Beyond The Bad End - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Haru’s POV

The next day, when I woke up in the morning, I told my mom that I was going to skip school that day.

She said that she will let the school know and I should just stay at home to get some rest.

I sent a message to Maki last night telling her to go to school by herself because I was sick and couldn’t go to school the next day.

I spent the rest of the day lying in bed in my room, dozing off until about 11AM, and then I left the house a bit past 12.

When I went to the meeting place to meet Kataoka, she was already there waiting for me.

That day, Kataoka was dressed in plain sweatshirt and she had her hair down instead of in twin tails. She also didn’t wear any make-up.

‘Sorry to keep you waiting.’

‘I just got here myself. Then, let’s go now.’

‘Yeah.’

Kataoka’s place was pretty close from the meeting place, but since Kataoka went there by foot, I walked with Kataoka to her house, pushing my bicycle.

As we were walking to her house,

‘This is Sudo’s house.’

There was a big enough parking lot in front of his house to park two cars, but there were no cars there and it seemed that there was no one home.

We continued walking and arrived at Kataoka’s house. The distance between Kataoka’s house and Sudo’s house was very close, it took less than 5 minutes to get there.

Kataoka’s mother was at home.

I bowed and greeted her at the entrance.

‘Ojamashimasu.’

‘Welcome, please don’t push yourself too hard if you’re feeling unwell.’

It seemed like Kataoka had told her mother about the situation, she seemed concerned about my health.

‘Ah, yes. Thank you.’

I bowed to her once again before going up to Kataoka’s room.

When I entered Kataoka’s room, I saw that her room was full of girlish furniture and accessories, but there were some textbooks and study materials on her desk. It seemed like she really studied diligently.

‘Sit wherever you want. If you’re tired you can lie down.’

‘I’m sorry for troubling you again.’

‘It’s completely fine. Ah, I think I still have my middle school graduation book, do you want to see it? You can see Sudo’s face in it.’

‘Let me see it.’

‘Okay, wait a minute.’

When Sudo was in middle school, he had a very unpleasant expression on his face, it was as if he was so full of himself, he looked very cocky.

‘I’ve known Sudo since middle school and I know quite a lot about him. I really don’t like him.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Yeah. He always acted all high and cocky, tried to show off whenever he had the chance. He even made up some lies in middle school. But the truth is, he is just a coward, all of the girls hated him. To think about it now, he is probably the complete opposite of Matsuyama-chi, you are always serious, hard-working and responsible.’

Did I really lose to a man like that?

I wondered if Maki really thought such a person was better than me.

As I stayed silent, Kataoka looked at my face. Perhaps, she was concerned.

‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something.’

‘Well, we still have sometime so spend. Let’s talk about something else.’

Then, Kataoka started to tell me what she wanted to do in the future.

She told me that she wanted to study abroad for a few years and wanted to take language programs for college. She also told me that she wanted to work as an interpreter in the future.

I responded by telling her that I actually wanted to become a chef and take over the restaurant someday, but my parents were against it. I also told her that I was trying my best to go to university to convince my parents.

I had known for quite some time, despite her appearance, Kataoka was very determined and serious. When she talked about her future, her face shone so brightly.

Moreover, when she listened to my story, she didn’t laugh at me at all, but instead, she cheered me up saying,

‘I’m sure you’ll be fine, Matsuyama-chi. You’ll definitely become a first-class chef.’

‘Well, I don’t necessarily aim to become a top class-chef.’

‘What are you talking about? Be more confident of yourself!’

As we talked about that, it was almost time for Sudo to go home. So we went to a place near Sudo’s house and started to look out for him from the shadows.

After we waited for about fifteen minutes, Sudo finally appeared, he was riding a bike side by side with a girl.

It was Maki.

Then, they got off their bicycles in front of Sudo’s house.

Suddenly, Sudo casually put his hands around Maki’s shoulders, pulled her close and forcefully kissed her on the lips.