I Started Dating Someone By Taking Advantage Of Her Weakness, But I Was Actually Dating Her Mother - Chapter 41-42: Stalker? (Part 1&2)

(The fact that she didn’t bring up making plans for next time… could it be that there was something lacking about me and she came to dislike me? But from what I could see when we parted, it didn’t seem like that was the case…)

The next day, Jin was troubled as he looked at the back of the girl sitting in front of him during class. Needless to say, that girl’s name was Tsukimizato Otowa. When Jin arrived at school, she was already seated, and he greeted her naturally, but Otowa seemed uninterested and only reluctantly returned the greeting.

(When we had our first date, she said not to talk to her at school, but today it feels like I’m being rejected somehow, and it’s really hard to approach her. Sigh, yesterday she was so easy to talk to…)

Jin tried to talk to Otowa during the break time between classes, but she was giving off an aura that rejected contact with those around her, and he couldn’t bring himself to speak to her.

(Come to think of it, Tsukimizato-san doesn’t try to make contact with other girls either, not just guys like me.)

Jin had rarely seen Otowa talking with other girls. Ever since their first date had ended, he had become concerned about her and was observing her behavior, but it seemed she didn’t have anyone she could call a friend.

“Alright, that’s all for today.”

While he was thinking about such things, the morning classes ended. The teacher closed the textbook on the podium just as the bell rang, and lunch break began. When the teacher left the classroom, it suddenly became noisy, and students formed groups with those they got along with, moving to take action to eat lunch in their respective spots.

(Alright, this time I’ll definitely talk to Tsukimizato-san. Wait, she’s not here.)

Jin worked up the courage to try to talk to Otowa, but the seat in front was already empty.

“Sigh, Tsukimizato-san always goes somewhere as soon as lunch break starts.”

Jin had been watching Otowa at school for a week and had figured out that she would immediately go somewhere as soon as lunch break began. However, he thought it wouldn’t be right to follow her to investigate where she went.

“Can’t be helped. I guess I’ll go to the cafeteria.”

Since Jin would get tired of eating bread every time, he decided to go to the school cafeteria for the first time in a while that day.

“Let’s see, what should I have?”

Jin arrived at the cafeteria and was thinking about what to eat in front of the meal ticket vending machine. This school’s cafeteria operated on a meal ticket self-service system – a common method where you first purchased a meal ticket, handed the stub to the counter, and when it was ready, the number written on the ticket was called and you received your ordered item. Since it was used during the limited time of lunch break, the menu consisted of simple items with simplified preparation processes like rice bowls and noodles, and there were no set meals.

“Well, ramen is fine I guess.”

Jin put money into the meal ticket machine and pressed the button labeled “ramen”, purchasing a meal ticket.

“I’ll call your number when it’s ready.”

Jin handed the meal ticket stub to the cafeteria lady and waited for it to be prepared. Before long, Jin’s number was called and he received the ramen on a tray.

“Let me get some water, then chopsticks and a Chinese spoon, and a little pepper.”

Jin took a cup placed next to the pickup counter, drew water from the water dispenser, put chopsticks and a Chinese spoon on his tray, sprinkled a little pepper from the shelf where seasonings for personal use were placed to adjust the flavor, and then looked for an empty seat.

(If I had friends, they could save a seat for me, but since I’m a loner, I can’t look for a seat until after I get my food.)

If multiple people came to the cafeteria together, they could split up with some getting food and others securing seats, but since Jin came to the cafeteria alone, he couldn’t do both simultaneously.

“Ah, there’s an empty seat right there.”

Jin walked around the cafeteria while carrying the tray with ramen, looking for an empty seat. The cafeteria had both two-person and four-person table seats, and when it was crowded, people had to share tables, which made Jin – being a loner – feel uncomfortable. 

Due to these circumstances, Jin rarely used the cafeteria and often bought bread from the school store to eat in a place he liked. Fortunately, he found an empty two-person table, placed his tray on the table, and successfully secured a seat.

“Thank you for the meal. Slurp.“

(Ugh, it’s still not very tasty after all.)

Jin picked up his chopsticks and began eating the ramen. While he felt sorry for the people who made it, he thought the cafeteria food wasn’t very delicious. It wasn’t that Jin was a gourmet – most students thought the same thing. 

However, if you didn’t bring a lunch or something to eat, your only choices were to participate in the harsh bread battle at the school store or eat at this cafeteria. The price was very reasonable, and trying to improve the quality of taste would be reflected in the price, so students who used this place ate without complaining about the taste, as they had no other choice.

“Kaneda-kun, is it okay if I share this table?” 

“Hm? Please go ahead.” 

“Thanks. Here we go.”

The cafeteria was crowded, and more students were wandering around looking for seats. When this happened, table sharing became necessary, so naturally there was a high possibility that someone he didn’t know would sit in the seat across from Jin. Jin’s seat was no exception, and a female student asked if she could share the table.

“Oh, Kaneda-kun, you’re having ramen today.” 

“Y-yes, that’s right.” 

“I chose cold soba. I have a sensitive tongue, so I’m not good with hot food.”

The person who sat in the seat across from Jin was a girl from the same class.

“I see.” 

“Still, the cafeteria food is as tasteless as ever, isn’t it?” 

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

Jin was troubled about how to interact with the girl who was talking to him while eating soba. He was originally bad with girls, and since this was someone he had never had a conversation with before, he didn’t feel the kind of embracing, easy-to-talk-to quality like Yoriko had, and he could barely manage to just give replies.

“I-I’ve finished eating, so I’ll go ahead.” 

“Eh? W-wait a minute!”

Jin felt uncomfortable and quickly ate his ramen before standing up. He returned the used dishes and left the cafeteria as if fleeing.

(Tsukimizato-san is so easy to talk to, but I’m really bad at talking with girls after all.)

As Jin walked down the hallway, he thought about the girl who had talked to him in the cafeteria. Since they were in the same class, he knew her face and name to some extent, but since he had never talked to her before, he didn’t know how to interact with her.

“Goodbye, Kaneda-kun.” 

“See you tomorrow, Kaneda-san.” 

“Y-yeah, w-well then.”

(Hmm, I wonder what it is that happened. I feel like girls have been greeting me more often lately.)

When after-school time arrived and Jin was about to go home, the girls in his class greeted him goodbye. He was somehow able to respond, but since around last week, girls in his class had been greeting him more often when he arrived at school and when he left as well. For Jin, who had been living peaceful days until now, this felt strange.