A Story About a Girl Who Took Life for Granted and Fell in Love With a Kind and Introverted Boy

……In front of the main gate of the zoo.

There, the three of us were gathered: me, Saito, and Miyuki.

Saito and Miyuki were clearly nervous as they exchanged greetings.

“Uh, hello…I’m your sister, Tashiro…or not, um, I’m Kenji Saito, and I’m dating Kana,” he said awkwardly.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Miyuki, your sister! I’m always grateful for your care of my useless older sister!”

“Uh, um, I’m really sorry today, Miyuki…I didn’t mean to drag you into our date…Um, is it okay to call you Miyuki? If it feels weird for me to call you by your first name, I can change it…”

“Oh, no, no, don’t worry about that! You can treat me like I’m not even here! Ah! Yes! Miyuki is fine! I don’t feel weird at all! Thank you for being considerate!”

Saito was stuttering too much, while Miyuki was flustered and using strange phrases.

(They really seem to fit together.)

I watched them from a distance.

“Come on, Saito, Miyuki. Let’s go inside,” I urged.

“Y-yes, Tashiro…I mean, Kana.”

“Hey! Wait up, big sister!”

So, the three of us hurriedly entered the zoo.

“Look, Kana! A koala!”

“Oh, wow, really!”

Saito and I walked side by side, looking at the animals through the fence. The koala hung on a tree, completely still. It looked like a small doll.

“It’s cute, isn’t it, the koala?”

“Yeah.”

“Should we take a picture?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

When I said that, Saito took several pictures of the koala with his phone.

Then he read the explanation about the koala on a sign in front of the enclosure.

“Wow…hey, Kana, did you know that the eucalyptus trees koalas eat have poison?”

“Really? There’s poison?”

“Yeah, but it seems that only koalas can digest the poison in eucalyptus.”

“Interesting, that’s amazing.”

“Also, koalas sleep about 20 hours a day. It’s to break down the eucalyptus poison.”

“Wow, I wish I could sleep like that. I didn’t know koalas sleep so much.”

“…?”

“What’s wrong, Saito?”

Saito looked at me with a slightly surprised expression, so I asked him.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” he said, looking away and grinning like he was hiding something.

“I’ve never seen you smile like that before, Kana…”

“…”

“Since I’ve never seen you smile during our dates, I was wondering if I was boring you. So, seeing you smile like this makes me really happy.”

Saito gave me an innocent smile. It was so genuine that I found myself frozen in place.

…And for a brief moment, my heart ached.

(…It’s not that I’m bored. I just don’t really like Saito, and I’m not really interested in being his girlfriend…)

“…”

“Kana?”

“What?”

“Can I take a picture?”

“A picture?”

“I want to take a picture of you with the koala.”

“…”

I silently nodded. Then, I posed in front of the fence, making a peace sign and forcing a smile.

……For a while, we wandered around the zoo. Saito kept taking pictures of me with the animals.

“Are you okay for the restroom, Kana?”

“…What? The restroom?”

“Ah, um, I mean, the toilet,” he said, pointing to a nearby restroom.

“Oh, I’m fine. No worries.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Saito smiled at me and then looked at Miyuki, who was walking a bit behind us.

“Um, is the restroom okay for you too, Miyuki?”

“Ah! Yes! I’m good!”

“Alright, that’s a relief. If you need to go, please feel free to say so. We’ll wait.”

“No, no! You guys go ahead! It’s your date, so I don’t want to interrupt!”

“Is that so? But isn’t it a bit lonely to be by yourself in such a big zoo?”

“Lonely…well…”

“Even though it’s your date, I’d like today to be enjoyable for you too, so let’s explore together.”

“…Yes! Thank you for your consideration! You’re so kind, Saito! I envy my sister!”

“Eh? Ah, n-no, it’s nothing…”

Saito blushed at Miyuki’s compliment.

“…”

Hmph, what’s up with that? Getting all flustered over Miyuki’s words.

“Ah! Look, Kana, there’s a peacock over there!”

“…”

“It has such beautiful feathers…Should I try to pick one up?”

“…”

“…What? Kana? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“…Did I say something that bothered you?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“…Really?”

“I said I didn’t say anything. Just stop talking to me.”

“…”

At that moment, Saito looked genuinely sad, frowning and lowering his head. He looked like a scolded puppy.

(Ugh…why am I feeling this weird twinge again?)

I had never felt this way before, but for some reason, when it came to Saito, I felt uneasy.

“…Hey, Saito. Don’t be so…down.”

“…”

“I’m not angry or anything…I just…”

…What am I even trying to say?

Why was I so irritated earlier?

What was bothering me?

…It’s just that Saito was being all sweet to Miyuki, and that annoyed me, right? It’s not a big deal…

“…I don’t get it anymore.”

“Kana?”

“I’m going to the restroom.”

Saying that, I turned back a bit and entered the women’s restroom.

As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I took out my lip balm from my purse and touched up my makeup.

Then I checked to make sure my light blue nail polish wasn’t chipped.

“…”

Saito should really compliment me on these little things. He might be introverted, but he notices details, like the nail polish…He could at least say something nice about it. He still has some introverted traits.

(…Huh?)

Why am I even wanting Saito’s opinion on this?

It doesn’t matter…It’s not a big deal if he doesn’t say anything. After all, Saito is…just a boyfriend I dated because of a punishment game. For me, it should be…irrelevant…

“I’m really happy you’re being considerate. I didn’t get a chance to talk with you properly, but you were much kinder than I expected.”

“I’d be happy if we could spend a bit more time together next time!”

“Thank you for everything today. For the thousand yen bill and for getting mad for me…”

“…”

Every time I recalled Saito’s words, my heart ached again.

He was the first person to say “thank you” and “kind” for what I did. None of my ex-boyfriends, or “dad,” or friends had ever said that.

So, Saito’s words stuck in my mind.

“I also like you, Tashiro.”

“Thank you for liking me. I hope we can continue as lovers.”

“…Stop saying that.”

The truth is…I don’t care about you…

It’s just that I dated you on a whim with Mayu and the others…