Thump
“Ah, um…”
Tickled by a sweet scent, I glance sideways to find my senior inexplicably beside me.
“What’s up? Don’t you drink coffee?”
“I-I’ll have some… um…”
“…”
The senior calmly brought the coffee to her mouth, but she put her delicate right shoulder on my left shoulder. Of course, it’s not intentional..
Being this close makes it hard to concentrate.
“Um, d-do you feel more comfortable sitting here?”
“Yeah. Is that a problem?”
“N-No… I-It’s fine…”
“What’s wrong?”
“M-My, uh, being next to you… and, um, I might smell of sweat, and, uh…”
“You don’t smell. Besides, if we face each other, our eyes meet. I’m not good at talking while making eye contact.”
“I see…”
Well, not really.
But truly, I never make eye contact when sitting beside her.
I can’t bring myself to turn to her, and she just sipped her coffee calmly..
Her way of dealing with her discomfort about eye contact makes sense.
But I don’t understand why we’re so close.
Our shoulders have brushed against each other several times since earlier.
Each time, it tickles, and her scent becomes stronger.
I feel dizzy.
“Sh-Should we… start cleaning?”
Finally finding my voice, I stand up decisively.
Without waiting for her response, I started cleaning.
If I stay in this situation any longer, I might collapse before cleaning up.
I quickly stacked the remaining books scattered on the floor and moved them to the corner of the room..
“Someya-kun, do you like cleaning?”
“W-Well, I don’t hate it. You know, it feels refreshing and satisfying when things are tidy.”
“I see. So, is this room uncomfortable for you?”
“I-It’s not like that. B-But, I think it’d be more comfortable if it were tidier.”
During our conversation, my senior remained seated, oddly not offering to help with the cleaning..
After leisurely drinking her coffee, she finally stood up and looked around…
“…Where should I start cleaning?”
My senior mutters in a voice barely audible.
It seems like she’s confused, as if she’s never cleaned up before.
Hmm, should I take charge here?
“Um, if there are any books you don’t need, could you tie them up with a string for disposal? Also, it’d be great if you could line up the shoes in the entrance, and that’s about it for the room.”
“Yeah, got it.”
Nodding deeply, my senior continued to glance around.
This time, she seemed to be searching for something.
Perhaps a string?
“Um, do you have any packing string or something?”
“String… Oh, well… I don’t think so.”
“Um, then maybe some masking tape or something?”
“Tape… I’m not sure if I have any…”
“I-I see.”
It’s not particularly surprising if she doesn’t have it, but it’s a bit odd that she doesn’t have any despite having so much stuff..
But well, if someone’s the type to prepare those things themselves, they wouldn’t ask others to clean up, right?
After all, it’s thanks to her laziness in that regard that I could come over to her place early in the morning..
I shouldn’t dwell too deeply on it.
“Well then, could you leave sorting out the books for another time?”
“You’re not going to do it?”
“Huh? No, but there’s nothing to sort out.”
“Wanna go buy some? There’s a hardware store nearby, right?”
“W-Well, I guess… But, we still have some time before it opens, you know?”
“Yeah. Then how about I start making breakfast soon?”
“Uh, um, what about the cleaning?”
“You don’t want to eat my cooking?”
“N-No. Um, then… I’ll have some, thank you.”
Seeming uninterested in cleaning again, my senior casually walked to the kitchen.
She’s truly an enigmatic person.
I always thought it was hard to tell what she’s thinking, but the more I interact with her, the less I understand her thoughts.
I thought she wanted me to clean quickly since she came to pick me up so early, but she’s so laid-back that the cleaning isn’t progressing at all.
She might be an airhead, but…
Am I just being too nitpicky, feeling like there’s a lot of wasted effort?
As I thought over these thoughts, I found myself gazing silently at my senior’s profile as she boiled water in the kitchen..
♡
*…Thump*
Someya-kun, he’s really serious, isn’t he?
I can’t look at his face when I think about how he is so devoted to a woman like me, who is shy, lazy, and boring to talk to.
I’ve always been unfriendly and bad at talking to people, so I’ve been misunderstood as cold-hearted. Even in high school, when someone finally confessed their feelings for me, I didn’t know how to respond, and they ended up distancing themselves from me..
But as I watched those kinds of people, I started to think that maybe they didn’t actually like me, but rather any girl who fit their preferences would do.
So, even if someone confessed their feelings to me, I didn’t feel anything anymore.
But Someya-kun delivered his love to me every day…
He talks for me when I can’t, and instead of being disappointed by my sloppiness, he helps me tidy up..
I’m naturally messy, but even though I made more of a mess than usual yesterday, he doesn’t seem to mind. It really comes across that he genuinely likes me.
I think there might not be another person like him.
Thinking about that makes my heart flutter uncontrollably.
But the more my heart flutters, the harder it is for me to speak properly.
So, shopping.
Actually, I bought cleaning supplies like packing string and cardboard boxes on the way home yesterday.
I hid them because Someya-kun might leave immediately after cleaning, like yesterday.
Don’t open the closet, okay?
After cleaning, we’ll go shopping together.
I’m looking forward to it.
The real fun starts now.
*Thump*
He’s been looking at me all this time.
How cute.
But since he’s kind enough to like me, I want him to know more about my flaws.
Breakfast is ready.
Please, help yourself.
