When an Oblivious Handsome Older Man Went Back in Time and Was Building Harlem - Chapter 5

Around the time lunch break was about to end, I spotted Miwano-san wandering down the hallway, carrying something. As I passed by, I saw that she was holding a bundle of English notebooks, probably for the next class. She was probably asked to do it since she was the class representative today.

The English teacher in charge of my class, for some reason, made us create notebooks for class and self-study. So, she had notebooks for 40 students, which means 80 notebooks in total. Since she has more power, and because of what happened the other day, I couldn’t just leave it alone, so I talked to Miwano-san.

“Miwano-san, I’ll hold the notebook.”

While saying that, I took two-thirds of the notebook that Miwano-san was holding. I felt that if I took it all, the teacher would get mad, so I deliberately had Miwano-san carry about one-third of it.

“Takai-kun… thank you.”

“No. Your arm will go numb. It’s fine, in situations like this, it’s better to leave it to the one with strength.”

“…I thought about it the other day too, but Takai-kun is really kind and handsome, isn’t he? You’re tall too. Not just handsome, but you have a sense of security. You feel like an older brother.”

I was taken aback by the confident remark, but I managed to respond without changing my expression.

“Handsome? Me? I admit I’m tall, but I don’t think I’m handsome. And what’s with calling me an older brother? We’re the same age.”

In reality, I am not a young man, but an old man. Even if someone says such words to me, it doesn’t really make me that happy. Since I’m 187 cm tall and big, if you’re complimenting that, then yeah, I guess that’s true.

“There’s this aura that just radiates from you, like an older person’s charm. It’s strange since we’re the same age. It feels like you could make everyone fall for you.”

“What the heck is that? I don’t have that kind of charm.”

Seriously, what the heck is that? Sure, it’s true that I’m older, but I definitely don’t have any charm. I mean, I’m just an ordinary 37-year-old single man. If I had any charm, I would be married and have kids by now. In fact, most of my close colleagues are already married and have children.

“Thank you again for the other day. I’m still scared to ride the train, so my mom drives me around, but if Takai-kun hadn’t caught the culprit back then, I might have developed a fear of men.”

That’s right. I feel sorry that she still can’t ride the train because she’s scared, but I’m glad she hasn’t become so afraid of men that she can’t even talk to me. I want Miwano-san to enjoy high school life, and I’m glad she hasn’t developed a phobia of men.

“…I see. But since we couldn’t prevent it beforehand, it still leaves me feeling uneasy.”

“That’s what it means to be kind.”

While we were talking about such things, we arrived at the classroom.

“I’m going to open the door, so please wait a moment.”

After saying that, I held the notebook with one hand and opened it, and from behind, Miwano-san muttered softly.

“Takai-kun is really strong.”

“That’s not true at all, here you go.”

“Huh!? Did I just make a sound? …So embarrassing.”

She slightly looked down, and her bangs covered her face, making it impossible to see her expression at all.

“Oh, youth!”

For some reason, the English teacher looked at me with eyes full of reverence, but I had no idea why. Did I say something strange? But the fact that she didn’t scold me meant it wasn’t that weird, I convinced myself. When I put my notebook down and returned to my seat, Midori, who loves romance, had taken over my spot.

“Handsome guy. After Shimozono-san, it’s Miwano-san, huh? Are you also going to hit on Nitta-san, who suddenly became known as the most beautiful girl in the grade?”

“Midori… I’m not handsome. Who is this Nitta-san?”

“Huh!? You don’t know Nitta-san!? The model and streamer, Nana! Look, this girl!”

After saying that, I was shown a video on a smartphone of a girl who seemed to be Nitta-san dancing, but I didn’t recognize her at all.

“Haa… Well, that’s probably one of Aki’s good points. I’ll teach you myself!!”

It’s kind of nostalgic. Back then, I learned a lot from Midori and settled down, while I, on the other hand, just played around during my university days.

“Stop saying weird things and go back to your seat. Class is about to start.”

“Hey. I’ll follow you, Serious-kun Aki-kun.”

As he said that and tried to return to his seat, the bell rang, and the other students also went back to their seats. While feeling relieved that Midori hadn’t changed, I switched my mind to prepare for the class.