After Being Betrayed by My Girlfriend, I Kiss Her Little Sister

Determination and Makeover (3)

After school, I part ways with Hina in front of the school gate and head to my mom’s hair salon for the first time in a while.

Ever since I started living on my own, my mom has always been telling me to come by every once in a while, but I never did. Back then, all I ever did was cause trouble, and seeing my mom always made me feel guilty.

She was constantly being called to school because of me.

That’s why I avoided going to the salon where Mom works as much as possible.

But…remain trapped in the past won’t change anything. Hina is the one who taught me that.

“Kanata~ You finally came.”

“…yeah.”

“Don’t make that face, just sit down already! Fufu.”

“…okay.”

“Your hair has gotten pretty long, Kanata.”

“Yeah…I never really think about it until recently.”

“So, does that mean you came because of Hina-chan~? You want to get a makeover so that she’ll call you handsome? For your beloved Hina-chan!?”

“Eh? No, I’m just getting a haircut…since it has gotten quite long.”

“Hmm~”

For some reason, Mom is giggling behind me…

As I thought, Mom hasn’t changed at all. I’m the one who has changed. I’ve always known that, but I just refused to admit it. I wonder when did I become like this? Hina is right…I wasn’t always like this.

Back then, I used to do all sorts of things for Hina.

“Mom…do you think I can become cool?”

“Huh? What are you even saying!? Of course, you can! You’re my son, after all! Just leave it to me!”

“Thanks.”

“Besides, I already think that you’re cool, Kanata! Once you get your hair cut, you’ll definitely be popular! You should confess to Hina-chan right after!”

“Like I could ever do that!?”

“Fufufu, I’m sure that Hina-chan will be really happy if you do.”

“Why are you so sure about it?”

“When Hina-chan first moved to the city, she stopped by my salon. She seemed a little depressed at the time, but she kept talking about you, Kanata. She has transferred to your school, right?”

“Yeah…we’re getting along really well now.”

“That’s great. So, make sure you treasure her, okay? Hina-chan told me she always wanted to see you again. I don’t know what happened between you two, but in situations like this, the guy should be the one to apologize, you know? Kanata.”

“Y-Yeah…”

After I moved to the city and started to live on my own…I started dating Umi right away.

But I didn’t tell Mom about it.

Umi also said she didn’t want to tell anyone that we were dating, and I didn’t really care much either. That was part of it, but…to be honest, at the time, I might have just thought that none of it really mattered. As long as I had Umi, that was enough…or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

Looking back, I never actually had any fun dating Umi.

Whenever I was with Umi, especially when we went on dates, I was just nervous the whole time…I never really knew what I was doing.

So what exactly was I even looking for?

I always thought that Hina hated me…so maybe I believed that I had no other choice.

Suddenly, I receive a message from Hina.

‘Kanata, Kanata! Look at this!’

Why is she suddenly messaging me? Is something wrong?

“Who is it?”

“Hina…”

“Eh~ Do you two keep in touch all the time? That’s nice!”

“Eh, well…yeah, kind of.”

Then, Hina sends a photo.

Is this…cocoa?

“Uwaa, she’s is drinking cocoa at home? That’s cute~”

“Hey…Mom, don’t look!”

“What, what? Are you embarrassed~? Feeling shy~? Ah, youth~”

“N-No, that’s not it!”

I should reply to Hina.

‘It’s cocoa.’

‘That’s right! It’s cocoa.’

‘So?’

‘It’s cocoa!’

“……”

So what’s wrong with cocoa…!?

I have absolutely no idea how to respond.

I don’t understand why Hina sent me a picture of cocoa in the first place, but more than that, how am I supposed to reply to a picture of cocoa? If there is something she wants me to do, she should just say it right away.

“You haven’t replied to Hina-chan yet, Kanata?”

“Eh, no…I sent a message saying ‘It’s cocoa’, but…I don’t really get it.”

“Eh? In this situation, you’re supposed to say, ‘I want to come over and drink cocoa with you right now!’ or something like that! Mohh…”

Why am I supposed to say that? Eh?

She can tell all that just from a photo of cocoa…? This is difficult.

“Hurry up and reply! Hina-chan is waiting, isn’t she!?”

As I remain frozen like that, trying to process the situation, for some reason, Mom flicks my forehead.

‘Then next time…let’s drink cocoa together at your place, Hina.’

‘That’s right!’

‘Eh?’

‘That’s the reply I was waiting for! Dummy Kanata.’

Seriously…?

“See? Just like I told you.”

How…? How does sending a picture mean that she wants to drink it together…?

No matter how much I think about it, it’s just something I can’t understand. When I was with Umi, whenever she wanted something, she would just casually say, ‘Ah, I want that!’ so it was easy to understand her. But I haven’t really texted with Hina that much…and honestly, I’ve never been the one to text her first.

This is difficult.

“It seems that you really haven’t noticed it at all, Kanata.”

“Eh?”

“When a girl likes someone, she texts them like that even if there’s no real reason, Kanata.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Then…maybe I should say sorry to Hina?

Just as I’m typing the word ‘sorry’—

Smack!

“Ouch!”

“You’re not supposed to say ‘sorry’! You should ask ‘when?’ instead”

Why did she hit me on the back of my head…?