I Was Helping Out With The Harem Plan Of The Romcom Protagonist I Admired, But Now That I’ve Realized He’s A Scumbag, Next Time I’m Going To Stop It And Make The Girls Happy Myself - Chapter 51: Yuzuki Takasaka (Yes, not lazy anymore)

Chapter 51: Yuzuki Takasaka

The smell of popcorn, mixed with that fabric-like, theater-specific scent, tickled my nose.

No matter how many times I smell it, it always calms me down.

“Yuuya-kun. Caramel popcorn is fine, right?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. It’s actually my favorite.”

I’d come to see a movie with Yuzuki.

Unlike with Hina, today we sat in normal seats.

The reason was simple: the couple seats were all taken.

“More importantly, Yuuya-kun.”

Yuzuki, in the seat beside me, spoke while setting the popcorn tray in place.

“I heard from Hina-chan that you watched a movie together in a couple seat. Is that true?”

Without meeting my eyes, Yuzuki’s tone sharpened.

Without thinking, I looked away from the eyes that weren’t even looking at me.

I understood what Yuzuki meant.

Back when I was pretending to be Hina’s boyfriend, we watched in a couple seat—yet now we weren’t.

But… it was also true that all the couple seats were taken.

“You can make excuses if you want, but—”

“I haven’t even said anything yet!?”

I cut in with an instinctive retort.

After finishing setting up the popcorn, Yuzuki went on.

“I get what you want to say…”

“That all the seats are taken?”

“…Yeah.”

If every couple seat was occupied, there was nothing we could do.

“Hey, Yuuya-kun. After this ends, let’s watch another movie. A different one.”

“Sure, but—”

Sure, but why? Before I could ask, the theater lights went out, and I couldn’t see Yuzuki’s profile anymore.

After the screen went dark, the image lit up Yuzuki’s face again.

In the dim light, Yuzuki stared at me and murmured softly.

“The movie’s starting.”

Then I faced forward and focused on the film.

A few minutes in, I glanced to the side.

Yuzuki was focused on the movie, and the screen’s light made her face look pale and smooth, with a faint reddish tint on her lips.

Just from that, it was obvious she’d put in more effort than usual.

Then her beautiful profile turned toward me, and the “damage” only increased.

With a seductive smile, Yuzuki gave me a sidelong glance—then returned her gaze to the screen.

And in that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

What would happen if I reached out and held her hand?

Come to think of it, I’d never been the one to do that first.

Even though it still felt too early, I gently took Yuzuki’s hand.

Yuzuki flinched for an instant—then squeezed back.

In the darkness, Yuzuki’s profile looked faintly flushed.

The moment I acted, I regretted it.

Because… taking someone’s hand first is way more embarrassing than expected.

The instant I noticed the redness in Yuzuki’s cheeks, I quickly faced forward.

It felt impossible to keep looking at her face.

After that, we ended up watching the whole movie while still holding hands.

While the movie played, I regretted holding hands again.

Because I held her hand so early, I had to eat the popcorn with my other hand.

My right hand was holding Yuzuki’s, and the drink holder was on my right side.

So I had to keep bringing my left hand across to the right to grab popcorn.

A few times, I hesitated—should I let go?

But since I was the one who took her hand first, I felt obligated to keep holding it until the movie ended.

And even if I tried to let go, I probably couldn’t…

Sure enough, Yuzuki’s grip was firm, like she wasn’t letting me escape.

Her profile looked even happier than before.

So in the end, we held hands until the credits.

And, naturally… more than half the popcorn was left.

“What do we do with this…?”

I ran straight into a sudden food-waste problem.

While I was worrying about it, Yuzuki started walking as if nothing was wrong.

“Yuuya-kun. Hurry up—let’s go watch the next one.”

That reminded me of what she’d said before the movie.

“After this ends, let’s watch another movie.”

Yuzuki’s real goal might’ve been something else, but at least this meant the popcorn wouldn’t be wasted.

We carried the leftover popcorn and got couple seats for a different movie.

◇◇◇

“Today was so fun.”

After watching two movies, we walked home side by side.

It was still too early for it to be truly dark, and the sky was painted orange.

Walking next to Yuzuki under the evening sun, I answered.

“Yeah, today was really fun.”

It was an honest feeling.

Though… I barely remembered the movies…

Maybe Yuzuki read my thoughts, because she said something unexpected.

“Yuuya-kun. You weren’t watching the movie at all, were you?”

—My heart jumped.

And then she followed up with:

“You were totally mesmerized by me.”

How far can she see through me…? It was hard to believe.

When I didn’t answer, Yuzuki took it as confirmation and muttered, “Good…”

“It was worth doing my makeup. Actually, Hina-chan taught me how.”

As she spoke, Yuzuki gave me a sidelong glance—her profile really did feel different, and she looked far more alluring than she ever did at school.

If the guys at school saw her like this, she’d become an instant celebrity.

“Hey, Yuuya-kun. Don’t you want to see my face closer?”

Suddenly, Yuzuki leaned in close and whispered:

“Let’s kiss.”

Her beautiful face slowly approached.

Our lips were already close enough to touch.

And then—

We pressed our lips together.

It was sweet—just overwhelmingly sweet.

Up close, Yuzuki’s face was beautiful.