The Day After I Told My Shut-In Genius Childhood Friend, Who’s Highly Dependent on Me, “I Got Confessed To,” She Showed Me a Hypnosis App - Chapter 39

The first time I saw Mio, I think we were about six years old.

I heard that a famous child had moved in next door.

I didn’t tell anyone. I quietly went alone, just to look.

Mio probably thinks the first time we met was when she came to my house.

But before that, I had already seen her one-sidedly.

(What kind of person moved in?)

That was what I thought as a little kid, and I went to look at her house.

On the empty land that had been there until recently, a brand-new house now stood.

Clean white walls. A beautiful home.

It looked like the kind of house I see in TV ads, with a happy family inside. A perfect home.

(Do they already live there?)

I stepped into the yard because I was young and careless.

I didn’t want to do anything bad.

I was just curious about who had moved in.

I planned to take one quick look and then go home.

(There’s a window.)

I found a window facing the courtyard and slowly walked closer.

I leaned in and peeked through a small gap in the curtains.

That’s when I saw her.

A silver-haired girl and her parents.

“Mio, tomorrow is the day you meet the neighbors.”

“You have to behave properly, okay?”

She listened to her father and mother with a face that showed no feeling at all.

“Yes.”

“Do you really understand?”

“Mio, what do you do when you meet someone for the first time?”

Something felt strange.

“I act normal.”

She answered in a flat voice.

“That’s right.”

“Just act normal.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Don’t say things the other person doesn’t know.”

“If you get confused, you can stop talking and play your game instead.”

“I understand, yeah.”

“You’re a girl, people will be nice to you if you stay quiet.”

“That way, your mother and I won’t look strange. So stay silent.”

It looked like they were training a robot and not talking to a child.

“Yes. Normal. I will be normal.”

She nodded stiffly, again and again.

When I saw that, I was shocked.

(—That’s normal?)

I hurried away from the house while holding my breath.

Even as a child, I knew what I had seen was wrong.

(There’s no way that’s normal.)

I couldn’t put it into words, but I was sure of one thing: it was wrong.

The next day, she came to my house.

There, I saw with my own eyes how amazing she really was.

And because of that, what I had seen the day before felt even more unforgivable.

That was what her parents called normal.

“Honami-kun, could you also tell her to act normal?”

Normal?

What’s so good about being normal?

I pretended not to notice anything. As a child would, I tilted my head in a confused way.

“Huh? But she’s amazing. Why does she have to be normal?”

I saw the girl’s eyes widen.

The eyes that had looked like a ghost’s just moments ago now showed a little feeling.

That’s right. She doesn’t have to hold herself back.

“Did you make this?”

“Yeah…”

“Then that means it’s even more amazing!”

I didn’t want her to wear that empty look.

I wanted her to look happy.

A light hope appeared in her eyes, and that made me really happy.

“…to.”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to try it together?”

“Really!?”

That was when it started.

From then on, I tried to stay by Mio’s side as much as I could.

Seeing her smile more just because I was there made me happy.

Maybe it was something close to love at first sight.

Thinking about all that, my mind returns to the present.

Mio’s room.

Mio’s hands are touching my cheeks.

Mio is looking straight into my eyes, as if trying to see inside my thoughts.

“What were you thinking about?”

I answered that I was thinking about the day I fell in love with her.

Mio smiled shyly and looked happy. But at the same time, she looks a little sad. Seeing that makes something deep in my chest sting with pain.

◇

Before I knew it, I was back in Mio’s room.

“…You’re awake?”

Somehow, I was lying on her bed, and Mio was looking down at me with worry on her face.

How did I end up sleeping here?

“…Why?”

“I’m glad. You looked really out of it on the train, so I brought you here to rest.”

I decided not to ask why it wasn’t my house.

If I weren’t feeling well, then I should just be thankful she took care of me.

“…I see. Thank you.”

Mio brushed my bangs aside and pressed her forehead against mine. I felt a warm touch.

“You don’t feel like you have a fever. I think.”

“You think?”

“It’s fine. I just wanted to try it.”

She said that while keeping her forehead against mine.

Because we were so close, I could feel her breath.

If she already knew I didn’t have a fever, she didn’t need to stay this close.

“…Aren’t you kind of close?”

“Am I?”

“You are. I mean, we don’t usually… Eh―”

What was it like again?

“Honami, we’ve always been like this, right?”

“…”

That sounds right.

“At home and at school, we were always close like this.”

“…”

That sounds right too.

“Did you forget?”

Her sweet voice echoed in my head.

“We’re ‘lovers’, right?”

Ah.

—Right.

“Yeah. That’s right. I guess I was just… spaced out.”

“Yeah. You surprised me. I thought maybe you forgot about me.”

She said that calmly, like she wasn’t surprised at all.

“…I’m sorry. I guess I was out of it.”

“It’s okay… but I got a little worried, so I kind of want you to hug me.”

“…Isn’t that sudden?”

“Who cares? We’re lovers.”

I awkwardly wrapped my arms around Mio’s back and hugged her.

Since we’re “lovers,” this much contact should be normal.

But for some reason, the feeling of touching her was very strong, and I felt my heart jump.

We’re supposed to do this all the time.

Mio pulled back just a little.

Our eyes met.

“Can I ask for one more thing?”

“Anything.”

“I want you to kiss me.”

“Um… I see…”

I tried to hide how startled I was, but a strange sound slipped out.

I hesitated a lot, but then told myself, “We’re lovers,” so it’s fine. ―”We’re lovers,” so it’s okay.

More than anything, Mio was looking at me with eyes full of hope.

“…Alright.”

“Temptation is successful.”

“…What are you even saying?”

I couldn’t even think of a sharp reply.

Mio let out a small breath and closed her eyes.

I kissed her while holding back my jumping heart.

She gently sucked on my lips.

Just that made a sharp heat burst deep in my head.

“…”

“…”

Even after our lips parted, the heat didn’t fade.

There was a soft warmth in Mio’s eyes, too. It felt like I might be pulled in.

But, suddenly, I thought this was too much.

When I pulled my body back a little, Mio tilted her head.

“…What’s wrong?”

“No, this is bad. If we go any further, I think it won’t be okay.”

“Why?”

She moved her face closer by the same amount I had pulled away.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? We’re lovers.”

Mio placed both her hands on my cheeks.

“You can blame everything on me.”

“Huh?”

“Just a little more… let me do this.”

She kissed me again. With her hands holding my face, I couldn’t pull away. She sucked on my lips. I was pushed down, and Mio put her weight on me.

A kiss should be fine. “We’re lovers,” after all.

But for some reason, it felt like I was doing something very serious, and I couldn’t calm down.

As she softly kissed my lips, I half-opened my eyes and looked at her face. And a question came to my mind.

Do lovers usually kiss with such a painful look on their faces?