Sometimes Hana Gets Shy Speaking Japanese
“Well, even if I had gotten it, I still ran away from home. The end result would have been the same anyway.”
…….
So the reason my father suddenly brought up marriage was because of this girl. He wouldn’t have made such an important decision on a whim. I had suspected that quiet discussions between our families had been going on for a while, but I never imagined Hana was the one at the center of it all. Reality really is more dramatic than fiction.
The puzzle pieces were finally clicking into place. I fiddled with the book in my hands and swallowed a quiet groan. Wait, what the… To think she’d run away from home just because she wanted to marry her favorite author. Did she even know who I was? What if I’d turned out to be some creep trying to take advantage of her pure fan feelings? What would she have done then?
There were a lot of things I wanted to say, but I moistened my lips first.
“Have you ever done something like this before?”
“No. Of course not. Threats lose their impact if you repeat the same one twice.”
“Never? Not even once?”
“Nope. Never once.”
“Oh. I see.”
That was a relief. Knowing that I was the first and only target of Hana’s reckless behavior put my mind at ease. She must never do anything like this again. The world is dangerous these days, full of bad people and scum…
I was about to launch into a lecture when Hana let out a playful laugh.
“Huh? Are you jealous?”
“……Huh?”
“It sounds like you’re asking because you’re worried I might have pestered someone else to marry me…”
…….
What was this girl even saying? I was genuinely worried about her, yet she suddenly asked if I was jealous. It was so absurd I couldn’t help myself.
Thwack!
I flicked her forehead with my left hand this time.
“……Kyaa!”
Hana let out a high-pitched squeal. She hadn’t expected it and couldn’t dodge. She immediately shot me a deeply wronged look.
“You hit me again?!”
“Jealousy, my ass.”
“Why not? You’re allowed to be a little jealous!”
“Why would I be jealous over something like that? What are we, even?”
“We’re something, aren’t we?!”
“And what exactly are we?”
“We’re about to get married!”
“As if. Who decided that?”
She was doing this in public again. I flicked her forehead once more to show her how ridiculous she was being.
Whoosh—!
…Or I tried to. Right before my left hand could connect, Hana swiftly dodged.
“Hehe. Did you think I’d let you hit me again?!”
She had parried the flick with graceful footwork and now stood there triumphantly. Her tone was clearly provocative, so I gave her a crooked smile.
“You dodged that?”
“Of course I did. Your hands are so slow I could dodge them in my sleep.”
“Oh really? Then…”
I pretended to tuck the book under my arm, then suddenly—grab!
I caught her wrist. The moment her slender, soft arm slipped into my grip, Hana flinched and looked up at me in surprise.
“Ah, um… Jun…?”
I set the book down for a moment and made a show of preparing to flick her with my right hand.
“Think you can dodge this too?”
“……!”
Hana’s eyes widened dramatically.
“S-sorry! I didn’t mean it like that…!”
“Come here. Hold still.”
“I said I’m sorry! Sorry, I’m sor— Eek?!”
“Stay still. Stop exaggerating.”
“Ouch…! Ah…! It really hurts! Ow, it actually hurts…!”
Ten minutes later, outside the bookstore.
“……Hmph.”
Hana, walking about three steps behind me, let out an indignant huff. The moment our eyes met she looked away, which made it pretty obvious. Yep. She was definitely sulking.
Well, I had flicked her three times, so I supposed she had a right to be upset.
Three flicks, three steps apart…? I was having that ridiculous thought when our eyes met again. Once more, she huffed and averted her gaze.
“……Pfft.”
She was cute when she sulked. Looking at her now, she seemed exactly like any other girl my age. But when she was doing housework or interacting with friends, she came across as surprisingly mature. It was that everyday gap in her personality that fascinated me. I slowed my pace and stole a glance at her.
…….
Marriage, huh. If nothing else, life with this girl would never be boring. Unlike my dry personality, hers was bright and bouncy. Though at school she acted prim and proper.
Now that I think about it…
Why did she keep her distance and act so polite with other friends at school, but not with me? The question suddenly popped into my head, so I walked over to her. She must have noticed me approaching from the corner of her eye, but she didn’t move away.
“Hey.”
…….
“…Oh, right.”
I was supposed to call her by name. I still wasn’t used to addressing a girl so casually.
“Hana.”
“……What.”
Her reply was sullen. Anyone could see she was sulking hard. I had a lot of questions, but I decided to coax her out of it first. Like it or not, we were going to be living together for a while. Leaving her half-mad at me wouldn’t do any good. Better to clear the air quickly.
“Want to see what I’m working on right now?”
“……For real?!”
Hana’s eyes flew open wide. I’d only cast out a casual line to test the waters, but she had snapped at the bait instantly.
“You’ll really, really show me?”
“Weren’t you sulking just now?”
“……Ah. Hm. …Ahem!”
Hana cleared her throat hurriedly.
“I’m not looking. It’s obviously a lie and I can tell.”
“It’s not a lie.”
“It’s not…?”
“Yeah. If you ask nicely, I’ll show you.”
“Show me. Please.”
“You have to ask properly.”
“P-please show me. I’m begging you…”
…….
My lips twitched. I’d only said it as a joke, but she actually did it. Truth was, I hadn’t even settled on a title yet. Still, I hadn’t told her how far I’d gotten, so I could just show her a blank file later and say I was only getting started.
“Fine. I’ll show you later.”
“…! For real? You’re really going to show me?”
“Yeah, for real. I don’t lie.”
“Okay. Then, um…”
Hana cleared her throat again and slowly scooted over until she was walking right beside me. Nice. I’d learned one way to cheer up a sulking Hana. I’d have to remember that for later.
“……But that’s that and this is this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re the first man who’s ever hit me, Jun. Take responsibility. You took my first time, so take responsibility.”
…….
I choked. A passerby nearby widened their eyes. I quickly wiped my mouth and poked Hana’s shoulder.
“Hey. Don’t say weird stuff that’ll make people misunderstand…!”
“Why? It’s not a lie. You really did take my first time. I’ve never been hit by my parents, yet you hit me mercilessly in front of everyone, mmph—mmph…!”
“……Ugh, seriously!”
I clapped a hand over her mouth and quickly scanned our surroundings. Fortunately, aside from the people who had already passed us, there was no one nearby. But on the opposite sidewalk, I spotted a few familiar faces.
Girls from our class. Looked like they were out having fun after school. Our eyes met in midair.
—Wait, isn’t that…?
“……Ah.”
They’d definitely recognized us. I quickly let go of Hana. But it was already too late; they had seen everything.
—Did you see that?
—Are those two always like that?
—Wow, her taste…
They whispered among themselves, their voices growing quieter until they faded away. The way they kept glancing at me and giggling, then bursting into laughter together… It was clear they had gotten the wrong idea.
Hana gave the girls a small wave.
“Have fun, Tachibana~!”
“I’ll text you later!”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll explain everything properly later.”
“How exactly are you going to explain…?”
“Hmm. That Jun likes covering girls’ mouths?”
“……Hey.”
“Hehe. I’m kidding. I’ll just say we were joking around. They probably didn’t misunderstand that badly anyway.”
“Well, of course they wouldn’t get any weird ideas…”
I was just embarrassed that our classmates had caught us messing around.
“We can catch the bus at the stop on the other side, right?”
“Ah, yeah.”
We stood side by side at the crosswalk. While waiting for the light, I slowly brought up the questions I hadn’t managed to ask yet.
“So what was that ‘good thing’ you mentioned earlier?”
It couldn’t have been giving me a book. Though getting a present was nice in itself.
“A reading discussion group.”
“A reading discussion group?”
“A casual one at the bookstore. Between the author and a big fan.”
“Ah…”
I see. A reading discussion with a fan who liked me so much she’d even gotten our families involved. As an author, it wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, it was a good thing. Talking with a reader who had been deeply moved by my work would be a valuable experience, a confidence boost, and maybe even a source of inspiration.
“Then why did you leave early?”
“Ah, well…”
Hana glanced at me. She didn’t say anything, but I could roughly guess what she was thinking.
Since I said I stopped going to bookstores after Mom passed… she must have been worried.
Even while worrying, she had still teased me and played around because I told her I was fine. But she’d suggested leaving the bookstore quickly in case it made me uncomfortable. If I were in her position, I would have done the same.
“I was just a little tired. We can do the reading discussion another time…”
…….
I looked at Hana’s chattering face. It was fascinating how all her features fit into such a small face. At the same time, I noticed the faint shadows under her eyes.
“Did you not sleep well?”
“……Pardon?”
“You’ve got dark circles.”
“Ah… Do I? I wonder why…”
“If you didn’t sleep properly, of course you’d be tired and get dark circles.”
The reason she hadn’t slept well was probably because her sleeping environment had suddenly changed.
Well, I can barely sleep in any bed that isn’t my own…
I could understand the feeling. Even if the bed was soft, it was still someone else’s house. Plus, knowing there was a guy sleeping nearby would make anyone tense. It was perfectly natural for Hana to have trouble sleeping.
“Is the bed uncomfortable?”
“What? N-no…”
“Then why couldn’t you sleep?”
“……Ah.”
Hana shut her mouth. I was sure of it now. The bed really was the problem.
“If I pay extra, would they deliver it faster…?”
I rubbed my chin, thinking. If I offered a little more money under the guise of delivery fees, maybe they’d bump up the bed’s delivery slot. Since I couldn’t sleep elsewhere, it would be better to get a new bed for Hana as soon as possible.
“If I send another fifty—no, a hundred—they might deliver it right away. Then we could have a new bed within two days…”
“。…”
“Huh? What did you say?”
I had been too deep in thought and missed it. When I asked, Hana jumped in surprise and shook her head frantically. Her face was slightly red.
“It’s nothing! I didn’t say anything…!”
“It didn’t sound like nothing… Hey, what’s wrong with your face?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“Your face is red. Are you coming down with something?”
“……No. I’m not sick!”
“But you…”
“It’s getting late. Let’s go home…!”