A Beautiful Girl Confessed Her Love to Me as a Punishment Game, but After We Started Dating, She Started Getting More and More Obsessive - Chapter 8-9

Chapter 8

While I was waiting for Minami, I thought I might as well settle the bill. As I headed to the counter, there was Minami’s mother, who also happened to be the shop manager.

“Oh my, you’ve become quite handsome, haven’t you?”

“Uh, yes. I just left it all to her, but she did a great job.”

“I see. I think it suits you very well.”

“Thanks to her. Anyway, I’d like to pay…”

“You don’t need to.”

“Huh? But she really did a good job. Even though she called it practice, the quality wasn’t something just for practice. I should pay.”

“Hehe, you’re saying such nice things. I wish Hiyori could hear that. But I can’t accept money.”

“Why not?”

“Because Hiyori doesn’t have a license.”

“…? What do you mean?”

“To receive money as a hairstylist, you need a license. But to get a hairstylist’s license, you need to go to a vocational school.”

Since Minami, like me, is still in high school, she obviously isn’t attending a vocational school.

“Wait, so does that mean it wasn’t okay for her to cut my hair?”

“It’s fine. As long as it’s free and for friends, there’s no legal issue.”

“I see…”

I didn’t fully understand, but it seemed to be one of those adult matters.

“Well, um, thank you very much for this time.”

“No, no, thank you for helping my daughter practice. Oh, Hiyori! You’re really good, aren’t you? That girl from the Hibari salon…um, what should I call you?”

“Numata Karasu.”

“Karasu-kun, huh? He seemed really happy. Good for you.”

The manager patted Minami’s head as she had just finished cleaning.

…Should she really be saying that in front of me? It’s true I was happy, but still.

“Hey, stop that.”

Minami, looking embarrassed, brushed her mother’s hand off her head.

“By the way, Ma—Manager. Can I leave work now?”

“Well, it’s fine since lunch break is coming up. Why?”

“Uh…”

Minami glanced my way.

“I was wondering if I could borrow Minami to help me choose some clothes.”

“So, you two are going shopping together?”

“Well, I suppose that’s how it is.”

“Oh my! Does that mean it’s a date? How nice!”

“It’s not like that.”

“Oh my, Hiyori’s blushing!”

“Shut up…Numata, let’s go.”

Blushing, Minami hurried out, flustered by her mother’s teasing.

“Have fun! Be careful out there.”

“…Thanks.”

Even in a voice that was almost too quiet to hear, Minami made sure to say her goodbyes. I bowed my head to the manager and followed after her.

“Don’t pay attention to what my mom said.”

When we met up, she said that with a mix of embarrassment and frustration.

“Oh, yeah.”

“She always says unnecessary things when I bring friends along. And her conversations are so tactless—it’s exactly what you’d expect from an old lady.”

“Oh, I see.”

“…When I was in elementary school, she even revealed how long I kept wetting the bed.”

“That sounds rough.”

“Right? It was! Do you know how much embarrassment I’ve had to endure because of her? Aside from that, she’s a good mom, though.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. She watches over me closely and lets me do what I want.”

“She’s beautiful too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I was about to add, “Just like you,” but I figured she’d think it was creepy, so I held back. It seemed my restraint paid off as Minami’s face softened into a smile.

“Well, maybe. But it’s still embarrassing when friends come over, so don’t tell anyone I work here, okay?”

“I won’t.”

I nodded, understanding the awkwardness of having your mom talk to your classmates. I’ve been there myself.

It’s like when my mom talked to my classmates in front of me—”Are you Karasu’s friend?” “No, I’m not.” “Oh, I see. Well, please be kind to him.” “…Okay.” That wasn’t just embarrassing—it was more like unbearable.

She even asked me later, “Karasu, do you have any friends? Are you okay?” That was pretty awkward too.

“What’s wrong? You look so uncomfortable.”

“Oh, I just remembered how awkward it was when my mom talked to my classmates.”

“Is that so? Can I ask what happened?”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t, honestly.”

“I see.”

“Actually, I didn’t have any friends back then, but—”

“You’re telling me anyway?”

“My mom used to ask my classmates to be friends with me. It was really awkward.”

“That’s tough. But she sounds like a good mom.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“…You know, I used to think you were always alone and hard to approach, but you’re surprisingly easy to talk to.”

“Really?”

“Yeah…I can kind of understand why Kiryu might be interested in you.”

“Kiryu? What do you mean?”

“Never mind.”

I had thought that after this exchange, Minami’s opinion of me might have improved, but I might have been mistaken. She walked ahead briskly as soon as the train doors opened.

It seemed we had arrived at the shopping center.

—

Chapter 9

The largest shopping center in the prefecture, “Amu Plaza,” is attached to the central station.

If you asked people in the city where to hang out on a day off, this spot would definitely rank in the top three for sure. It was a popular place for the outgoing types, and I came here to buy proper clothes for my outing with Kiryu-san tomorrow.

By the way, the other two top spots are Tenmonkan and Aeon Mall.

Tenmonkan is a busy shopping district with famous shaved ice shops and an old department store, but it’s not that fun to visit alone, so I don’t really know much about it.

Aeon is, well, the Aeon everyone knows. It’s within walking distance from my house, so I used to go there a lot, but I haven’t been back since I failed to get a part-time job at the bookstore there. Also, I realized it’s much faster and easier to just buy light novels online with a gift card from the convenience store.

Apparently, having a shopping mall like Aeon serve as a sort of amusement park is something that only happens in rural areas. In big cities, Aeon is just a regular, plain supermarket.

Anyway, back to the main point.

I’m not brave enough to walk into a hotspot for the outgoing crowd alone, so I rarely come to Amu Plaza. I was pretty nervous.

I followed behind Minami-san, trying to stay close but not too close, as she moved quickly through the crowd.

Suddenly, Minami-san stopped and squinted at me.

“What are you sneaking around for? It’s weird.”

“Huh?”

She pointed to the transparent glass window that acted like a mirror.

Looking at myself crouching down, with my arms drooped forward like a ghost, trying not to stand out, I realized how ridiculous I looked.

“Well, uh, I just thought this isn’t the kind of outfit to walk around Amu Plaza in.”

“You came here to buy clothes, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“Stand up straight and act properly. Are you planning to walk beside Kiryu tomorrow like that?”

“……”

I looked at my reflection in the glass again.

I definitely wasn’t stylish. In fact, I looked pretty lame.

It’s already nerve-wracking to think about walking next to the stylish Minami-san like this. But acting all timid and sneaky like I was just now would be even more embarrassing.

I straightened my back and puffed out my chest, forcing a smile, even though it felt awkward.

It wasn’t great, but at least I wouldn’t stand out in a bad way.

“You don’t look bad as long as you’re acting properly.”

“Thanks to you, Minami-san, I’ve got a cool hairstyle now.”

“It’s not like I said that to get a compliment.”

Minami-san pouted a little, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

I hurried after her as she sped up, walking beside her with my back straight. When I caught up, she slowed her pace a little to match mine.

“No matter how nice your clothes are, if you’re slouching and walking without confidence, it’s a waste. Be careful.”

“Got it.”

“And what’s with your hands?”

I realized she was pointing out that I had my hands hanging out in front of me again like a ghost. I quickly put them down, but now I didn’t know what to do with them.

“Is that ghost-hand thing a habit of yours?”

“I-I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Well, it’s weird, so you should stop.”

“Okay.”

Her words sounded a bit harsh, but if she hadn’t told me, I might’ve done the same thing tomorrow in front of Kiryu-san. Kiryu-san probably wouldn’t bother pointing something like that out. I should be grateful that Minami-san was telling me now.

We kept walking in silence, and I kept sneaking glances at her profile before quickly looking away.

“What is it?”

“Uh, well…I think this is the first time I’ve come to a place like this.”

“Don’t you use the station on your way to school?”

“I take the city tram.”

“Oh. But your parents must’ve brought you here at least once, right?”

“Hmm. The parking here is kind of inconvenient, so we didn’t come to Amu much. I think I’ve been here maybe once or twice when I was little, but I don’t really remember.”

“I see.”

The conversation didn’t really go anywhere as we passed by a tart shop and a perfume store.

Without even using the escalator, we arrived at the clothing store just ahead.

The store had a sign that said something like “Men’s,” and there were a ton of clothes that looked similar but were actually totally different, making it hard to choose.

While I was looking around, Minami-san gave me a light chop on the head.

“Stop acting all jittery. So, what’s your budget?”

“Twenty thousand yen.”

“Are you planning to buy a whole outfit from top to bottom?”

“That’s the plan.”

All I had were clothes that could pass as either pajamas or roomwear, so it wouldn’t make sense to only buy a shirt or pants since I wouldn’t have anything to match them with.

“In that case, I’d recommend just buying what the mannequins are wearing.”

“The mannequins?”

“Yeah. The store staff coordinate those outfits, so if you buy the whole thing, you can’t really go wrong.”

“Oh, I think I’ve seen that in a light novel before.”

I’ve read similar advice about using fashion magazines or copying what models are wearing.

The idea of doing something straight out of fiction got me a bit excited, but I was also a little hesitant.

“I didn’t expect that from you, though. I thought gals like you would be all about picking everything out from scratch and having some sort of unique style.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m not a gal.”

“You’re not? But you’ve got blonde hair and piercings…”

“Dyeing your hair and having piercings doesn’t make you a gal. And, by the way, that’s borderline sexual harassment.”

“It is!?”

I was kind of shocked.

“Sorry…Did I offend you?”

“It’s fine. I’m not mad about something like that…It’s just, looking at you reminds me of my old self.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Never mind. Anyway, just check out the mannequins and find something you like.”

“O-okay.”

Her comment about her past self lingered in my mind, but it seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it. So, I turned my focus back to checking out the mannequins around the store.

After about 15 minutes of browsing and trying things on, I found an outfit that felt right and decided to go with it.

“That was quick. Are you sure you don’t want to try anything else on?”

“Yeah. You said it looked good on me too, and it’s pretty comfortable.”

“Comfort doesn’t really matter when it comes to fashion, though…”

Well, if I’m going to be walking around a lot, I’d prefer something comfortable.

As I basked in the satisfaction of having picked out my clothes, I realized I was pretty hungry. Minami-san had been nice enough to stick around with me before her lunch break, so she probably hadn’t eaten yet either.

“Hey, Minami-san. Do you want to grab lunch together? I’ve got some money left, so I’ll treat you.”

She smiled wryly before nodding softly.