After I Started Living Alone, My Place Turned Into a Hangout Spot for Beautiful Girls - Chapter 2: Shizuru Mizutani (Part 2)

Chapter 2: Shizuru Mizutani (Part 2)

I was Teruaki Ieyiri, 17 years old.

Just moments ago, I received a message from a classmate: “Hey, hey, can I come over to your place after club activities today?”

When a cute girl asked if she could come over, it was only natural to feel a bit of anticipation.

Could it be that Shizuru Mizutani liked me?

Well, probably not.

After all, I had no memory of being closer than just classmates with Mizutani-san.

But despite that, another message arrived, stirring faint hopes in me.

“I’d love to use your shower~!”

Wasn’t it a bit too carefree for a classmate (a guy) to have a girl want to take a shower at his place?

I started overthinking, but then I snapped back to reality.

“Am I just being toyed with?”

Mizutani-san was messing with me for fun.

Fully convinced, I typed a reply to Mizutani-san.

“The address is here, and it’s the house with a black delivery box by the front door!”

She probably wouldn’t show up anyway.

I casually gave her my address and house details, but…

“Is this Teruaki-kun’s house?”

She came to my house.

Who?

None other than Mizutani-san.

With my eyes wide open, I called out to Mizutani-san, who was waving at me from the front door as if saying “Yahoo~!”

“…W-Why are you at my house?”

“I said I was coming, didn’t I?”

“Y-Yeah, you did.”

No, no, wasn’t it normal to assume it was a joke?

Who would think a high school girl would casually come to a high school boy’s house?

“Is it okay if I come in?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

“Then, I’ll make myself at home~!”

Mizutani-san energetically stepped into my house.

As she passed by, a faint citrusy scent from her deodorant spray tickled my nose.

Feeling a jolt, I handed her guest slippers and asked:

“Y-You wanted to use the shower, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I sweat a lot, so I’m self-conscious about it. You know, like, I don’t smell bad on the train, right?”

“So that’s why you want to shower at my place.”

“Yup, exactly. So, can I really borrow it?”

Was it okay for her to trust a high school boy like me so much?

No, Mizutani-san was a cheerful type.

Maybe I was overthinking, and this was just normal for someone as outgoing as her.

Even in recent rom-com manga, heroines casually borrow the protagonist’s shower even when they barely know each other.

This was probably just a normal thing, and acting all flustered in front of Mizutani-san would definitely be a bad move.

Pretending to be calm, I spoke to Mizutani-san with a cool attitude.

“Yeah, you lent me money. I gotta return the favor at least this much.”

“You get it, Teruaki-kun~!”

“Right? I can lend you a towel if you don’t have one…”

“Then I’ll borrow one.”

“Got it. Hold on a sec…”

I prepared a towel for Mizutani-san.

Then, I handed it to her and showed her to the bathroom.

“This is my house’s bathroom. Even since I started living alone, I’ve been told to record videos of the house and send them, so I clean it properly. It’s pretty spotless, I think.”

“Thanks.”

“The changing room has a lock, so don’t forget to use it.”

“Got it~!”

With that, I left the changing room connected to the bathroom.

As I started walking toward the living room, Mizutani-san poked her head out cutely from the changing room.

With a cheeky grin, she teased me.

“Oh, by the way, Mr. Wholesome High School Boy, don’t peek at my shower scene, okay~?”

Mizutani-san, with her bob haircut suiting her perfectly, was quite the tease.

Completely caught off guard, I felt my cheeks flush slightly.

“I-I won’t!”

My voice betrayed my nervousness.

Mizutani-san, finding it amusing, laughed and closed the changing room door.

※

My classmate Mizutani-san was taking a shower at my house.

For a teenage boy like me, this was pretty intense, and my heart had been pounding ever since.

Tormented by an uncontrollable restlessness, I realized quite some time had passed.

“Oh, there you are. I was looking for you, wondering where to go after my shower~!”

Mizutani-san, her hair still slightly damp, appeared in the living room.

“Sorry about that.”

“This is the place! I opened a bunch of doors looking for you, sorry about that. By the way, it’s awesome that your house is so close to school~!”

“That’s the main reason I chose Tamarida High School. But man, I was shocked you actually asked to borrow my shower.”

“Haha… So, the other day on the train, the person in front of me was holding a handkerchief over their mouth or nose. Since then, I’ve been paranoid, like, ‘Do I smell!?’ It’s made me super conscious about odors, and I’ve been going through deodorant spray and sweat wipes like crazy…”

Listening to Mizutani-san’s passionate explanation, I understood.

She couldn’t ignore her concern.

That’s why she decided to shower at my place.

“You saved me from a future of starvation, so feel free to use the shower anytime.”

“Oh, for sure. I’ll pay for the utilities, though!”

“You don’t have to…”

“No, no, it’s not good to skip out on stuff like that. How much is one shower, anyway…?”

I looked up the cost of a shower on my phone.

According to the AI that often popped up at the top of search results, a 10-minute shower cost about 46 to 72 yen.

This AI often mixed in false info, but this time it was probably close enough.

“It says about 46 to 72 yen for 10 minutes.”

“Then, is 70 yen okay?”

“Nah, 50 yen’s fine.”

“Alright, I’ll go with that.”

“Oh, why don’t you sit instead of standing?”

I patted the sofa, suggesting Mizutani-san take a seat.

“I don’t want to overstay, so I’ll head out.”

“No need to rush. Stay until you’ve cooled off.”

“Well, then, just a bit longer.”

Mizutani-san sat on the sofa.

Her faint soap scent made my heart skip a beat.

Feeling embarrassed that she might notice my nervousness, I quickly started small talk to hide it.

“One shower’s 50 yen, but are you okay with money?”

“I’m fine. I get an extra 1,500 yen a month for sweat-related stuff. Oh, and I’d like to borrow your shower on club days—Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. That cool?”

“Yeah, probably fine. Just shoot me a message when you’re coming.”

“Got it!”

We wrapped up one topic.

Before silence could make things awkward, I was about to bring up something else when Mizutani-san asked me a question.

“Are you enjoying living alone, Teruaki-kun?”

“Surprisingly, not really… I have to cook for myself, and I’m forced to clean since I’m not allowed to let the house get messy… Honestly, living with my family was way easier.”

“Wow, really?”

“And seriously, thank you so much for lending me the money.”

I bowed my head again.

Seeing me, Mizutani-san asked with a wry smile:

“Couldn’t you ask your parents?”

“I could. But they originally wanted to take me overseas, and I begged to stay in Japan. If they find out I’m not living properly, they’ll drag me abroad, saying I can’t be left alone.”

“Sounds tough. Well, I’ve cooled off, so I guess I’ll head out.”

With that, Mizutani-san stood up from the sofa.