Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 18: Starting to Want a Hug

Episode 18: I Want a Hug

The next day during lunch break, as usual, the group (Kawai, Koga, Asahi, and Maruyama) was about to eat in the classroom when Shiina came over with her lunchbox.

“Can I join you?”

“Ah, Akari-chan! Of course, you can!”

Maruyama was the first to react, welcoming her warmly. The rest of us also welcomed Shiina, and she sat between me and Maruyama.

“Sorry for the suddenness. The friends I usually eat with couldn’t join me today.”

As Shiina said this, Koga, who was eating her lunch beside me, spoke up.

“It’s fine, Shiina-san. It’s more fun to eat with a lot of people.”

“Thank you, Koga-san.”

Shiina opened her lunchbox and started eating a bit later than the rest of us. Koga, sitting beside her, was staring at her lunch with sparkling eyes.

(Does she want to eat it? Shiina-san’s lunch does look delicious.)

As I glanced at her lunch, Shiina noticed and asked me,

“Kawai-kun, is there something you want to eat?”

It wasn’t me who was craving it, but Koga next to me, so I shook my head.

“No, I was just thinking it looks delicious. Did you make it yourself, Shiina-san?”

“Yes, I made it myself. Koga-san’s lunch looks homemade too. It looks really good.”

Shiina noticed Koga’s gaze and smiled warmly.

“Thank you… Shiina-san, that’s so cute…”

Koga was probably referring to the octopus-shaped sausages.

“Oh, this little octopus? Do you want to try it?”

“Yes, I do.”

Apparently, there was no option for Koga to refuse, so Shiina fed her the octopus sausage.

“In return.”

“Thank you!”

This time, Koga fed Shiina a piece of her omelet.

Given where I was sitting, I couldn’t help but feel awkward with them feeding each other right in front of me. I should have changed seats.

“By the way, you two are dating, but you don’t eat together?”

Maruyama seemed puzzled because despite being a couple, we still ate with our friends.

Koga looked at me before answering her question.

“I value my time with friends too… I want to eat with everyone.”

I shared the same sentiment. While time with my girlfriend was important, I also treasured time with my friends.

“Saa-chan, I love you, you’re too cute!”

Maruyama tried to hug Koga but was stopped by Asahi because of the distance.

—

After school, we planned to have dinner at my place, so I invited Koga over.

I had already informed my mom via message that Koga was coming. My mom, who was working late today, was quite disappointed that she wouldn’t get to meet Koga.

Since my mom would be home late, we decided to stop by the supermarket to pick up some ingredients for dinner.

“Koga-san, can we stop by the supermarket? I need to buy some things for dinner.”

“Sure. What are you making today?”

“Potato salad, and I’ll make something else with whatever we have at home. So I only need to buy potatoes.”

“I love potato salad. I’ll help you with the cooking.”

“Thank you.”

We went into the supermarket, bought the potatoes, and headed home.

As we walked, Koga clung to me more than usual. She kept glancing at my hand, which made me think she wanted to hold hands. 

Even though I wasn’t entirely sure, I decided to take a chance and gently took her hand in mine.

“Koga-san, can we stay like this until we get home?”

When I asked, Koga looked delighted and asked me a surprising question.

“K-Kawai-kun, can you read my mind?”

“No, I can’t.”

“Then how did you know I wanted to hold hands with you?”

“Your expression was quite clear.”

“Hau…”

“Koga-san!?”

She suddenly leaned towards me, making me worry. Her face and ears were bright red from embarrassment, and she looked down for a while before slowly raising her head and looking up at me with puppy eyes.

“Can we… hold hands like a couple?”

Her beautiful eyes made my heart race and my body heat up.

(That puppy-eyed look is unfair…)

“Sure.”

I intertwined our fingers and held her hand tightly. It felt different from just holding hands normally.

“Kawai-kun’s hand is warm. It’s bigger than mine… I feel like I want a hug… Ah.”

She hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud and blushed even more.

“F-Forget I said that!”

“Should I really forget it?”

“Mmm, no, don’t forget. I want to hug you, Kawai-kun.”

“Okay, but let’s wait until we get home.”

“Yeah, I’ll hold out until then!”

She made a fist to show her determination, looking adorable.

—

“O-Okay, I’ll come in…”

Koga was visibly nervous as she entered my house.

She excused herself to use the washroom, and while she was gone, I went to the kitchen to put the potatoes away and check what else we had for dinner.

(I could make ginger teriyaki chicken…)

As I closed the refrigerator door, Koga suddenly hugged me from behind.

“You surprised me…”

Koga sometimes sneaks up on me. Will there ever be a day she doesn’t startle me?

“I don’t have to hold back anymore, right?”

“Y-Yeah, no one’s around.”

Lately, I’ve noticed that the distance between Koga and me has decreased significantly since we started dating. She doesn’t hesitate to be close anymore.

“The kitchen is cramped. Let’s go to the living room.”

She whispered softly and took my hand, leading me to the living room.

Even though it was just for a hug, I felt incredibly nervous.

We moved to the living room and sat on the sofa. She spread her arms and hugged me.

“Hey, Kawai-kun… If there’s anything you want to do, just tell me, okay?”

Saying “anything” might be dangerous for a guy, but I remembered something I’ve wanted to do.

“Actually, now that we’re dating, there is something I’d like to do.”