Do You Like Romantic-Comedy Protagonists? - Chapter 24: Do You Like Tailing? 1
Chapter 24: Do You Like Tailing? 1
On Saturday, Akaishi was summoned to Hachiya’s house.
“Emergency… It’s an emergency, Akaishi…”
“…”
9:15 a.m.—
In Hachiya’s kitchen, she and Akaishi were in discussion.
“You…”
Akaishi looked at Hachiya.
“You called me too early.”
“No choice! It’s an emergency!”
Akaishi sat sleepily on a kitchen chair, eye mask loosely on, nodding off.
“Look, I took the first train to get here. It was Friday, so I stayed up late and only got three or four hours of sleep. Let me rest.”
“No time for that!”
Ignoring Akaishi’s situation, Hachiya raised her voice.
※
As usual, Akaishi had been summoned via “Kaofu” by Hachiya.
The clock showed 1 a.m. when he got the message.
This being his second visit to Hachiya’s house, Akaishi, aware he was becoming like Sakurai, made excuses to himself—unprompted—and came anyway.
His desire as a teenage boy to connect with a girl clashed with his pride in not wanting to be like Sakurai, leaving him in a conflicted, indescribable state.
He couldn’t fully commit to bonding with Hachiya, fearing he’d become like Sakurai, nor could he completely brush her off, resulting in a half-hearted approach.
“Akaishi, here’s today’s agenda.”
Hachiya wrote on the whiteboard attached to the fridge.
“Today’s agenda: ‘Investigate Sousuke’s cheating suspicions!’”
“…‘Investigate Sakurai’s cheating suspicions’?”
“Clap!”
Clap, clap, clap.
Akaishi sent dry applause.
“How long are you keeping that eye mask on!? Take it off! It’s pointless if you’re not sleeping!”
“They say closing your eyes recovers stamina even without sleep… Fine, I’ll take it off.”
Realizing the mask was inconvenient, Akaishi removed it.
“I’ve got two things to say.”
Akaishi held up two fingers.
“Go ahead.”
“First.”
He folded one finger.
“Here we go.”
“Here we go, what!?”
Akaishi looked at Hachiya, exasperated.
“Investigate Sakurai’s cheating suspicions”—
The absurdity of the agenda gave him a headache.
The classic rom-com heroine trope of treating the protagonist like a boyfriend despite not dating was happening right here.
“Investigate Sakurai’s cheating? He’s not dating anyone, and you’re not dating him, so it’s irrelevant, right?”
“What! Sousuke’s cheating with another girl! That’s why we need to catch him!”
“It’s not cheating, and you should drop that self-centered thinking.”
“Ugh… Shut up! Fine, is this better!?”
Hachiya erased part of the whiteboard and rewrote it.
“Today’s agenda: ‘Catch Sousuke’s date suspicions!’”
“Well, that’s better…”
“Clap!”
Clap, clap.
More dry applause.
“And second.”
“Speak.”
Akaishi folded the second finger.
“I’ve thought this before, but where are your parents on weekends…?”
Wondering if it was a touchy subject, Akaishi glanced at her nervously.
“Mom and Dad are working! I don’t know details, but Mom’s in some merchandising thing, so she works Saturdays and Sundays. She gets weekdays off instead. Dad’s an engineer and has regular weekend shifts, so he’s not here!”
“I see…”
Hachiya calls her parents “Mom” and “Dad,” Akaishi noted, but saw no reason to comment and stayed quiet.
Another rom-com cliché, but the reason was reasonable.
With daycare shortages and dual-income households common now, it’s not unusual, he thought, understanding.
Her parents must work hard to afford this mansion.
“And a third.”
Akaishi extended and folded a third finger.
“There wasn’t a third!”
“Just thought of it. How do you know Sakurai’s going on a date today?”
“Well, last night, Sousuke posted on ‘Tsuiiku’ hinting at a date. That’s why I messaged you in a panic.”
That explains the late-night message, Akaishi realized.
“Sousuke posted on ‘Tsuiiku’ that he’s ‘eating or watching a movie at noon tomorrow. Excited. Meeting at La Torche.’ Then Shiorin posted, ‘Lunch and a movie at La Torche tomorrow, excited.’ Doesn’t that mean Sousuke and Shiorin are going on a date?”
“W-Wow…”
Normally oblivious to the entourage’s feelings, Hachiya’s sharp insight when her romance is at stake impressed Akaishi.
He wished she’d use that insight daily.
“So, we’re tailing Sousuke’s date today! Got it?”
Hachiya commanded, leaving no room for argument.
He’d make excuses to himself that she wouldn’t let him go, and nodded.
Even with the excuse of tailing Sakurai, going out with a girl excited Akaishi slightly.
Recalling Sakurai’s post, Akaishi felt suspicious for another reason.
What was with Sakurai’s words?
“Meeting at La Torche.”
Was that line necessary?
Posting plans isn’t odd, but specifying the meeting place and time?
Given Sakurai’s personality, he likely can’t resist flaunting his popularity with girls.
His pride, arrogance, and confidence in being liked.
So, specifying the place and time might be him expecting someone who likes him to chase after him.
Hoping a girl would “accidentally” meet him.
It’s clear he thinks that way.
Hachiya’s doing exactly what he wants.
Same with Suijou.
Did she need to post something mirroring Sakurai’s?
Was she hinting at their date to ward off others?
“No…”
Suijou, just Suijou, has to be different.
She’s pure, almost naïve. She wouldn’t have such dark motives. She can’t. I don’t want her to. I hope she doesn’t. She doesn’t.
Holding admiration and indescribable feelings for Suijou, Akaishi couldn’t imagine her scheming.
Or rather, he dismissed that possibility from the start.
“I get the situation.”
Akaishi gathered his thoughts and faced Hachiya.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s do this.”
Akaishi and Hachiya set out to tail Sakurai and Suijou’s date.
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