Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 09: Tanaka-san Is Just Too Cute!

Chapter 09: Tanaka-san Is Just Too Cute!

“Excuse me! Can you fix my bike?”

“Sure thing! Just give me a moment—I’m almost done with this one.”

It was early on a weekend morning.

I’d brought my bike, which had a flat tire, to the nearest repair shop, hoping they could fix it.

Honestly?

If I could’ve kept commuting with Tanaka-san by train every day, I would’ve ditched the bike ages ago.

But suddenly switching my routine would totally raise suspicions at home.

And spending nearly ten thousand yen a month just on train fare?

Yeah, no thanks. That’d destroy my budget.

(I mean, I do have a part-time job at the family restaurant, but high schoolers barely get any hours. I hardly earn anything…)

“Sorry to keep you waiting!”

Just as I was mentally debating whether I should get a second job, the old guy from the shop came over.

Apparently, they were swamped with repair requests today.

He said mine would take around three hours.

Three hours?

Totally doable.

“No worries. I’ll hang around nearby, so take your time.”

“Thanks! Oh, and would you mind giving me your number? I’ll call once it’s ready.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Since there was a mall close by, I figured I’d kill time over there.

I gave the old man my number, waved goodbye, and stepped out of the shop.

(Oh, right—Mom’s birthday’s coming up, isn’t it?)

As I wandered around the shopping mall for a while, I happened to pass by a stylish little home goods store—and that’s when it hit me.

It was still about two weeks away, but it’s always better to be prepared early.

Even if I didn’t buy anything today, just picking something out in advance would save me from the usual last-minute scramble.

Checking how much cash I had on me, I stepped into the store.

(She broke her favorite mug the other day… maybe I’ll get her a new one? Or would a tumbler be more practical? She drinks coffee all the time, so maybe this is the perfect excuse to get her a fancy grinder or something?)

Crash!!

While I was browsing around, hoping to find something nice under 5,000 yen, the sudden sound of breaking glass snapped me out of my thoughts.

“S-Sorry! It was my kid—!”

“No, no, it’s fine! It barely touched me, really—it’s nothing. More importantly, is your child okay?”

“I-I’m fine! But… I hurt onee-chan… I’m really sowwy…”

I peeked over to see what happened and spotted a little boy—probably around five—on the verge of tears.

Apparently, he’d knocked over a mug, and one of the shards had grazed the leg of a young woman with light brown hair nearby.

“Excuse me, could we get a broom and dustpan over here?”

“Y-Yes! Right away!”

I quickly let the nearby store clerk know what needed to be done.

Fortunately, she’d heard the crash too, so she nodded and rushed off without hesitation.

Once she disappeared into the backroom, I turned my attention back to the woman who’d gotten hurt.

And in that brief moment I’d looked away…

Blood had started trickling down her leg.

A few drops had even splattered onto the floor.

“I’m so sorry! Really, I’m so sorry!!”

“Waaaaaah!!”

“No, no—it’s okay, really. Don’t worry about it. I’m totally fine, alright? There, there… no more tears, okay? Oh—look, the store clerk’s back.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting! I’ll clean it up right away!”

Even though she was clearly injured, the woman kept smiling and stayed calm—for the child’s sake.

(Come on… there’s no way that’s “fine.”)

I grumbled to myself and stepped a little closer—just as the woman moved aside to give the clerk some space.

“…You’re bleeding quite a bit. Here, use this to wipe it off for now.”

I kept my voice low, so the mom and her kid wouldn’t overhear.

The moment she heard me, the woman flinched a little and turned around—

“…Huh? Nakayama-kun?”

“…Tanaka-san!?”

Yup.

The injured woman was none other than Tanaka-san.

Her long brown hair was tied back today in a loose braid—completely different from usual.

No wonder I didn’t recognize her at first.

Neither of us expected to run into each other like this—

So we just stood there, frozen, staring at each other in total shock.

“H-Here, at least use this to wipe the blood.”

Remembering again that her leg was still bleeding, I quickly handed my handkerchief to Tanaka-san.

“Ah… thank you.”

She blinked in surprise at it for a second, then—blushing faintly—quietly started dabbing at the wound.

“Bye-bye, onee-chan!”

“Bye-bye!”

With the injury cleaned up, Tanaka-san continued to act like it was no big deal—

And thanks to her calm demeanor, the little boy who’d been crying just moments ago had already settled down.

He was even smiling brightly now as he waved goodbye.

But while the kid seemed fine, his mom clearly wasn’t.

“Thank you so much for everything today.”

She kept bowing over and over, looking deeply apologetic from start to finish.

“This isn’t much, but please accept this as a small apology.”

She must’ve realized the injury was worse than it looked.

The mother stepped forward and quietly offered something to Tanaka-san.

“A… gift card? Wait, this is 3,000 yen!? I can’t accept this! I mean, I didn’t really do anything!”

Tanaka-san’s eyes went wide in surprise.

Flustered, she hurried to give it back.

“Please, don’t say that. I insist—this is—”

“Ehh!?”

But then, the woman leaned in close and whispered something into Tanaka-san’s ear—

And in an instant, Tanaka-san froze.

All the energy drained from her body like air escaping a balloon.

She looked like a flower that had just wilted.

“Ah… thank you very much.”

“I’m glad you accepted it. I hope it comes in handy. Well then, I’ll be taking my leave.”

In the end, Tanaka-san politely accepted the gift card, and the mother left the store, holding her child’s hand.

“Looks like everything worked out nicely in the end, huh, Tanaka-san?”

Once I saw them leave, I turned to her and said that—

Only for Tanaka-san to flinch again, her shoulders jolting in surprise.

“Y-You think so?”

She faced me, clearly trying to act normal… but it wasn’t quite convincing.

Something about her expression felt off—it didn’t look like a smile of relief.

Curious, I asked,

“You look kinda… unsatisfied? What’s wrong?”

“U-Um… yeah. Just a little. I mean, I feel like I got too much out of it…”

Ah. So that was it.

She wasn’t upset about the gift—she just felt guilty.

“What do you mean ‘too much’? You were the one who got hurt. It’s only fair.”

“I… guess you’re right.”

I tried reassuring her that it was a reasonable outcome, but even then, her expression didn’t really brighten.

She was probably still thinking about that family.

I mean, yeah—besides breaking the mug, they had to pay for the damages and give her an apology gift on top of that.

Not exactly the kind of day you’d want to remember.

So I understood where she was coming from.

Tanaka-san wasn’t the type to feel good when someone else was clearly struggling.

That was just the kind of person she was—humble, thoughtful, always putting others first.

But really…

If you care about someone else, sometimes the best thing you can do is accept their gesture with a smile.

And besides—

If anyone deserves a little bit of good luck, it’s definitely Tanaka-san.

“Well, if you still can’t accept it, just think of it as karma for being a good person. Like yesterday—you helped me clean even though it wasn’t your turn. That seriously saved me, y’know. Thanks for that.”

Trying to lift her spirits, I told her it was okay to let herself be happy every now and then.

Tanaka-san turned her face away, and in a voice so soft I almost missed it, murmured,

“…Thank you very much.”

(Too cute!)

Seeing her fidget with her hair, all flustered and shy, was almost too much to handle.

I nearly dropped dead from the sheer adorableness.

[Afterword]

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