After I Started Living Alone, My Place Turned Into a Hangout Spot for Beautiful Girls

Chapter 14: Outing (Part 2.5)

At a run-of-the-mill sports store, I was in a bind.

Shizuru Mizutani came at me holding a tiny, boomerang-shaped competitive swimsuit, as if to say, ‘This would look great on you, wouldn’t it?’

The thing barely covered the essentials, and for some people, it’d probably leave a lot hanging out.

I had no interest in showing off like that, and I desperately wanted to avoid trying it on, but Shizuru was way too enthusiastic.

“Hehe, girls can be pretty pervy too, you know?” she said.

Yeah, she’s hopeless.

Shizuru seemed like the type who’d cheer with glee if something slipped out, rather than being grossed out.

With no other choice, I turned to Sakuya Ieyiri for help.

‘You don’t want to see me in a skimpy swimsuit, right? You’d probably tell me to keep it covered, wouldn’t you?’

I stared into Sakuya’s eyes, hoping she’d get the message, but it didn’t get through.

“You saw Shizuru’s swimsuit, didn’t you? Isn’t it only fair that you give her some fanservice too?” she said.

“You’re against me too…?” I groaned.

“Come on, just give in already!” Shizuru chimed in.

Both of them were ganging up to embarrass me.

There was no one here to save me.

“Fine, I get it. But if it looks too bad, I’m not showing you!” I declared.

I steeled myself and decided to try on the skimpy boomerang-shaped swimsuit, vowing not to show them if it was too embarrassing.

As I headed to the fitting room, Shizuru handed me something.

“Here, inner shorts! You can’t try it on directly, you know?” she said.

“Why do you even have these…?” I asked.

I’d planned to wear the swimsuit over my boxers, but Shizuru handed me a pair of inner shorts meant to be worn under swimsuits to prevent transparency.

And the inner shorts she gave me were the normal type, with almost as little fabric as the boomerang swimsuit itself.

“Hehe, Sakuya was like, ‘He’s probably just gonna wear it over his boxers, so it won’t be that revealing,’” Shizuru explained.

Shizuru was kind of scary.

Was she really going this far just to humiliate me?

“I’ll try it on, but if it’s too much, I’m not showing you, okay?” I said.

With inner shorts specially prepared for me, bailing out now would just make things awkward.

I braced myself, took the boomerang swimsuit and inner shorts, and closed the fitting room curtain.

I took off my pants and boxers, put on the inner shorts, and then slipped into the skimpy boomerang swimsuit.

Then, I opened the curtain to show Shizuru.

“Hehe, nice, nice! That’s super sexy!” she exclaimed.

Shizuru was practically snorting with excitement at the sight of me in the boomerang swimsuit.

Being gawked at like that was honestly pretty embarrassing…

I’d shown them, so I could close the curtain now, right?

I tried to escape by shutting it, but Shizuru whipped out her phone.

“Hey, can I take a picture?” she asked.

I thought Sakuya might stop her, but…

“It’s true, you’d want to capture this. Shame it’s Teruaki’s face, though,” Sakuya said.

Even Sakuya was weirdly into it.

I gave them a wry smile, as if to say, ‘Do whatever you want.’

They must have taken it as permission.

The unexpectedly pervy girls started snapping photos of me in the skimpy swimsuit.

Feeling a bit exasperated, I overheard Sakuya casually ask Shizuru, “By the way, when did you even get inner shorts for Teruaki?”

“Huh? The ones he’s wearing are mine,” Shizuru said.

“…Oh, really?” Sakuya replied.

Sakuya’s cheek twitched awkwardly.

Wait, was I wearing Shizuru’s inner shorts?

I was just as shocked as Sakuya by this bombshell when…

“Hahaha! Kidding! I bought those when I slipped away to the bathroom earlier. Come on, even I wouldn’t lend a guy my shorts. You two are so gullible, it’s adorable!” Shizuru said.

Sakuya and I, stunned like deer in headlights, had fallen for her prank.

Shizuru laughed gleefully at our reactions.

—

Chapter 15: Outing, Part 3 → Takoyaki Party

The cool evening air brushed against my cheeks.

As the streetlights began to flicker on, our outing was drawing to a close.

“Man, today was so much fun!” Shizuru Mizutani said.

On the way to the station, Shizuru, who was already one of the most energetic among us, spoke as if she still had plenty of energy to spare.

“Yeah, I had a really great time today,” Sakuya Ieyiri added. “I mean, I don’t mean to speak badly of my usual group, but they’re pretty quiet, right?”

Sakuya’s usual friends were on the reserved side.

Maybe that’s why hanging out with Shizuru, whose vibrant, high-energy aura was almost blinding, felt so refreshing for her.

“And you, Teruaki? Did you have fun?” Shizuru asked.

The question caught me off guard.

With a smile tugging at my lips, I let out, “I had a blast. You made me laugh a ton, Shizuru.”

“Ugh, I wasn’t too much, was I? You know how I get all hyped up and kinda lose track of what’s around me…” Shizuru said, fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

I gave her a casual grin.

“Not at all, you’re good,” I said.

*Not annoying. Cute. Fun.* That’s what I meant, but it came out sounding a bit cooler than intended, which was kind of embarrassing.

But my worry was unnecessary.

Shizuru flashed a toothy grin. “Hehe, thanks!”

I couldn’t help but think whoever gets to be her boyfriend and see that smile all the time will be one lucky guy.

Man, at this rate, I might actually fall for her.

“Oh, right,” I said. “I should give you back the swimsuit from my backpack.”

I’d been carrying her swimsuit bag since it’d be a hassle for her to hold it, so I pulled it out of my backpack and handed it over.

“You even thought to bring a backpack for our stuff? Not bad, Teruaki,” Shizuru said.

“Right?” I replied.

“I’m the one who told him to bring it,” Sakuya cut in. “I said, ‘We’ll probably have a lot of stuff, so you better bring a backpack.’”

“Don’t spill that! I was trying to score some points with Shizuru!” I groaned.

Our fun conversation carried us to the station in no time.

It was time to wrap up the day.

I was feeling sentimental about how fulfilling it had been when Sakuya spoke up.

“Hey, Shizuru, since we’re here, how about karaoke next?” she suggested.

She must have enjoyed the outing so much that she wasn’t ready to stop.

“Sorry! I bought those inner shorts for Teruaki and treated you guys at the café, so I’m kinda tapped out for today,” Shizuru said.

She’d already splurged on a swimsuit, and with the extra expenses piling up, Shizuru seemed reluctant to spend more.

“…I see,” Sakuya said.

It was rare to see Sakuya look so disappointed.

She must really click with Shizuru.

Alright, time for me to step up.

“If you two still want to hang out, why don’t you come to my place for some tea?” I offered.

Going out might be tough, but hanging out at home wouldn’t cost anything.

I invited them over with a playful, carefree vibe.

“Ugh, if Teruaki insists, I guess I have no choice,” Shizuru said.

“Honestly, Teruaki, you’re such a clingy guy,” Sakuya added.

They acted like they were only coming because I insisted.

Come on, that’s not fair…

I only suggested it because they clearly wanted to keep hanging out!

Also, I said tea, but by the time we’d get to my place, it’d be about dinnertime.

“Since we’re doing this, how about a takoyaki party?” I suggested.

Since Mom was from Kansai, we had a takoyaki grill at home.

It was the perfect time for dinner, so I threw out the idea of making takoyaki.

“Let’s do it!” Shizuru exclaimed.

She was totally on board.

But her excitement quickly turned to a frown.

“But I might not have enough for ingredients… I mean, I’ve got some money left, but I’m saving it to hang out with other friends later…”

Shizuru was such a good person.

I reassured her, “I’ve got the ingredients covered, obviously.”

Today was so much fun because of Shizuru.

I had to pay her back, right?

※

We bought takoyaki ingredients and headed to my place.

As I was setting up the gas-powered takoyaki grill, Shizuru asked nervously, “Hey, does takoyaki splatter oil when you cook it?”

Maybe because of a certain famous chain, some people think takoyaki involves a lot of oil splattering.

Shizuru seemed to be one of them.

“The silver ones use a ton of oil, but regular takoyaki doesn’t need that much, so it doesn’t splatter,” I explained.

“Oh, really?” she said.

“Well, it might splatter a little,” I admitted.

“Ugh, it does splatter, doesn’t it?” she groaned.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“This outfit’s one of my favorites… I’d hate for it to get oil stains. Oh, sorry, I’m being picky,” she apologized.

As Shizuru and I talked, Sakuya, who was cutting the octopus, paused.

“If that’s the case, let’s find some clothes that are okay to get dirty,” she said.

“Where?” Shizuru asked.

“Teruaki’s room. That’s fine, right?” Sakuya said, looking at me.

“Yeah, sure. Use whatever you find,” I replied.

“That’s what he says. Let’s go,” Sakuya said.

Sakuya and Shizuru went to my room to look for clothes.

Should I go with them?

Nah, it’s probably fine.

“Now, where’d I put the gas canister?” I muttered.

I looked for the gas canister for the takoyaki grill.

I found it, but…

“I should buy a new one,” I decided.

The canister was running low.

I figured I’d let them know I was heading to the convenience store for a new one.

I climbed the stairs to my room.

“I’m just gonna run to the convenience store,” I called out.

As I opened the door to my room without knocking, I instantly regretted it.

Because in my room…

“T-T-Teruaki!?” Shizuru yelped.

“Why’d you barge in like that!?” Sakuya shouted.

Shizuru and Sakuya were in the middle of changing from their stylish outing clothes into something suitable for a takoyaki party.

And the timing couldn’t have been worse—they were both in their underwear.

“S-Sorry!” I stammered.

I rushed out and decided to wait in the hallway to apologize.

After a few minutes, they came out, looking awkward.

“Just so you know, I’m not mad,” Sakuya said. “It’s our fault for changing without locking the door.”

“Yeah, like Sakuya said,” Shizuru added.

“And, well, we had fun making you wear that skimpy swimsuit at the sports store. So we’re not exactly in a position to complain about you seeing us in our underwear,” Sakuya said.

“…Yeah,” Shizuru agreed.

They didn’t come down hard on me, probably because they’d teased me with that revealing swimsuit earlier.

“Still, I’m really sorry!” I said.

They must have been embarrassed.

I bowed deeply in apology.