CHAPTER 2: “My chest, are they small?”
“……What are you doing?”
I find a girl leaning against the side of the door.
“Oh, is Masaomi late, too? What a coincidence.”
“What a coincidence…… wait, are you late as well, Kana? That’s rare.”
“Yup, for some reason, I found rushing to be tiresome once I realized that I’m totally late.”
While combing down Kana’s unkempt long hair, we talk with each other.
“What about Kazuki?”
Kana shakes her head sideways.
“Is it going to snow today? To think that the usually late Kazuki actually isn’t late……”
“I have the same sentiments.”
“……Even so. Why is someone late in front of my house?”
“Hm~, I wonder why? I had a feeling that Masaomi is going to be late, too.”
She chuckles. I feel complicated. Being predicted to be late gives me a feeling that I’m being made fun of point-blank.
“Hey, don’t leave me behind. You’re so cold~……”
I ignore Kana and continue forward. I’m not comfortable with this kind of subtle mood. Is she free-spirited or naive……her train of thought is different from others.
“Masaomi, do you want me to cut your hair?”
I ignore her.
“As for me, I prefer short hair.”
Ignore her.
“Come to think of it, Mutsuki-san is, towards Masaomi……
My legs unconsciously stop moving.
“……What did you just say?”
“Can you let me cut your hair?”
She answers my question with another question.
However, the priority was clear from the standpoint of me and Kana.
“……Just don’t cut it too short.”
Going to school knowing that I’m completely late makes me feel fresh and different from usual. The road to school, which is usually bustling with people commuting in the morning, is now completely deserted. I, who had never been late before, was just enjoying that freshness.
“What kind of hairstyle should I do……”
Kana has been like this since a while ago. Since I reluctantly agreed to let her cut my hair, many different hairstyles have appeared and disappeared in Kana’s head.
“……So, that, about your mention of Mitsuki-san. What were saying?”
Kana tapped her fist on her palm as if she’s completely forgotten about it.
“Do you want to hear it?”
“Obviously!”
I look around me in a panic after I unintentionally raised my voice.
There isn’t a shadow in sight. It looks like no one heard me.
“You don’t need to shout.”
“I’m sorry……”
I felt like I was going to have a headache. Towards my weak-mindedness that kept being made to dance by Kana.
“You see, this is what Mitsuki-san said.”
I make an effort to pretend to be calm while listening to her carefully.
“Toujou Masaomi?* I don’t know him.” (TN: Japanese say their family name first and I’m going to keep it that way.)
“……Ha?”
I doubt the words that jumped into my inclined ears.
“I have said it word for word, without omitting anything. It was so short that I couldn’t possibly forget nor mistaken it.
“Really, just that?”
“It’s really just that. “Toujou Masaomi? I don’t know him.””
I’m really starting to have a headache.
“”Toujou Masaomi? I don’t know him.””
My stomach also somehow hurts too.
“”Toujou Masaomi? I don’t know him.””
“I can hear it!”
“……Oh my.”
“No, it’s a reasonable result as a matter of course, isn’t it? On one hand, she’s the top honor studen in our school, and she’s beautiful enough to get a scout’s attention. On the other hand, I’m just a normal high school boy……”
Somehow, the road towards the school feels longer than usual.
“Masaomi…… you look pretty depressed. But, it’s okay. You have me. Here, let me comfort you. Come and jump into my big chest.”
“Your chest isn’t really that big, you know.”
“Oh, that’s sexual harassment.”
At the same time as that exchange, I confirmed that I am feeling down.
Perhaps, Mutsuki Shizuku, whom I admired, knows about me and secretly cares about me.
Such baseless hopes – also called delusions – were cut in half in the name of reality.
I know that real life is not a drama, but I can’t help but expect drama-like developments.
Humans are hopeful animals, but it’s also foolish to have hopes that don’t always come true.
Then, is it me who is stupid, or is it mankind?
“Masaomi……. I, my chest, are they small?”
“So it’s been bothering you?”
“It’s because you’re the one who said it, I was bothered.”
“Then, what if I’m interested in short-haired girls?”
“I’ll cut it short.”
…… I sigh. Come to think of it, nothing good has happened to me since this morning.
I overslept, was completely late, played by Kana, and the person I admire doesn’t even know I exist. It’s miserable.
“This is such…… an unlucky day.”
I muttered with resentment at the majestic school building that was getting closer.
