Waking Up Engaged to a Cool Yandere Beauty: My Wild Journey with a Love-Obsessed Senior

https://ko-fi.com/senna2003

Episode 43: Cheers to Fiery Friendship, and the Thief Appears

“Cheers.” “Yeah.” The clinking of glasses produced a pleasant, cooling sound as the ice inside softly rattled.

“Still, meeting you here of all places is unexpected.” “Same could be said for you.”

We were seated at the bar attached to the deck, exchanging stories about why we happened to cross paths.

“So? What brings you here, Akira?”

Straight to the point, I asked after taking a small sip of the whiskey I’d ordered. …Yeah, just as I thought, I don’t really like it, despite trying to act cool.

“You know Utakata, right? I’m here as her chaperone.” “Oh? You two dating?”

“We’re not!” The sharp denial only made it more suspicious. Akira sighed heavily, looking annoyed, and took a sip from his glass of whiskey—the same brand as mine. …Looks like this guy is used to drinking.

“Rei, what about you? Though I think I can guess.”

As expected, Akira seemed to have a general sense of my situation. He may act like an idiot most of the time, but sometimes his insights are annoyingly sharp.

“Ha, you got me. I’m here on a trip.” “A trip, huh? With the club president and Saionji-senpai, right? I have to say, seeing my best friend blatantly two-timing makes me feel a bit conflicted.”

“…I have no excuse for myself.” I bowed my head slightly. If my actions caused anyone trouble, I’d have no choice but to take full responsibility.

“Well, I did push you into it, so I’m partly to blame.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Akira waved off my question and took another swig of his whiskey.

“Another round, please,” he called to the bartender. “Sure thing.”

How can he drink something so strong and bitter? Still, my pride didn’t let me back down. I quickly finished my drink and signaled to the bartender.

“Another one for me too.” “Coming right up.”

The amber liquid was poured into my glass with a soft, satisfying glug glug glug.

“So, how’s it going with the two of them?” I wish I could’ve just nodded confidently.

“…To be honest, I’m not sure.”

Truthfully, even I didn’t fully understand my own feelings. I was trying—really trying—to cherish them both, to make them happy. But understanding someone’s heart is difficult, and I felt it was arrogant to think I could.

“Heh, what’s that?” Akira chuckled, seemingly amused.

“Between you and me… I really love them both. So much so that I’d stake my life for them without hesitation.”

That was my unfiltered truth. For their sake, I’d leap into fire or water, no matter the danger.

“But that’s the problem…” “No, that’s not it. I’m still scared. I haven’t freed myself from my own trauma.”

Even though I told them I wanted to be with them, even though we were technically together, there was still a part of me that doubted. Maybe deep down, I was still shackled by my past.

“I don’t have the confidence to make them happy.”

Ordinary, foolish me—what right did I have to stand beside those two? I couldn’t shake the fear that I wasn’t enough for them.

“Rei…” Akira’s tone was serious, and he seemed to be carefully choosing his words. After a brief pause, he finally spoke.

“So, you’re saying you’re too much of a coward to make a move?” “Huh!?”

“Or wait, maybe it’s ED?” He looked genuinely apologetic as he threw that out.

“It’s not that!” I regretted opening up. Why did the conversation go in this direction?

“Jokes aside—Rei, which is it? Do you want to treasure them, or are you too scared to let yourself try?”

“Huh?” “Think about it. Isn’t it contradictory? You want to cherish them, but you’re too afraid to act. Maybe, cherishing them means making a promise to do just that. Isn’t that what a real commitment is?”

“…You might be right.” Strangely, his words struck a chord deep within me, as if they unraveled a knot in my heart.

“You decided, didn’t you? Not to make one of them happy, but for the three of you to find happiness together.”

“…Yeah, I decided.” “Then work for it. And if you can’t handle it alone, rely on others. Stop trying to look cool all the time. Anyone who mocks you for asking for help is just an ignorant fool.”

I knew Akira was trying to encourage me, to cheer me on. And yet, I couldn’t help but think—

“Since when were you so wise?” That summed it up. Thanks to his words, my heart felt lighter, but still—this wasn’t the Akira I knew.

“You okay? Acting smart all of a sudden isn’t going to change who you are.” “Pfft! Haha! Man, you really are something, Rei.”

Apparently, even Akira himself found the situation funny, as he burst into laughter. …Honestly, it was a bit unsettling.

“Anyway, I’ve shared a lot. Your turn to spill the details, isn’t it?”

Shifting the topic, I took a sip of my second glass of whiskey. …Yeah, still not good. People who enjoy this stuff are probably puffing cigars and brooding over something deep.

“Ah, right. I almost forgot… You won’t tell anyone, right?” “Please. The only thing I can’t keep a secret is a missed assignment deadline.”

“Alright, here goes. Actually, on this ship—” Before Akira could finish his sentence—

“Rei-kun!” “Uhana!”

The president and Saionji-senpai came rushing out onto the deck, panic written all over their faces. Moments later—

“Akira!” Even Utakata appeared.

“What’s going on?” “Calm down—”

“Calm down!? There’s no way we can stay calm!!!” “I agree. Mariri is absolutely right.”

“Exactly! Forget why you two are here—something way more serious has happened!”

Their faces were red with anger, practically fuming. “W-What happened!?”

“Yeah, this feels serious!” As Akira and I exchanged uneasy glances, the three of them shouted in unison:

“We’ve been robbed!” “What!? What was stolen!?”

An awkward silence fell. The three of them hesitated to answer.