The Pure-Hearted Beauty Who Only Dotes on Me Despite Not Being in a Relationship—And How She Became Even Sweeter After We Started Dating - Chapter 2: "Tsuyuzaki, wake up." "Mmm... Not yet~"

“Tsuyuzaki, wake up.” “Mmm… Not yet~”

“What if I say, If it’s too much trouble?”

Curious about her reaction, I teased Tsuyuzaki slightly. She pouted and turned away.

“If it’s too much, then I’ll go home. Today, I managed something the teacher asked me to do all by myself.”

As she began recounting today’s events, I murmured about how challenging it must have been.

“So, what’s the big deal?”

“How far are you going to take this? I just… rely on you, Kougami-kun—”

“Alright, alright, I get it.”

Feeling like I went a bit too far, I interrupted her and gently ruffled her hair.

In response, Tsuyuzaki blushed and looked delighted. Somehow, she seemed like a small animal…

“So, where are we going to?”

This morning, Tsuyuzaki asked me to meet her at our usual spot after school, but I didn’t ask what we were doing.

“There’s a café a short walk from here.”

“A café… No, if someone sees you and me together at a café, I won’t be able to come to school from tomorrow, Tsuyuzaki.”

If someone sees Tsuyuzaki and me together at a café, I’ll undoubtedly be suspected of being her boyfriend or be glared at by boys who like her.

“Oh, I understand those concerns you have, Kougami-kuni. Don’t worry, nobody will see us at the café we’re going to now..”

A café where nobody sees us?

“Please go there. I’ll join you a bit later.”

Saying so, she handed me a small piece of paper with the café’s name written on it.

“It’s not a weird place, right?”

“It’s a normal café. I go there often.”

“…Alright. Well, see you later.”

“Yes, see you later.”

Parting ways with Tsuyuzaki, I looked at the café’s name written on the paper. It seems to be a café called ‘Hitode,’ but since I don’t know where it is, I decided to look it up on my phone and head there.

***

The place we arrived at looked like an ordinary café, just as Tsuyuzaki had described. Upon entering, it was bustling with people, almost every seat taken.

I went in first, but was that the right move? I briefly thought about waiting outside, but it was too cold to bear.

Winter was closing in, and it had been consistently chilly lately. Just to be safe, I had messaged Tsuyuzaki beforehand, saying, “I’ll go in and wait.”

I was led to seats facing each other, and I waited for Tsuyuzaki while perusing the menu.

A few minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder from behind. Turning around, there was Tsuyuzaki.

“Why are you just sitting there looking at the menu like nothing’s wrong?”

“Huh, is it not okay?”

“No, it’s not. If you want to eat, come back another day. Come on, let’s go.”

With that, she left the shop.

Did I perhaps go to the wrong place? I returned the menu to the waiter and left the shop, finding Tsuyuzaki waiting outside.

“There’s also a second floor here.”

Tsuyuzaki said this and started climbing the stairs next to the café entrance, so I followed.

“Is Hikari-san here?”

Upon reaching the second floor, Tsuyuzaki called out someone’s name. A young woman emerged from behind the counter.

“Oh, if it isn’t Tsuyuzaki-chan. And is the person next to you the one you mentioned?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I apologize for today, suddenly mentioning that I wanted to borrow this place..”

“It’s no problem at all. We don’t use it on Wednesdays anyway, so feel free to use it. Oh, I suppose we should introduce ourselves, right? I’m Tsuyuzaki-chan’s cousin, Hasebe Hikari.”

Hasebe-san introduced herself, so I did the same.

“I’m Kougami Ao, one of Tsuyuzaki-san’s classmates.”

“Oh, you’re Kougami-kun. I often hear about you from Tsuyuzaki-chan…”

“Hikari-san, is that conversation really necessary right now?”

Despite not finishing her sentence, Tsuyuzaki interrupted Hasebe-san with a smile.

Seeming to yield to Tsuyuzaki’s mysterious pressure, Hasebe-san said, “No, it’s not necessary.”

“Kougami-kun, shall we sit here?”

The second floor resembled the first, with several two-person sofas and tables. Tsuyuzaki gestured for me to sit on one of the sofas facing each other.

“I’ll make some warm tea for two.”

“Thank you, Hikari-san.”

“T-Thank you.”

Hasebe-san descended to the first floor, leaving just the two of us.

“Does Hasebe-san work here?”

“Yes, she’s the owner. Anyway, Kougami-kun, we can talk here without worrying about our surroundings!”

“Well, that’s true. Speaking of which, last week, Kana saw us, me and you… Well, it seems like she didn’t recognize me.”

“Kana, you are talking about Koyama-san, right? I’m sorry, it’s because I made you accompany me on my shopping…”

Though Tsuyuzaki hadn’t done anything wrong, she apologized, feeling she might have inconvenienced me.

“No need to apologize… Even if Kana finds out, I can just say I was shopping with a friend.”

Kana isn’t the type to blab or slip up, so even if this mysterious relationship with Tsuyuzaki were to be known, it should be fine.

“Friends… Kougami-kun, can I sit next to you?”

“Huh, why?”

“Because it’s lonely sitting opposite you.”

“Sure, but… Wait, hasn’t Hasebe-san been gone for a while since she said she’d make the tea? Isn’t this a bit too close?”

Sitting next to her would be fine, but the proximity feels too close. She’s leaning on my shoulder too. If she were my girlfriend, it would be fine, but this closeness isn’t appropriate for friends.

“I feel calm being close to you, Kougami-kun. I’m a bit tired today. Please let me stay like this for a while.”

“…Alright.”

I thought it would be fine until Hasebe-san returned, so I let her lean on my shoulder. Soon after, she began to breathe softly and fell asleep.

“She must have been really tired.”

I murmured and unconsciously started stroking her head. This is bad, I realized I’m doing it because I know she’d be happy if she were to do it.

“Tsuyuzaki, wake up. Hasebe-san will be back soon.”

If Hasebe-san were to see this situation, we would be misunderstood. I shook her gently, but there was no sign of her waking up.

“Tsuyuzaki, wake up.”

“Mmm… Not yet~”

Wake up! She’s cute, but if she wants to sleep, she should do it at home.

As I thought about waking her up quickly, I heard someone coming up the stairs. At that moment, Tsuyuzaki rested her head on my knee and fell asleep.

“Tsuyuzaki, wake up— Wait, this is starting to look even more like a misunderstanding, isn’t it!?”