Can I brag about my very devoted wife to you?

The right way for high school couples to spend their time (weekends) ⑤

After returning home. We immediately took the circulator out of the box and discussed with each other to decide where to put it.

“Good. That should work fine now. I’ll try turning it on.”

“Hehe. It’s quite exciting!”

When I pressed the power button, the wind blew out. The sound was very quiet in spite of its power. Looking at the instruction manual, I found out that among the various functions, there was one called “silent”.

“Whoa! It’s moving.”

Riko clapped her hands in a childlike excitement.

Oh my god…. You’re cute, but you’re also making me nervous…

I really like the fact that she can be really happy about such a small thing. And when I see Riko’s innocent smile, it makes me feel happy too.

“Minato-kun?”

“Oh, I’m sorry! It’s nothing!”

It seemed that I had been unconsciously staring at Riko. I hurriedly moved my gaze toward the circulator.

A breeze was blowing through the living room. The laundry drying in the room swayed gently, and the smell of fabric softener lingered in the air. The air didn’t have that unpleasant feeling peculiar to the rainy season. The circulator was also equipped with an air purifier function, so it must have had that effect as well.

“Riko, thank you so much for buying the circular.”

I have thanked you many times today, but I have not said enough.

“Thank you, too. It was really nice of you to go out with me.”

Riko smiled and then added, a little embarrassed.

“We couldn’t touch each other when we were in the mall, so today was the first time we had a lover-like date.”

Riko’s eyes narrowed happily.

“Huh. A date…?”

Wa-wait… Was that a date today or…? If that’s the case… then it was Riko and my first date…!?

I looked at Riko in a semi-panic. Riko’s smile faded awkwardly, as if she noticed that something was wrong with me. I became even more panicked.

If we consider today’s date as a first date, the destination is an electronics store and lunch is at the same hamburger place I always go to….

Those weren’t appropriate destinations for a first date, no matter how you imagine it. Even I, who had never been in a relationship before, could understand that much. I had seen on social media that a man was being criticized for taking his girlfriend to a beef bowl restaurant on a date, and I had done the exact same thing.

My blood started to boil. Riko had thought that going out with me was a date. I’ve ruined it for her.

And anyway, I have to apologize to Riko…

“I’m sorry, Riko… I thought today was just a shopping trip…. But if that was a date, then I’m really sorry…!”

Putting my hands on your knees and bowed my head. I heard Riko, who had been silently listening to my words, gasp slightly.

“… Why are you apologizing…?”

“Because I should have taken you to a more proper place, even for food. I failed. There was no way it was appropriate for me to choose the burger place I was used to going to.”

“Why…? I was so happy to go to that store, you know?”

“But a girl would be disappointed if you took her to an electronics store or a hamburger place on the first date, right? I mean, a normal couple wouldn’t go to those places.”

“That’s not true. Besides, I’m the one who wanted to go to the electronics store.”

“Even if that’s the case…”

If I had done better, I could have taken her to any number of date-like places after I bought the circulator.

“Minato-kun.”

Even though Riko called out to me, I couldn’t stop feeling regret for what I had done and couldn’t look up. That’s when Riko gently touched my hand, which I had been holding tightly. Surprised, I opened my eyes, which had been squeezed shut.

“I, I’ve had so much fun all day. We held hands and looked around the stores together… We ate hamburgers together, saying how delicious they were… It was a very special time for me… Is Minato-kun thinking that he failed because today was boring…?”

“No way!!”

She asked me if I was worried and denied it. There was no way it was boring.

“Because it was so much fun for me too!”

“Really?”

“Yes!!”

“Hehe, then it’s good. Then I guess there’s nothing wrong with that. If Minato-kun and I both had fun, I think that’s the most important thing.”

Riko held my hand and smiled at me.

“…But Minato-kun didn’t think that today was a date, did he? I’m so embarrassed that I misunderstood…”

“Oh, um, if Riko says today’s shopping is a date, I’ll try to think of it as such…?”

“Minato-kun, you know… yes, it means a lot to me that you think it’s a date while we’re out!”

Riko’s cheeks puffed out a little and she gets angry, and she was so cute that I forgot everything for a moment and just looked at her.

I can’t do this. This is not the right time. But wait…

If Riko is right and shopping doesn’t count this time because neither of us thought it was a date…. There is still a chance to make up for it, isn’t there?

I gulped and choked. I’d like to have a proper date again. Maybe I should suggest it.

I don’t know if Riko will agree to it. I’ve never asked a girl out on a date before, and as soon as I thought that, I started to sweat. But if I shy away from this, I’ll just be the same person I’ve always been and nothing will change. I know I’ve decided to do my best to make Riko like me. If that’s the case, then get some courage. Okay…!

Translator & Editor: Riciel