Actually, the Hungry Gyaru Who Eats a Lot Was Being Cheated On, so I Decided to Win Her Heart (And Stomach) From Her Jerk Boyfriend - 82

Chapter 82: At the End of Summer with the Hungry Gyaru

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After the fireworks finished launching, the night sky regained its silence and moonlight. Watching the spectators stream out of the venue in droves, Shizuku muttered wistfully.

“Summer vacation’s already over, huh. Ahh, I wanted to play more.”

“From my point of view, we played more than enough.”

At the very least, compared to the bland, colorless summer vacations I had up until last year, this month and a half had truly been dense and full. It wasn’t like I had even the slightest desire to return to the way things were back then, but it was true that my days had been so fulfilling that it was hard to even imagine life without Shizuku in them anymore.

“Ehh? For me, it totally wasn’t enough. We didn’t even get to go to the beach or the mountains, and even aside from that, I just wanted to go on more normal dates with you.”

“Beach or mountains aside… if it’s dates, we can go on as many as we want from here on out.”

When I said that, Shizuku opened her blue eyes wide, her cheeks flushing red. Before long, she let out a soft giggle.

“…Yeah, you’re right. Then maybe I’ll have you go on a date with me every week!”

“I’ve got my part-time job, so every week’s impossible.”

“Geez, you could at least nod for now as a social courtesy.”

She jabbed my shoulder with her elbow, grinding it in. I hadn’t taken one of those in a while, but yeah. It still hurt in a subtle way.

“…Well, that’s Gakkun for you, I guess.”

“Are you complimenting me?”

“Half of it.”

What about the other half?

I almost shot back, but stopped the words at my throat. It was obvious I wouldn’t get any decent answer anyway. While we were talking like that, most of the people inside the venue had already left.

After checking one last time to make sure there wasn’t any trash left behind, we also left the place. We had waited a bit before moving, not because there was any food left inside, but because walking through a crowded area with a completely stuffed plastic bag might get in other people’s way. But there was another reason…

“Shizuku.”

Calling out to her, I held out my left hand.

It was so that I could walk holding her hand without worrying about the people around us. It wasn’t like anyone was really looking at us, but even so, walking through a crowd like that took a bit of courage. Shizuku blinked at my sudden action, but once she understood my intent, she broke into a wide grin and squeezed my hand back.

“…Shall we go?”

“Yeah!”

And so, we left the fireworks venue and passed through the row of festival stalls. Perhaps because the main event (the fireworks) had ended, some of the stalls were already starting to close up. Along the way, we tossed the containers, plastic bag and all, into a trash bin that had been set up. Just as one of my hands finally became free, Shizuku pointed at a shaved ice stand.

“Hey, hey, Gakkun. Let’s buy shaved ice before we head home. We haven’t had any yet.”

“Sure.”

The reason we hadn’t bought shaved ice until now was simply because it would’ve melted before we got to eat it. I had considered eating it earlier, but desserts just felt better saved for after a meal, so we’d held off.

…Well, it wasn’t like we hadn’t already stuffed ourselves with sweet things—candied apples, imagawayaki, baby castella, and the like. Still, as a final palate cleanser, it didn’t sound bad. So I bought strawberry-flavored shaved ice, and Shizuku got Blue Hawaii. We left the festival grounds, joining the trickle of people heading toward the station.

In high spirits, Shizuku narrowed her eyes happily as she worked her way through her shaved ice, generously drenched in syrup and condensed milk thanks to the vendor’s kindness.

“Mmm~ When you think of summer festivals, it’s gotta be shaved ice, right? When you’re eating it, doesn’t it just feel like—like, ‘Ahh, it’s summer’?”

“I get it. It’s been a few years since I’ve had one from a stall, but every summer I end up buying and eating a lot of those icy cup desserts.”

“Right?! I always eat that one with the penguin illustration on it! And you know, the way your tongue changes color like crazy? That’s part of the charm of shaved ice too. Right now, mine’s definitely crazy, right?”

She added that and stuck out her tongue. Indeed. Her tongue was completely blue.

“Whoa… yeah, that color’s pretty wild.”

“Hey, could you not seriously get grossed out? That actually hurts, you know.”

“Ah—sorry.”

“Well, whatever.”

From her prim and proper look, she suddenly burst into carefree laughter and brought another spoonful of shaved ice to her mouth.

“Next time, I’ll make you eat Blue Hawaii, Gakkun, and then you’ll have to stick your tongue out too.”

“…Not now?”

“Because with red, it’s hard to tell. If you’re gonna do it, it’s gotta be a color that really stands out.”

Saying that, she showed me her bright blue tongue once more, then… 

“So… let’s come watch the fireworks together again next year. Next time, we’ll grab a spot where we can properly see the whole thing.”

“—Yeah. Sounds good.”

I gently placed my hand on Shizuku’s head and let a small smile spill out. Yeah. ”Spill out” was probably the right way to put it.

Next year, huh.

I savored those words in my chest. Just thinking that I might be able to go out like this with Shizuku again next year made an uncontrollable wave of happiness well up inside me.

What would we be like next year? Would our relationship have progressed significantly like it had today? Or would we still be maintaining this same kind of distance? Well, either way, I think I’d be fine with it. As long as we could walk side by side like this again, it would surely become another irreplaceable memory.

I finished off the rest of my shaved ice and took Shizuku’s cup that she had finished a little earlier, and stacked them together. Then I placed my left hand, fingers spread, over her now-free right hand.

After our fingertips brushed lightly a few times, I intertwined our fingers and gently squeezed them together.

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