You Came with the First Spring Breeze... - Episode 2: Disturbed Male Heart

Episode 2: Disturbed Male Heart

It felt as if the banquet was prepared just for me and Aki. Gathering my hesitant feelings, I sat cross-legged next to Aki as Yoshii had instructed.

“Nice to meet you~”

Aki tilted her head, peering into my face.

“Nice to meet you. Um…”

I couldn’t bear the direct gaze directed at me and looked down.

Her loosely wavy hair swayed, and a citrusy, slightly sweet scent tickled my nose.

Her face had a Showa idol vibe—somewhat unrefined, yet somehow cute. Her naturally long and thick eyelashes accentuated her profile beautifully.

The reason I couldn’t look her in the eye was simply because I was not good at talking to someone I just met…

I prayed she wouldn’t have a bad impression of me.

Everyone began ordering drinks.

Yoshii and I ordered draft beer, Niina had a lemon sour, and Aki ordered a cocktail with a fancy name.

I was surprised that such a stylish cocktail even existed in a place like this.

To alleviate my awkwardness, I wiped my mouth with the moist towel, which probably wasn’t dirty.

I wiped repeatedly.

It seemed the food had already been ordered, and the waiter hurriedly brought out the dishes.

“Here’s a salad with radish and shirasu!”

Yoshii, closest to the entrance, took it and placed it on the table.

“I’ll get some plates,” he said, glancing at the departing waiter, jokingly muttering, “Don’t bring food before the drinks.”

It wasn’t funny at all, but perhaps to keep the atmosphere light, the two girls giggled.

Yoshii was pleased with their reaction.

I envied Yoshii’s obliviousness, even when he struck out.

Despite his grumbling, the drinks arrived quickly.

We raised our glasses for a toast, and I downed my long-awaited draft beer.

The burn from days of drinking irritated my stomach and throat, causing me to tense my brows, but I relaxed my shoulders just a little. I felt about three millimeters happier.

I marveled again at the power of draft beer.

As I was about to take a second sip, Aki suddenly asked, “Ikebira-san, right?”

Startled by her question, I spilled a small amount of beer down my chest.

Aki chuckled and quickly wiped it up with the towel I had used.

“Oh, sorry. Thank you.”

“What do you do for work? What’s your job?”

“Ah, well, right now… I’m unemployed.”

It was pitiful, but after being cheated on by my ex-girlfriend, I couldn’t even go to work, and I ended up leaving the job voluntarily, practically fired.

I was given a meager severance pay, just enough to scrape by.

“I worked in accounting at the same company as Yoshii until three months ago…”

“I see, so now every day is a holiday!”

She said this as if she were wiping up the spilled beer on my chest.

“Ha ha, a long vacation…” I replied.

Aki smiled slightly, tipping her long glass filled with a pink liquid to her lips.

She seemed to realize that I had made a bad joke.

I had to say something funnier…

“I’m recharging!”

My desperate self-deprecating joke made Aki pause before she let out a soft laugh.

She sipped her vibrant cocktail as if to gather her thoughts.

It was embarrassing to show a face that begged her not to ask anything. As if she could see right through my feelings, she said, “That’s good, that’s good.”

Yoshii and Niina, sitting across from us, leaned in closely, chatting animatedly. Niina’s laughter rang out from time to time, adding cheer to the gathering.

The table soon became covered with grilled chicken and fried foods.

Before I knew it, an unspoken rule had formed: Niina served Yoshii’s share, while Aki served mine. Even though we were all at the same table, it felt like there were two separate worlds.

I found myself in a situation where I had no choice but to converse with Aki sitting next to me.

The conversation was often broken, but Aki always connected the threads, while I simply nodded and smiled.

I thought I had to do better, so I glanced at Aki’s glass.

“What kind of cocktail is that?”

“Oh, this? It’s called Spritzar Rouge. It’s just red wine mixed with soda.”

For someone like me, a cocktail beginner who could only think of a Moscow Mule or gin and tonic, there wasn’t much to talk about…

“It’s delicious. Want to take a sip?” she offered her glass, and for two seconds, time stopped.

The delicate fingers that offered the long glass were a glossy cherry color, just like the Spritzar Rouge.

As if moving the frozen time, Aki laughed, breaking the spell.

“Eh? What? Are you seriously thinking this is an indirect kiss?”

“Huh? No way, I’m not a middle schooler.”

Yoshii, reacting to the exchange, turned his attention to us like a curious bystander.

“Aki-chan, you can tease him. He’s a second virgin~”

Yoshii’s words suddenly made my head feel hot. It was annoyingly irritating.

Being called a second virgin didn’t mean I hadn’t had any experience at all.

“Shut up. It’s only been three months!”

I still hadn’t been with any woman other than my ex-girlfriend, but I had had indirect kisses a few times.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t popular; it was just that… well, I grew up in a single-parent household with only brothers and went to an all-boys school, so I was just inexperienced with women.

I half forcefully took Aki’s glass.

On the rim of the glass lingered a faint trace of pink from her lips.

I placed my mouth slightly next to where she had sipped and tilted the glass.

I wasn’t consciously thinking of the indirect kiss. It was just a fleeting thought that perhaps my ex-girlfriend might come back someday.

But then I turned away from the contradiction of why I had come to this group date.

“Yeah. It’s good. Refreshing and easy to drink.”

When I returned the glass, Aki glanced at the spot where I had drunk and slowly pressed her lips to it, maintaining eye contact with me, a meaningful smile gracing her face.

In that instant, the interest I had kept bottled up for women other than my ex-girlfriend bubbled up and thumped in my chest.