love hotel, my heart has been beating like crazy.

“S-Sorry about the wait.”

After taking a shower, I got dressed and came out of the bathroom.

In the bedroom, he was drying out my clothes with the hair dryer. After taking off my clothes in the bathroom, I left them out and he dried them carefully.

“Thanks, Takkun. I’ll handle the rest, so you go take a bath.”

“Sure… But it’s still a bit wet—”

Takkun turned around and stayed frozen in place.

Probably… because of my appearance.

I was wearing a white bathrobe provided by the hotel.

I didn’t have a change of clothes, so I had to wear this. My underwear was soaked, so I was wearing nothing underneath the robe…

“…S-Stop! You’re staring too hard! Stop looking so much, Takkun…”

“Huh..? I-I’m sorry. It’s just that… it was a bit too stimulating…”

“~~! I-I had no choice! I didn’t have anything else to put on!”

Ah, geez… This is so embarrassing. My face is burning. Despite it being an unavoidable situation, I’m standing in front of Takkun, only wearing a thin bathrobe with no underwear.

It’s almost as if I’m naked…!

“Well… Guess I’ll go take a shower.”

“Yes. I’ll go call Miu. You know, uhm… to tell her I won’t go back home today.”

“…O-Okay.”

Takkun also replied awkwardly to my awkward words, and after grabbing a bathrobe, he went into the bath.

“…Haaah.”

Left alone, I sat in the sofa and sighed deeply.

“W-What do I do…? I can’t believe I’m going to sleep with Takkun…!”

And… In a love hotel to boot!

How and why did I end up in such a delicate situation?!

E-Everything’s okay! Takkun said he wouldn’t do anything… Yes! I trust him! Everything’s okay, everything’s okay, nothing’s going to happen, nothing’s going to happen…”

I was so nervous that I was talking alone.

“…Ah, right. I have to make that call.”

I took out my phone.

I dialed and Miu answered immediately.

I took a deep breath to calm down and then explained the current situation so she wouldn’t misunderstand… Of course, I didn’t say anything about the love hotel.

“—Yes, I’m sorry. So have dinner alone tonight. I there there’s fried chicken in the fridge… —N-No, it’s not like that! What are you saying now?! —I said it’s not like that! There really was no helping it! —We’ll only stay 1 night! —I-I-I-I-It’s not like that… What are you talking about?! —It’s a very common hotel! Extremely common! So common that it’s surprising! The name?! The hotel’s name is… Uh… Ah, my battery is dying, I’m so sorry! I have to hang up! Bye!”

I forcefully ended the call.

Phew… It looks like there’s no way to lie to her… I think. Hmmm, ah, I don’t know anymore. I don’t want to think about it. Anyways, I told her I wouldn’t be back today, so let’s say it went well.

“Uhm… What’s next…? Oh right, I need to dry up Takkun’s clothes. He prioritized my clothes and here I am neglecting his.”

I took out the hair dryer, and along with my clothes, I started to dry up Takkun’s clothes.

While I was doing this… he came out of the bath.

Of course, dressed up in the same bathrobe as me.

Most likely without underwear, just that thin white cloth…

“…Ayako-san, aren’t you also staring too much at me too?”

“~~! I-I’m not staring!”

When he embarrassedly said that, I looked the other way as soon as I could. Uuh, geez. I couldn’t help but stare. His chest was lightly exposed, so it was hard to resist…

We were almost naked…

“I’ll help you dry it.”

“…O-Okay.”

We kept drying our clothes together, but I couldn’t look straight at him… And Takkun was completely red and silent as well.

Ugh… This atmosphere isn’t good.

I was too nervous… and I felt like everything was spinning.

In an attempt to change the mood somehow, I looked around the place… and found something.

Eh?

Uwaa…

W-Why is there something like that here…?

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, well… I found this…”

Confused, I grabbed a bottle from the sink.

It was about the size of the palm of my hand…

And in the label, there was ‘LOTION’ written in big letters.

“A-Ahaha… As expected from a love hotel. They even have that kind of lotion here.”

“Uh… Ah, no.” Said Takkun, as if hesitating to say it. “That’s… Obviously a lotion, but…”

“…Huh?”

“It’s probably not the kind of lotion you’re thinking of…”

“…Eeehhhh?!”

I was dumbstruck, as if I had been hit in the head with a hammer.

I checked the label in a hurry, and in the backside, where the detailed list of ingredients was written, the smalls letter said ‘moisturizing lotion’ in Japanese.

Uwaa.

I-I was put to shame once again! Completely! I committed a terribly embarrassing mistake!

I was so ashamed that I fell in despair, but…

“…Pfft.” Takkun started laughing. “No, sorry. I’m not laughing… I’m not laughing… Ku… Fufufu.”

“Wha… Y-You don’t have to laugh that much!”

“Sorry… but it’s just too funny. How could you mix it up like that?”

“Ugh…! How could I not get that mixed up?! Look at where we’re at!”

“Even if it’s a love hotel, they wouldn’t put a lubricating lotion in the sink.”

“Y-You don’t know that! Maybe there’s a love hotel somewhere in the world that has lubricating lotions in the sink…”

“Yeah, it’s possible… Kuku… Ahahahaha.”

“Uuh… You’re laughing too much… Dummy…”

Takkun laughed until he couldn’t anymore, and I sulked like a little girl.

For better or worse.

After the lotion incident, the atmosphere became a bit more relaxing.

I was still embarrassed, but I could somehow have a normal conversation with him.

When we finished drying our clothes, we ordered room service and then spent the rest of the night watching TV.

…Since it was a love hotel, I thought that they would only broadcast AVs, but there were also regular programs. (TLN: AV = Adult Videos.)

We talked while watching all kinds of shows and series, completely forgetting where we were.

But…

The calm atmosphere soon reached its end.

“…Let’s go to sleep, it’s getting late.” Said Takkun with a nervous voice some time past 11.

“Yes…” I nodded, but was left speechless after that.

We both looked at the bed.

A big double bed that took up an entire corner of the room.

Yup, this was a love hotel.

So, of course… there was only 1 bed.

That was something we were aware of before coming here.

But all this time, we tried to ignore the problem, and now…

“Ayako-san, please sleep in the bed.” Takkun broke the awkward silence. “I’ll sleep in the sofa.”

“There’s no need to. Rather… I can’t let you sleep in the sofa. If I did, I’d feel so bad with myself that I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

“But…”

“Please.”

After that, we kept arguing, but in the end, until we reached an agreement.

After lightly preparing the bed, I opened up the panel at the head of the bed… Or rather, struggled with it until I found which button was for the lights.

“Well then, good night.”

“G-Good night…”

We said good night to each other and went to sleep.

Me in the big bed and Takkun in the small sofa.

“…”

And of course… I couldn’t fall asleep.

Not just because I was nervous to stay at a love hotel, but also because I was worried about him.

I took a glance at him.

He was all huddled up in the narrow sofa with his legs folded. He seemed to be very uncomfortable and moved his body around a lot.

“…Can’t sleep?”

“Ah… Sorry, was I making a lot of noise?”

“No, you weren’t making noise, but… I thought you would have a hard time falling asleep.”

“I-I’m okay. It’s possible to sleep here… and well, worst case, I can spend the night without sleep.”

He said that happily as well. He was clearly worried about me. I was really happy about his kindness, but more than that… I felt bad for him.

“…Takkun.” I suddenly said. “When we were in front of the hotel, you told me, didn’t you? That you wouldn’t do anything.”

“Uh… Y-Yes.”

“We stayed here because it was an emergency… and not… well, not because you had some hidden intentions, right?”

“O-Obviously!”

“…Yes, I also believe that. You don’t have any hidden intentions. You didn’t lie to me either when you said you wouldn’t do anything.”

“That’s why,” I said.

Feeling my heartbeats accelerating a lot, I lifted the blanket a bit.

“Let’s sleep together.”

After that, we started arguing again, but in the end, Takkun gave up and laid down next to me in the double bed.

Of course, we didn’t sleep stuck together like lovers would. Even though we were sharing the same bed and the same blanket, each one of us was laying down at a corner of the bed.

The bed was big enough for 2 people to sleep on it without their bodies touching one another.

But even then…

My heart was beating too fast and it didn’t seem as if it was going to settle down anytime soon.

“~~”

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?

I’m sleeping, I’m sleeping with Takkun…!

Agh, how did this happen…? Well, it was me who invited him. I know it’s weird for me to be flustered despite me being the one who invited him, but… Uh… Ah…

Of course I trust Takkun. I believe in him, but… But there are moments in which men can’t control themselves! Their heads rationalize, but their bodies don’t follow!

And besides… Takkun… Is in love with me.

So, from his point of view, he’s sleeping in the same bed with the woman he loves… And in such a situation, a man may not be able to hold back…!

And on top of that… It was me who invited him.

Even if his lower part of his body goes out of control… I have no right to complain.

And thinking it well… Right now, we’re not wearing underwear, so it’s even more dangerous.

What was I thinking? Inviting a man to bed dressed like this… and if something goes wrong, I can’t pretend I’m the victim.

Well, if something happens… It happens.

No… That doesn’t mean I want him to attack me or anything!

It’s just that… Well… If his lower half gets out of control, I wonder if I have the right to say no… If I was a teenager, it would be something else, but a thirty year old like me, inviting him myself to the bed, rejecting him saying “I didn’t mean it that way” if he gets closer… I wonder if that excuse would really work…

His lower half…

Takkun’s lower half… Uwaaaa! This is bad! I just remembered! I’ve vividly remembered what happened when I visited him the other day!

The symbol of a ‘man’ pushing up his pajama and rising violently towards the sky…

Uuh… No, no, stop thinking about that… Agh, the image doesn’t go away. Now that I’m conscious of it, it won’t leave my mind…!!

“Ayako-san…”

“H-Hyah?!”

Takkun’s voice brought me back. My head was filled with lewd images, so I screamed with a weird voice.

“W-What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

After desperately deleting the image from my mind, I tried to answer back with a calm voice.

“Takkun… Is something wrong?”

“No, I simply couldn’t sleep. Were you also awake?”

“…Yes. Fully awake.”

“Same as me.”

“Ahaha… It’s hard to fall asleep, isn’t it…?”

When I looked back, Takkun was looking the other way, so I also turned around once again.

With our backs to each other, we started talking.

It was still raining outside the window, but as expected from a love hotel… there was great soundproofing so you almost couldn’t hear the sound from the rain.

That’s why.

Even if we spoke softly… We could hear each other clearly.

“Now that I think about it… We used to sleep together.”

“That’s right. Along with Miu.”

“Yeah, the 3 of us together…”

I don’t remember it at all, but I think it happened a few times. When Takkun came to play at our house and Miu got sleepy after lunch, the 3 of us took a nap together.

“…It used to be normal. I could calmly sleep with you.”

But… everything is different now.

Sleeping together made me really embarrassed.

“Haah… A lot of things have been like that lately.”

Now that I’m fully conscious of the things I used to do normally.

Feeding him, holding hands… They were things I could do naturally when Takkun was little, but I can’t anymore.

And not just because Takkun had grown up… but rather a more important reason.

Because I was aware of his feelings.

Because I knew how he saw me.

“…I’m sorry.”

“E-Eh? Where did that come from?”

“It’s because of me, isn’t it? I’ve caused you a lot of problems with my confession.”

“It’s not your fault, Takkun. Everything is just because of me…”

“Satoya also said it. Confessing is like a bomb that can blow up a relationship. And actually… I think it is. We… can’t go back to what we used to be anymore.”

“…”

Yes, I guess that’s true.

We can’t go back to what we used to be.

To just being neighbors that got along really well.

No matter how hard we try, nothing will go back to what it was.

“…I’ve been regretting it all this time. Confessing I mean. If I hadn’t done it, our relationship could have stayed as it was before…”

“But.” He continued.

With a depressed voice, but full of determination.

“Now… I’m happy to have confessed.”

“Eh…?”

“Due to my confession… I managed to meet an Ayako-san I didn’t know about.” His voice sounded really happy. “You got very flustered and embarrassed after my confession… And I feel guilty about it… But at the same time, I thought that you looked really cute.”

“Wha… Y-You thought that?!”

“Sorry, that’s what I truly thought…” He said, apologizing, but not denying it.

I-I don’t know what to think anymore…!

That I look cute when I’m flustered and embarrassed…? W-What the heck?

I don’t know if I should be happy or angry about this…

“Thanks to my confession, I could see a lot of new faces of yours that I hadn’t seen before… and above all, you started to look at me… Even if just a little… You started to be conscious of me as a man. And that… made me really happy.”

“Takkun…”

Our relationship had changed drastically since his confession.

As if a bomb had suddenly dropped on top of us, everything changed completely.

But not everything turned for worse…

“I-I’m also happy… partly…” I said on reflex, although at the end I didn’t sound too convincing. “After your confession… I started to think about a lot of stuff… I had a really hard time… But, you know? I don’t think it would have been better if you had not confessed.”

“…”

“Since I’m very dense… I had never noticed your feelings until you confessed. If you had not… I would have never noticed.”

Far from noticing his feelings, I was trying to hook him up with my daughter.

Looking back now… I think I was very cruel.

I never noticed the feelings of the man who fell in love with me, and rather, tried to support him in a romance with another woman.

“That’s why… I’m happy that you confessed to me. Thanks to that, I could finally notice your true feelings.” I said. “Thanks, Takkun, for being brave enough to confess.”

“Ayako-san…”

“And despite that… I-I’m sorry… for still not answering… Due to my indecisiveness… we’re still in a limbo.”

“No, don’t worry about that. Like I said before… I’m plenty happy with the current situation. I’ll gladly wait for your response.”

“…”

Ah, you’re such a good boy, Takkun.

No.

It’s rude to call him a good boy… He’s a good man.

An amazing man.

Today’s date, how he handled the tire incident, and the way he behaved once we got into the love hotel… he was always so cool and reliable, and above all, respectful.

I could feel his love for me more and more… And that’s why, I felt attracted to him more and more as well.

“…Yes.” I said.

With my back turned to him, as if I was speaking to myself in the void.

“If I were younger, would I have made up my mind faster?”

That… There was no reason to even ask that. It was more than obvious. I couldn’t help but think about that.

“If we were the same age… If I was a university student like you, I wouldn’t be thinking so long about it, I wouldn’t be struggling this much, and everything would be easier…”

If I was younger.

If I was a girl.

If… I didn’t have Miu.

I think that I’d probably be going out with Takkun.

After all… There was no reason to reject him.

I would have said yes to his confession and we would have become a happy couple that everyone would envy.

But… The current me can’t do it.

The ‘adult’ restriction kept me from doing so.

—You’re still too young to be using your age as an excuse.

That’s what Oinomori-san told me… But it’s impossible.

I’m not young.

I’m not young anymore, Oinomori-san.

I’m not at an age where I can just let loose from my feelings and fall in love… Besides, I have Miu, my precious daughter.

Ah…

Just thinking about these ‘ifs’… made me feel pathetic. I didn’t even want to imagine something like ‘If I didn’t have Miu’… That’s like thinking of her as an obstacle… and I was angry at myself because of that.

Or rather.

I wonder if I will think about things like this from now on.

The deeper my relationship with Takkun became, the more I thought about Miu…

“Hmm, I don’t know…” Said Takkun after a pause.

He was answering my self-deprecating monologue.

“I’ve never thought about it. About what would have happened… if you were younger.”

“Eh? Really?”

“I thought about the opposite actually. What if I was older and more mature, I wondered if I would have been a man that was fit for you. But… But not once I’ve thought about how it would have been if you were younger.”

“After all.” He continued.

“I fell in love with you… Because you’re Miu’s mother.”

“…”

“I was attracted to you when you took responsibility for Miu, your sister’s daughter, and raised her with a lot of love and care. That’s why… If we were the same age… If we had met as classmates from university… Perhaps I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you.”

“…”

“Ah, no, I mean, I think you would have been really attractive as a university student! But, uhm… How do I say this…”

“…”

I couldn’t say anything back to Takkun, who was explaining himself in a panic.

Because…

I was fighting back trying to hold back my tears.

Oh…

I see, that makes sense.

Why was I so worried about such a trivial thing?

The man who said that he loves me as I am now… Is Takumi Aterazawa.

The young man that has been next to me for the last 10 years and has supported me more than anyone else.

And also… The one who has been looking at me more than anyone else.

This isn’t just a sudden manifestation of feelings of love. He knows everything about me, accepts me how I am and even says out loud that he loves me.

I was very ashamed of myself for treating Miu as an obstacle, even for a moment.

Takkun… Never saw it like that.

He never saw my daughter as an obstacle or someone in the way, but rather as a part of my life.

He’s trying to accept everything about me…

“…Fufu.” After holding back my tears, I laughed naturally. “So, after all, you do like mature women.”

“Ehh? No, I didn’t mean it that—”

“Fufu, I’m just teasing you.”

Laughing, I slowly turned around.

At the other side of the bed, I saw his wide back.

It’s not that I have a fetish for backs… But when I saw it, my heart started to beat faster.

My face got hotter and my head felt empty.

“H-Hey, Takkun.” I said, feeling my heart beating strongly. “Doesn’t it… feel a bit cold?”

“Eh… A-Are you okay? It does feel a bit cold. I’ll call the front desk and ask for more blankets…”

“N-No, no! It’s not that bad!”

His answer was more sincere that I expected, so I hurriedly stopped him and continued.

“It’s cold… but just a bit. Probably… b-because of the gap. Since there’s a space between us, the blanket keeps moving and the cold air gets in… S-So…” I said.

Even I didn’t know why I was saying this.

“Can I get closer?”

“Eh…?”

“A-As a measure for the cold environment, I think that both of us could sleep better if we were closer. Really, that’s all… I have no other intentions…”

“I… d-don’t mind.”

“…R-Really? Then… Excuse me.”

I slid down the blanket, getting closer to him.

My heart was about to blow up, but even then, I kept getting closer to him…

Of course, even though I said we should get closer, I didn’t mean to cuddle directly.

Just our hands and feet were touching a little.

But even a small contact like that, made me feel his body heat… And my body got incredibly hot.

“…It certainly feels warmer to be closer like this.”

“Yes… Ah, but, Takkun, don’t turn. Just stay like you are.”

“Why…?”

“Because…”

I can’t let you see me.

I can’t let you see the face I’m making right now.

The face of a woman that’s so happy to the point that it’s embarrassing.

I put my hands on his back.

His big, wide and warm back.

It was a weird feeling.

My heart was beating very fast, but I felt calm.

This warm calmness enveloped my mind and body.

Before I had realized, I fell asleep slowly, feeling very happy.

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Hey guys. Sorry that I took so long getting this one out. I was asked to take a break for a week from my scanlation group and I decided to not work on the novel for that week either so that I would actually “rest”. Also this chapter is massive, like 6k+ words. I still owe you the extra from last chapter, but since it was Love Kaiser related and I was already behind on this one, it will be for the next chapter, which is the second to last one for this volume. Feel free to point out mistakes in the comments; I can’t proofread properly and this chapter is so long that I likely missed a lot of things.