Aren’t You Too Sweet Salt-God Sato-San?

I let out a smile at her innocent reaction.

[It’s not good to say you’re not good at yourself, Because I’m sure there are people who like Sato-san]

[There isn’t]

[Yes, there are, definitely, lots of them.]

At least, there’s one here.

[I don’t need a lot of…….I just…]

Sato-san said that much, then closed her mouth with a pained expression.

In the silence, the faint sound of high school girls laughing seemed rather distant.

After a few moments of silence, Sato-san slowly opened her mouth and said,

[Next Saturday……]

[Yes?]

[Next Saturday.]

She repeated it again and took a deep breath.

Then she turned to me,

[I’m thinking of going out for ice cream rolls this Saturday, and I was wondering if Oshio-kun would like to come along.]

She said it quickly, her face fell, either from embarrassment or from the thought that she might be rejected.

It was an earnest request, not something you would expect from a friend.

Whether from anxiety or helplessness,her shoulders tremble little by little.

When I saw that, my chest tightened, but—–

[….. I’m sorry, I have qn errand to do that day.]

I don’t know what kind of face Sato-san had on at that time.

But one thing’s for sure……Her shoulders weren’t shaking anymore.

[But don’t worry, Sato-san can take such great pictures, even without my help.]

Even though I knew in my head that I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help but repeat the words.

Sato-san then lifted his head and smiled back at me somewhat weakly—–

[Ye….yes, I’m sorry. It was a little abrupt, wasn’t it?]

When I saw her smile dyed in the sunset color, I felt as if my heart was being crushed.

Seeing that smile…..

I’m not sure if she knew how I felt or not, but she stood up from the bench and said,

[Thank you for today, Oshio-kun. Then, Should we go back?]

In the sunlight, she looks back at me as if dancing.

The way she looked back at me, dancing in the sun, was terribly beautiful, terribly fragile, and……somewhat sad.

Saturday

It was around five o’clock in the evening, and I had finally finished all my cafe’s work for the day.

[Finally I’m done cleaning up…….Dad, do you want some tea?]

I asked as I took off my apron, but there was no answer.

Thinking that it was a little strange, I looked over and saw father in the kitchen, using his abdominal muscles to emphasize his strong lower body.

I wondered if he meant…..he want?

Oh well, I’ll get him one anyway.

I started to make tea.

It’s been five days since the day I went to Tea Pearl with Sato-san.

Since then, Sato-san and I haven’t spoken a word.

As if Mine uproar of that day was a lie, Sato-san returned back to her usual “salty Sato-san”.

Like an untouchable flower…… naturally, I wasn’t an exception.

How did it turn out? I didn’t know.

But sure enough, I think the reason lies in our last conversation.

———I’m thinking of going out for ice cream rolls this Saturday! If you don’t mind, Oshio-kun, would you come with me?

The words she desperately said out reappeared in my mind.

What was the right answer for me at that time?

……..No, maybe there was no right answer in the first place.

It wasn’t like she couldn’t take a picture even if she was alone.

Thinking that my refusal of Sato-san’s invitation had changed her might have been a huge mistake.

I’m sure she’ll continue to act like the “salty Sato-san” at school as she did before, but on weekends she’ll go to trendy cafes and keep taking pictures.

Given her lack of photographic sense, she will probably have a hard time at first, but after a few times she will gradually improve.

Then one day she will upload the photo to Minsta, her classmates who see it will change their perception of Sato-san and will become friends with her………

See, there’s nothing wrong with that.

……..The only one who has a problem with that is me.

[……………]

I thought about it while steaming the tea leaves.

Sato-san is cute.

The more I learn about her, the more I realize how attractive she is, not only for her face, but also for the way she smiles sometimes, her surprisingly childish smile, and her small gestures.

I’m sure she’ll make lots of friends and be very popular as long as she can get rid of the disgraceful title of “Salt-god Sato-san”.

For example, she might also be confessed by the fresh and handsome members of the soccer club or basketball club.

………Imagining all of that, my chest pained.

I’m such an idiot.

As I thought about it, Ipulled my phone out of my pocket, launched the Minsta app, and opened that page I’ve seen hundreds of times.

——-It was Sato koharu Minsta account, which she had registered “that night”.

She had zero followers and 0 total number of photos posted.

It’s a brand new account without even a profile picture set up.

………..She probably didn’t know that when she created her account, it would automatically notify her MINE friends.

Today, the total number of photos posted is still zero.

[Haha…]

I couldn’t help but laugh dryly at my own timidity.

I can’t believe I’m relieved to see that no photos have been posted today………

I can’t help it, I can’t help it.

As I gave myself excuses, I made myself a cup of tea and headed down to the terrace to wait for my dad—–

[Muscles are crying.]

Father, who sat deep in the Garden chair, said something that didn’t make sense

[What?]

I couldn’t help but let out a simple reaction.

What are you saying, this muscular durama.

[……What about muscle?]

[I already told you, Muscles are crying.]

[I didn’t understand the point of going through circles.]

Tou-san sipped from his teacup with graceful gestures.

…..hey, stop drinking and answer me.

[Souta, since Sakiko…….Since your mother passed away, I’ve been protecting this cafe tutuji and Sota with my own hands. Both of them are irreplaceable and precious things left by your mother.]

[I’m really grateful for that, but why are you talking about it now?]

[There’s nothing I don’t know about this Cafe and Sota.]

[What are you trying to say?]

[Sota, you’re about to give up the girl you love for me and this cafe tutuji, right?]

[………..]

I shut my mouth tightly however that reaction affirmed it.

[Why did you…..]

[Fufu, I can understand just by looking at your face. I’ve seen Souta’s face more than I’ve seen pancakes]

Even if it might a lie, he knows his son best.

[It can’t be helped.]

Anyway,it’s useless to keep it away from Tou-san. I feel relieved and started talking,

[Cafe tutuji is good for customers, but not enough that it can afford to hire employee. I know that much.]

I’ve grown up in this Cafe tutuji since I was born, just looking at the concrete number is enough to tell me about the situation.

[I know father won’t tell me this, but for example If I were to go out on a date with a girl I’m interested in on the weekend, he’ll be in trouble. I know that much]

That’s right, that was the reason to refuse Sato-san’s invitation.

Cafe tutuji can’t afford to hire a part-time worker.

That’s why and most importantly, if I leave this place on weekends and leave my dad alone, the store will not be able to function well.

I didn’t feel comfortable blaming my dad, so I didn’t tell Sato-san the reason…

[There is nothing I can do about this, Cafe tutuji is also an important place for me. Thanks to the promotion at Minsta, It’s on track now, but I can’t do that]

This was my true and honest feeling.

Of course I like Sato-san. But I love this place just as much.

Father listened to me quietly as he rolled the tea in the mouth.

After a while, he poured the tea down his throat and slowly opened his mouth to say——-

[That was back in college when I was in the sweets club together with like minded members.]

[what are you saying suddenly?]

[Shut up and listen.]

He rebuked me and I had no choice but to listen to him.

He coughed, and then resumed his story.

[The Sweets Club was a small group of four guys who worked together in a very peaceful way, we were captivated by sweetness and calories.]

That’s a great club.

I was tempted to complain aloud, but my father was unusually sincere, so I decided to keep quiet.

[But a turning point came when your father was a 3rd year student, someone called “Muscle lord” who had been expelled from the football club, asked to join the club.]

[I’m curious about that nickname, but……expelled from the football team? Why?]

[It seems that that person was hiddenly putting protein on the drinks of the members stealthily]

Why is that!?