The Case of My Unknown Childhood Friend Who Became My Girlfriend Without Me Even Knowing It

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Chapter 7 – This is the Parking Lot

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Here’s the meat and potatoes and salad.”

She came from the kitchen to the room with a tray of steaming hot food.

“Eat it while it’s still warm. It’s full of love.”

The kotatsu desk in the middle of the room is filled with food.

The meal included meat and potatoes, salad and miso soup.

The smell of freshly cooked rice was also appetizing.

“I-Itadakimasu.”

It wasn’t because I was hungry or anything like that, but because I had unwisely eaten food prepared by a complete stranger.

Maybe it’s because I kissed her.

I’ll never forget that time.

How long had I kept my lips on hers?

I don’t know what would have happened now if the rice hadn’t finished cooking then…

Thinking about all these things, I took a bite of the meat and potatoes and brought it to my mouth.

“…It’s good.”

“Really? I’m glad, there’s plenty to go around, so keep eating.”

The taste is simple.

But it’s the kind of taste that makes the meal go down a treat.

For some reason, it also makes me nostalgic.

“Yes, it’s delicious. You’re a good cook.”

“Because I practiced a lot. I didn’t get it right the first time, but I’m glad you like it.”

The shy look of her, which is completely different from when she threatened me in the daytime, is very sexy.

I was staring at her lush lips, almost sucking them in.

“Shall I give you another mouth-to-mouth?”

“Huh?”

“Haha, I’m surprised. But I want you to taste the food properly, so I’ll leave you to it.”

“……”

Then…

Her gesture of gently placing her finger on my mouth to stop me from leaning forward made my chest tighten.

What is this feeling?

It’s a feeling I’ve never had before, whether it’s a crush on someone because they’re cute or something else.

No way, do I have any feelings towards her…?

“Ah, no. No more kissing. Let’s just eat and I’ll take you home. It’s getting late.”

However, I will stop at the last minute.

She’s still my stalker.

No matter how pretty she is, how well she cooks, or how she stole my first kiss, she’s still a lunatic who calls herself someone’s girlfriend without permission.

That is not love.

First love is something that comes only once.

I won’t let this woman take that away from me.

“Then, I think I’ll take your word for it and go home today. I have things to do at night too.”

“I see. So, is your house close?”

“Yeah. So you don’t have to walk me home.”

“No. Whatever you are, you’re still a girl in my class. If something happened to you on the street at night, I wouldn’t feel good.”

I don’t want to imitate someone who has done something bad to me.

I’m not like her.

So, as a human being, I’m just doing what I’m supposed to.

“Thanks for the food. The food was good.”

“Yes, I’m really glad. I’ll make it for you again another time.”

“……”

I guess because I felt guilty for kissing her, albeit forcibly… I can’t be the one to push Sakatoki away.

I didn’t like myself like that, so I quickly asked her to leave.

She’s leaving the room right now.

I’m leaving the room now.

But then, she suddenly stopped.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“Yes, I’m sorry to have disturbed you today. Good night.”

“I told you I’ll be taking you home.”

“This is it. My home.”

“…What did you say?”

One of the only three rooms on the second floor of a rundown apartment building.

The room in the middle, she said.

“What a coincidence that we’re next door. I’ll wake you up again tomorrow.”

“W-Wait, what the hell is this?”

I called her off, but she quickly walked into her room.

Again, she repeated her good night.

But before the front door closed, she looked at me, shook her head a little and said,

“I’ll be watching you the whole time.”

◇

Night.

I can’t stop sweating.

The hot weather is almost here.

But my body is shivering like it’s freezing.

Alone in bed, wrapped in the duvet, I was shivering.

Sakatoki is trouble after all.

Next door? That’s ridiculous.

Coincidence? Bullshit, it’s absolutely intentional.

But how? When I moved in, I still had neighbors.

Don’t tell me she kicked them out?

No, it shouldn’t be that easy…

“I’ll be watching you the whole time.”

Her last words came to mind.

That means that she’s somehow watching me shivering in the corner of the room like this right now.

Is that what she was trying to say?

I still have her next to me.

If right now, she’s looking at me from somewhere…

The thought of that frightens me.

When it was morning, I felt like something terrible was going to happen.

I couldn’t sleep.

◇

…In the morning.

I can’t remember the last time I didn’t sleep at all.

No, this is the first time I’ve stayed up all night except for playing games.

The whole time.

My head was dominated by Sakatoki.

Sakatoki Aya.

How many times have I muttered that name in my mind?

I wish this was from the sweet and sour youth of my first love.

Unfortunately, it’s a horror caused by horrific stalking.

That’s why…

Pin-pon.

Even the sound of the front door chime causes me to shudder.

“Ah, he’s not up yet? Well, I’ll wake him up then.”

The front door opened on its own, and the voice of Sakatoki said something arbitrary.

I still can’t get out from under the covers. I can’t get out.

“But… Kanata-kun’s mother will get worried if he sleeps in every day. I’ll give him a good morning kiss.”

Those words reached my ears as I was tucked in.

Chuu~

Kiss, she said?

…If I keep pretending to be asleep like this, will she kiss me again, like she did that time?

Such evil thoughts crossed my mind.

However, I immediately shake off those evil thoughts.

“I-I’m up.”

“Ah, what a pity. Good morning, Kanata-kun.”

“G-Good morning.”

In this room…

Stood a petite, pretty high school girl in a school uniform.

Of course, it’s Sakatoki Aya.

There’s no doubt that she’s cute.

This is a preciousness that goes beyond types and categories.

It’s just that…

“Oh, did you stay up late by any chance?”

“What? No, I just went to bed late.”

“Hmm. Staying up late is bad for your skin, so don’t do it, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be careful.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Yeah. If you’d been lying in bed, I’d have stabbed you.”

“W-What the hell are you talking about in the morning?”

‘I’m serious, okay? You can’t lie to your lover. If Kanata-kun lies, I’ll kill Kanata-kun and keep him in my room forever.”

“…You’re kidding…right?”

What a gruesome thing to say in the morning.

This Sakatoki Aya looks like a decent, normal girl, but she’s not.

“I wonder… But don’t let that happen.”

“Ah, yeah… I won’t lie.”

“Yeah. So, do you want to go and get a drink?”

“…Okay.”

Again, I’m going to the convenience store with Sakatoki.

Watching her happily pick up the same two cans of coffee as yesterday was something of a déjà vu.

“Hey, aren’t you buying fried chicken today?”

This is another line I’ve heard.

I’m not in a time loop, am I?

I look at my mobile phone while thinking about this nonsense, but the date has firmly changed.

And she can make me understand that the day wasn’t repeating at all.

“Hey, Kanata-kun. Is black coffee delicious?”

“Well, I don’t like sweets. Well, you had café au lait yesterday, didn’t you? Do you like that?”

“Yes, I love sweets. This one’s good too, you know?”

“I see.”

“Would you like to try a sip?”

“Ah, no need.”

“Drink it?”

“…Alright.”

I did it reluctantly.

I offered her my hand in the shade of a convenience store parking lot and asked her to give me the café au lait, and for some reason she took a gulp of it.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Nnn. I taste like the café au lait now, don’t I?”

“Wha…”

“Mouth-to-mouth. I’ll give it to you.”

“!?”

Once again, this is a convenience store parking lot.

Outside.

But she’s going to give me her café au lait like this.

“Nnn…Chuu~…”

Mouth-to-mouth.

No, I could smell it, but I didn’t have it in my mouth.

Instead, she tongued me again, as if to check my taste.