A Twisted Introvert loner Like Me, Mentally Wrecked One-Sidedly due to Love, Throws Away the Love Letter Sent by the foremost School's Beauty, Leading to an Unwanted Romantic Comedy - Chapter 33: I Want to Protect him, Shelter him, and Monopolize him 1 (Katase's Point of View)

Chapter 33: I Want to Protect him, Shelter him, and Monopolize him 1 (Katase’s Point of View)

“…I wonder if he’s gone already?”

As I muttered that to myself, Tarou responded with a “Wan!”.

Slowly, I raised my head. Kazari-kun was no longer there.

“Ah… As I thought, he’s just so amazing. Kazari-kun… Despite being timid and weak, he still forced himself to stay calm. That side of him is just so touching and endearing…”

[TL: Endearing = Captivating.]

Whenever I think about Kazari-kun, I couldn’t help but have my lips loosen up. But it’s all okay since there’s no one around.

It is only recently that I realized that these feelings I have for him are different from what’s generally considered as “liking” among people. It was I guess on autumn last year, during the busy times of the school festival and sports day that I realised that.

A desire for protection. I want to protect Kazari-kun, who seems to be well-behaved but is actually as fragile as glasswork.

And possessiveness. I want to keep Kazari-kun, who pretends to be strong outside but is actually just pretending to be so, all to myself. I want to keep completely to me; I am not going to let anyone else have him.

But I can’t show these feelings outward. Until Kazari-kun opens his heart to me, absolutely not.

At first, he was just someone I was a little curious about…

Before starting high school, during the spring break after graduating from junior high. When my grandmother fell ill, and there was someone who carried her all the way home… that was Kazari-kun.

My mother bowed her head to Kazari-kun repeatedly in gratitude for helping my grandmother.

Kazari-kun just smiled awkwardly at that.

I watched this scene from the second-floor window.

Later, my grandmother told the whole family about how she was saved by Kazari-kun, and that’s when I learned his real name.

There are kind people still there in the world heh… That’s about all the reaction I had at that time.

Of course, I was grateful to him as a member of my family for helping my grandmother. But I also had this whatever side of me, which thought, ‘well I wouldn’t see him again anyway’.

My grandmother would surely never forget, but I would.

In the end, I, the ungrateful and indifferent middle schooler, enjoyed my spring break, as Kazari-kun’s name faded away little by little.

The only reason I couldn’t completely forget was because my grandmother often times mentioned his name.

And then came the entrance ceremony for high school.

Amidst the unfamiliar faces, surroundings, and the nervousness tingling in the environment, his name reached my ears.

“— Kazari Obana!”

“…Yes.”

Amongst each student’s name being called out one by one, there was the voice of that boy, particularly quiet… the same person who had helped my grandmother.

But he looked slightly different from the first time I saw him. Hunched over, with a piercing gaze, his profile didn’t evoke thoughts of being kind in any way. If anything, he seemed intimidating, scary.

────────────────────────────

Hello, it’s the scammer.

I said the first chapter would end in this installment, but that was a lie. It’ll be in the next one.

Sorry. Really, I’m sorry. Just how sorry am I? I’m seriously sorry.