322 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Chapter 322 No matter how many times it happens, I can never get used to it. What happened yesterday was something only my Sendai-san does with me. Maybe if I do more things like that with Sendai-san I'll get used to it one day, but I can't imagine doing something like that to the point where I get used to it. The memory of Sendai-san in my mind isn't enough. I find myself dreaming about her, feeling that I never have enough of Sendai-san. Mio-san and Maika came over, and I touched Sendai-san. Because of the rare combination of events yesterday, I have become someone who can't forget the Sendai-san of yesterday, and I now want to know the version of Sendai-san that isn't just from yesterday. I don't regret that, but I do regret calling Maika without thinking, prompted by Mio-san. "What exactly was the kiss mark from Sendai-san?" Maika asks with unconcealed curiosity. Since this morning, she's been talking about what happened yesterday at every opportunity, and even now that we're in a café near the university, the topic hasn't changed. I wish Maika’s voice would get lost in the complaints about a lover coming from the seat behind us, but her voice wasn't going to get drowned out by the bustling noise inside the café, so I had to answer. "I don't know. Maybe Mio-san just thought it was a kiss mark." I reply with a plausible answer to her never-ending curiosity, even after university. Yesterday, by inviting Mio-san, things I didn't want certain people to know got out. The talk about the kiss mark I left on Sendai-san was one of those things, but Maika persists in her curiosity. All of it is due to my own doing and serves me right, but if I could, I'd erase everyone's memories. "Well, when you put it that way, it makes sense. ...Shiori, you don't know anything about it?" "I think it’s probably a burn, just as she said." "Yeah, maybe. Sendai-san would definitely tell us if she had a boyfriend. If it was a kiss mark, it wasn't some boyfriend who left them. But Sendai-san isn’t the type to engage in such things lightly, right?" "Right." I answer quietly and sip on my iced tea. Touching the straw with the lips that wore the lip balm Sendai-san chose, I take a sip of the cold liquid. Maika has no shift at her part-time job today and has a lot of free time. She's aware that Sendai-san is busy tutoring today and will be home late, so there’s no chance she’ll let me go easily. Even though being in a house without Sendai-san is boring, today I want to go home as soon as possible. I don't like waiting, but if I wait, Sendai-san will return, which is much better than endless conversations like this. "But you know, Mio-san doesn’t seem like the type to misjudge such things." Across from me, Maika takes a small bite of her pancakes. Half the pancakes on the table have disappeared into her stomach, but the talk of kiss marks persists. "Who knows. People can make mistakes. Speaking of which, Maika, why didn’t you tell me about the person at your part-time job?" "The person from work? You mean the cool guy?" "Yes. Do you have a crush on him?" I look intently at the cheesecake and cut it with a fork. Just as I stab a piece and attempt to raise it to my mouth, Maika speaks. "I told you yesterday; it’s not about wanting to date him, I think. It doesn’t really feel like a crush." "Is that so? But you could've told me about it." I take a bite of the cheesecake and gaze at Maika. "Shiori, you’re not keen on these kinds of talks." Well, she's right. As Maika pointed out, I'm not really into topics like these. I don't find it interesting to discuss who's cool, who's dating who, or when people ask, "What about you, Shiori?" It only turns into bothersome matters, so these are conversations I prefer to avoid. "So, is there someone you’re interested in, Shiori?" I expected this roundabout talk to lead back here, but it’s still better than continuing the talk about kiss marks. "There’s no one in particular." "Are you keeping it a secret?" "I’m not hiding anything from you, Maika." "But you hid about Sendai-san, didn’t you?" Maika asks with a chuckle. "…Sorry about that." I do feel bad about keeping the fact that I shared a room with Sendai-san a secret. I had thought at some point I'd need to talk about it, but there was too much to explain, and I couldn't bring it up on my own. "Oh, you seem repentant." "I'm serious; please forgive me." There's no lie in my words. My remorse is as deep as the sea. "By the way, you haven't mentioned anything about Noto-san to Sendai-san, have you?" Suddenly reminded, Maika grins. "Ah, right." Keeping secrets isn’t good. When they come to light, it becomes a hassle, so it's better to talk about what you can. That's how I feel, but some things remain unsaid. Because of Noto-san’s strange comments, I ended up hiding everything about her from Sendai-san. "Wait, was it something you couldn’t tell Sendai-san?" "Not really. I simply forgot." The rules we established for living togther didn’t forbid keeping secrets. So theoretically, there shouldn't be any issues, but secrets tend to invite lies. And they weigh on the heart. "I think you're too secretive, Shiori. Sendai-san seems to be a worrier." Maika's words cut deep into my chest. It's so deeply embedded that it’s hard to pull out, making me want to collapse right here from the pain. "I’ll be careful from now on." Noto-san’s talk captured Sendai-san’s attention, even though she usually seems uninterested in such matters. It’s good that she takes an interest in me, but being so focused on Noto-san's nonsensical remarks is far from pleasing. Still, I should have at least mentioned meeting Noto-san. It's become unnecessarily complicated because I didn't. "And I also want you to talk to me about things. I'll share things about me too." "Yeah, I'll talk." Right now, I can’t discuss what's happening between me and Sendai-san. Yet, there's a part of me that wants Maika to know. I want her to understand that Sendai-san is mine and that no one else marks her with kiss marks. Perhaps one day with Maika—. I don’t know if that day will come, but I want to reduce the number of secrets. "Alright, pinky promise." Maika says, and I instinctively move my hand. I almost reach for the earrings Sendai-san chose, but I stop. The earrings, the promise, and the kiss. I don't particularly want to kiss Sendai-san, but the thought of her and the kiss on the earring crosses my mind. "I promise." I tell Maika in as cheerful a voice as I can manage and take another bite of the cheesecake.