Kanpeki na Sako-san wa Mobu (Boku) Mitai ni Naritai Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

Turning off the A/C and opening the window, I was met with a pleasant evening summer breeze. It still had a bit of its remnant heat left, but it was more than enough to cool me down. I took a deep breath to suck up this fresh air and focused back on solving my school work. There’s no easy way to keep your grades up, it’s always about studying and studying alone. As I was making good progress, I heard my phone, currently charging next to my pillow, vibrate. Usually, I would just ignore it, but recently I found myself always conscious of it. After all, Tsuyoshi-kun and I had been talking via LINE as of late. I guess I should at least work through this question and then answer him. As soon as that thought passed through my mind, my pen moved faster. I’m really that simple, aren’t I?

“Done!”

The second I wrote the final part of my answer, I leaped towards my bed and grabbed my phone. I let out a giggle seeing that the message came from Tsuyoshi-kun.

‘So what kind of food do you like then, Sako-san?’ 19:49

I’m still a bit confused about how we got onto the topic of food, but I guess it could be worse. My tastes are fairly simple, and I’ll eat about anything as long as it’s sweet. Even better if they’re top-class sweets. That being said, should I tell him about my sweet tooth? There are a lot of girls who like sweet stuff, and boys usually are aware of that. Not to mention that, right now, I have to destroy the perfect image I apparently have in his head. If so, I should probably give him false information and lie about my tastes to make me seem less feminine.

‘Salty and briny stuff. Mostly what would fit with sake (although I’m not drinking it!).’ 19:53

I got an immediate response.

‘That’s surprising.’ 19:54

All right, mission successful.

‘So stuff like dried squid or cheetara?’ 19:54

‘Yep yep. Especially seafood.’ 19:54

I played along as best as I could, making it sound realistic. If he knew that I was such a plain girl who’d probably be drunk during every party, he’d surely be disappointed. But since all of that is a lie anyway, I just have to be careful that he doesn’t find out.

‘But I’ve only told you about this, so keep it a secret from the others, okay?’ 19:55

‘I don’t think it’s anything to keep secret, really. Everybody’s allowed to enjoy what they want.’ 19:56

I didn’t mean it that way…Then again, the chance was too good to pass up on.

‘But you agree that it’s not exactly feminine, right?’ 19:56

‘What’s it matter if you like it?’ 19:56

‘Girls are conscious about that sort of stuff.’ 19:56

‘I don’t mind. As long as you enjoy what you eat.’ 19:57

My plan didn’t work out at all. I really thought that was a good chance to destroy the perfect image he has of me. When I was trying to come up with another strategy, my phone vibrated once more.

‘I don’t know why girls are so conscious about that sort of stuff, but I don’t mind at all. You can relax when you’re with me.’ 19:58

He’s so kind. Almost too kind. I’m sure he’d be willing to accept whatever adult I may become in the future. I could probably get home from work and complain about my day on and on with a beer in hand, and he’d still listen to me. For some reason, I was starting to feel bad for actually lying to him. I guess I should just take this lie to the grave.

‘Anyway, I’ll go back to studying.’ 19:59

‘Okieee~’ 19:59

I added a sticker after my response. It seems like Tsuyoshi-kun is still doing his best with his studies. That’s why he’s willing to stop our chat. I have to learn from him. And then, I realized something. Once it turns to night, he would only continue our chat for 15 minutes at a time, eventually breaking it off. No, wait, the hour is always the same, too. He’d usually text me 15 minutes before the next hour, and then get back to studying once the hour changes. I understand his working pattern.

‘Tsuyoshi-kun, do you study for 45 minutes and then take a 15-minute break?’ 20:02

It’s one studying method to allow for maximum concentration. He’s probably studying alongside that kind of schedule. Since he had already returned to his studies, he had yet to read my message. So if my thesis is correct, his next response should come at around 8.46 pm. That being the case, I also returned to my own studies. Once the promised time arrived, I checked my phone.

‘Yep, yep. I take regular breaks like that.’ 20:46

‘Then, how about this?’ 20:46

I responded immediately.

‘I’ll join your schedule, so let’s call each other during our breaks.’ 20:46

He seemed to be pondering on it because no immediate response came. If so, then one more push ought to do it.

‘We could help each other with questions we didn’t understand. Sounds good?’ 20:47

Even if it’s a call, it’s simply a means to study. I definitely don’t have an ulterior motive of wanting to talk with Tsuyoshi-kun. Not in the slightest. I wonder how Tsuyoshi-kun will respond. I guess I’m asking for too much, taking up his precious break time…But I want to talk to him…No wait, I want us to compare answers, yeah. The tension made my heart race, as sweat started to build upon my hands. I was simply sitting still, praying when my phone vibrated.

‘Got it.’ 20:49

Yay! I get to make a phone call with Tsuyoshi-kun!

‘I’ll call you.’ 20:49

‘Wait, right now?’ 20:49

I didn’t bother waiting and pressed the call button.

“…Hello, Tsuyoshi-kun?”

‘E-Evening…’

His voice sounded a bit higher than usual. Maybe this is his first time being on the phone with a girl? Well, not like I have much experience talking with boys like this. Thinking about it this way, asking him for a phone call may have been a bit too bold. I was feeling worried that I forced him into this.

“Tsuyoshi-kun…do you…not like talking on the phone with a girl?”

‘I’m a bit nervous, sure, but I don’t dislike it or anything.’

“Thank god…” I sighed in relief.

‘Can I get right into it?’

“Hm?”

‘On page 122 of the math workbook, did you manage to solve the question?’

“Err, I don’t know.”

‘I read the answer and still couldn’t follow at all, so I was hoping you could maybe teach me.’

Gaaah, he’s so diligent! I was feeling happy that we could talk on the phone, but he was aiming to ask me a question from the very beginning. Then again, this is much like Tsuyoshi-kun, and I like him for that. I took out the math workbook.

“Sorry, what page did you say?”

‘122.’

“Got it.”

The page he talked about was still untouched by me, meaning that he made more progress than me. I thought I was working hard each day, making good work through the workbook. And yet, he managed to surpass me, so I can’t even fathom how much time he must have invested into studying. He said he wanted to become more confident, and for that reason, he’s studying. But even so, the amount he’s doing is nothing short of astonishing. Tsuyoshi-kun is serious. He’s made up his mind, trying to leave me behind and take the top spot of the student year.

‘And? Did you manage to figure out something?’

“H-Hold on a second.”

Normally I’m not really that competitive, I was quite proud of my grades. I took a moment to read through page 122. I know the method to solve the question, but this entire situation was too much. I gave up and looked through the solution when I was met with an entire page of formulae. Just looking at it made my head hurt. Not to mention that it continued onto the next page. I tried to work my way through it, but encountered random formulae that I didn’t know where they came from. I can’t solve this no matter how hard I try!

“Sorry, I’m a bit lost myself…I think it’s best to just ask the teacher for help.”

‘I see…thanks for the help, though.’

Damn it! So frustrating! I bit my lip to deal with the pain. I’m happy that Tsuyoshi-kun is trying so hard with his studying, but I still don’t want to lose against him. At what pace is he studying?

“How much do you study a day, Tsuyoshi-kun? How often do you repeat those 45-minute sets?”

‘Um…I do two sets from 5 pm to 7 pm, eat dinner, then do another set starting at 8 pm, take a bath, do four sets from 10 pm to 2 am, so…Err, how many sets is that?’

I felt dizzy. We’re not even close to any exams, and yet he’s got the exam schedule down to a T.

“Are you…studying every free moment you have? You’re not overworking yourself, are you?”

‘I don’t have any hobbies or anything like that, so it’s totally doable.’

He’s like an examinee working towards the entrance exams. I can’t even study that much.

“So…you start studying at 5 pm, right?”

‘Yep, right after getting hope.’

“Until 2 am?”

‘Yep.’

Because of my club, I usually get home at around 7 pm and head to bed at midnight. That means Tsuyoshi-kun can do three more sets than me per day. With this much of a difference, it’s no wonder he’s quickly catching up with me. But there’s still one more thing I was curious about. Namely, why he’s so desperate.

“Why are you so set on becoming more confident, Tsuyoshi-kun?”

Tsuyoshi-kun went silent. I was thinking that maybe he just didn’t want to talk about it, but he eventually broke through the silence.

‘Because there’s a person I want to catch up to, I guess.’

For a moment, I got my hopes up. He said that he wanted to become more like me. Adding to that, he said that we’re not a good match. So if this person he wants to catch up to happens to be me…I’m aware I’m probably just interpreting this in a convenient way for me. But that’s exactly why I want to know who this person is.

“Then if you manage to become confident, Tsuyoshi-kun, would you want to go out with that person?”

I know I was being selfish by asking this. I don’t even know if it’s a girl, or if he’s interested in them. But even so, that question carried all my hopes.

‘…If that person thinks of me as someone worthy of them, then I might be willing to become a couple.’

My heart skipped a beat. So this person is a girl, and he’s interested in them. Is this about me? I want to ask, but if I got the wrong idea, I’d only shoot myself in the foot. I don’t have the courage to take this step forward.

‘Sako-san, I’m sorry.’

“W-What?”

‘I should go back to studying…’

I looked at the time, seeing that we’ve moved past 9 pm.

“Ah, right! I’m sorry for keeping you away from studying.”

‘No, I’m going to take a bath now.’

“Ah, I guess I should take one myself now.”

‘Yep. That’ll make it easier to match up to our timing for our next phone call.’

“So that means you’re fine with talking on the phone again?”

‘Ehm…well, yeah. That way I can ask if I don’t understand something.’

“Hehe, thanks.”

With that, we hung up. After taking a bath, I’d study a bit, and then we could talk again. I somewhat forcefully invited him, but I guess he didn’t mind it too much. Filled with endless happiness, I rushed to take a bath.

“Phew…”

Right now, Tsuyoshi-kun and I are taking a bath at the same time. Even though that’s not the case at all, it feels like we’re doing something indecent, and it makes my head spin. The heat is getting to me. Normally, I would never have such lewd thoughts.

“I’m getting dizzy…”

I lowered my head into the water, creating bubbles. How could I not think about Tsuyoshi-kun? There’s a chance that he might have feelings for me. But since it’s not confirmed yet, I can’t be full of joy just yet. I want everything to be clear. I want to know about his feelings.

“But…”

Right now, Tsuyoshi-kun is working hard so that he can accept himself. I don’t know if that is for my sake, but he probably wants to date the person he likes once he’s more confident. If so, I shouldn’t do anything unnecessary. Tsuyoshi-kun is fighting himself, and I’m an outsider. I shouldn’t meddle with his fight. For now, I should watch over him, and do my best to support Tsuyoshi-kun. Luckily, we’re close enough that we can talk on the phone like this.

With refreshed feelings, I got out of the bathtub and dried my hair. Looking at my short hair in the bathroom mirror, I realized something. While I’m trying my best to stop being perfect, Tsuyoshi-kun is attempting to gather confidence. It’s almost like we’re standing in a circle, walking towards each other. Eventually, we should be worthy of each other. So that this time can come, I have to stop being perfect. I had my dryer in my left hand, phone in my right to come up with a strategy. What could I say in order to lower my femininity?

‘Getting out of a bath makes you want to put a hand on your hip and gulp down some milk, right?’ 21:53

‘I totally get it.’ 21:54

Yep, that didn’t work.

A few days passed after Tsuyoshi-kun and I regularly phoned each other. Through repeating this over and over, it became my habit to immediately call Tsuyoshi-kun once 45 minutes were over. Another night arrived, and the time had just passed 11 pm. I was planning on focussing on my studies, but each time I flipped a page, I looked at the clock. Today, I had a special reason why I couldn’t focus. Once the usual 45 minutes passed, I leaped at my phone.

“Hello!”

‘Yes, what’s up?’

“About the question we couldn’t solve before—”

After talking about our studies, or things we couldn’t discuss at school, the time already approached midnight.

‘It’s time already. That was fast.’

I started fidgeting.

‘Then, good night.’

“W-Wait a second!”

‘I thought you’re heading off for today?’

I do usually go to bed once the date changes, but not now!

“Isn’t there anything you should say to me?!”

‘…Good night?’

Not that! Are you joking with me?!

“Today…today is…”

July 17th is my birthday! To think he actually forgot about it! But now that I think about it, Tsuyoshi-kun never once asked me when my birthday was! Between girls, it’s common to talk about birthdays, but I guess boys don’t really care that much? I was hoping he’d congratulate me before we hung up…

‘Sako-san? I’m hanging up, okay?’

Tsuyoshi-kun isn’t at fault. It’s all because of me. I got my hopes up and ended up disappointed. And like that, the phone call ended, too. Shortly after, messages of celebration and congratulation from the other girls made my phone vibrate endlessly. Needless to say, I was quite happy that so many people celebrated with me, but the person I wanted to hear it from the most didn’t say anything. Even though I knew I was being selfish, I lost the energy to even respond to them.

Thinking about it rationally, I’m shocked that Tsuyoshi-kun didn’t even realize it. I mean, if somebody asked you ‘Isn’t there anything you should say to me?!’ right after the date changes, it can only be their birthday, right. Is he really that dense? He must be. And I can’t forgive how dense he is. My sadness quickly changed into anger. His dense levels are so high he can’t congratulate me. But even so, I’ll have him say ‘Happy birthday’ no matter what. I called Tsuyoshi-kun again, and he immediately picked up.

‘What’s wrong? …Wait, is this a video call?!

On the phone screen, I could see Tsuyoshi-kun’s bewildered face. There’s no way he wouldn’t realize if I showed him this much anger. I stayed silent and simply glared at him. Realize it, realize it, realize it…! While chanting that, Tsuyoshi-kun abruptly averted his face, and I could see his cheeks turning red.

‘Sako-san, your chest is…’

Since I had been lying face down on my bed, my collar opened up, my phone camera directly showed the inside of my cleavage—

“Y-You pervert!”

I pulled my collar up with my left hand, cutting the call with my right. In the end, I couldn’t make him say anything…and my 17th birthday had the worst possible start.

“Sako-san, happy birthday!”

“Yep, thanks!”

Right after getting to school, several classmates came to congratulate me on my birthday. It seems like they still remember. Starting last night all the way up to now, several people wished me a happy birthday, but I wasn’t satisfied. It’s all because of Tsuyoshi-kun.

I felt like I was working on a jigsaw puzzle with one piece missing. My fingers were itching to finish the puzzle. I opened up my shoe locker and sighed in disappointment. I put my shoes away when I realized something inside the shoe locker that normally wasn’t there.

‘Sako-san. Happy birthday. From Tsuyoshi Haru.’

I was greeted by a message card, as well as a small money pouch. I-It was a surprise all along…! I felt all the tension and frustration leaving my body. Everything felt so bright now. Out of joy and happiness, I sent Tsuyoshi-kun a message.

‘Tsuyoshi-kun?! You knew about my birthday?!’

However, right after I sent that, I realized something even more important.

‘Ah! Thanks for the birthday present! I’m really happy!’

‘You’re welcome. I saw it on your LINE profile, that’s how I found out.’

I see, that makes sense…I often rely on that feature to check the birthdays of my friends. Since Tsuyoshi-kun played with my heart this much, I decided to tease him back a bit.

‘You went out of your way to choose a present for me, right? You must really care about me.’

He read my message but didn’t respond. I bet he must be sitting in the classroom all flustered. I realized that I was grinning, so I covered my mouth with my phone. Oh yeah, I didn’t even check his present yet. I was thinking of doing that after getting home, but I’m too curious. When I picked it up, it turned out to be a lot heavier than I expected. I made sure that nobody saw me, and stuffed it into my bag. It felt like a bottle, so maybe some sweets? I stuffed my hand into my bag, undid the ribbon, and took out what was inside. When I read the label on the bottle, I doubted my eyes.

‘Crab miso with crab innards’

At the same time, my phone vibrated.

‘Well, a present shows how much you care about a person, so I leave that up for your interpretation.’

I remembered lying to Tsuyoshi-kun before. When I said that I liked salty seafood. I’m sure it must have taken him a long time to decide on crabs. I felt happy, but at the same time so defeated.

“Oh yeah, I never tried crab miso before.”

For now, I stuffed the bottle deep into my bag, hoping that I would come to like it.

July 17th,

I can’t believe it! Tsuyoshi-kun wished me a happy birthday!

He even gave me a present!

But…crab miso smells so much and is so bitter…

Whatever, it’s Tsuyoshi-kun’s present, so I’ll eat it all.

[23 Days left.]