I Was Oblivious to the Subtle ‘Yandere’ Side of My Nonchalant Sex Friend Gyaru - Chapter 46-47

Chapter 46: 

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“Uh, pardon the intrusion.”

“Welcome to my house. Hehe, come on in, come in.”

The next day. After school, I left together with Yumekawa and came to her house. It was an ordinary single-family home, and the interior was also plain—nothing fancy—yet I still felt oddly nervous as I took off my shoes at the entrance and stepped inside.

I never really got used to being in someone else’s home, even more so when that someone was a girl. On top of that, I couldn’t settle down because I was wondering who might show up afterward—if anyone was even coming at all.

Please, don’t let this be another one of those jokes where Yumekawa turns out to like me.

But that anxiety quickly proved to be just my own conceited imagination.

Ding dong~

 “They’re here, they’re here!~”

The doorbell rang, and Yumekawa said excitedly before hurried off to the front door.  Of course. I’d been overthinking it—just like Asou-san had. Yumekawa wouldn’t be like that…. Or so I thought, until—

“Minato~ Yuzu is here.”

“…Huh?”

The one who showed up was Kurenai. How had I not accounted for this possibility? I had been so careless that I couldn’t even muster the energy to blame myself.

“Okay, okay, you two just go sit on the sofa over there. I’ll go get some tea and snacks.”

Naturally, unaware of my inner turmoil, Yumekawa had us sit down on the sofa and left the room for the time being. And once I found myself sitting side-by-side with Kurenai, a different kind of tension wrapped around me.

“……”

“So this is what you had plans for today. If you were invited too, you could’ve just told me.”

“I mean, I didn’t exactly intend to hide it.”

“But you did hide it. Do you not want me here?”

“No, I’d rather you be here.”

“Why?”

“Because being alone with her in Yumekawa’s house would be awkward as hell.”

“True. Leaving right away would be weird too. But, don’t get all chummy with Arisu in front of me, okay?”

“I know.”

While we exchanged that conversation without looking at each other, Yumekawa came back with tea and snacks.

“Aww, what’s up with you two? You look all serious.”

“Yumekawa, are you doing this on purpose?”

“Ehh, what do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb. Both I and Kurenai feel super awkward without you around.”

“Really? Huh, that’s weird. But you don’t seem to mind going to visit each other when you two are sick.”

She said it teasingly. After placing the tray with tea and snacks on the table, Yumekawa giggled softly again.

“What’s so funny?”

“Mm-mm, nothing. It’s just that Minato seems unusually calm today.”

“It’s called being polite when you’re in someone else’s house.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Hey, Yuzu, do you feel uncomfortable in other people’s houses?”

“Me? Hmm, I don’t really go to other people’s places often, so… I guess I wouldn’t know.”

“Hmm.”

She sipped her tea with a quiet slurp. Yumekawa nodded meaningfully again. She looked like she had something to say, but in the end, she said nothing more.

That vague air left me a little unsettled, but I decided not to ask anything unnecessary and steered the conversation in another direction. Eventually, we took out our study materials and the study session began.

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Chapter 47: 

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“That’s right. Just like that. Now you’re getting it. Minato, see? You can do it if you try.”

Yumekawa took the role of tutor, and Kurenai and I quietly worked through our workbook problems. From time to time, Yumekawa checked on how we were doing, but for some reason, she never said anything to Kurenai.

“Hey, is it really okay to just keep watching only me?”

“Well, Yuzu is doing fine. See? Your hands stop moving when you’re talking.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Even during that back-and-forth, Kurenai kept studying silently and diligently. Time passed as I worked through the workbook alone, occasionally getting pointers from Yumekawa. That routine continued for about two hours.

Then, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Aoyama-kun, thanks for picking up.”

“Manager? What’s up?”

“Well, Asou-kun just contacted me a little while ago. Seems like she’s down with a fever and can’t make it to her shift. So I was wondering if you might be free to help out?”

“I see. Got it, I’ll get ready and head over.”

As soon as I hung up, I let Yumekawa know what just happened.

“So yeah, I’ve gotta go.”

“What? Can’t you say no to your shift?”

“It’s a request from the manager, and with Asou-san out, there’s no one else to cover the shift.”

“Hmph. So are you going to visit Asou-san afterwards, too?”

“No. She’s got her family at home.”

“I see. Well, then Yuzu and I will keep working without you.”

I quickly packed my things and left the room. Yumekawa saw me off a bit, but Kurenai didn’t say anything at all. Maybe she didn’t want her childhood friend to get the wrong idea about us.

And so, I headed off quickly to my part-time job.

♡♡♡

“Aaah, the one who needs to study the most—Minato—just left. Yuzu, want to keep going?”

“If you’ve got something to say, Arisu, just say it.”

Now that we were alone, and seeing how obviously bored Arisu looked, I became certain of what today’s setup had really been about.

“Wow, you’re sharp. Yuzu, you were just putting on an act in front of me, huh?”

“What act? I came here to study.”

“Yeah, yeah. But I saw how you reacted every time I got close to Minato. I know you kept sneaking glances at him, too.”

“I was just curious how dumb he was.”

“You’re curious, right? So why act like that on purpose? If there’s nothing going on, then why not just act normal?”

“I told you, there’s nothing—”

“Hey, that apartment I saw you coming out of the other day… That’s Minato’s place, right?”

“…What?”

I froze. No way, she actually saw me?

“W-what are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. I saw you. It was after school. I saw you coming out of that apartment on the way home. Minato never told me where he lives, but I knew it was around that area.”

“…That’s…”

“You knew I liked Minato, and yet you still did something like that? If you two are dating, just be honest. Why sneak around and play with people’s feelings?”

“What would you even understand, Arisu?”

I cut her off. Raising my voice, I snapped back.

“W-what the hell… A-Aren’t you the one at fault, Yuzu?”

“That’s right, I am the one in the wrong. I pushed my way into his place on my own. We’re not even dating, but I wanted to monopolize him so badly. And yet I couldn’t even bring myself to tell him that. It’s all my fault.”

“Y-Yuzu?”

“Arisu, I don’t care how you feel about him. I’m not giving him up. I—”

I…

Every time I tried to say this, my throat tightened. It dried up, parched, and no sound would come out. But if I didn’t say it now, I felt like I’d never be able to say it in front of him again.

So I forced the words out.

“I love Minato Aoyama.”

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