Do You Like Romantic-Comedy Protagonists? - Chapter 17: Do You Like House Visits? 3

Chapter 17: Do You Like House Visits? 3

The next day, Akaishi arrived at the station where he’d parted with Hachiya and was on the phone with her.

Ring-ring-ring.

Click.

“Hello—”

“I’m awake!”

“Too loud…”

Hachiya’s voice blared through the phone, and Akaishi yanked it away from his ear.

Regaining his composure, he put the phone back.

“Morning. Tell me where your house is.”

Hachiya’s usual haughty tone was unchanged, so Akaishi responded in his typical manner.

Akaishi got directions from Hachiya and walked to her house.

Akaishi was deeply exhausted.

Yesterday’s events had left him wracked with guilt.

He found it suspicious that going to Hachiya’s house felt like a rom-com scenario.

He’d tried to refuse by jabbing at her insecurities, but it felt like he’d hurt her instead.

For Akaishi, this was a new emotion.

He’d argued with his parents but never fought with a peer like this.

Being berated with such raw resentment from a same-age girl was a bolt from the blue for Akaishi.

He hadn’t wanted to go to Hachiya’s house at all.

But her outburst changed his heart.

Why had he refused after angering her so much? Why was she so mad? Curiosity and fear mixed into an indescribable emotion, driving him to go.

And Hachiya’s words had hit the mark.

They were true.

Her words were tinged with sarcasm, but his rationalism and lack of friends were facts.

More than having few friends, he avoided making them, pushing people away.

Hachiya’s words weren’t 100% correct, but they were accurate.

Her call had shocked him.

He thought she assumed he’d had an accident for not replying, but he wasn’t calm enough to answer, so he picked up and hung up immediately.

Akaishi was rattled by Hachiya’s actions.

And he fully understood he couldn’t go on like this.

“No…”

Akaishi rejected the excuse-like emotions he’d felt until now.

“I’ll admit it…”

Akaishi acknowledged.

That he was curious about Hachiya, who’d vented at him; that he wasn’t so callous as to ignore her anger; that he needed to make friends as she said—all were excuses.

Akaishi labeled his emotions as excuses.

He was just making excuses to find reasons to go to Hachiya’s house.

They were excuses to hide his desire to go, cloaked in justifications.

“I’ll admit my emotions.”

His dark, ugly desire to be close with girls like Sakurai, to have an entourage of them.

“Alright…”

Akaishi broke with his emotions and headed to Hachiya’s house.

Understanding himself as a guy with the same desires as Sakurai, he took a step forward.

※

“Here… it… is…”

Akaishi reached Hachiya’s house.

It was a mansion far beyond his imagination.

Seeing Hachiya’s grand estate, fitting the rom-com trope of a rich heroine, he let slip a comment.

“It’s huge…”

Unlike his ordinary wooden house, Hachiya’s home was more like a manor.

Maybe even a Western-style mansion, he thought idly.

Akaishi pressed the bell and spoke into the intercom.

“Come in.”

Hachiya spoke haughtily, as always, and the gate opened.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

Out of courtesy, Akaishi greeted as he stepped onto Hachiya’s property.

At the entrance, Hachiya was waiting by the door.

“You came. I’ve got a lot to say.”

“Right.”

Seeing Hachiya standing with arms crossed, chest puffed out, Akaishi felt déjà vu.

He entered the mansion as invited.

“I’ve got things to say first. Come to my room.”

“Alright.”

Hachiya opened her room’s door and let Akaishi in.

“Sit wherever.”

“Okay.”

Akaishi considered where to sit.

A rom-com protagonist would probably sit on the bed, he thought, but chose the floor farthest from Hachiya.

“Cold!”

For some reason, the floor was chilly.

“Isn’t it kinda damp here…?”

“Oh…”

When Akaishi asked, Hachiya’s face turned red, looking troubled.

“This… this room doesn’t get much sunlight, so it gets damp!”

“But sunlight’s literally hitting it now…”

Akaishi gave her a dubious look at her obvious lie.

A rom-com protagonist’s obliviousness would miss this, but there’s probably some embarrassing reason, he guessed.

Hoping it wasn’t something like a spill from yesterday, he stood up.

“H-Here! The bed’s not damp, so it’s fine!”

“Alright. Don’t want Sakurai hating me, so I’ll stand.”

Hachiya patted the bed, but sitting there felt like equating himself to a rom-com protagonist, so Akaishi chose to stand.

Even acknowledging his desires like Sakurai’s, he had lines he wouldn’t cross.

He might already be acting like a rom-com protagonist by coming here, he smirked self-deprecatingly.

“So, what’s the talk?”

As if pushing that fact aside, Akaishi restarted the conversation.

“That’s what.”

Hachiya sat on the bed, opening the discussion.

“Why’d you hang up the phone yesterday?”

“Felt like you were mad, so I panicked.”

“Hmm…”

Knowing vague answers wouldn’t help, Akaishi spoke plainly.

“Why was your reply so late?”

“You seemed mad, so I panicked.”

“Hmm…”

Despite listening, Hachiya showed no interest.

“Fine, one last question. What’s with the ‘sorry’?”

“…”

Akaishi faltered.

He wasn’t sure himself. Why had he said “sorry”? Maybe he thought it’d calm her down. But he didn’t want to settle on that reason.

After thinking, he concluded.

“Maybe… for making you feel bad.”

“…I see.”

Satisfied, Hachiya closed her eyes.

“But you like Sakurai, so I don’t think what I said was wrong, even now.”

“That’s fine.”

Hachiya ended the Q&A and opened the door.

“Follow me.”

“…”

Silently, Akaishi followed.

She wasn’t as mad as expected, and he felt a bit relieved.

※

“My parents won’t be back until late tonight.”

“…Oh.”

Hachiya said it casually, like mentioning yesterday’s breakfast.

He didn’t feel any feminine charm from Hachiya.

Like a rom-com, there was no romantic spark for either of them. Even alone in her house, nothing would happen.

Akaishi convinced himself, desperately pushing aside the fact that he might be becoming like Sakurai.