Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 11: I\'ll give you a hug

Episode 11: I’ll give you a hug

After parting ways with Koga-san and exiting the train station, I ran into Maika Sakura unexpectedly.

It seemed she was on her way home from work, and since we lived in the same direction, we decided to walk home together.

“Hinata, were you out somewhere?”

“I was out eating cream puffs with Koga-san.”

“You seem close.”

Maika said, looking down. It felt like she had something on her mind, but I wondered if she was okay.

“Oh, by the way, my family is going out for dinner today, but how about having dinner together tomorrow? We could eat at my place or yours.”

“Sorry, I already have plans tomorrow evening.”

I had promised to have dinner with Koga-san earlier.

“Plans… with someone else? Is it… maybe Kubo-kun?”

“No, it’s not Asahi. It’s with Koga-san.”

Am I saying something I shouldn’t be saying? Maika’s tone seemed to darken as she looked up at me.

“…I see. It doesn’t matter. I was just wondering if you liked her.”

She raised her head and stared at my face intently, as if she wanted to hear my honest answer.

“I…”

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m asking. It doesn’t matter who Hinata likes, does it? Anyway, I’m home now, see you at school.”

She said, waving her hand, then hurriedly went inside her house.

(What’s wrong with Maika…)

***

At the beginning of the week, Asahi and I happened to walk to school together, and when we got off the train, we saw Koga-san and Maruyama-san waiting at the station’s ticket gate.

“What’s going on?”

It was surprising enough that Asahi was accompanying me, but I was also surprised that Koga-san and Maruyama-san were waiting for us.

Asahi glanced at me and raised his hand to wave at them.

“Hey, what a coincidence! Koga-san, Yuina.”

“Good morning, Asahi, Hinata!”

“Good morning, Kubo-kun. Good morning, Hinata.”

“Morning, Koga-san, Maruyama-san.”

It felt a bit strange, but I greeted them both.

“Let’s all go together. Right, Hinata?”

“…Sure, as long as you’re both okay with it.”

It felt… uneasy. It shouldn’t be because of overeating, my stomach wasn’t hurting.

“Yeah, let’s go! Right, Sa-chan?”

“Yeah, let’s go together.”

In the end, for some reason, the four of us ended up going to school together.

When we arrived at school, Maruyama-san came over with her smartphone.

“Hey, let’s exchange contact information. Sa-chan and Asahi already did it, but Hinata and I haven’t yet.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

“Thanks! Oh, let’s make a group chat for the four of us.”

After exchanging contact information with Maruyama-san, I wondered what Koga-san was doing, so I approached her as she sat in a chair.

“Exchanging contacts?”

(She looks sleepy…)

“Yeah, that’s right. Sa-chan invited you to the group later, so join us when you can.”

“I see…”

“Oh, Sa-chan mentioned that you went to see Nyannyann? I’m so jealous. I want to be comforted by cats too.”

Saying that, Maruyama-san hugged Koga-san. It seemed that Koga-san was her source of comfort.

“Hinata, come too… I’ll give you a hug. It’ll make you feel better.”

Saying so, Koga-san spread her arms wide. Maika smirked.

“You can’t just say that to a guy in front of others. You should say those things in private.”

“I see, I’ve learned something…”

Wait, is Maika misunderstanding something? It feels like I’m being embarrassed because I refused here.

“Hinata, shall we go somewhere private?”

“N-No, I’m good here.”

***

After school, Koga-san came straight to my house. Since I had promised to cook this time, today I would be making dinner for her.

Dad sent a message saying he would be home early, so I cooked dinner for three people.

I wanted to wait for Dad to come home, but if we waited, Koga-san would be late getting home, so we decided to eat first.

Tonight’s dinner was creamy gratin. After taking a bite, Koga-san put her right hand to her cheek and smiled happily.

“Mmm, this is delicious, creamy gratin. You said before that you couldn’t cook as well as me, but Hinata, you’re good at cooking.”

“Maybe… I learned how to make this creamy gratin from my grandma when I was little.”

“From your grandma… that’s lovely.”

Koga-san and I enjoyed dinner together, and after we finished eating, we heard the sound of the door opening.

“I’m home. Oh, it’s the guest Hinata mentioned, right?”

Dad smiled at Koga-san, who stood up from her chair.

“Nice

 to meet you, Mr. Hinata. I’m Sayo Koga. Thank you for having me.”

Dad bowed lightly and smiled.

“You don’t have to call me Mr. Hinata, just call me Shu. Nice to meet you, Koga-san.”

“Ah, okay. Thank you, Shu-san.”

“Yeah, take your time. Thanks for cooking dinner, Hinata.”

“Yeah… it’s in the kitchen.”

Dad thanked me again and went to wash his hands.

Koga-san said she would stay a little longer before going home. She washed the dishes, and then she sat on the sofa and wrote something in her notebook.

As I sat next to her, I tried to ask her what she was writing, but Koga-san looked up from her notebook.

“Thank you for dinner today, Hinata… the creamy gratin was delicious…”

I was mesmerized by her radiant angelic smile.

(I’ve often heard about angelic smiles, but those rumors are true.)

As I stared, she moved closer to me, opened her arms wide, and hugged me tightly.

“U-Um, Koga-san!?”

“It’s a thank-you for dinner… it’s okay to hug when there’s no one else around, right?”

“I-I didn’t say it’s okay!? That’s just what Maruyama-san said…”

“A hug, huh?”

“! I-It’s not that I don’t like it, but…”

As I conversed with Koga-san, we heard footsteps, and we quickly separated.

At that moment, I felt something touch my cheek briefly.

“What a nice smell today… what’s going on?”

Dad, who had come to the living room, noticed that Koga-san and I were sitting silently without doing anything.

“N-Nothing happened! Right, Koga-san?”

“Y-Yeah… we didn’t do anything, Shu-san.”

“R-Right…”

After I said I didn’t dislike it, what happened just now was an accident. I touched my cheek and thought so.