"Hey, Yuzu, what do you think of Minato?"
Right after he left the room first,
Arisu asked me, and my heart skipped a beat.
"What do I think… That he's unfriendly."
"Haha, right? Minato really is stone-faced, isn't he? So cool. But even so, he's kind."
I felt a little irritated by Arisu, who spoke as if she knew him.
It was frustrating.
I know at least that much.
I know him better than someone like you.
Even though I wanted to say it, I couldn't.
Because he and I are just friends with benefits.
"Well, there aren't many people who'd go along with your unreasonable requests, Arisu."
"Ehehe, well, yeah. But I think that part of him is nice too."
"… Do you like him?"
Seeing Arisu talk about him with flushed cheeks, I asked that question, but I didn't need to hear the answer.
I realized that must be the case.
And of course, she nodded.
"Well, yeah. But Minato doesn't seem interested in girls at all, does he? While I was gone, what did you talk about?"
"… Nothing much, just trivial things."
"I see. I wonder what kind of girl Minato likes? Maybe someone like Aso-senpai?"
"Aso…"
"Oh, you know her? Aso-senpai, a second-year. I heard she works at the same part-time job as Minato. But she's really beautiful. I guess guys like that type after all."
"… Arisu, why do you like him?"
I asked another question.
Arisu, getting embarrassed again, answered in a slightly quieter voice.
"… I don't know. But maybe it's been there since I first saw him. Though it doesn't feel exactly like love at first sight either."
"What's that? Is he your type physically?"
"Well, that's not entirely false. But the depths of his eyes are kind of… gentle. Yet lonely-looking."
"So you're drawn to that mysterious side of him."
"Yeah… Actually, Yuzu, you know Minato pretty well too, don't you? Were you that close?"
"I just thought that from talking with him earlier."
"I see. Sorry for making you listen to me."
As I watched Arisu resume cleaning up as if regaining her composure, I became aware of the complex emotions swirling inside me.
A sense of guilt, a sense of superiority, and a sense of alienation.
I was disgusted with myself for hiding my relationship with him while pretending to listen to my friend's confession.
And yet I felt proud that he and I actually have a relationship where we desire each other's bodies.
But in the end, that's all it is.
Why didn't I act toward him like Arisu does from the beginning?
If I had, would we be in a somewhat different relationship by now?
Or is it because I'm just not expressive enough that things remain as they are?
Or is it because he's that kind of person, that it can never go further?
Repeating these unanswerable questions to myself,
I left the home economics room together with Arisu.
------------
Guys the book get rejected but I will not stop updating it I will make it done so I can focus on another book hope you like the book any way but it's hard because with out contract there is no support... Thank you for reading my book ( the book already finished)