Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 20: Wall Slam from Her

Episode 20: A Surprise Kabedon from Her

On the day of our cat café date, the meeting time is 10:00 AM and the meeting place is in front of the station. Since the morning, I’ve been obsessing over what clothes to wear, standing in front of the mirror, fixing my hair and grooming myself.

The night before, I had been studying online about what not to do on a date and the basics of dating, trying to learn as much as I could.

I’ve never been on a date before, so I have no experience. If I mess up on my first date, it will become a memory I’d rather forget. That’s something I want to avoid at all costs.

After finishing my check in front of the mirror, my mom came out of the kitchen and started talking to me.

“What’s going on? Are you going on a date?”

It wasn’t hard for her to guess that I wasn’t dressed to hang out with my guy friends, so she immediately figured out that I was going out with a girl. Well, it’s not like I was trying to hide it anyway.

“I’m going to a cat café with Koga-san.”

“Oh, how youthful. If possible, bring her home with you for dinner. I’d love to have her join us.”

“Yeah, got it. I’ll ask her.”

I haven’t asked her yet, but I’m sure she’ll smile and nod if I invite her to dinner.

“Hinata, do your best on your date. And don’t forget to bring her home.”

(Bring her home, huh…)

If we end up having dinner together, that’s when I’ll tell my mom that we’re dating.

Determined not to forget to invite her to dinner after our date, I decided it was time to leave the house.

The weather is clear. Even though the date is indoors, good weather is always preferable.

When I arrived at the station 30 minutes before our meeting time, Sayo was already waiting.

Panicking, I ran towards her, thinking I had gotten the time wrong.

“Sorry, have you been waiting long?”

After taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I apologized, and Sayo shook her head.

“No, I was just early. Good morning, Hinata.”

“Good morning, Sayo.”

Relieved that I wasn’t late, I greeted her back.

After the greeting, I took in her cute outfit.

She was wearing a black long-sleeved dress with a ribbon on her chest, layered with a beige cardigan.

(She’s so cute…)

As I stared at her, Sayo giggled softly and, despite the people around us, hugged me.

“Hinata, you look so cool… I like you so much.”

“! Uh, thanks… But, um, here is… a bit…”

“Oh, sorry… I forgot about everyone around us.”

Sayo quickly let go of me.

“You look cute, Sayo. Your outfit really suits you.”

“C-cute…!”

I said it so straightforwardly that I started to feel embarrassed afterward. Meanwhile, Sayo’s face turned bright red.

It’s only been a few minutes since we met, and it’s already like this… Will we last until the end of the day?

“Hinata, let’s take a picture to commemorate our first date!”

“Good idea, let’s take one.”

I realized that I’ve never taken a picture with Sayo before. So, we don’t have any photos together.

“Alright, look over here. I’m taking it in 3, 2, 1.”

We took several selfies, and then checked the photos.

I thought my expressions would be awkward since I’m not used to taking pictures, but they came out looking good.

(There’s an angel standing next to me in these photos…)

“I’ll send the pictures to you, Hinata.”

“Thanks.”

“Let’s go then. We’ll take the train two stations ahead to the shopping mall.”

The shopping mall with the cat café is one station away from Sayo’s closest station. And we’re currently at my closest station. Even though we could have just met on the same train, Sayo came to my station.

When I asked her why she came to my station, she said, “I have a pass for this section, so it’s free, and I get to spend more time with you,” which made me really happy.

On the train, we held hands tightly so we wouldn’t get separated and arrived at our destination station. From there, it was a three-minute walk to the shopping mall.

“I can’t wait to meet the cats. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep last night!”

“Is that going to be okay…?”

Sayo sometimes gets sleepy if she doesn’t get enough quality sleep. I was also too excited to sleep well, so I was a bit worried.

As we entered the mall and headed for the cat café on the third floor, we didn’t make much progress because we kept stopping.

“Something smells good… This is custard!”

Noticing a stall selling taiyaki, Sayo’s eyes sparkled as she approached the shop, but then she quickly returned to me.

“Don’t you want to eat something? It looks really good.”

Even though it’s before lunch, if she’s hungry, she should eat something.

“Sometimes you have to resist… I’m on a diet… but, maybe I should…”

Hmm, I wondered before too, but what is “diet”? Is that a word?

“Sayo, why don’t we share one? What do you think?”

“That’s a great idea! They have custard, red bean paste, and chocolate. Which one do you want?”

If she were eating alone, she’d definitely choose custard. But since I’m eating too, she asked for my preference.

“Let’s go with custard.”

“Are you sure about chocolate?”

“Yeah, today I’m in the mood for custard.”

“Me too, I’m in the mood for custard.”

Sayo and I looked at each other and smiled. As we smiled at each other, nearby voices caught our attention.

“That girl’s an angel, isn’t she? She’s so cute.”

“She really is. But she has a boyfriend, so I can’t approach her.”

“Hey, what are you looking at? Don’t stare at other girls.”

“What? No, I wasn’t…”

Hearing the murmurs around us, Sayo seemed to notice too and started to worry about her outfit.

“Am I dressed weirdly?”

“No, not at all.”

(It’s probably because Sayo is just too cute.)

I didn’t like how people were staring at her.

Feeling an intense urge to keep her to myself, I took her hand and led her to buy the taiyaki.

We split the cost, bought the taiyaki, and divided it in half, sharing one between us.

“Mmm, it’s delicious!”

Sayo happily devoured her half in no time.

As I was eating mine slowly, Sayo noticed something, stood in front of me as I leaned against the wall, and placed one hand on the wall.

“S-Sayo!?”

Her unexpected move left me frozen, still holding the taiyaki.

(Is this what they call a kabedon?)

“I felt everyone’s eyes on us, so I’m protecting you… Hinata, you’re too handsome, so everyone’s looking at you.”

(No… I think everyone’s looking at Sayo, not me…)

“Just keep eating your taiyaki, Hinata.”

Well, with Sayo this close, I can’t eat it…