The youthful romantic comedy between my “commuting wife” and me is too sweet!! - Chapter 8

Episode 8

With a nervous expression, Miu Amaya was on the phone with her mother.

“Uh, yes… I’m at his house. And, um, thank you for… that…”

I was surprised when Miu casually mentioned that she was at my place.

I wondered, was that really okay?

“Yes, I’ll go to school as usual tomorrow. Eh, underwear!? W-Wait, I’ll buy that later at a convenience store!”

She said, turning red and muttering something.

Did she just mention underwear? My heart raced at the thought of that word.

Then, looking at me with a bright red face, Miu silently mouthed, “Look the other way, please!”

Apparently, she didn’t want me to see her blushing.

I silently obeyed, turning my back to her.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll come home early tomorrow. Yes… I know. Okay, I’m going to hang up now. Goodnight, Mom.”

After hanging up, Miu took a deep breath, then sighed again.

She looked extremely nervous.

It seemed she wasn’t used to making phone calls about staying over.

“Is everything okay?”

“Eh, what is it?”

Miu tilted her head.

“I mean, you just casually said you were staying over at my place…”

It wasn’t the first time Miu had stayed at my apartment.

The first time was during spring break, when she lied and said she was staying at a friend’s house.

Now, she was openly saying “my boyfriend’s house,” which surprised me.

“Oh, yes, that’s fine. When I stayed over before, my mom found out and said, ‘He’s your boyfriend, right?’ So after that, I make sure to tell her everything.”

She added, with a troubled expression, that she still hadn’t told her dad.

Miu hadn’t told her father that she had a boyfriend, but it seemed her mom had figured it out during Valentine’s.

Apparently, she noticed that Miu was acting differently and had a slightly more mature expression when she came home.

As a woman herself, her mom quickly pieced it together.

Then, during spring break, Miu told her parents she was staying at a friend’s house, but her mom confronted her, saying, “If you’re lying to me, how will you cover for your dad if he ever asks?”

It seemed like Miu’s mom had her own experiences of staying over at someone else’s house when she was younger and had a secret agreement with her own mom about it.

There was a strong bond between mother and daughter.

“My mom’s on my side, so you don’t have to worry!”

Miu said with a warm smile, trying to reassure me.

If her mom was on her side, then it meant her dad might be the enemy.

And in that case, I was the one who’d be in trouble.

Just imagining it was terrifying.

“Are you worried?”

Miu asked mischievously, peering at me.

“Well, of course…”

I replied, still feeling uneasy.

I also felt bad for her dad.

Thinking about it, I realized I was worried about how things might turn out in the future.

For example, if I were to end up with Miu like this, and we had a daughter, the two of them might form an alliance and leave me out.
Looking at their close relationship, it seemed like it could really happen.

“Thank you, but really, don’t worry.”

Miu said, squeezing my hand gently.

“I’ve always been a good girl. I’ve done my best to follow what my mom and dad wanted, trying to be the perfect child… So, at times like this, I just want to do what I want.”

She smiled with a slightly troubled expression, furrowing her brow.

At that moment, I finally understood Miu’s feelings.

When you demand too much seriousness from a child, they might eventually rebel in a big way.

I knew that from my own experience.

When I was in middle school, I had always been serious, and the first time I truly rebelled was the year before when I decided to live alone.

Miu was an incredibly good girl, so much so that it was hard to find a flaw in her.

But it seemed that this image of her was one she had built up after suppressing her own desires.

Maybe it would be better to let her release some of that pressure from time to time, so she wouldn’t feel the need to eventually rebel.

“I feel like I’m turning you into a bad girl, Miu.”

“No, that’s not true.”

Miu shook her head and denied my words.

“I think I’ve always been like this. It’s just that I never had a reason to act this way before.”

“And now, that reason is me?”

“Yes. The reason is you, Souma-san.”

Miu said this with an embarrassed smile.

“Because… for the first time, I liked someone, and even though it was so embarrassing I could die, I still wanted to express my feelings… I was surprised by how active I became. I didn’t know I could be like this.”

To me, Miu always seemed like the type of person who was passive.

She was always smiling, considerate of others, and never could refuse anyone.

That’s why, when she confessed to me, I thought it might have been a punishment game or something.

“Souma-san, you’re the one who taught me how to take action instead of just following along.”

“…I see. That’s kind of embarrassing. I didn’t do anything.”

“That’s not true. You just didn’t realize it, Souma-san.”

“Really?”

Miu nodded and then gave a mischievous smile.

I wondered if Miu had disliked being passive, or maybe she just wanted to become more active.

I couldn’t remember exactly what I had done to help her become this way, but if I had helped her take a step closer to the person she wanted to be, then as her boyfriend, I was happy about that.

─Ah. I see. From my point of view, Miu is perfect, but maybe for Miu herself, she’s not perfect.

She was kind, considerate, cute, a good student, and a good cook.

I had just thought she was flawless, but it seemed that she had been playing a role.

And if she thought she wasn’t perfect for herself, then that was what mattered.

At that thought, I couldn’t help but smile.

I was happy to learn this side of her.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m just happy to learn about a side of you that no one else knows.”

“…I feel like I’ve already shown you a lot of sides of me that no one else has seen, though.”

“Well, that’s a privilege of being your boyfriend.”

We both laughed, and after that, we washed the dishes together.