When I Picked Up A Stunningly Gorgeous Downer-Type Beauty In Front Of The Entrance. - Chapter 73: Chained From The Beginning.

Chained From The Beginning.

I had never considered this possibility. “I-I see…” My voice trembled with shock.

Yet, thinking logically, it was a natural proposal. It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought of it; I just didn’t want to.

“…I’ll quit my current job. I won’t see any other men,” she promised.

The mother who Sajou-san deeply despised had pledged to change her ways. She wanted to restore their relationship, build a better bond with her daughter. It was a reasonable, minimum promise if she truly desired that.

But whether she could keep that promise or not depended on her efforts. The more immediate question was whether Sajou-san would accept her mother’s proposal.

Considering Sajou-san and her mother, they should live together. That’s what a mother and daughter are supposed to do. If Sajou-san’s happiness was my priority, I should support her decision.

Yet, I hesitated. Living with Sajou-san had become a joyful part of my daily life. A bitter taste spread in my mouth at the thought of losing that.

“What did you… answer?” I asked, unsure of what I wanted to hear.

Sajou-san looked down at me and said, “I told her I wouldn’t see her again.”

Her words brought a mixture of relief and doubt. Is that really the right choice? My brow furrowed in thought, but Sajou-san continued without waiting for my answer.

“No matter what she says now, I have no intention of being dependent on her again. …Besides, she can’t be stopped.”

She averted her eyes, her voice tinged with sadness. “Even if she stops temporarily, she’ll repeat the same mistakes. That’s the kind of person she is.”

There won’t be a next time.

Ah, this is a final severance. I could almost hear the snip, snip of scissors as the bond of blood was cut before my eyes.

In Sajou-san’s obsidian-like eyes, I saw my own bitter expression reflected. It was an expression that could not be identified as either happy or sad.

“I hate her. I absolutely despise her. I don’t even want to see her face. Yet, every time I look in the mirror and see her resemblance, I am forced to remember what I’d rather forget. I truly, deeply hate it…”

But then, she added, “But I did thank her for raising me.”

As if fulfilling an obligation, she stated this with a calm finality.

Whose salvation are these words for?

For Sajou-san?

For her mother?

…Or for me?

I lifted my limp arm, gently placing the back of my hand on my forehead.

…How should I process this?

If her face wasn’t right in front of me, I probably would’ve let out a sigh. The unvoiced emotions built up inside, weighing down my heart.

I couldn’t just say “That’s great,” and be genuinely happy.

But I also couldn’t simply express sympathy with “That’s sad.”

As I pondered this, I realized with a sigh that despite being deeply involved and troubled, in the end, I was just a third party.

The resolve and decisions.

They all belonged to Sajou-san; I was merely a bystander.

No wonder I couldn’t find any words. The best I could do was empathize.

A dry laugh escaped me internally, but then I felt a sudden touch on my cheek, making my heart skip a beat.

Startled, I shifted my gaze from the ceiling to Sajou-san.

She was smiling.

Not a self-deprecating smile.

But an awkward, yet pure smile, like that of a child laughing for the first time.

“We are different, you and I,” she said softly, her hand moving on my cheek, her thumb tracing my skin as if it were cutting through it.

“Just like how you chose me over your family, I chose you. As long as I have you, I don’t need anything else… Nothing else is… necessary.”

Her words, spoken with an awkward and childlike innocence, sent a chill down my spine.

I finally understood.

I thought she had become more sociable.

That her once skewed worldview had aligned with the norm, and she had become ordinary.

Her world, which had been misanthropic and jaded, seemed to be expanding.

I thought she was gradually drifting away from me, preparing to leave my nest… but it was the exact opposite.

In reality, she was doing all these things…

“Let’s stay together… always.”

Just to be with me?

Leaving her home.

Going to school.

Studying.

Starting a part-time job.

Everything, everything, everything…

Was it all to be with me?

No feelings of joy emerged.

Only confusion swirled within my chest.

The emotions weighing heavily on my heart turned murky, and I couldn’t decipher what I was supposed to feel.

Surely even now, Sajou-san must still hate her mother.

Yet, the fact that she attempted to face her mother meant she had grown emotionally. Or so I thought.

But that wasn’t the case. Her mother had already become a secondary concern in Sajou-san’s mind.

The mother who once caused her to want to give up on life.

Saying she wasn’t bound, that she wasn’t tethered, was a lie.

It was all a misunderstanding, and I had come this far under that misconception.

From the very beginning. From that rainy day.

Ever since I took in the girl crouched in front of the next-door apartment’s entrance, I had been binding Sajou-san to me.

I now realized that she probably… couldn’t live without me anymore.

Supporting a whole person.

The thought of the life I had unconsciously taken responsibility for made me dizzy. My vision flickered, and I felt like I might faint at any moment.

I wanted to stop thinking about everything. I wanted to sleep.

I closed my eyes, trying to shut down my feverish mind, but Sajou-san didn’t allow it.

“Rihito…”

She called my name.

Her black, shining eyes grew larger, filling my vision as I closed my eyelids.

“…”

“Mm…”

—She kissed me.

It was a simple kiss, our lips barely touching, an innocent gesture.

I didn’t know what had just happened. I couldn’t resist.

All I remember was that it was incredibly soft and cold.

As she pulled away, Sajou-san’s face came into view, smiling sweetly.

“I love you… Rihito.”

Sajou-san expressed her love.

I didn’t know how to respond to those feelings, and as I tried to open my mouth, it was in vain.

Words weren’t necessary.

As if to say so, she sealed my lips with a second kiss.

Was it a tender, innocent kiss?

Or a fierce, ravenous one?

I couldn’t remember what kind of kiss it was.

Sajou-san pressed her lips and love onto me with fervent passion.