I Started Dating Someone By Taking Advantage Of Her Weakness, But I Was Actually Dating Her Mother - Chapter 5-6: First Date (Part 1&2)

“Hmm, is this outfit good enough?”

Sunday had arrived, the day of Jin and Otowa’s date. 

Jin was waiting for Otowa at the station plaza, which they had decided as their meeting place. Since making the date promise, Jin had utilized online information, devouring websites about date spots and first date experiences to prepare for this day. 

Though Jin normally paid no attention to his appearance, in preparation for his first-ever date, he’d visited a hair salon—something he had never done before—to get his hair properly styled, and based on information from the internet, he’d gathered a complete set of clothes and accessories through online shopping sites.

“I’ve prepared money too, now I just need to wait for Tsukimizato-san to arrive.”

Jin checked once more that he had money in his wallet. Without close friends he could easily consult, Jin was relying solely on online information for his first date.

“I spoke confidently to reassure my daughter, but I wonder if other people will see me as an older woman trying too hard?”

Yoriko was walking toward the station plaza, their meeting spot. The Tsukimizato household’s tight budget meant they couldn’t afford to prepare special clothes for the date. Therefore, for this date, she would be wearing Otowa’s school uniform. 

Fortunately, mother and daughter shared the same size, and their hair length wasn’t much different, so Yoriko styled her hair to resemble Otowa’s as much as possible. However, her confidence lasted only until she left home.

Now Yoriko was concerned about passersby’s gazes and was hunching her shoulders to avoid drawing attention.

(I left home confidently, but this is embarrassing.)

Though Yoriko had done her best to physically resemble her daughter, she was still a middle-aged woman inside, and as she approached the meeting place, she grew increasingly anxious about whether people thought she was some strange older woman walking around in a school uniform.

(I was shown his face in a class photo, but it was small and I only got a vague idea of what he looks like. Can I find him among all these people?)

After arriving at the station plaza, Yoriko surveyed her surroundings. Since Yoriko and Jin had never met, she wouldn’t be able to find him by simply heading to the meeting place. 

That’s why she had previously asked Otowa to show her Jin’s face in a class photo taken at the beginning of the school year. However, since his face appeared small in the group photo, it would be extremely difficult to pick him out from among the other people waiting at the same location and the many passersby coming and going.

“That’s our school uniform.”

While waiting at the meeting place, Jin spotted a girl wearing the school uniform of his school.

“Something seems off about her. I wonder what’s wrong?”

She was hunching as if hiding her face, acting suspiciously, and looking around nervously. Having nothing to do until Otowa arrived, Jin watched her with his eyes to pass the time.

(She seems to be looking for someone. Should I approach her?)

Jin wasn’t particularly good at talking to people, but she appeared to be in trouble, and since they attended the same school, he was considering whether to call out to her.

(Ah, she’s coming this way.)

Looking around nervously, she wandered around the station plaza and headed in Jin’s direction.

(I’ll ask her when she gets close enough to talk to.)

Jin watched her movements with this thought in mind, and gradually she approached within talking distance.

“Excuse me, are you looking for someone?” 

“Hyaaa!”

When Jin spoke to her, she jumped in surprise.

“A-actually…” 

“Oh, it’s Tsukimizato-san.” 

“Huh?”

Jin realized that the suspicious-acting woman was his date, Otowa.

(Huh? Could this person be Kaneda Jin? He looks completely different from the class photo. It’s unreasonable to expect me to find him at first sight. But looking closely, he’s actually very handsome. No, no, I mustn’t forget that this boy has threatened my daughter.)

Yoriko was surprised when she saw Jin’s face. From the class photo Otowa had shown her, she had recognized him as someone with messy hair who didn’t care much about his appearance. However, the person standing before her had neatly styled hair and wore casual, clean-looking clothes, causing Yoriko’s impression of him to skyrocket, but upon remembering that he had threatened her daughter, she steadied her feelings.

“K-Kaneda-kun, it seems I’ve kept you waiting.” 

“No, I just got here myself.”

Jin responded to Yoriko’s apology for being late according to the manual he had read online.

(My, my, I deliberately came late to annoy him a bit, but he smoothly responded to avoid making me feel bad. That earns him points.)

Jin had merely responded with what he had learned beforehand, but his gentlemanly response that showed consideration for the other person made Yoriko’s impression of him rise even further.

“Today is your treat, right?” 

“Y-yes, that’s right. Please go easy on me.”

(Good, I’ve got his verbal confirmation.)

Having heard the story from her daughter Otowa, and knowing it was an issue that would affect their household finances, Yoriko reconfirmed with Jin that he would be paying for today’s date.

“B-by the way, how do I look today?” 

“H-how you look? I think you look the same as always when we meet at school.”

Since Yoriko was disguised as Otowa, she asked in a roundabout way to see if Jin had noticed something amiss. If he had noticed at this point, Yoriko’s plan would have failed, so she was checking while the damage was still minimal.

(Tsukimizato-san looks the same as always, but should I have given a more thoughtful response? And the fact that she came in uniform might be to prevent being taken to places where people rest. That makes sense. This date was arranged in a somewhat threatening manner, so she would be cautious.)

Jin was thinking deeply about the meaning behind Yoriko’s question. Until this incident, he had no connection with Otowa and had never spoken to her, so even as classmates, he didn’t remember her face in detail. Combined with the fact that she was in uniform, she seemed no different from usual. He also thought that her appearing in uniform rather than casual clothes might be a precaution because establishments where adults could rest wouldn’t admit people in school uniforms.

“R-right. Standing here talking can be tiring, don’t you think? First, it’s important that we get to know each other, so why don’t we stop at a café and talk over some tea?” 

“S-sure.”

And so began the first date between Jin and Yoriko.