Chapter 61 From Now On (2)

We cleaned up the remaining food before continuing our conversation.

Alright, lets continue

Mm

After taking a quick gulp of her coke, Umi opened her mouth to speak.

Umm To start. I confessed to you impulsively, but I didnt regret it. After all, my feelings for you are genuine.

Then, is it safe for me to assume that you want to go out with me?

Mmm. Our tastes in food are similar If I were to ignore your appearance, youre fun to hang out with.

Oi.

Haha. Well, as long as you dress up a little, you dont need to worry about your appearance, really.

Is that so?

Yep. Believe me, I fell for you, didnt I?

Alright

Mhm, as expected, she loved me.

Rather, her feelings seemed to be stronger than mine.

But she still felt uneasy about going out with me for some reason.

I might be overthinking things You see I got scared that if I were to go out with you then Id end up like before Even though Im supposed to trust you, I cant help but think that some girl would take you away from me

Who would even do that? I refrained from interjecting and let her continue.

I guess the trauma of being deceived by her friends was still there.

Even if her friends apologized to her, I doubt that the scar in her heart would disappear.

In other words, youre afraid of me betraying you Thats why youre so hesitant, am I right?

Yeah, something like that I know that I have to deal with that feeling someday, or else I wouldnt be able to move on, but I just dont know what to do

Umi laughed weakly.

This girl had rejected countless confessions, but when it came to her own confession, she became like this.

It was supposed to be a simple matter. If you like the person, youd just go out with them. If you dont, then you dont. Its that simple. But unfortunately, it wasnt that simple of a matter for either of us.

Well, thats it. My honest feeling. Like I said, Im a troublesome woman

True.

Muu

Dont pout. Its true that youre troublesome, but I know what Im getting myself into. I fell in love with this troublesome Umi after all.

Idiot

I understood her worries.

If she was feeling uneasy about dating me, then all I needed to do was to get rid of that feeling for her.

It shouldnt be difficult.

I could hold her hands, and tell her pretty words to ease her mind.

Umi, um Your hand

Eh? A-ahh Okay

I gently grasped Umis hand and she responded by grasping mine back.

This was our routine, our way to comfort each other.

Except this time, I wanted to go a step further than this.

Also close your eyes

Eh? Why?

Do you want me to explain?

Uhm

She was puzzled by my sudden request, but she seemed to understand my intention as her face turned bright red.

!

Hm? Whats wrong, Umi?

U-uhm D-Do I really need to close my eyes?

I mean, it would be awkward if you dont

I-I dont want to

She turned her face away, but I wouldnt back down easily.

It might hurt the first time, Umi, but dont worry, Ill be gentle.

W-what are you talking about, idiot?!

She tried to shake my hand away, but I had a firm grip on her hand, so her attempt was useless.

J-Jeez! I love you, Maki But this is all so sudden! Im not ready! At least set the mood properly first!

Just accept it, Umi. You cant run away anyway.

I cornered her to the edge of the couch while slowly approaching her.

B-be gentle, please?

Well, dont worry about it, Ill be careful

I-Idiot! Maki, youre a pervert!

She eventually gave in, but her body was still tense. She squeezed her eyes shut while putting her pouty lips forward.

Then, here I go

M-mm

I held her hand while moving my face closer to hers.

Ora!

Ouch!

I flicked her forehead with a moderate amount of force.

Idiot. Im not going to force myself on you like that. Anyway, sorry, that hurted a little, no?

Uu I-Its fine. I was just surprised, I didnt expect that

Also, I misled you, sorry. But theres no way that Id tell you honestly that Im about to do that. Also, the opportunity to tease you was too good to pass up.

So, that was intentional you jerk

Sorry

Its fine. I teased you a lot in the past too, so Ill call it even. Anyway, I assume that head flick was a punishment of some sort?

Mm Something like that.

Now that this matter was settled, it was my turn to tell her properly about my feelings.

Hey, Umi, when you said that you were worried about going out with me, were you wishing that I would comfort you?

Ugh

Dont worry, it isnt like Ill be upset with you even if thats the case.

J-just a little

Just a little?

N-no, I wanted you to comfort me! I was anxious, okay? Go easy on me

I figured that was the case.

Well, truth be told, I want to comfort you. Saying cheesy words like Im not going to betray you, or quelling your anxiety with an I love you

Then, why didnt you do that?

Because that wouldnt solve anything. Those words will ease you temporarily, but your anxiety wont go away just like that.

Maybe if I were to soothe her with my words, her feelings for me may deepen, and we might progress our relationship further.

But, I didnt do that because I knew better. I knew a certain couple that fell in love with each other the same way, but in the end their relationship became irreconcilable.

Umi, would you like to hear about my parents?

Are you sure?

Mhm

This wasnt a good story or anything, but I wanted her to know about it.

I got it. Let me hear your story, Maki

Thank you, Umi

It was winter during my third year of middle school, right around the time when Umis friendship cracked.

Trouble was brewing inside my house.