Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Second Scenario (4)
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Some time had passed since I met Haru under the bridge.
"No way. So then he..."
"Pfft. Really?"
Surprisingly, I'd managed to get close to Haru.
If you asked how it was possible to bond so quickly with someone I'd just met, the answer was simple.
What she needed right now wasn't comfort—it was a break. So I acted accordingly.
If you asked how I knew that...
For one thing, there were a few similar scenes in the game. The scripts described them like this.
[What Haru needed that day wasn't comfort or advice—it was fun, everyday stories.]
[If only I'd shared fun stories and joked around with Hiro like we did as kids back then... could I have changed my fate?]
So I skipped the pointless advice and just shared lighthearted everyday tales.
Naturally, Haru started off reacting indifferently to my words, but as time went on, she grew hooked.
Of course, half the reason was...
"In Korea, this neighborhood bro I know said..."
It was because they were stories about Korea.
I did share some of Takuya's stories too, but honestly, they seemed boring, so I repackaged them as tales from a cool older guy from my past life.
I had no choice.
Takuya's life hadn't exactly been full of thrills—few friends, narrow social circle, you know.
"...That's what the neighborhood bro said."
"That's wild. How do they even have school until the seventh period?"
"He said they even do this thing called Yaja."
"Yaja?"
"Yeah, apparently they gather students at night to study."
"How could anyone do something so brutal..."
By the way, Haru seemed convinced these were stories from some neighborhood older guy I knew.
Which made sense—the tales were packed with Korean stuff, and I didn't have much personal experience with it anyway.
What do you mean, bullshit?
The stories I told were real ones from guys I knew (met in the army).
Thanks to that, I could spin them like they were someone else's anecdotes.
Anyway, we were deep in conversation when...
"Haha! Heehee. Hahaha..."
Haru, who'd been giggling at my words, suddenly let out a deep sigh and put on a face like she'd seen it all.
Seeing that, I thought it was my chance and said,
"What's up? Got something on your mind?"
Haru glanced at me for a moment, sighed again, and said,
"Well, it's about a friend of mine..."
In situations like this, "a friend" was 100% themselves.
Even without that, looking at her expression, there was no way it was anyone else's story.
Anyway, after hearing her out, I thought,
'What a fucking moron.'
Hiro was an idiot. Getting mad at a girl just because she got mad while you were trying to console her—what else could you call that? Actually, if it had been some random girl freaking out, I'd get it.
Brushing off a stranger's tantrum nicely would make you the idiot.
But doing it to a girl you like? That's not just idiot level—that's advanced moron.
Huh? What about me? Aren't I bad at consoling too?
I do fine with dicks.
Either way, after hearing her story, I trashed Hiro for her.
"What an idiot that guy is."
"Idiiiot?"
"Oh, the neighborhood bro said it's Japanese for moron."
Haru smirked at my words and said,
"I'm grateful you're comforting me, but go easy on him. He tried his best, for him. And honestly, I didn't handle it well either."
I nodded in agreement.
She told me not to badmouth him, and admitted her own fault. No reason to push it.
I was about to switch topics when...
"Oh, it's clearing up now."
"Yeah."
The weather brightened, so I scrapped that plan.
I could've kept chatting, but it might come off as scheming.
So I decided to pull back.
But just saying "See you later, sis~" and bouncing would feel off.
After a moment's thought, I stood up.
"Heading out already?"
"This was just to dodge the rain, after all."
She nodded, looking a bit disappointed, and said,
"...Got it. Take care."
Before leaving, I added one more thing.
"One last thing before I go. Sis, it's better for your mental health not to bottle everything up."
She looked puzzled and asked,
"Huh? What do you mean...?"
"Just vent your hardships to someone, anyone."
"Won't they get annoyed...?"
To her worried follow-up, I said,
"If someone's annoyed by you trying to lean on them and won't console you, they're not worth having in your life anyway. Don't sweat it. And..."
I stepped closer, pinched her cheek, lifted the corner of her mouth, and said,
"You look prettier smiling like this anyway. Keep that smile on always."
"Wha?"
With that, I pulled my hand from her flushing cheek and bolted out from under the bridge, yelling,
"See you next time! Sorry for grabbing your cheek!!"
"Ehh."
I hightailed it out of there, leaving behind a blushing girl staring at the back of the boy who'd already vanished.
It was a summer where the summer showers felt especially short.
While Haru let her guard down...
Takuya, who'd slipped away quickly, took a swig from the water bottle in his bag, wiped his mouth, and muttered,
"Phew! Playing light novel protagonist is tough work."
Everything I'd just done was to make our meeting and farewell dramatic.
Why else would a sane guy grab a girl's face and tweak her mouth into a smile?
I just went for a bolder approach to make it memorable.
Though it was cringey as hell while doing it.
'I wanna die. Fuck.'
Of course, to a 16-year-old girl in despair, it'd be the most dramatic scene ever.
If she doesn't remember this, I'd legit off myself.
Anyway.
"Where to now..."
Mission accomplished, but with my damp clothes and bag, I had to think.
Going home like this? Yuka or Ayaka would chew me out for sure.
Yuka already knew my secret—couldn't face her begging for head with this thin skin.
Souta’s place? I'd already told him I had other plans... Tricky.
Pondering options, I hit on a good spot.
"Right! That place!"
I turned and headed there immediately.
A short while later, I'd arrived at Haruka's house.
After all the intense sex we'd had, she'd let me shower, right?
That's what I thought when I got there, but...
"Oh? Takuya? Haruka's not home right now..."
"Dang."
Haruka wasn't there.
I hadn't come to some random employee's house for nothing. As far as I remembered, today wasn't her work day.
So why was she out? Simple.
"With this rain, I figured I'd check if anything came up."
"Ah."
The shower had been heavy, so she went in just in case, she said.
In other words, she went in for the company.
'Damn, Haruka.'
You could argue she's so dedicated she'd go in on her day off anyway, but I figured her pride in her computer skills meant she wouldn't for something minor.
So the reason had to be one thing.
'Coming in on her day off for me.'
It was for me.
You might call it delusion, but Haruka likes me enough to give me breastfeeding handjobs. Totally plausible.
Even if not, it was admirable.
Of course, it threw off my plans, so I was gonna dry off in the breeze and sun and head out.
"If it's okay, why don't you take a bath before you go?"
Until Miharu-san offered.
Of course I didn't refuse. I felt gross anyway.
"Then, if you'll excuse me."
With familiar steps, I entered the house and headed to the bath.
The water was perfectly hot. It felt amazing.