Haruka (2)
“Then, if Luka would be kind enough to teach me some English.”
“...Me? I’m so busy with training right now...”
“Why not? It’s the summer break.”
“I have an away game too...”
“Can’t you just relax at home for a bit and teach her? Before the US trip?”
“No, it’s not like that...”
“You’ve been teaching Luna English before the US trip, haven’t you? Now you can teach Haruka together. Haruka, you’re all right with that?”
“Oh... yeah...”
Haruka nodded at Tachibana’s mother’s words and glanced sideways at Luka, checking his expression. Is he upset about teaching English to me? There was a faint trace of displeasure on Luka’s face, just enough to show his discomfort.
Of course, Haruka had never been the type to watch others’ reactions. But this wasn’t home or school, and there had been that slightly embarrassing incident back when they first met. She simply couldn’t help feeling nervous.
“Still, the opening is coming soon, and time is limited.”
“It’s fine, Luka.”
Tachibana’s mother smiled gently at Luka’s words. The moment she turned her head, their eyes met, and Haruka awkwardly averted her gaze with a stiff smile.
It had been a week since Luka returned home after the US tour. He hadn’t come home much even during away games, so the awkward atmosphere between them still lingered.
After some small talk followed, the evening meal came to an end.
“Haruka.”
“Y-Yes?”
“See you in a bit. About thirty minutes? Luna’s room, since we’ll be doing it together.”
“I’m fine wherever.”
“Okay.”
In front of Tachibana’s mother, it had felt like she was avoiding something bothersome, but it also felt like imposing on a busy person. Yet she couldn’t ignore her kindness. Tachibana’s mother treated her like a true mother.
“Haa...”
Back in her own room, Haruka let out a long sigh.
If the first meeting hadn’t been that embarrassing, they might have become closer. She wouldn’t have felt so awkward.
It had been three weeks since they arrived in England, and just three days since her parents left for Japan. Up until now, her life in England had been quite satisfying, but every time she saw Luka, that old memory resurfaced. She fidgeted restlessly on her bed.
“Ah, damn it, you idiot, you idiot!”
Especially the fact that she had been the one to approach him first felt particularly embarrassing.
Haruka’s father, Tsukishiro, was the president of a successful company in Japan and loved soccer. He had even sponsored the national team. Their connection with Tachibana Yuichi came from that time.
Thanks to her father, Haruka had become a girl who loved soccer. She had served as the soccer club manager in middle school, and when she entered high school, since there was no club, she gathered students and created a soccer club of her own. She had loved the sport for quite some time.
The club had unfortunately been eliminated in the first round, but those few months before moving to England remained precious memories.
Such a Haruka couldn’t possibly not know the legend of the Japanese national team, Tachibana Yuichi, or that Luka, who had led the middle school soccer world and even beaten her school’s team, was him.
At that time, Haruka had been amazed by his play and thought he was cool even after the loss. After all, his appearance was handsome, his playing style refreshing, and he shone brightest on the field.
But then she had shown such an embarrassing sight to that person! Not only that, she had thrown a ball by mistake thinking she was alone. It was obvious what Luka thought of her.
Thanks to Tachibana’s family treating her kindly and her quickly bonding with Luna, she felt like she could treat the house as her own, but she had to be more careful since it wasn’t her own home!
She had heard stories about Luka, but it was too stupid that she had forgotten about the embarrassing incident so thoroughly. Clearly, Luka must think she was some pervert or bad-tempered girl.
“Aaaah! What do I do, what do I do!”
Even though a week had passed, the memory was still vivid in her mind. She pulled the blanket over her head.
“Uuuu...”
But she couldn’t show any more embarrassing sides here. Haruka sat up from the bed and checked her reflection in the mirror.
‘My hair is a bit messy. ...Should I change my clothes? The ones I’m wearing now are wrinkled from lying down, but changing suddenly would look weird.’
After combing her hair, she got up from the bed and went to the bathroom with her toiletries.
“Ah! Oppaaaa! I told you not to use the second-floor bathroom!”
“What? My room is on the second floor. Why can’t I use it?”
“It’s for girls! Go use the one on the first floor!”
“I’m not even showering, I’m just brushing my teeth. What’s the big deal?”
“Ah, get out!”
Friendly sibling voices came from the bathroom. Sharing the bathroom with a same-aged boy was embarrassing after all, wasn’t it? While secretly cheering for Luna and waiting,
“She was showering on the first floor back then...”
“That was because the second-floor bathroom was under construction.”
Uuuu, he still remembers. Haruka knew the incident was hard to forget, but she had hoped it would be something she could put behind her.
“I should just move my room to the first floor.”
While Haruka’s face was turning red, Luka came out of the bathroom.
“Eh...?”
“Ah.”
Their eyes met, and Haruka felt her embarrassment and looked away. Luka made an awkward expression and scratched the back of his head. Even though it had been during a conversation with Luna, bringing up that forgotten incident was embarrassing for both of them.
“I-I don’t need to move the room because of me.”
“Eh... you heard?”
“Yeah...”
“Sorry. I meant to keep it a secret.”
“Because it’s Luna...”
“Still, I’ll never say it again. Sorry.”
“...Thank you.”
Why do words get so stuck when I’m standing in front of Luka? I’m not that kind of person!
Haruka’s face turned red as she blamed her awkward behavior on that embarrassing first meeting.
“Still, I think it would be better to move the room. After all, I don’t have much time at home anyway.”
“Ah...”
Haruka had wanted to move to the first floor because meeting Luka was awkward and embarrassing, but she didn’t want him to move either. It would look strange to say she didn’t want him to move when he was offering.
Honestly, she thought it would be better not to move at all.
‘No, why am I thinking that? Right, it’s because I don’t want my image to worsen here.’
Haruka simply nodded with the awkward smile she always gave Luka, unable to understand the strange feeling herself.
‘No, I can’t keep avoiding eye contact like this. It’s impossible to be this awkward!’
But she gathered her courage and spoke.
“B-By the way, our names are similar, aren’t they? I’m Haruka, you’re Luka.”
“Huh? Eh.”
“......”
‘Idiot, idiot, idiot. What kind of reply am I supposed to give after bringing up something so random! I can’t think of a good answer!’
Haruka scolded herself for saying something unnecessarily stupid and awkward.
The atmosphere became even more awkward than before.
“I’ll go downstairs then.”
“Yeah...”
After Luka left, Luna came out of the room.
“Unnie! I was waiting for you?”
“No, I just came out.”
“Oppa?”
“He went downstairs.”
“Of course. He went down but told me to stop him. Unnie, you have to stop him if he wants to use the bathroom, okay?”
“U-Um...”
“Unnie, your face is red. Are you hurt somewhere?”
“N-No. ...It’s probably because I’m hot.”
“You’re using the air conditioner full blast. Unnie, think of this as your own house and relax. Ah, is it hard because of Luka? I’ll send him to the first floor quickly.”
It was unnecessary, but Haruka couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
“Ah, and come to my room later. It’s better for you to study in my room than in Oppaa’s, isn’t it?”
“I don’t mind, but... I can study in my room too.”
...It’s fine even if it’s Luka’s room.
‘I don’t want to see Luka’s room, and it would look bad for me to keep nagging as a student.’
“Hey, don’t think about it. It would be inconvenient if you did. See you later.”
After Luna left, Haruka went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She noticed some long hair-like strands falling inside. Black and golden ones. The black belonged to her, and the golden one to Luna. And then...
‘I didn’t see anything, right? ...I see, it’s just as Luna said...’
From now on, she had to prevent Luka from coming here. As a guest, it might seem a bit rude, but Luna had said it a thousand times and it was correct.
Haruka hurriedly started brushing her teeth, trying to forget the embarrassing thoughts that flooded her mind, unaware that her face was still turning red.