After Distancing Myself From the Childhood Friend Couple Who Looked Down on Me, I Started Interacting With a Small Animal-Like Beautiful Girl - Chapter 9

After finishing dinner, I, Saitou Ino, was lying on my bed in my room, fiddling with my smartphone.

What I’m looking at are photos and videos of a cat sent via LINE by a certain person. I already saw it on the train ride home.

All the cats in the picture are the same ones. The body with gray fur is round, and the eyes are a transparent amber color.

“Nyah.”

The cat on the screen–––Maru–––looks this way and lets out a short meow.

“Adorable…”

Words I can’t even count how many times I have said spill out naturally.

True to its name, its round appearance and the way it waddles on its short legs are nothing short of adorable.

Why are cats so cute, and why do they heal me just by looking at them?

“I said I wanted to see more, but I never expected to receive this much.”

I was scrolling through the chat history which is almost entirely filled with photos and videos of Maru.

Right after we exchanged contact information and what he just sent me, there were nearly thirty photos and videos combined.

From the numbers, I can see how deeply he loves his pet cat, and it makes me chuckle.

During today’s lunch break, he was watching cat videos on YouTube until I called out to him, so he must really love cats.

Yoshizaki Yukito.

The boy with a somewhat timid-looking face ended up sitting next to me after the relatively early seat change.

Until recently, we had never really talked.

I originally didn’t have much interest in those around me, and since Yoshizaki was with the loud, outgoing group of classmates, I didn’t think about getting involved.

The change came a few days after the seating rearrangement.

During the break between classes, when I tried to take a nap by laying my head on the desk, Yoshizaki next to me came into my view.

I was somewhat curious about him wearing wireless earbuds and looking at his phone, so I quietly peeked at what he was doing.

What was displayed on the smartphone was a round, gray cat. That cat is yawning and rolling over on the floor.

–––Cu… … te.

For the first time, I was grateful that my facial muscles hardly worked.

If I saw it at home, I would definitely be screaming or groaning.

Perhaps because he is wearing earphones, Yoshizaki shows no sign of noticing that I am secretly watching him.

Just to be sure, I secretly lifted my gaze, and a gentle smile appeared on my face that had some kind of shadow. His eyes were usually wavering with a lack of confidence as he gently narrowed, and he was simply gazing at the cat with affection.

Honestly, I was quite surprised.

Because even when he was with the group he usually hung out with, he never once made that face. In a group with two childhood friends, who should be able to form close relationships unlike me, his expressions were still dark.

Upon reconsideration, it is indeed strange to think that someone as quiet as Yoshizaki was mixed in with such a flashy and noisy group. Before I knew it, Yoshizaki had stopped hanging out with those people and spent time alone, but it didn’t feel particularly strange.

Somehow, he had a friendly vibe, oh, Dai… what was it again? It was surprising that he was his childhood friend, considering he has a girlfriend but still persistently talks to other girls, including me. I often see him now with his messy bedhead and glasses, but it feels more natural to say he’s his childhood friend.

I love cats, but I probably have some difficulties with human relationships.

There’s something similar about us. In that way, I unusually became interested in others.

“Still, did I really have this much drive?”

A fleeting doubt turns into a whisper and falls.

Regardless of whether it’s people or things, if I’m not interested, I’m completely indifferent. However, once I’m drawn to something, I tend to become completely engrossed in it. This was something my father told me, and I hadn’t really been aware of it myself.

The reason I remembered that is because my recent behavior has been so uncharacteristic of me.

Unless it was something unusual, I had spoken to Yoshizaki many times. Even greetings I had never done with anyone in the class felt natural with Yoshizaki.

It was quite forceful, but we managed to exchange contact information.

No matter what others think or say, I will act as I please. That hasn’t changed since the past, and I have no intention of changing it.

…But I wasn’t the kind of person who could just jump into action like this.

“Hmm~…?”

Hugging a cream-colored cat-shaped cushion, I roll over and lie down on the bed.

The current expression might look almost unchanged with just a slight furrowing of the brows. Even my mom says it’s hard to tell, so this face has very little muscle activity.

I think I still look pretty serious even like this.

I wonder why I was able to be so forward with Yoshizaki.

Is it the instinct of a cat lover? Or maybe…

Knock knock.

“Ino, go take a bath first.”

“Yes~!”

I reply to Mom on the other side of the door.

The timing was good. It wouldn’t make sense to keep thinking about it like that.

I got out of bed to prepare for taking a bath.