Self-Confidence

“Hey, all better from that cold?” Kiyohito chimed in.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Ah, good good,” he replied before we were approached by one of the class’s popular girls.

“Hey, Yamaguchii~. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Huh? No, I don’t.”

“Yeah, right~ haha! No, seriously, I saw you on a date with this stunning girl with black hair in front of the station the other day~! Must’ve been a case of mistaken identity, huh~?”

…Well, that’s dicey.

And someone actually noticed me…

“Haha, must’ve been a mix-up,” I laughed it off.

With a slightly unpleasant smirk, the girl walked away.

“Oi, being approached by the gal-sama is way too lucky, you know!”

“…Gal-sama?” 

(Tl/n: Uhh, so this is exactly “Gyaruko-sama”, which really means gyaru-girl-sama. Comment if better alternative)

Chisato Honjo… isn’t it?

Commonly known as “Gal-sama.”

The girl next in line to Marin-chan in popularity.

Bright, cute, capricious, a typical gal.

“She hardly talks to guys! Gal-sama!”

“…Is that so?”

Come to think of it, I’ve never seen her chatting happily with guys. She’s always giggling with other girls, and when a guy talks to her, she responds casually while looking at them as if they were trash.

It’s surprising for someone like her to talk to guys.

“And just when I thought Aoi was back, now it’s like the angel’s taking a break. Ugh.”

…It’ll all come out eventually.

So why not just say it here and now? I entertained the thought, albeit a bit recklessly.

◇

After school, I hurried to the supermarket and grabbed some ingredients haphazardly. I had been relying on others for cooking lately, so I was looking forward to being able to cook again.

Since Marin-chan had caught a cold, I figured she could use some nutritious dishes to boost her energy. Maybe a hotpot would be easy for her to eat?

While pondering this, I was suddenly approached by Honjo.

“Huh, did someone catch a cold?” she asked out of the blue, startling me.

“Um… yeah,” I replied.

“Wow, that’s tough,” she remarked.

“…Okay,” I said, ready to leave, but she grabbed my hand.

“Hey, you changed your shampoo recently, right?”

“…Uh, yeah?”

“The scent… it’s the same as Marin-sama’s. Coincidence? Or intentionally trying to imitate her shampoo… I can’t help but wonder. Let me change the question. You’re the one who married Marin-sama, right? Aoi Yamaguchi.”

Suddenly being asked that, I froze.

“N-no… there’s no way. Someone like me… wouldn’t match up with Shizaki-san…”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Why does it matter if you match up or not? Are you living your life based on other people’s opinions?” she said, squeezing my hand firmly.

“Ouch… wait… Honjo-san, what are you to Shizoki-san?”

“…Her bodyguard.”

“Huh?”

“I’m the captain of Marin Shizoki’s bodyguard squad.”

…I was now aware that she was apparently the representative of the infamous Shizaki Marin Fan Club. I had heard of such a thing, but I never imagined the leader would be a girl from the same class.

When I mentioned that I had to cook for my family, she reluctantly let go of my hand, saying, “If you make Marin-sama cry, I won’t forgive you.”

Those words struck me painfully, especially since I had made her cry recently.

I’m starting to doubt whether continuing to hide the truth is the right thing to do. Marin-chan still receives fervent attention from certain individuals because my identity remains unclear. But if they found out it was me, I feel like some of them might prefer themselves over me.

“What should I do…” 

Lost in thought, I returned home and heard some noise coming from the kitchen. There, I found Marin-chan cooking as if it were natural, with a fever patch stuck on her forehead.

“Oh, welcome back,” she greeted me with a slightly pained smile.

“Marin-chan, what are you doing?” I asked.

“Huh? I thought I should make dinner…”

“You idiot! You need to rest properly!” I scolded her.

It was the first time she had been scolded by me, and she looked surprised.

“…I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

Without a word, I took her hand and led her to bed.

“For now, you need to rest properly. I’ll take care of everything. Can you eat something? Maybe okayu (rice porridge) or some hotpot? I bought the ingredients just in case,” I asked.

“Yeah. Okayu and a little hotpot… should be fine,” she replied.

“When you catch a cold, you should rely on me. It’s a little sad if you don’t rely on me enough,” I said.

“…I’m sorry,” she apologized, tears welling up in her eyes.

I didn’t scold her because I wanted her to apologize; I just wanted her to understand.

“Anyway, until you recover from your cold, I’ll take care of everything at home. Rest well, okay?” 

“Yeah… don’t… hate me,” she said tearfully.

“There’s no way I could hate you,” I assured her, and then started taking care of various household tasks.

I hadn’t done cleaning, laundry, and cooking in a while. Doing them now felt somewhat enjoyable.

After finishing cooking okayu and hotpot, I brought them to her. She peeked out from under the covers with a cute expression.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked.

“Yeah… maybe not,” she replied.

“I understand. I’ll feed you properly,” I said, conveying my understanding. She blushed and seemed embarrassed. It seemed she was good at taking the initiative but not so good at being on the receiving end.

“Here say aaahh,” I said, spooning the food into her mouth.

“Ah… it’s delicious…” she said.

“Is it? That’s good,” I replied.

“Yeah…”

After finishing her meal and dessert, she said, “It was delicious… thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Ah, I want Aoi-kun to brush my teeth too,” she suddenly said, leaning on me sweetly.

For a moment, I hesitated to refuse, but then I remembered my earlier promise and nodded.

“Okay.”

“Hehehe. Spoil me~,” she said happily as I brushed her teeth.

After finishing up with the household chores, I went to lie down beside Marin-chan, who was clinging to me.

“Oh… you came,” she murmured, rubbing her head against my chest.

“Yeah. I’m here,” I replied, patting her head from above.

Thinking about it, children must feel like this, I thought as I put her to sleep.

Soon enough, Marin-chan fell asleep.

(Tl/n: dem she so cute~)