My Cool and Straightforward Girlfriend Won't Let Me Sleep Today Either - Chapter 9
Episode 9: My 4th Year Girlfriend Won’t Let Me Sleep
The two-night, three-day seminar camp ended in the blink of an eye.
For the seminar camp, we gathered at the location and dispersed from there.
Yoshinaga, who can drive, kindly gave me a ride back home.
“Yoshinaga, thanks. But are you sure about the gas money?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. You guys treated me to drinks and lunch, so it’s more than enough. Well then, take care on your way back.”
Despite parking the car on the roadside, Yoshinaga quickly drove off.
Left behind on the roadside, I found myself talking to the person next to me for some reason.
“So, why did you get off with me?”
“Is it wrong if I stop by my boyfriend’s apartment?’
“No, it’s fine…”
Lately, Natsuki comes over to my place whenever she has free time.
It’s as if she’s a girlfriend who just started dating and wants to be together because she feels lonely when apart.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“I understand.”
Natsuki and I start walking towards my room.
Then, instead of intertwining our fingers like we usually do, Natsuki holds my hand with her palm.
She always says it’s embarrassing, so she never holds my hand unless I initiate it.
“…This is unusual. You’re the one holding my hand.”
“Is it bad?”
“No, it’s not bad…”
Perhaps because it’s summer, Natsuki’s hand holding mine feels warm.
I wonder what expression she’s wearing while holding my hand like this.
She, who usually wears a stern, cool, and indifferent expression—
She looked a little awkward.
“If it’s embarrassing, you can let go, you know?”
“It’s not…”
Natsuki tightens her grip on my hand even more.
Lately, my cool and indifferent girlfriend has been getting clingy.
Well, that’s enough to make me curious…
“What’s been going on with you lately?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it feels like you’ve been getting clingy to me…”
“Ah, hmm.”
Natsuki hesitates as if there’s something on her mind.
Then, as if resigning herself, she starts speaking with a fleeting expression.
“You know, my dream… you know I want to be an interpreter, right?”
“Yeah, I know. In high school, you kept asking me to teach you English because I’m a returnee.”
It brings back some nostalgic memories.
But I’m not teaching her now. After all, there’s a limit to what an amateur like me can teach.
“So, well, if you really want to become a skilled interpreter who can thrive, I think it’s best to go abroad to improve your pronunciation and communication skills through living overseas. So…”
Natsuki, who is usually cool and indifferent, is unusually talkative.
And suddenly, as we’re walking towards my room, Natsumi stops and tells me.
“I’ve decided to study abroad for six months starting from fall.”
What did you just say?
Six months starting from fall? When is fall anyway?
I don’t understand what’s going on, but I immediately complain to Natsuki.
“Hey!? Why didn’t you tell me such an important thing?”
Natsuki touches on the core with a wry smile.
“If we can’t see each other for half a year, it’s not unreasonable to expect to be told to break up, right?”
“No, to break up…”
When I questioned the exaggeration, Natsuki’s voice trembled slightly.
“We won’t be able to see each other for six months, okay?”
“…Six months.”
Six months, 180 days, half a year.
During that time, I won’t be able to see Natsuki.
It wouldn’t be strange for some people to choose the option of breaking up.
Especially for couples like Natsuki and me, who have been dating for four years and have settled into a casual relationship.
Ah, I see. Natsumi…
“Sorry, was I being annoying lately?”
Natsuki had prepared herself to be dumped.
If she mentioned studying abroad, I might break up with her.
But her feelings for me haven’t changed, so before breaking up…
Natsuki wanted to create lots of memories with me.
“I see… It makes a lot of sense now.”
“So, are you breaking up with me?”
Natsuki approaches me with a worried expression.
…What’s with that face?
I exhale a big sigh and tell her with a smile.
“We’re not breaking up.”
“Are you sure? It’s a half-year of being a carefree college student, you know?”
“…No, no, like I said. I was lucky to have you as my girlfriend. So, I definitely don’t intend to break up with you.”
“But maybe it will happen again?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Various things, like not being able to meet due to my schedule. Minato… are you okay with that?”
Natsuki tightly squeezed my hand, so much so that it hurt.
It’s normal for some people to prioritize themselves and not be able to see their significant others.
Natsuki’s dream is to work as an interpreter all over the world.
With that in mind, Natsuki asks me if I’m prepared for the challenges that come with it.
You’re one to talk about love being heavy, yet you’re just as heavy.
I let go of Natsuki’s hand.
“Right.”
Natsuki smiled sadly.
Hey, don’t get the wrong idea!
I quickly grabbed Natsuki’s hand again.
But this time, instead of palm to palm, we intertwined our fingers like lovers.
“I’ll never let you go.”
I conveyed my determination to my girlfriend of four years.
With tears in the corners of her eyes, Natsuki said something to mock me.
“Too much… You’re really too heavy with your love.”
“Geez.”
I retorted to Natsuki mocking my determination.
Then, Natsuki calmly spoke to me.
“But, I love that about you.”
※
On the way home from the seminar camp, I found out why my usually cool and distant girlfriend had been clingy to me lately.
Even though Natsuki felt relieved after confessing everything to me…
She still seemed to be carrying it with her.
“Sorry for keeping quiet until now.”
Natsuki, who had just finished taking a shower in my room and was wearing underwear because it was hot, apologized again.
“Don’t worry about it. If I were in your position, I might do the same thing.”
I didn’t want to show any vulnerability that might lead Natsuki to break up with me.
But it seemed like Natsuki was feeling more embarrassed than I thought…
“Is there something you want me to do?”
“I want to be lovey-dovey before I go abroad for study. Honestly, not being able to see you for half a year is really tough…”
I handed Natsuki something I had prepared while she was showering.
Natsuki widened her eyes at the thing I handed her.
“A spare key… Even though you never gave me one even when I asked…”
“Well, I want to spend as much time together as possible before we can’t.”
Natsuki is going abroad for study from September onwards.
Until then, I want to make as much time for Natsuki as possible, even if it means sacrificing my freedom by giving her the key to my room.
“I guess I should have told you about studying abroad sooner.”
“Yeah, maybe?”
“Hey, Minato, if I said I wanted to live somewhere other than Japan in the future, would you come with me? Assuming, of course, that I can support you.”
Natsuki’s statement seemed to confirm my love.
Even though I’m aware that my love is heavy, yours seems heavier.
Thinking that to myself, I jokingly replied.
“You’ll support me…? Alright, gladly, I’ll become yours.”
And at that moment.
Natsuki, still only in her underwear due to the heat, slowly approached me.
“Hmm. Since you’re mine, I can do anything, right?”
“Ah, yeah.”
Pushed by her momentum, I carelessly responded.
Then, while wrapping her arms around my waist, Natsuki whispered.
“If you’re mine, can I do as I please?”
Suddenly, a certain phrase from Natsuki crossed my mind.
‘When we get home, it’s punishment time.’
Uh oh, that’s not good. Seriously, it might not be good at all.
Excitement gradually increased the beating of my heart.
“It’s really hard to keep being played with even though I’ve already come…”
I verbalized what I might experience from Natsuki in the future, seeking mercy.
But it had no effect.
“So, it’s like, even though you hate it, you secretly like it?”
“No, it’s not… That’s not what I meant. I mean, you’re changing way too much!”
“Well, we’ve been together for four years. Maybe now I don’t have to hold back anymore.”
Natsuki put her hand on my belt.
Uh-oh, this is really, really bad…
“If you don’t stop, we’re breaking up. Seriously, do you understand?”
“I don’t think for a second you’d really break up.”
Ugh, well, that’s true.
Even if Natsuki mercilessly teases me until I cry, I’ll never stop loving her.
Ah, it’s hopeless. I give up…
“Please be gentle with me.”
“Okay, I will. Don’t worry, Minato. I’ll take care of you until the day I die.”
―And so, I was teased by Natsuki until morning.