I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 39

Chapter 39   Shinohara’s Melancholy

In the end, we decided not to join any tours for our hot spring trip and agreed to spend the day however we felt like it. After all, just enjoying the hot spring town and the inn would be more than enough of an experience. There’s only so much a person can do in a day, and trying to push beyond that wouldn’t make the trip any better.

“Don’t you want to indulge completely when you’re on a trip?” Shinohara asked.

“Using up all your energy just to indulge, only to collapse when you’re supposed to be having the most fun, defeats the purpose.”

“…Yeah, that sounds like something guys would do. They don’t seem to know their limits,” Shinohara remarked after hearing my explanation.

I had told her about the trip, but I kept it vague, saying I was going with a group of high school guy friends instead of mentioning Ayaka. The first time I said that, I noticed a bit of pity in her expression, so I’ll have to clear things up somehow later.

“Whatever. But why are you here at my place again today? Weren’t you working?” I asked.

It was morning when she called, and now it was night. She must’ve worked a shift lasting at least eight hours, yet here Shinohara was, in my house.

“Oh, come on, senpai. Are you being serious right now?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I came because… I wanted to see you, of course!” she said, teasingly winking.

“Yeah, sure,” I replied.

“So cold!?”

Ignoring her playful banter, I reached for a manga from my bookshelf. As I was about to start reading, Shinohara suddenly stopped me with a “Wait!”

“What is it?”

“Well… whenever you start reading manga, you completely ignore me. So, I had to stop you.”

“I see.”

Unbothered, I turned the page. A new volume of this manga was coming out next week, and by reviewing the story now, I’d be able to enjoy the new release even more.

The content of the manga was—

“…”

I could feel her eyes on me. Glancing over, I saw Shinohara staring intently.

“…Fine. What’s going on today?” I asked, closing the manga.

Normally, when I start reading, Shinohara would just find something else to do. That mutual respect for each other’s personal time was why I didn’t mind her hanging around so much. Of course, since she usually cooked meals for me, I was in no position to complain about much.

“Did something happen at your job?” I asked.

She had sounded normal on the phone this morning, so if something was bothering her, it must have happened during her shift.

“Senpai, you’re amazing. Really amazing,” Shinohara said, clapping her hands.

It didn’t seem like anything major had happened, but it felt awkward to retract my earlier question. I stayed silent, waiting for her to elaborate. After a brief pause, Shinohara finally spoke.

“Someone I was getting along with at my part-time job quit.”

“That’s too bad,” I replied.

“Yeah, it was. But that’s not even the worst part,” she added, before diving face-first into a cushion.

“I don’t have that persons contact info. It’s kind of sad to think we might never see each other again.”

“What? You were close, and you didn’t exchange contact info?” I asked.

“Yeah, we were always seeing each other at work, so I didn’t think it was necessary. But now that I think about it, I should’ve at least done that, right?” she said, squirming in the cushion, seemingly frustrated with herself.

It was surprising. Shinohara, who usually seemed the type to exchange contact info with someone right away, didn’t do so this time. After all, when we first met, we exchanged our numbers on the same day.

“You must’ve really liked that person.”

As I said those words, a slight feeling of unease crept in. Normally, I wouldn’t feel anything if Shinohara got along with someone. But spending so much time together seemed to have changed that. The fact that even casual conversations were starting to stir emotions in me was proof enough.

“Yeah, though saying ‘liked’ sounds a bit arrogant. And besides, it wasn’t a guy,” she added.

“Oh, so it was a woman?”

Looking back, Shinohara hadn’t said anything to suggest the person was male. I had just assumed.

“…Ohhh, I get it now,” Shinohara said, grinning mischievously. It was the most devilish smile I’d seen from her in a while.

I tried to act like I hadn’t jumped to conclusions, but it was too late.

“Senpai, you’re so cute! There’s no way it was a guy!” she teased.

“Shut up, it’s not like that! If you mess up your love life again, it’s going to reflect badly on me, too,” I retorted.

“Ehh… what kind of excuse is that?”

Even as I said it, I knew it was a weak response. It was something Ayaka might have said, but somehow, when I said it, it didn’t carry the same weight. I guess it’s true for any words—you can’t really make them your own if they’re borrowed from someone else.

“Say something a little more comforting! Give me some good words to cheer me up!”

“What exactly do you want from me…”

Shinohara tossed the cushion into the air and caught it again.

“Maybe emotional support?”

“So I’m a drug to you now?”

“It’s all about how you phrase it. If I say that being around you makes me feel safe, doesn’t that sound like it earns you some points?”

“Yeah, but if you say that directly to the person, it’s actually a point deduction…”

Well, it wasn’t a bad feeling, honestly. If I didn’t enjoy her company, I wouldn’t have invited her into my place in the first place. That much I knew about myself.

“Oh.”

I followed Shinohara’s gaze to the clock—it was already past 11 PM. As usual, she had stayed way too late.

“I’ve got an early shift tomorrow, so I’d better get going. Thanks for having me.”

“You’ve got work again tomorrow? You’re tough… Anyway, don’t let it get you down. Keep at it.”

Having a good coworker makes time fly by, and I understood how Shinohara must feel, at least a little.

“It’s so inconvenient when you can’t meet up with someone because you didn’t exchange contact info.”

“Yeah, in this day and age, you can stay connected with pretty much anyone.”

These days, you can exchange contact info with strangers online. So not being able to stay in touch with someone you worked with and got along with must feel even more isolating.

“Senpai, you—”

“I’m not going anywhere. Now go home.”

“You can instantly read my mind and say exactly what I wanted to hear… You’re such a remarkable senpai.”

Shinohara’s voice was exaggeratedly dramatic as she pretended to be surprised.

She bent down to put on her boots by the front door, and though I couldn’t see her face, I could easily imagine her expression.

“Good luck at work tomorrow.”

I placed my hand gently on her head.

Shinohara looked up at me and smiled, but it wasn’t her usual smile—it was something different.

“Thanks! I will!”

I think that smile is what brightens my everyday life.

I wouldn’t say it out loud, but I was sure of it.