CH 51

Leaving the bill to Ageha, I and Karen left the restaurant first.

The entrance to the store is crowded even though it’s late.

I wonder if it’s because it’s late.

I moved to the shade of the store so as not to get in the way.

Cars were coming and going in the parking lot in front of us.

We don’t talk to each other and just let the quiet time pass.

It occurred to me that in the past, this didn’t happen very often.

When I was playing with Karen and Ageha, I never had a problem with topics to talk about, and even when I was in trouble, I was able to come up with something.

I wondered how long it had been like this.

The answer came quickly.

It was around the time Karen started dating Saijo-senpai.

I started to pay attention to her in a strange way.

I don’t think that’s a bad thing or something that needs to be changed.

When you enter high school, you interact with each other more, and moreover, when you have a boyfriend and girlfriend, the relationship between childhood friends will change.

That is inevitable.

It’s not like we’re on bad terms, so this is just my selfish sentiment.

I thought that maybe I and Karen would grow apart, but I dismissed that as absolutely impossible.

Ageha is Karen’s younger sister, and if I stay with her, we will see each other.

And there is no way in the future that I will break up with Ageha.

Unless… She breaks up with me.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that this situation of waiting outside, leaving her to pay the bill, is a moderately bad person, I suddenly thought.

… No, well, Ageha was supposed to get money from the cashier, and the store was crowded.

“Hey, I’m gonna go check on her.”

“Uh-huh.”

When I said so, Karen nodded quizzically.

I quickly made my way to the entrance, where I found that Ageha was just paying at the cash register.

Let’s greet Ageha that came out of the store splendidly here.

I’m going to be a cool boyfriend.

As I was making such a resolution in my heart, a couple was coming toward us from the sidewalk along the national highway.

I tried to look away from the couple, who were arm-in-arm and looking friendly, but my heart started pounding.

(No way.)

Immediately, I dismissed the scene in front of me in my mind.

However, that leg was returning from the entrance――to the place where the Karen was, avoiding the front of the couple.

“…? What’s wrong, are you in such a hurry?”

When I returned immediately, Karen tilted her head and looked at me suspiciously.

Seeing her like that, I smiled vaguely.

I can’t show her that sight.

Because the man in the couple over there was Saijo-senpai.

“Strange.”

While looking strange, Karen muttered a word and stopped pursuing it any further.

While I was relieved by this, my head was spinning and confused.

Why Saijo-senpai?

No, I may have misunderstood something.

But that state of affairs…

Mixed with doubts and denials, I can’t decide what to do.

Let’s pretend we haven’t seen anything here.

Ageha’s voice hit my earlobe just as I was holding onto the answer that seemed to put off the problem.

“Haru-kun? Onee-chan?”

Ageha, who came out of the store after paying the bill, looks for us and raises his voice.

I couldn’t stop her.

Karen comes out from the shadows of the store in response to her sister’s voice.

Ageha notices her sister.

And – Saijo Senpai, who notices their presence.

For a moment, the air froze.

Karen’s back stiffens, and after a few moments, she runs in the opposite direction of Saijo-senpai.

“Hey, Onee-chan!?”

Confused by her sister who suddenly started running, Ageha calls out to stop her.

In the back, Saijou-senpai was standing motionless.

I chased after Karen while shouting to Ageha, “Go home first.”