Actually, There’s Someone at Your Workplace Who Likes You ~ I’m Being Transferred to a Sales Office Filled With Only Beautiful Women!? - Chapter 78: Now, The Showdown With My Mother

“I’m home!”

Honoka steeled herself before opening the front door of her house. As she crouched down in the entrance hall to take off her short boots, her mother emerged from inside.

Hearing the heavy thud-thud of her mother’s footsteps, it seemed she was still angry.

“Honoka! What do you mean by ignoring my phone calls and messages!?”

Her mother had a deep furrow between her brows and sharp eyes. Her intimidating presence almost made Honoka flinch for a moment.

Usually, Honoka would choose to keep her distance from her and deliberately avoid talking about anything.

But today was different. She had to make her mother understand Rinta properly, or else even if she could date him in the future, they’d have to sneak around and do it in secret.

She didn’t want that.

Do your best, me!

So Honoka steeled her heart once more.

“Now, now, Mom. I’ll talk properly, so let’s go inside first.”

Her mother turned on her heel without changing her expression and walked silently down the hallway. Honoka followed behind her into the living room.

***

Her mother plopped down heavily on the fancy leather sofa in the living room, crossing her arms and legs. She glared at Honoka, who was sitting across from her, with sharp eyes and spoke in a low, pressuring voice.

“Whatever, Honoka. You’re going to have a blind date, after all. Break up with that man. I will not accept him!”

“Why?”

“Why? Honoka, he doesn’t look good-looking at all, and such a violent man is obviously no good!”

A violent man? What was this about? Hirarin was a man overflowing with kindness from his whole body. What on earth was Mom talking about?

“A violent man… What are you talking about? He’s a kind person.”

“Ugh, seriously! That’s exactly why you’re drowning in love and blinded by it. Women who can’t escape from domestic violence say things like ‘But he’s a really kind person’ even when they’re being abused.”

What was she going on about?

Honoka became even more confused about what her mother was talking about. The part about her drowning in love and blinded by it was probably not wrong, though.

Huh? Huh? Huh?

Could it be that Mom had seen a different timeline’s Hirarin today? Was that a wild Hirarin? Could it be a parallel world? No way, she couldn’t imagine a wild Hirarin!

Honoka’s mind was racing.

“Um… Mom. I really don’t know anything about the abuse you’re talking about. I haven’t suffered any violence.”

“What are you saying, Honoka? Today, before the intersection, that man pulled your arm and you fell. I don’t know if something made him angry, but roughly pulling a girl’s arm and making her fall is nothing but violence! Have your senses become so numb?”

“Huh?”

Honoka felt like she was starting to understand what was going on… maybe.

“Uhh… Mom? You saw the scene right before he pulled my arm, right?”

“The scene right before? What’s that? You two were walking side by side toward the intersection.”

“Not that. I was walking while looking at my phone, so I carelessly stepped into the road and almost got hit by a car.”

“What? I didn’t know about that. When I suddenly noticed, that man was already pulling Honoka’s arm with all his might. Um… I was also sending messages to you and concentrating on walking while using my phone… I guess?”

This woman was also concentrating on her phone while walking in the streets! And she was careless and made hasty assumptions just like her. They were really mother and daughter!

While making a huge mental retort, Honoka finally understood what had happened.

“I was really about to get hit by a car. And that person… Rinta-san said it was dangerous and pulled my arm to save me.”

“I… is that so?”

“That’s right. Because of that, Rinta-san ended up stepping into the road from the momentum, and he almost got hit…”

As Honoka talked, that dangerous scene from today flashed back in her head. A chill ran down her spine.

If Rinta had been hit at that time… the thought came to her mind again, and tears began to well up.

“So he saved you?”

“That’s right. He risked his own safety to save me. I’m the one who put him in danger!”

Her emotions overflowed involuntarily. Honoka looked at her mother with teary eyes and shouted without thinking.

“But Mom, what do you think he said to me after that?”

“Eh…? ‘That was dangerous’, or something? ‘Be careful’, maybe?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Ah, perhaps he got angry and said ‘What are you doing!’…?”

“No. I would have deserved to be scolded. After all, it was my fault that he almost got hit, but he didn’t get angry at all. The first thing he said to me was, ‘I’m glad you weren’t hurt.'”

Honoka’s mother listened silently with a serious expression. Her previously crossed arms and legs were now uncrossed. Honoka continued her story.

“When I asked him why he wasn’t angry, he said this: ‘More than that, I’m glad Honoka is safe. If Honoka had been seriously injured, I would have been angry at myself for not being able to save you.'”

“I… is that so? I had no idea you almost got hit by a car. So I just assumed he had gotten into a fight with you or something, and pulled your arm out of anger… If he was worried about Honoka and didn’t get angry at all, he’s a good person…”

“That’s right! And what do you think Mom said to him after he saved me like that?”

“Well… what did I say? I was panicking too, so I don’t remember.”

Eh? You’re going to dodge that!? Or maybe you really don’t remember? …That would be possible with this person.

Honoka furrowed her brow and spoke with anger in her voice.

“Listen. Mom said to him, ‘Hey, you. What do you mean by putting my daughter in danger?’ Yet I was the one who put him in danger!”

“Oh, oh. That’s right. I think I said something like that. I was angry because he made Honoka fall. I’m sorry. It was completely my misunderstanding. But… I think he apologized to me back then. That’s why I kept thinking that he had done something wrong.”

“Mom, he said, ‘I’m sorry. It was my carelessness that caused you worry’, right? He thought it was his fault for not being careful enough that I almost got hit.”

“But that wasn’t his fault, it was yours, Honoka.”

That’s right. Rinta had done nothing wrong. The one at fault had been herself for being careless, and her mother for blaming Rinta without having properly checked the facts.

And Rinta wasn’t just not at fault. He was such a kind, selfless, and wonderful person, Honoka thought so once again.

But her mother wouldn’t even try to see Rinta’s true nature, and earlier she had said things like “he doesn’t look good-looking”. That really made Honoka angry.

“That’s right. He’s the kind of guy who says it’s his fault and apologizes! Hirarin is such a wonderful person! So Mom, please stop judging Hirarin based on things like his appearance not being impressive! Please stop it!!”

Until now, Honoka had been calling him “Rinta-san” or “he” in front of her mother, but with her emotions overflowing as she wanted to convey her feelings to her mother, she had unconsciously started calling him “Hirarin” out loud.

Tears overflowed from her eyes and wouldn’t stop. All Honoka could see was her mother frozen in silence, blurred through her tears.

After hearing this story and learning the truth, how would her mother react?

She’d probably still say he was no good because he was not handsome… Honoka thought vaguely.

But surprisingly, her mother spoke in a gentle voice.

“Honoka. This is the first time you’ve talked about a man like this. This is the first time I’ve ever heard Honoka say someone is ‘such a wonderful person’.”

“I… is that so?”

“Yes. You seem completely head over heels. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“Ah, ahaha…”

“I understand. Hirabayashi Rinta-san. He really does seem like a wonderful man. Do as you like.”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Honoka was stunned and unable to believe what her mother had just said.