[Sad News] Living Together with the Unattainable Beauty—Her Overwhelming Affection Is Way Too Calculated - 68-69 END

Chapter 68: The Beginning of a New Everyday Life

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A month had passed since the day of my life’s greatest gamble, the day of my confession.

Since that night when we melted into each other until boundaries blurred, my world had completely and beautifully transformed.

When I woke up in the morning, she was no longer beside me in bed. Feeling the lingering warmth of her body and the slight dampness of the sheets, I sensed her presence from the living room, where the delicious aroma of the breakfast she was making for me warmed my heart deeply.

In the living room, she stood in a waist-only naked apron, smiling shyly and wagging her tail. 

“Morning, Gen-chan.”

I was still not used to it, but I had come to accept this. Calling her “Fujigaya-san” was no longer enough. Calling her “Kanoko-san” still made my heart race, but every time I mustered the courage to say, “Morning, Kanoko-san,” she smiled as if she were the happiest person in the world, blooming like a flower.

That smile made me realize this dreamlike happiness was undeniably real. There was nothing to hide anymore. We held hands on the way to school. Seeing her look down with red ears, my own ears flushed too.

At school, I called her Kanoko-san, and she called me Gen-chan. We got teased sometimes, but I considered that part of the happiness. And finally, the last day of our strange, irreplaceable cohabitation arrived.

Tomorrow, my parents would return from America. The room overflowed with cardboard boxes. Her belongings were gradually being moved out. The cushion that smelled like her, the sofa where we sat side by side, the bed where we slept together… As her things disappeared, the room felt emptier, a bit more spacious.

The old me might have felt my heart breaking with loneliness at the sight of this emptying room. But not now. The loneliness was there, sure, but the firm expectation for our future was far, far greater.

Because we’re no longer just “roommates who started living together by mistake.”

The packing was done, leaving the room bare. The sun-faded marks on the walls told the story of the short season we spent here. It was a little lonely. But, strangely, not sad.

Because this isn’t the end. It’s the true beginning.

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Every day since becoming lovers with Gen-chan had sparkled like a dream, filled with happiness. His shy smile, his awkward kindness, the occasional glimpse of his masculine profile—all of it, every bit, was my treasure.

I have no intention of ever letting go of his hand.

I picked up a cardboard box.

“It’s heavy, Kanoko-san. Let me carry it.”

Gen-chan hurriedly took the box from my hands from behind. His clumsy kindness was irresistibly endearing.

The one-sided chase had disappeared. We had finally stood on the same starting line, walking toward the same future together. We carried the last cardboard box to the entrance.

The room had returned to the empty space it was when I first moved in. But unlike the anxiety and loneliness of that day, this room was filled with warm memories.

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“…Well, I’m off.”

Kanoko-san said reluctantly, her hand on the door. Once that door closed, our special days would truly end.

“…Kanoko-san.”

Before I realized it, I had called her name and on impulse, I hugged her slender body tightly from behind.

“Wah!?”

The sweet scent of her shampoo filled my chest. Her heartbeat pulsed through my arms, thump, thump.

God, I’m so happy.

We held each other, time standing still. Then, Kanoko-san giggled mischievously in my arms. Turning to face me, she looked up into my eyes.

“Hey, Gen-chan.”

“What?”

“I’m not holding back anymore.”

With that declaration, she stood on her toes, clung to me tightly, and pressed her soft lips against mine. Without either of us leading, our tongues intertwined. It was the longest, deepest, most irresistibly sweet kiss we’d ever shared. Our strange, irreplaceable cohabitation came to an end here, but our true story was just beginning.

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Chapter 69: Epilogue

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I, Genji Miyazuka, had spent the last few years racking what little brain I had, studying like mad, and after all that hard work I had gotten into a fairly good university and, upon graduating, had achieved my dream of getting a job at a publishing house. As a rookie light-novel editor I was so busy I scarcely had time to sleep, but those days were the most fulfilling I had ever known.

And Kanoko-san—after high school she had accepted an offer from the agency that had long courted her and had begun pursuing a career as a professional model in earnest. She threw herself into the work with discipline, and though her days were busy they were full of effort. By now she had become a top model everyone recognized; there was hardly a day when you couldn’t see her face on TV or in magazines.

On a sunny day when I had finally stood on my own as a working adult, I proposed to her as a matter of ceremony. I couldn’t do anything as fancy as a dinner at a restaurant with a night view. Instead, it happened while we were at my place, just like always, eating the hamburgers she’d made.

“K–Kanoko-san, p-please marry me!”

I held the engagement ring—bought with the last of my savings—with both hands and, voice shaking, made my clumsy proposal. She looked startled for a moment, then began to cry big, shining tears.

“Yes—gladly.”

She said while smiling more beautifully than anyone in the world. And now, today, we were standing in front of the door to our new apartment. This time it wasn’t a mistake. This was our new cohabitation life we were starting by will—our will. I unlocked the door and opened it.

It was still empty—no furniture—yet bright and warm with good sunlight. The room had a vibe a little like that 2LDK from that time long ago.

“After you, my lady.”

I said it half-jokingly, and she giggled happily. Then she slipped her arm through mine and said.

“I’m home, Gen-chan.”

That smile hadn’t changed at all since those days. She was the most precious treasure in my world. And so our new everyday life began.

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