The Reason Why The Cool Beauty Who Repeatedly Ignores Messages Replies Only To Me. ~The Lonely Beauty Wants To Know The Lonely Me〜 - Chapter 10

Episode 10: Hands Overlapping, and Then the Rain Falls

I pressed Saeki for answers at the cafe.

“…If we’re talking about the read and ignore issue, didn’t we discuss that before?”

“That was about why you ignore everyone else’s messages except mine. You said something about not being interested.”

“…Is that so?”

“Now, I’m asking why you don’t read and ignore me.”

I asked the same question when I was forced into clean-up activities, but Saeki remained silent and didn’t answer.

And even now…

“……”

Saeki remained silent.

Saeki, while staying silent, tried to reopen the book she had closed earlier. I reached out and grabbed her right hand as she attempted to open the book.

“Don’t escape into your book so quickly.”

“……”

For the first time, I touched Saeki.

Her hand was glossy, like a just-peeled boiled egg, and a little cold.

Are girls’ hands… this beautiful?

“H-how long are you going to hold onto it?”

“Oh, s-sorry.”

I let go of Saeki’s hand.

“Don’t suddenly touch me like that.”

“I only did it because you were trying to escape into your book.”
“I wasn’t trying to escape.”

“You were.”

Ignoring me, Saeki took off her glasses and wiped them with a cloth she took out of her bag.

She’s really hard to figure out.

“I reply to you because—”

“Huh?”

“I’m curious just about you.”

Saeki suddenly answered my question.

Despite her reluctance to answer before, I couldn’t keep up with her sudden response.

“…That’s all. Understand?”

“No, I don’t understand.”

“Understand?”

“Ah… yeah.”

Our conversation paused as the female waitress brought us our milk cocoa and coffee.

Savoring the slightly acidic coffee, I pondered.

What do you mean by curious?

That Yukine Saeki is curious about someone like me…?

Maybe she finds me annoying or bothersome, but… could there also be a possibility of affection?

But then, she told me before, “It’s better not to get conceited.” So, it shouldn’t have that kind of meaning…

Then, was that lazy interaction Lime message a form of harassment towards me?

I don’t think people usually send “Good morning” or “Good job” messages as harassment, though…

“Hey, are you listening?”

“Huh? Sorry, I was lost in thought… What were we talking about?”

“The cultural festival. It’s coming up soon, so please have a bit more sense of urgency.”

I felt like the biggest “I don’t want to hear it from you” moment was about to happen.

✳︎✳︎

Afterwards, we discussed the cultural festival relatively seriously, and once we decided on some future plans, we decided to disband.

After paying the bill, I reached for the door of the shop.

“Thank you for coming. We look forward to seeing you again.”

When I left the shop, Saeki, who had already stepped outside, was standing near the exit, gazing up at the sky from under the roof.

Perhaps because the weather had just turned rainy, people on the street were starting to open umbrellas.

“Saeki?”

“I… forgot my umbrella.”

Saeki muttered with a cloudy expression.

“It was supposed to rain today, right? You surprisingly have your absent-minded moments.”

“……”

Whether it was because I teased her or not, Saeki fell silent again and shot me a glare.

“…Alright, I get it. I’ll go to the convenience store now and buy you an umbrella.”

I tried to take out a folding umbrella from my bag, but…

“I don’t need it.”

Saeki decisively declined and pointed to the folding umbrella in my hand.

“My house is nearby. Just drop me off.”

“Huh…”

[Afterword]

Next chapter, will Saeki’s sister make an appearance?