In a World of Reversed Chastity, I’m Surrounded by a Clingy Older Woman, a Walking Red Flag, and an Exhausted Office Lady - 7

Chapter 7: A Prince Appeared Before Me, Kaoruko’s POV

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I had lived my life being found annoying and disliked. Since I was little, I had always lived seriously. I never shortened my skirt, and in accordance with the Youth Healthy Development Ordinance, I never went out late at night.

I never forgot things, and kept my nails proper. Everything about me was serious. People around me must have found it irritating, as if I were brandishing righteousness in their faces, but if something wasn’t allowed, then it was wrong. I believed rules were meant to be followed, and rules existed because there were things you must not do.

That was how I had lived.

But…

“You’re uptight, too serious, a pain, and annoying. Let’s break up.”

That was what my boyfriend, whom I had dated wholesomely in high school, suddenly said to me. That night, sadness and frustration tangled together so badly that I couldn’t sleep, and I think I ended up skipping school the next day.

Even so, a person’s inner nature does not change so easily. I didn’t change in college, nor after I entered the workforce. In college, I was entrusted with being the head of a club, and once I started working, tasks were piled onto me every day. What differed from school life was that in society, the more work I accomplished, the more I was evaluated, and I was able to rise to a respectable position.

However, what never changed—whether at school or in society—was that I stood in the position of being considered a nuisance. I would caution my subordinates and be called rigid, troublesome, and all sorts of things by those around me.

Living like that, continuing to work diligently and seriously, what remained for me in the end were status, a decent amount of money, and loneliness. I had status and money, so I thought I might as well consider marriage. I relied on connections and was introduced to some men.

“That’s amazing, you have a lot of money.”

“Wow, you work at that major company?”

The one thing all the men I met had in common was that they only saw my status and money. It was only natural. Because I had status and money, I was able to meet men and even arrange these dinner meetings. If that was the case, then the only men who would come to such dinners were those interested in status and money. There was no one who tried to see me.

To be fair, they didn’t have to be interested in me. I just wanted them to ask about me a little. But that never happened. They only asked about my company and my savings. With my experiences from my student days as well, I stopped caring about marriage altogether. I lost interest in men and, before I knew it, threw myself even more into my work.

One day, amid such continuing days…

As usual, on my way home from work, I headed to the convenience store to buy energy drinks, alcohol, and snacks. However, the convenience store seemed unusually noisy. Apparently, there was a man working part-time there. I thought it was rare, but having been betrayed by men several times, I wasn’t particularly interested. I picked up my items and lined up.

“Welcome.”

I was captivated by the sight of him smiling brightly.

“I’m very sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Thank you very much.”

He apologized to me with a genuinely sorry expression, and that surprised me even more. At that point, I already thought he was somehow different from other men.

After that, I saw him a few more times when he was working, but we didn’t really converse. We remained simply clerk and customer. However, there was a day when that clearly changed. It was about a month after I first met him. I bought the same kinds of things as usual and brought them to the register. Like always, we weren’t supposed to talk about anything in particular. He would just ring me up, and that would be the end… or so I thought.

“Welcome. …Um.”

Yes. He spoke to me while working the register.

“W-What is it?”

“I know this may be presumptuous of me to say…”

He spoke hesitantly.

“I’m very happy that you always shop here. And I can tell just by looking that you’re working very hard. But if you keep drinking only energy drinks, you’ll ruin your health.”

He spoke with genuine concern for me. My eyes, which had been focused only on work, suddenly regained color, and I could see nothing but his face.

He’s worried about me. He’s looking at me. Not my job. Not my status. Not my money.

He was looking at me, the me who was working hard. He was looking at the “troublesome” me and worrying about me. The moment I understood that…

Something burst inside my head.

“H-Hey… what’s your name?”

“…Huh? My name is Aoi Shirasu. I-I’m sorry, I said something unnecessary. Please don’t worry about it.”

He lowered his head, and I shook mine.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. I was happy. You were worried about me?”

“…Yes. You always buy energy drinks, and you have dark circles under your eyes.”

I had been hiding them with makeup, but apparently he had noticed. As I looked at his apologetic expression, I felt my face growing hot.

“Th-Thank you. I’ll be more careful from now on. Well then, see you.”

“Y-Yes. Oh, um—”

He called out to me as I was about to leave the convenience store.

“We look forward to seeing you again. Please do your best at work.”

He smiled, like a flower blooming. 

A prince appeared in my life. From that day on, my life completely changed. I went home, showered, slept, woke up, carefully did my makeup, and worked.

During all of it…. Whenever I had even a spare moment, I thought about Shirasu-kun. Over the month since we met, I had naturally learned that Shirasu-kun’s shifts were on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On those days, no matter what happened, even if I had to crawl across the ground, I swore I would go to that convenience store. I stopped drinking the energy drinks I used to rely on to work late and instead went to bed early to improve my skin.

Since that day, we gradually started talking more.

“Ah, welcome. I’m sorry about yesterday. I said something unnecessary.”

“It’s fine. I told you yesterday, I was happy.”

“No energy drinks today?”

“No. Oh, here. This is for you, Shirasu-kun. Keep up the good work.”

“Eh!? Are you sure? Thank you!”

His voice healed me.

“Ah, Shiki-san. Welcome. You must be tired from work.”

“Shirasu-kun, you too… um… good work today.”

“Thank you. Oh, you’re buying vegetables again. That’s healthy, isn’t it?”

“Because you worry about me.”

“Of course I do. When we first met, you didn’t look well, Shiki-san. Ah, but now you look beautiful and healthy.”

“-!? D-Don’t say things like that.”

His smile broke me.

“Welcome, Shiki-san. You must be tired from work again. Fried foods are on sale starting today.”

“Oh really? Then I’ll take everything that’s left.”

“Eh? C-Can you finish all that? There’s quite a lot.”

“If it’s for you, Shirasu-kun.”

“That’s no good. If you eat too much oily food, you won’t be healthy again.”

At his worried expression, I fell deeper and deeper. I knew. I knew that Shirasu-kun was only talking to me like this because I was a customer. But it couldn’t be helped.

Shirasu-kun was the one distorting me. Shirasu-kun was the one breaking me. Shirasu-kun was the one who looked at me.

So of course, I misunderstood.

“That’s right. It would be a waste to keep drinking only energy drinks since you have such a beautiful face. It’s not very good for you.”

When he said things like that, I couldn’t help but misunderstand. I wanted to step beyond the distance between customer and clerk. He might hate me. He might run away. But I couldn’t stop anymore.

Shirasu-kun’s account displayed on my phone. I clutched my smartphone to my chest as if it were more precious than anything else.

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