The Case of Liking the Most Beautiful Girl in the School Even After Being Told Not to Like Her - Chapter 15 - I Don't Want You To Be Conscious of Me, I Just Want You To Notice Me

Chapter 15 – I Don’t Want You To Be Conscious of Me, I Just Want You To Notice Me

It was decided that Yuuto-kun and I were going to see the planetarium on Saturday of that week. Iori and I had gone shopping for clothes at the mall. The clothes are for when I go out with Yuuto-kun.

“So you want me to pick out your clothes?”

“Yeah… Asai-kun only gave a subtle reaction when he saw the clothes I wore the other day when we went out together, but it’s not that I want him to say I’m cute or anything like that… Well…”

I denied it, but it’s true that I wanted him to say I was cute. It’s not that I want Yuuto-kun to be aware of me. Perhaps I would seek those words from whoever it is I’m talking to.

“You’re not even trying to lie. Even if you deny it with your mouth, it’s obvious from your expression. You asked me for help, so leave this to me. I’ll choose the clothes that suit you best.”

“Thank you, Iori.”

“Now then, try this on right away!”

While we were talking, I picked up the clothes handed to me.

＊＊＊

I tried on several outfits and thought the last one I tried on was the one I liked best. I opened the curtains of the fitting room and asked Iori, who was waiting outside, how she liked it.

“This is probably the best fit. Iori, what do you think?”

“Yeah, that’s good! I’m sure this is going to be a successful date.”

“No, it’s not a date. Me and Asai-kun are family. I will never fall in love with Asai-kun.”

Certainly if a man and a woman were to go somewhere together, it would probably be a date.

“Eh!? You’re stepsiblings, so you can marry, you know? You can go out with each other. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes. But me and Asai-kun are family. No more, no less.”

Yuuto-kun and I are, and will continue to be, close as a family. Our distance can never be too far or too close.

“You seem to want to get on well with him. Is there a reason for that?”

“It’s a secret between me and Asai-kun, so I won’t tell Iori.”

“Eh~  if you say it like that, I’m even more concerned about it.”

“Yes, yes, well then, I’ll go and buy these clothes.”

“Okay. I’ll wait outside the shop then.”

Iori said that and left the shop. I closed the curtains, took off the clothes I was wearing and put on the clothes I wore when I went out today.

＊＊＊

The next day, me and Mina-san left the house together and headed for our destination, the science museum. To get to the science museum, we had to take the train, so we walked to the station.

We’ve been walking in silence since we left home, and I don’t know if this means I have to talk about something.

“Mina-san.”

When I called her name, Mina asked, “What?”  while looking forward.

“Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?”

Since this morning, Mina-san’s been acting cold towards me. I thought I might have done something to offend her, but I have no idea what.

“Not really…”

She only said so and the silence flowed again.

It was then that I realized something.

“Could it be that you changed your perfume, Mina-san?”

“Eh, ah…yeah…”

Mina-san’s slightly happy expression made me think that maybe she wanted me to notice that she had changed her perfume.

As we were talking, we arrived at the station before we knew it, and we got on the train that had just arrived. Since we were getting off at the station five stations ahead, we decided to sit down. We sat down next to each other for a while, but Mina-san thought I was too close to her, so she moved away a little and sat down again.

After a few minutes on the train, me and Mina-san got off the train without saying a word in the end. We walked for five minutes to our destination. Admission was free, but you have to pay to see the planetarium. We bought tickets and explored the museum for a little while until it was time to go back. There were exhibits on space, earth, and other subjects.

“Mina-san, do you have a favorite star?”

As I looked at the exhibition, I suddenly asked what was on my mind.

“Perhaps Sirius… It’s the brightest star visible from Earth. How about you, Yuuto-kun?”

“Maybe…Venus…”

The moment I said that, my eyes met Mina-san’s and she blushed and kicked me lightly in the leg with her foot.

“What, did I say something weird?”

“W~We~ll, not really~… But I see that Yuuto-kun is that kind of person.”

Mina-san then turned her back to me and walked away.

“What did she mean?”

In the end, not knowing what it meant, I decided to follow Mina-san…

Before the planetarium’s projection time, we moved to the floor where we could watch the planetarium and sat in our assigned seats, albeit a little early.

“I’m looking forward to it, Yuuto-kun.”

Her smile, without a trace of falsehood, was so beautiful I couldn’t take my eyes off her and replied a little too late, “Yeah, me too.”

Why don’t you just smile naturally like that all the time?

＊＊＊

“That was fun.”

After leaving the science museum, we stopped at a nearby observatory for a view over the whole town.

“Yes. It’s good to have learned a lot about the stars.”

When I said this, she made a happy face that looked as if to say she was glad she had invited me.

“I went camping with my family when I was little, and the stars we saw were so beautiful that I still remember them… We promised to come back together, but that didn’t happen.”

It didn’t happen because Mina’s father died. I too, who lost my mother, had something that didn’t come true…

“I wish we could have seen the stars together…”

It’s probably not right to ask her to go see it with me. Mina-san would want to go see the stars with her own father and Kaho-san.

“Ah, sorry. It’s getting kind of dark… We should probably go home.”

I found myself taking Mina-san’s hand as she was walking away.

“Yuuto-kun?”

“Why don’t we take the whole family to that place? Though a lot of things might be different from back then…”

“Yeah… Let’s definitely go. That’s why… Yuuto-kun, don’t disappear in front of me—”

Mina-san held my hand tightly. It had been a long time since I had felt human warmth like this.

I lost my mother…and Mina-san lost her father. We grew up separately and until recently, we were strangers, but now we are family above all. I’m not saying we should forget the past…but we have to move on.

“Can I be your sister until we get back?”

With a lovely face, Mina-san looked into my face.

“Sister? …Mina-san, you’re my step-sister, remember?”

I said softly and she laughed a little.

“Fufu, yes, you’re right. Shall we go home then, Nii-san?”

“Yeah, let’s go home…”

Me and Mina-san walked side by side to our house.

On the way home, Mina-san and I told each other what had happened so far.

“By the way, those clothes look good on you.”

“T-Thanks…”

I don’t even know half of Mina-san. She probably doesn’t know me either. But we’re not in a hurry. We can take our time, slowly…

After all, our time together as a family is just beginning.