âWow! Isnât it nice here? Itâs much more organized than my place.â
Yaguchi-san said in excitement as he entered.
âHe must be a very diligent man.â
When Yaguchi-san said that, I replied indifferently.
âI do all the housework.â
âHousework? Youâre the one doing it all, Miyuki-chan?â
âThatâs right.â
Yaguchi-san looked puzzled. He blinked a few times and then suddenly shouted.
âHeâs making a high school girl do all the housework! What a weird person!â
Yaguchi-san was giggling as he said that.
ââŚHeâs not really weird.â
âNo, heâs definitely weird. Why wonât he just do all the housework himself?â
Yaguchi-san then sat down on Yoshida-sanâs bed without asking for permission.
Although he said those things, Yaguchi-san barely cares about his housework. While it seemed feasible to be able to do the housework even if you had to work, for some reason I felt annoyed.
âYou do everything? Cooking, laundry, cleaning, all of that?â
âThatâs right.â
âHaha, how interesting!â
Yaguchi-san shook his shoulders and laughed briefly, then patted the space beside him with his hand.
âDonât just stand there, Miyuki-chan. Why donât you sit down?â
I nodded and sat down on the floor in front of him, knowing that he wanted me to sit beside him. Yaguchi-sanâs lips twitched in frustration, but he didnât insist that she sat next to him.
ââŚSo this is where Miyuki-chan lives now, huh?â
ââŚâ
Yaguchi-san looked around the room.
âKind of cramped.â
ââŚThatâs because itâs not meant for two people.â
âYou knew that already, yet youâre still staying here. You have a lot of guts, Miyuki-chan.â
Yaguchi-san said that and then chuckled. I know he was being sarcastic.
âHow long have you been here?â
âRoughly two months.â
âTwo months?!â
Yaguchi-san shouted out. For the first time since I met him, I saw something other than a smile on his face.
âHuh? Heâs been letting you stay here for two months?â
âThatâs rightâŚâ
âSo youâve been doing the housework?â
âYes, I do.â
âWhat else?â
âNothing.â
âNothing?!â
Yaguchi-san shouted out again.
He paused for a few seconds with his mouth open and then sighed. After scratching his head, he spoke as if he were talking to himself.
âThatâs some kind of perversionâŚâ
âHuh?â
âAh, itâs nothing.â
Yaguchi-san smiled and bowed his head.
âIâm going to ask you straight out, have you ever had sex with this person?â
ââŚUgh!â
The topic was so sudden that my breath was mixed with saliva. The saliva got into my trachea and I choked for a while.
âA-are you okay? Was it such a surprise?â
âThatâsâŚâ
I cleared my throat and raised my head. My eyes met Yaguchi-sanâs, who had a really strange look on his face.
âHe picked up a high school girl and has been living with her for two months now, right?â
ââŚWell.â
âWouldnât it be weird if you went that far and never had sex? After all, heâs a man. Iâd understand if you were ugly as hell, but even without me saying as much, youâre a really pretty girl.â
I was dumbfounded by Yaguchi-sanâs ability to talk about outrageous things without hesitation. However, I could not help but understand what he was saying. I had thought so at first, too.
ââŚOh, I see.â
Yaguchi-san scratched his head again and then sighed. He looked into my eyes and then spoke clearly.
âSo itâs been a while since weâve seen each other.â
âHuh?â
âYou havenât been having any sex, right?â
âHuh? UmâŚâ
âItâs the same for me. I broke up with all my girlfriends and came here.â
Yaguchi-san got up from the bed and sat down beside me as if it was something natural. I tried to move away from him as quickly as I could, but he immediately grabbed my shoulder.
âU-um⌠I thought weâre just going to talk.â
âWell, that was the plan, but being under the same roof with a pretty girl is hard to resist in many ways.â
âThatâs⌠ugh.â
No matter how much strength I used to reject him, the force of Yaguchi-sanâs grip on my shoulder was much stronger. I couldnât move. I stared at Yaguchi-san in disgust, but his face was closer to mine than I expected, and I flinched. Yaguchi-san continued to speak with a gentle smile on his face.
âYou donât have to look so scared of me. We did it every day when you were at my place. Donât you like it? Sex?â
âThatâs the problemâŚâ
Without listening to what I was saying, Yaguchi-sanâs face approached mine. As soon as I knew that he was going to try to kiss me, I got goosebumps all over my body.
ââŚEek!â
Just before Yaguchi-sanâs lips were about to touch mine, I shook my head as hard as I could. With a loud thud, our foreheads hit each other.
âOuch!â
Yaguchi-sanâs right hand weakened and I escaped from his restraints, backing away to the wall. He rubbed his head and looked at me with a surprised look on his face.
âHow awful⌠So thatâs how much you donât want to do it with me?â
ââŚHaa, haa.â
I tried to say something back, but my shoulders just went up and down with my uncontrolled breathing. I couldnât tell if it was anger or fear, but my lips were trembling and my chest boiling.
âI can understand if you viscerally hate it, but at least donât look at me like that. You did it with me before and it went without a hitch. But now, you hate it this much.â
As he said that, I instinctively pushed my back against the wall and kicked the floor with my foot, even though I couldnât move back any further.
âThatâs fine. Itâs not like itâs a big deal.â
âNoâŚâ
âIt wonât hurt at all. Youâll be fine.â
ââŚGet away from me!â
Without thinking, I shouted. My throat hurt and my body was hot. My skin felt strange. Even though I have slept with him before. My whole body was rejecting him.
Ah⌠why did I let this man into the house? Was it so I wouldnât lose my relationship with Asami? Or was it to prevent the manager from finding out the truth?
As I thought about it, Yoshida-sanâs face popped into my mind. Thatâs right. Yoshida-san. I didnât want to cause any trouble for him, thatâs why I brought Yaguchi-san here. The goosebumps I felt all over my body intensified.
If I accept this person now and get it over without making any fuss, things would work out without causing any trouble for Yoshida-san. If I reject him, heâll get angry and I donât know how things will turn out.
I pressed my body against the wall and curled up. As I slowly let my guard down, I looked at Yaguchi -san. My mouth was dry.
ââŚOkay.â
âHuh?â
There was no way that Yaguchi-san could hear my voice as I squeezed it out of my throat, so he tilted her head. Ignoring the pain in my stomach, I took a deep breath and spoke again.
âSo⌠Iâm saying itâs okay-ââ
A clattering sound from the front door interrupted what I was saying. Both Yaguchi-san and I naturally turned our gazes in the direction of the sound. The door opened violently, and he enteredâŚ
âOhâŚâ
A muffled breath, like a sob, escaped from the back of my throat.
âSayu!â
Yoshida-san was standing in the doorway, breathing hard.