Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 33: The Sudden Visit

Chapter 33: The Sudden Visit

At 11 PM, I realized it had gotten this late while chatting away. Saya, who was sitting next to me, was dozing off and looked sleepy.

I was also exhausted from playing at the pool today and felt ready to sleep. It was time to go to bed.

“Saya, let’s sleep soon.”

When I called out to her, she murmured, “Mmm.” Just that single sound didn’t confirm if she was responding or not.

After a while, Saya slowly stood up and took my hand.

“The bed is big, so let’s sleep together.”

“Huh, together…?”

I couldn’t refuse as she led me to her bedroom.

Well, it looked like a one-person bed, though. It was wider than I expected, but still.

Saya released my hand, lay down on the bed, and patted the space beside her for me to join. Was she asking me to sleep next to her?

(It’s okay to sleep… right?)

I thought I’d be too nervous to sleep in the same bed, but sleepiness overwhelmed me, and I ended up falling asleep beside her.

I woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. It took a moment for me to remember that I was staying over at Saya’s house.

I had thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep beside her, but I had managed to fall into a deep sleep.

I assumed Saya was still asleep, so I turned to check, and our eyes met.

“Good morning, Hinata.”

“! G-Good morning…”

She was so close that I was startled and felt my heart race.

As we stared at each other for a moment, Saya took my hand and pressed her lips against mine.

She kissed me, then pulled away only to kiss me again, before hugging me tightly.

(This is bad…)

“S-Saya, can you back up a little?”

“Why? I want to stay like this.”

Saya showed no intention of moving away, and while I was thinking about what to do, I heard a sound of a door opening.

“Huh, who’s that?”

Saya was supposed to be living alone. The only person who could come in was her. Did she forget to lock the door yesterday, and someone came in?

Saya and I sat up and looked at each other.

“Did you lock the door yesterday?”
“I locked it. If someone could get in…”

Before she could finish, the bedroom door opened.

A man walked in, and the moment he saw how close Saya and I were and that we were both in our pajamas, he opened his mouth.

“Um, am I interrupting something?”

“Dad…?”

(Huh, is that Saya’s dad!?)

I felt relieved to see that the man was Saya’s father, but the situation was still awkward. We hadn’t even properly greeted him yet.

Although I was in my pajamas, I thought I should at least greet him. I got out of bed and bowed my head.

“Um, nice to meet you. I’m Hinata Kawai, and I’m dating Saya.”

My voice trembled with nervousness, but Saya’s dad smiled kindly.

“So, you must be Kawai-kun. Saya has told me about you. Thank you for being close to my daughter. I’m Souma Koga.”

I had expected him to be more intimidating, but Souma was gentle-looking.

“Why are you here so early, Dad…?”
“I sent a message to Saya, but I’m sorry for dropping by unexpectedly. I could only come at this time.”

He put the key he was holding into his pocket.

I see, so he also had a key to this place, which is how he got in.

“Um, was there something you needed? I sent all of Saya’s necessary documents home, including her report card.”

Saya spoke in a smaller voice than usual. She seemed anxious.

“I know. I confirmed that I received everything. I don’t have a particular reason to be here. I just wanted to check on Saya, but it seems I’ve come at a bad time.”

He must have thought he was interrupting our moment.

“Good to see you, Saya. It looks like you have a special someone now. Kawai-kun, I’m counting on you to take care of my daughter.”

“Y-Yes.”

“Well, I’ve seen my daughter looking lively today, and I got to meet her boyfriend. I think I’ll be heading home now. I’ll come by again.”

Souma gently ruffled Saya’s hair. When I do that, she usually gives a happy, relaxed smile, but Saya’s expression remained stiff.

(Saya doesn’t seem nervous just because she’s seeing her dad for the first time in a while.)

As he took his hand away, Souma left the room. The sound of the door shutting indicated he had exited the house.

When the room fell silent, Saya muttered softly.

“Liar…”

“Saya?”

“Everything Dad said about worrying and taking care of me was all a lie.”

Saya stood up from the bed and hugged me tightly.

“Is it really all a lie…?”

“Of course it is. When I was little, he mostly left me alone and focused on work…”

She told me about how she had often been left alone during her childhood, and before living alone, she mostly spent time with a housekeeper when she was home.

I now understood why Chisato had mentioned that Saya often felt lonely growing up.

“You’re not alone anymore. I’ll be by your side.”

“…Yeah, thank you, Hinata.”

The next day, I was meeting Yui at a café.

“Wow, so you’re working part-time at ‘AMAOTO’?”

“Yeah, since summer break is long, I wanted to try working part-time.”

“That’s great! The uniform there will definitely suit you, Sachi.”

“Do you really think so? What about you, Yui? I heard you started working at a bakery?”

“It’s fun! I’d love to see you working, Sachi.”

“Not yet. You can come by once I get used to it.”

I didn’t want her to see me fail. When I told Hinata I was working part-time, he asked to come by to watch just like Yui, but I had to turn him down for now.

“By the way, I heard you met Houshou before. Have you seen him again? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

I remembered that Houshou had called me someone who smiled at everyone and looked down on others. But it wasn’t just him who thought that way. Apparently, people who didn’t like me felt the same.

“If anything happens, let me know right away. I won’t forgive Houshou for what he did to you.”

“Yeah, thanks, Yui. I won’t forgive him either.”

With a faint smile, Yui grinned as the waiter placed something on our table.

“Here you go, custard cream puff.”

“Custard!”

“Wow, it looks delicious! Let’s eat!”