My Cool and Straightforward Girlfriend Won't Let Me Sleep Today Either - Chapter 7
Episode 7: 4th Year Girlfriend Showing Off Her Boyfriend
Today marks the beginning of a two-night, three-day seminar camp.
The venue is a seminar house with a capacity of around 60 people, affiliated with the university.
Our university’s seminar house is located near Lake Yamanaka.
And, everyone will gather at the seminar camp location.
I am planning to ride in the car driven by my good friend Yoshinaga.
So, I arrived at the parking lot of a large supermarket, the meeting place.
“Oh, there it is.”
I approached the car that Yoshinaga was driving.,
Yoshinaga, who is sitting in the driver’s seat, opens the window and speaks to me.
“Yo, you’re the first one here.”
“Well, I thought it wouldn’t be nice to keep you waiting. I left home early.”
“You can put the luggage in the back.”
I put my luggage into the trunk compartment at the back of the car driven by Yoshinaga.
After loading the luggage into the car, before getting into Yoshinaga’s car…
“I’ll go buy drinks and various things at the supermarket.”
“Oh, I’ll have coffee. Anything unsweetened is fine.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
Since we are borrowing the parking lot as a meeting place, it is natural to go shopping at the supermarket.
15 minutes later.
After finishing shopping at the supermarket, I returned to the car, and all the members who were going to the campsite together were gathered.
Tanaka-san was in the passenger seat, Sakai-san and Kondo were in the second-row seats, and Natsuki was in the third-row seat.
“All right, now that everyone’s here, shall we head out?”
And so, we headed to Yamanashi Prefecture for the seminar camp.
※
20 minutes after getting in the car.
The conversation in the car continued lively.
“So, Minato, how’s your summer vacation going?”
Yoshinaga, who is used to driving and loves cars, asked me.
“So far, nothing particularly memorable.”
“Huh, surprising. Don’t you go on dates with Minashiro-san?”
It’s a well-known fact within the seminar group that Natsuki and I are dating.
Yoshinaga straightforwardly asks about our summer vacation.
“Well, I just moved, and Minato’s wallet…”
Natsuki replied with a sigh.
Yeah, sorry, I really feel bad for Natsuki.
We had plans to go to summer festivals together, visit amusement parks, and do summer-like things.
But, it all got postponed because of me.
“Anyway, it’s unusual. Living alone since sophomore year of college.”
Yoshinaga asked me with curiosity.
So, I answered with a bit of anger.
“My parents remarried, and the stepdaughter was at that age… So I was kicked out of the house because I didn’t want to live together.”
“Huh, that was the reason.”
“Well, besides that, the university was just far away as well.”
And as I was talking, Tanaka-san, sitting in the passenger seat, said something to deliberately tease me.
“Well, I guess it’s good that you now have a place to make out with your girlfriend.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Oh, you know… doesn’t the idea of being a commuter wife seem kind of admirable? So, what do you think? Are you happy?”’
Tanaka-san, are you a man?
I replied with a sense of disbelief to Tanaka-san, who had the mindset of a pubescent boy, I responded
“People who rudely pry into someone’s romantic relationship are disliked, you know?”
“Ahahaha! It’s okay, it’s okay. Right, Natsuki?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Natsuki responded nonchalantly.
Yeah, Natsuki and I… We’ve been dating for four years now.
I’m used to being teased like this by those around us.
“Isn’t Natsuki kind of unfair? Like, being so cool and unshakable.”
“It’s not a big deal. It’s not like I’m a child who gets flustered when teased.”
“Pfft.”
Natsuki said with a composed face, and I almost burst out laughing.
Because, even though she’s calm when teased now…
In the past, when she was teased about us, she would blush or blatantly avoid eye contact, showing signs of being flustered.
And when Natsuki noticed that I was about to laugh, she pinched my arm.
Okay, okay.
I won’t mention that you used to be like that, so stop…
“By the way, Natsuki and Minato-kun, how did you two become friends? I mean, like, you’re totally different…”
Since Tanaka-san asked me that, I remembered how I became friends with Natsuki.
※
I was absentmindedly sitting in the library after school.
Having drawn the short straw, I became a library committee member and was waiting for people to come borrow or return books at the counter.
Next to me is a classmate…
Natsuki Minashiro-san is sitting beside me.
She’s also a library committee member like me and is on duty for lending books today.
It should have been enough to handle the lending operations alone since it was boring.
But, due to a guy who abandoned his duties claiming boredom in the past, the duty is now done with two people.
“What?”
Minashiro-san caught me glancing at her.
I stuttered in surprise at being suddenly spoken to.
“Oh, just wondering if it makes sense to have two people when it’s so boring.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Minashiro-san answered with understanding.
Despite being in the same class, we don’t talk much, so I feel a bit nervous.
Well, you see, I’m a dull, introverted guy while Minashiro-san is a stylish and lively, outgoing girl.
“……””……”
After that, the library fell silent again.
We didn’t talk at all.
Well, there’s no particular reason to talk.
I just want time to pass quickly…
Being alone with someone who’s incompatible with me in such a quiet space is really awkward.
While enduring the awkwardness, I was fiddling with my smartphone when…
Minashiro-san put on wireless earphones that are currently popular.
It seems that the pairing with the smartphone did not go well, and the sound is coming from the smartphone’s speakers instead of the earphones.
“Effect”
The sound that came from Minashiro-san’s smartphone was an English word.
Oh, she’s studying English.
I thought she was very diligent in her studies and Minashiro-san suddenly spoke to me.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine… But, you’re really diligent, Minashiro-san.”
“Oh, yeah. I want to be able to speak English fluently in the future.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. You’re already thinking about the future even though you’re just a first-year in high school…”
I blurted out what I thought.
Oh no, did I say too much about being an introvert!?
Sweating nervously, I watched Minashiro-san’s reaction.
“It’s not a big deal.”
Minashiro-san said as if it was nothing.
But, after saying that, Minashiro-san seemed to lower her gaze slightly and put her hand on her mouth.
She seemed embarrassed, as if she was shy.
The image I had of her was a promising newcomer in the track and field team.
And, a cool, unshakable, stylish, cute-faced, and well-built perfect person.
That’s why her shy gesture looked very cute to me.
Before I knew it, I was staring at Minashiro-san.
“…What?”
“Eh, ah, well…”
I couldn’t possibly say that I was captivated by her.
Using one of my few advantages, I made up a reason for why I was staring at Minashiro-san.
“I, uh, lived abroad until the summer of my third year in middle school, so I’m better at English than most people… So, I thought I’d offer to help if you didn’t understand anything.”
“What’s that? It’s amazing.”
“No, it’s not that much. I can just speak a little.”
“What’s your name? Also, please tell me your hobbies and skills.”
Suddenly, Minashiro-san spoke to me in English.
Although the intonation is different from a native speaker, her pronunciation is clean enough to show that she’s been studying diligently…
“My name is Minato Mitarai. My hobbies are reading manga and playing games, and my skill is, as you can see, I can speak a little English.”
Using my few strengths, I replied in English, and Minashiro-san, who seemed half skeptical that I could actually speak, widened her eyes in surprise.
“…You’re serious.
“No, it’s not really that much… It’s just something I can do a little…”
As I tried to downplay it, Minashiro-san looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“You don’t have to put yourself down so much.”
“No, it’s not like that…”
“Hey, you seem to feel a wall between us, but there’s really no such thing.”
Minashiro-san declared firmly and confidently.
Minashiro-san said something cool with her cool appearance.
But, even so, it made me feel even more distant from her.
Unlike Minashiro-san, I don’t understand fashion, I can’t read the atmosphere, and I can’t even exercise.
And even though I thought so inside, an introvert can’t go against the words of an outgoing person in his heart.
“There’s really no wall between us as Minashiro-san says.”
I affirmed Minashiro-san’s words with a smile.
Then, Minashiro-san behaved as if there really was “no wall between us” as she had already told me.
“Hey, I want you to teach me some English that’s commonly used abroad.”
“Oh, well…”
I taught Minashiro-san some common English phrases that I often used abroad.
Then, Minashiro-san asked a different question.
As she asked me multiple questions, time flew by in the library.
And before I knew it, it was time for our shift to end.
“It’s already time… I’ll return the keys to the staff room, so you can go ahead.”
“Huh? Oh, no, it’s my turn today, so I’ll do it.”
“Got it. Then, I’ll go next time. See you later.”
Saying that, Minashiro-san left the library.
Left alone in the library, I muttered under my breath.
“Outgoing people are scary… They’ll talk to you a lot.”
As a introvert, I felt afraid of outgoing people, who would talk to me a lot if I showed any weakness.
“…Well, it wasn’t that bad, though.”
It was painful, but when an outgoing person praised my few English skills, it wasn’t so bad.
This moment, I still didn’t know.
That as I talked with Minashiro-san and became friends, I would develop romantic feelings for her.
※
This is what it was like at first with Natsuki…
As we drove to the location of the seminar camp, I recalled some nostalgic memories.
Now, how should I explain to Tanaka-san how I became friends with her…
While I was silently contemplating my response, Natsuki spoke up in my place.
“I guess it was when he taught me English.”
She shortened the story considerably…
I thought that if I told him everything honestly, he would dig deeper, and it would not be a good place to stop the topic.
“Heh, Minato can speak English?”
Tanaka-san’s voice sounded surprised.
Ah, I was going to say it was just a little, but for some reason, Natsuki proudly answered.
“Minato is a returnee, so I think he can speak English very well.”
“Eh, but he lived abroad before, right? I guess he has already forgotten…”
“He can still do it. Look, talk to me.”
And when she asked, I spoke some English.
The people in the car, who didn’t really believe that I could speak fluently, were surprised.
“…Wow.”
“If the girlfriend can do it, the boyfriend can too…”
Being sincerely praised by those around me, I felt a bit embarrassed.
It’s your fault it’s embarrassing…
I lightly nudged Natsuki.
“It’s not embarrassing.”
Understanding the reason why I nudged her, Natsuki, with a composed face, replied to me.
Damn, this outgoing person… A true introvert like me isn’t used to being praised, so it feels weird when I am, you know?
So, I glared at Natsuki, intending to protest.