Incidentally, Neneka was also aiming for the same college, but she attended the open campus on a different day with her school girl friends.
Neneka and I were on the same committee and everyone around us knew that we were good friends. However, a man and a woman who tried to make plans during summer vacation to attend an open campus on the same day were likely to be thought of by people that there was something going on. Since it was a secret to everyone at school that we were dating, we decided to keep the dates separate.
“Now, let’s study again today…”
The time was 9 a.m. I was studying day and night during summer vacation.
Just as I was getting ready to go to my study desk and get myself ready to concentrate, the door opened without a knock.
“Daiki? Do you have a minute?”
“… Mom, how many times do I have to tell you to knock before entering my room?”
“Do you have a minute?” How could she stop at the door and ask that? Couldn’t a system be installed in a common man’s house where the door wouldn’t open until he gave permission?
Despite my musing, my mother proceeded with her story with a nonchalant look on her face.
“Tonight, there’s a festival at a nearby shrine, isn’t there? Takao-nii-san is going to have a yakisoba stall there again this year, but the person who was supposed to help him couldn’t come due to sudden health problems. Could you go and help him, Daiki?”
“What? Helping out at the festival?”
Uncle Takao was my mother’s older brother.
He loved festivals and he would set up a yakisoba stall at a nearby shrine festival every year. I remembered that last year I had helped uncle Takao.
“I already told him that I would let Daiki go because Takao-nii-san seemed to be in trouble. So please do me a favor.”
“Why do you get to decide about people’s schedules without their permission…?”
I was hoping not to go this year.
It was hot, mosquito bites were all over the place, and it was quite hard work… helping with the food stall.
“No?”
“Umm… okay, you told uncle Takao I was going to help him, didn’t you? I’ll go help him…”
“I’m sorry. Thank you, then go help him at four o’clock in the evening.”
“Okay… heckshun.”
“What? Did you catch a cold? Maybe you have the air conditioning turned up too high?”
“I don’t think so…”
“If you sneeze, take a mask with you.”
“Hey.”
The idea of… not having to help out at the stall because I sneezed wasn’t going to happen, apparently. Maybe I just happened to have a stuffy nose, but I didn’t think that it was a cold myself.
I was angry at my mother for taking the liberty of deciding about it, but I felt sorry for uncle Takao who was in trouble, so I reluctantly agreed to help out at his food stall.
–Ah, that’s right. Would Neneka go to the festival too?
Perhaps I would be able to see Neneka in a yukata. Yes, that would be nice.
I quickly went to knock on the door of the room next door.
And waited until I got a proper response. I didn’t open the door before I got an answer, like my mother did earlier.
“Yes?”
“Neneka, can I have a word?”
“Uh, yeah… I’ll open it now.”
After some time, Neneka opened the door for me.
“I’ve been asked to help my relative with their stall at a local shrine tonight. So… Neneka, would you like to go to the festival with me? I thought that it would be nice if we could look around the festival together when we get a little free time.”
“Festival… ah… yeah, sorry. I’m in the mood to study today, so I guess I’ll pass.”
Neneka responded with some difficulty in saying it.
“I see… I know. I was going to study too, so I know how you feel. My mom decided that I would go help out on her own, and it really sucks.”
“I’m sorry, but it might make things easier for you if I go help out too…”
“I don’t mind at all. I just invited you because I thought that it would be a nice break from studying… kushun”
“Are you okay? Cold?”
“Well I think… it’s different… just a little mushy nose. Sorry, see you later.”
“Yes, thank you for inviting me.”
When she was satisfied that she had done what she needed to do, Neneka quietly closed the door.
The plan to see Neneka in a yukata failed. Ah, but I didn’t know if Neneka had a yukata, so even if she could go to the festival, I didn’t know if she would be in a yukata or not.
I went back to my room and grabbed my pen.
Now I had to get myself together and study… but I couldn’t get the problem out of my head.
I seemed to be in a somber state of shock that I had just been summarily turned down for a festival date.
–I was turned down because Neneka was studying, but it wasn’t because she didn’t want to go to the festival with me, right?
I felt that there had been some awkwardness between us since the night of our parents’ return from their honeymoon, when I had a delicate moment with Neneka.
We continued to pretend in front of our parents that we were close siblings-in-law, but in other situations she was very casual about her relationship with me.
In the past, Neneka would try to hide and flirt with me while pretending to be my sister, but lately that hadn’t been the case at all. After having lover’s time with all our might during our parents’ honeymoon, We haven’t had any more lover’s time since then.
–Was I still not taking good care of Neneka? And I wondered if Neneka was dissatisfied with me… No, I was sure that she just wanted to concentrate on her studies, since summer vacation would be over soon and there would be a competency test in the new semester…
The day of the exam was approaching day by day. Even normal couples in a relationship couldn’t afford to think about their lover everyday.
I remembered that there was a guy who reported in the class boys’ group chat that “I’ve decided to keep my distance from my girlfriend until I finish my exams.”
This was an important time to decide on a career path. Sometimes you had to put up with things you liked to do.
When I asked her, “Did I look like I wasn’t happy that Neneka is my girlfriend?” Neneka denied it, if she was dissatisfied with me, she would have said something then.
Since she didn’t tell me that, I would like to think that she wasn’t unhappy with… me.
Thinking about Neneka made it increasingly difficult for me to concentrate on my studies.
It wouldn’t be good if things continued as they were. I was thinking about Neneka and couldn’t study, so I failed the exam… It was too uncool, so I definitely didn’t want that to happen.
–I shouldn’t be thinking only about Neneka, either. When I studied, I had to concentrate on my studies.
These days, when Neneka and I were feeling the pressure of taking exams, we might have started to lose our composure.
And yet… why did I have to go help with the festival at such an important time of the year? … I thought, and as the clock struck 4 p.m. I arrived at uncle Takao’s stall as promised.
Uncle Takao had already started making yakisoba, and there were good smells wafting all around.
“Uncle Takao, long time no see!”
“Oh, you’re the best! Thanks for today! I really appreciate it! I’ll pay you for your part-time job!”
“Oh, thank you.”
Uncle Takao was well tanned this year. He was an active person, so he must have camped, surfed, and enjoyed the summer to the fullest.
I was a little more motivated when I realized that he would pay me for my part-time job. I put on the festival coat that uncle Takao had prepared for me and went to… help make yakisoba.
“Hey, Daiki, wait a minute.”
“Huh? What?”
… I suddenly stopped. Then uncle Takao started touching my hair for some reason.
“You’re a senior in high school, aren’t you? You should be more stylish! A guy who doesn’t dress up won’t be popular with girls.”
“No, I’m still a student, so I’m not ready for that kind of thing yet.”
“Tonight’s the festival! Don’t you want them to think, “Oh my God!” Who knows, maybe you’ll find the love of your life here?”
Uncle Takao took out a hair wax from his bag and began applying it to my hair. He gussied up my bangs, giving me a better view than usual.
“… Why do you carry all this stuff around?”
“Even men have to take care of their appearance.”
Uncle Takao, two years older than my mother, was still single. I knew that he was very popular among women. He was really fashionable and I thought that he must have had a thing for this wax.
“You’re a good-looking guy, why aren’t you popular? That’s what I’ve always wondered.”
“It’s because of my family filter. My face is below average in the eyes of the public.”
“You live with your sister-in-law and nothing is happening with her either? Doesn’t that girl come to your room and say things like, I fell in love with my brother because he’s cool…?”
“Th-That doesn’t happen… We just get along like normal siblings.”
“Then why don’t you go ask her out?”
“I won’t.”
“Not your type? That girl.”
“Ta…”
I couldn’t say that… she wasn’t my type.
Because, in fact, she was my type.
This was a strange obsession of mine, but even if it was to cover up my relationship with Neneka, I didn’t want to lie and say things that were the opposite of what I really meant, such as “she’s not my type” or “I don’t like her, so there’s no way I’m going out with her”.
“… I’m so preoccupied with studying for exams right now that I don’t have time to think about that kind of stuff.”
“Well… you’re serious… there you go, it’s done.”
Uncle Takao pulled out a hand mirror out of nowhere.
The reflection in the hand mirror was me with my bangs up and hair bouncing all over the place.
The moment I saw it, I thought who was this flirtatious guy… I thought that I looked even more flirtatious because I was wearing a festival coat.
“You look a little more mature. You look like a college student. Maybe a nice older girl will talk to you?”
Uncle Takao was laughing happily by himself.
I didn’t give a shit and started preparing the next batch of yakisoba.
“Oh, by the way, do you have any pictures of your sister-in-law? I haven’t seen her face yet”
“I’m not here for fun. I’ve stopped studying for my exams to help you, so you should do your job properly too.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll do my job properly.”
“… You need to wash your hands properly before you work.”
“Hey, hey, I get it.”
Uncle Takao, heckling, began to wash his hands with water from a tank that he had brought with him.
By about 6 p.m. the grounds of the shrine were very crowded.
I had been making yakisoba incessantly with uncle Takao. Thankfully, the stall was thriving.
“I thought about borrowing your sister-in-law for a signboard, but I guess I didn’t have to. Daiki, you’re still a good-looking guy, aren’t you? You’re getting all the female customers. They all want you, don’t they?”
“Aren’t they looking for uncle Takao? Uncle Takao is very popular.”
“No, no. I’m popular, so on the other hand, I can easily tell when a girl isn’t looking for me. Seventy percent of them are after you.”
“Forget about that, just get me a new pack out of the back.”
“Yes, general.”
“The general is uncle Takao, right?”
Uncle Takao headed to the back of the stall to get the packets of yakisoba that were missing.
I continued to make yakisoba without hesitation.
Uncle Takao was right, I thought that there were many female customers today, but I didn’t think that they would be that stupid to come here to buy yakisoba just for me.
People who bought yakisoba wanted yakisoba. Well, I was a pretty good cook, so I was confident that I made good yakisoba.
“Two packages of yakisoba, please.”
“Yes, 800 yen.”
A lady with beautiful nails handed me a 1,000 yen bill. I gently handed her 200 yen change so as not to touch her hand. Next, I handed over the yakisoba in the pack, and the lady left with a smile saying, “Thank you.”
See, that’s it. People just bought yakisoba and didn’t talk to me about anything else.
Even if I looked good-looking from a distance due to the miracle of the festival illuminated by the lights of the stalls, when they got closer, they thought that something was different. Because that was what it was.
“I’ll have a bowl of yakisoba, please.”
“Yes, 400 yen.”
I suddenly saw the customer’s face and… I gasped.
A woman in a yukata with light blue morning glories blooming on a white background. Her hair was tied up in a knot and adorned with a white and light blue flower ornament similar to a yukata.
I had seen a number of women in yukata since I had come to help out at the festival, but none had caught my eye as much as this one. I thought that she was more beautiful than anyone else.
“Neneka…”
When I called out her name, Neneka looked a little embarrassed and lowered her eyes.
I thought that she would look good in a yukata, but she was far more beautiful than I had imagined.
Neneka’s innocent atmosphere and yukata were too perfect for her.
“Umm… go ahead.”
As I was admiring Neneka, whose atmosphere was different from usual, she offered me 400 yen.
“Oh, I’ll take care of it…”
There were so many questions that I wanted to ask Neneka, such as why she was here when she said that she wouldn’t go to the festival, and whether that yukata belonged to her.
However, Neneka accepted the yakisoba from me, said “Thank you very much,” and quickly left the stall.
–What? That’s it?
Neneka just went shopping as usual and went straight home.
There was no line, and she could have talked to me more… but… I wanted to talk to her.
As I was tempted to throw away my job at the food stall right now and go after Neneka, I noticed uncle Takao standing right behind me with a grin on his face.
“Wow! I was surprised!”
“Hmm… I’ve been watching you for a long time… Now that kid, she’s about the same age as you? She was a cute girl. She’s going to be very beautiful in the future.”
Neneka didn’t even greet uncle Takao by saying, “I’m Daiki’s sister-in-law,” so it seemed that uncle Takao didn’t know that the girl he had just met was my sister-in-law.
“… Uncle Takao, I’m going to the restroom for a while, so please take care of the food stall.”
“Huh? Ah… I understand. I’m begging you not to be too late.”
I asked uncle Takao for a break and jumped into the crowd in search of Neneka.
–What happened for her to come all the way to the festival in a yukata and not even talk to me…?
Walking among the people, I looked for Neneka.
But once Neneka was lost in the crowd, she was hard to find.
I wanted to make a phone call, but I left my… phone at the stall.
Was it possible to meet up with Neneka in this crowd without any means of communication…?
As I was about to give up and return to the stall, my eyes were drawn near the fortune seller stall.
A yukata with light blue morning glories blooming on a white background. A fragile and beautiful standing posture.
–Neneka.
“Nene…”
I was about to call out to her as I approached, but I panicked and kept my mouth shut.
Neneka wasn’t alone. She was with a girl whose face I had seen somewhere before. As I recalled, that girl was in the next class… I had seen her a few times, although I had never talked to her, because my gym class was joint with the class next to mine.
I peeked out from behind a nearby stall so that Neneka and the other girl wouldn’t see me.
I couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, but the girl talking to Neneka was laughing and seemed to be having fun.
But Neneka didn’t look happy. Rather, she looked a bit pained.
–Maybe she was bad mouthing her?
Worried, I shortened the distance so that I could hear what they were talking about.
“I’m sorry… Doesn’t Torii-san have a boyfriend…? I think Torii-san is cute, but she’s kind of unattractive. Did you come alone today…? Eh? Seriously? Aren’t you lonely?”
I couldn’t hear Neneka’s voice, but I could hear the girl’s voice, which was very excited.
And I was kind of annoyed.
I didn’t know what kind of relationship she had with Neneka, but at least they weren’t close friends.
–Don’t be sarcastic to Neneka, who was at the festival by herself. Don’t laugh at her. Notice that Neneka wasn’t smiling.
Neneka was cute and had a boyfriend.
The only reason she was alone was because I was helping out at the stall.
It’s okay to worry about whether she was lonely, but don’t laugh at it.
My heart throbbed as I looked at Neneka, who seemed to be trying to pass it off with a vague smile.
I didn’t want Neneka to look like this. I couldn’t just stand by and watch my precious girlfriend get hurt.
–Was there any way to help…?
Yes, there was. I remembered that I sneezed a few times in the morning, so I had brought a mask just in case.
I took out the mask from my pants’ pocket and put it on. Taking a deep breath once, I stepped towards Neneka.
“Neneka, please wait.”
I spoke to Neneka in a slightly lower voice than usual.
Seeing me suddenly talking to her, Neneka’s eyes widen.
“Sorry I’m late, is that girl a friend of Neneka’s?”
I was really nervous, but I acted as cool as possible.
My image was that of a college student boyfriend who arrived late on his date.
I was now looking flirtatious with my bangs up out of character. Uncle Takao said that I looked like a college student, and when I had looked at myself in the mirror I thought, “Who was this flirtatious guy?”
The surroundings weren’t that bright, and if I wore a mask and kept my voice lower than usual, people at the same school wouldn’t know that I was “Morita Daiki.”
“Uh, let’s see…?”
However, Neneka didn’t seem to know what to do, and her eyes were constantly fluttering.
Oh, what should I do? It looked like Neneka didn’t get my intentions.
“Umm… are you by any chance Torii-san’s boyfriend?”
The girl who bit was the girl who was dissing Neneka. I didn’t condone about dissing Neneka, but the assist was very helpful.
“Yeah. I’m her boyfriend.”
When I affirmed that I was Neneka’s boyfriend, Neneka made a face that said, “Huh?”
I held Neneka’s hand and said, “Don’t worry.” I nodded to her, telling her that I would take care of it.
This girl didn’t realize that I was Morita Daiki. I would make sure that she wouldn’t find out, so leave it to me
“You seem mature, but are you a college student?”
“Yeah, well.”
“Eh!” I didn’t hear that Torii-san had such a cool college student boyfriend! What the heck, if she had a boyfriend, why didn’t she just tell me?”
The girl, who could no longer make fun of Neneka when she found out that she had a boyfriend, started laughing with a strange tension.
I looked like such a cool college student boyfriend… I had to thank Uncle Takao for his fashionable techniques.
Suddenly, however, the girl came zipping up to me.
“Can I ask you for your contact information? I would like you to be my friend if you would like. I’m going to be a college student next year, and I want to make friends with college students.”
“Wha… no!”
Neneka, who had been silent, suddenly raised her voice.
“What? Why? I’m not asking him to go out with me or anything, okay? We’re just going to be friends, so what right does Torii-san have to stop me?”
Why did this girl try to do every single thing that Neneka didn’t want to do? It was unpleasant to watch from my point of view.
“Call me if you would like.”
In front of Neneka’s eyes, I was about to be handed a piece of paper with her contact information on it.
Did she carry these things with her all the time…? So that she could give them to anyone she wanted, anytime she wanted.
“I don’t want any other girl’s contact information except hers.”
After firmly refusing, I pulled Neneka by her hand and started to walk away.
I wasn’t interested in what the girl looked like. I just wanted to get away from that girl as soon as possible.
Neneka followed me as I pulled her along.
The two of us walked along for a while. There was no conversation.
I just walked along and found myself at the edge of a deserted shrine.
“I’m sorry I pulled you out of nowhere. Are you okay?”
“Yeah…”
Neneka was slumped over with a slightly furrowed brow and a troubled look on her face.
“More importantly, if you say that you’re my boyfriend in front of people from the same school as us… What did you plan to do if she found out that you were Daiki?”
“I’m sorry for being so selfish… When I went after Neneka, it sounded like she was toying with you for not having a boyfriend, so I couldn’t keep my mouth shut… But I don’t think she knows…”
“She didn’t seem to know you were Daiki, but I think that everyone at school will know that I… have a boyfriend… “
“That’s… I’m sorry.”
Now I reflected on the thoughtless thing I had done.
I thought that as long as she didn’t find out that I was Morita Daiki, it wouldn’t be a problem, but that wasn’t the only problem.
That girl would probably spread the word to her friends that Neneka had a boyfriend once school started. No, maybe she would spread the word tonight itself.
I apologized, but Neneka kept quiet. She didn’t even look at me.
I had pissed her off. I felt so sorry.
“Umm… I think I’m going to go home.”
Suddenly, Neneka said so.
“What? Already? But, you’re wearing such a cute yukata?”
“I don’t want anyone to see me at the festival anymore! Bye!”
“Wait! Let me send you off!”
“If she sees you with me, it would only make things even more complicated!”
–Yes, that’s right…
Neneka went back alone.
I was left behind and hung down with my hands propped up against a tree trunk.
Yeah, I really fucked up. I couldn’t do it. That totally pissed her off…
I wanted to go home now. But even if I went home now, it would only make things more awkward when I would see Neneka…
“I need to get back to helping with the stall…”
With shoulders slumped, I returned to the yakisoba stall, where uncle Takao was cooking sizzling yakisoba.
“Welcome back. You’re late. I’m having trouble getting any customers because the signboard man was gone. Come on, help me out.”
“Sorry that I’m late, I’ll take over.”
Yakisoba were packed impatiently in packs and fastened with rubber bands.
While I was working silently, uncle Takao suddenly patted me on the head.
“What?”
“Cheer up. It’s not uncommon for the girl you like to not like you back. It’s even rarer that you could be compatible with each other. Well, you are still young, and you will meet someone you could be compatible with in the future.”
“… Hmm? What are you talking about?”
“You went after that cute customer in the yukata earlier, confessed to her and got shot down, didn’t you?”
“No? I didn’t! I didn’t!”
“What? You really just went to the restroom… That’s so boring…”
Uncle Takao was saying selfish things, but I didn’t feel like tweaking or caring anymore.
My heart throbbed and ached because I had offended Neneka.
But I couldn’t put a door on… people’s mouths.
It was distressing to know that no matter how many times I would apologize, it wouldn’t solve the underlying problem and wouldn’t stop the rumors about Neneka.
It was 9 p.m. when I returned home after helping uncle Takao with his stall.
As I was taking off my shoes at the door, my mother greeted me.
“Welcome back. How was it?”
“Oh, yeah… It was quite prosperous. Uncle Takao gave me money for my part-time job.”
“Well, good for you.”
After nodding yes, my mother’s voice trailed off.
“… Hey, what’s up with you and Neneka-chan?”
“Huh?”
“She came back so fast, so I wondered if something had happened to her. Neneka said, “I have a bit of a stomach ache,” but she didn’t look like she had a stomach ache.”
My mother, somehow was very good at spotting illnesses.
When I was in elementary school, I tried taking the day off because of a stomach ache and she saw through it all. But when I really had a stomach ache, she let me take the day off, so I thought that my mother had the ability to spot illnesses.
Neneka probably lied when she said that she had a stomach ache.
… Neneka left because I made her angry.
“… Nothing really happened. She bought some yakisoba and left right away.”
“Did she just buy yakisoba?”
“Yeah, I was kind of surprised too. I invited Neneka to the festival during the day, but she said that she couldn’t go because she had to study. But then she suddenly came to the festival, so I was surprised… Do you know what happened?”
“… You guys didn’t even talk?”
My mother gave me a puzzled look.
“No, that’s all…?”
“After Takao-nii-san contacted me and I replied that I would send Daiki to help him, I talked to Neneka-chan before you. I said that since Daiki would go help out at the festival stall, Neneka-chan should wear a yukata and go buy yakisoba to surprise him. That’s why she lied to surprise you.”
“From the very beginning, Neneka-chan was planning to go to the festival too.”
So she… was planning on going to the festival from the beginning?
Then why did Neneka leave the stall as soon as she bought the yakisoba? She was just as plain as any other customer.
If I hadn’t followed her, I would have seen Neneka in her yukata only for a moment to buy yakisoba.
If she came to show me something, she could have talked to me…
“I’m going to go talk to Neneka for a bit…”
“If she has a real stomach ache, come and get her medicine.”
“Okay.”
I went upstairs and knocked on the door of Neneka’s room.
“Neneka? It’s me…”
It wasn’t easy to get a response.
I was about to move away from the door, wondering if she had already fallen asleep, when the door finally clicked open.
I was going to say, “Oh… welcome back. Good work.”
Neneka, seen through the doorway, had already changed from her yukata to her pajamas.
Her face was a little red. And she seemed to be trying not to look at me somehow.
She still seemed angry.
I didn’t expect to be forgiven so easily, but when I saw Neneka not looking at me, I became depressed.
“I’m really sorry about that… at the festival earlier.”
“You don’t have to apologize. It can’t be helped.”
The words “It can’t be helped” pierced my heart.
Maybe it couldn’t be helped… anymore, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry.
“Sorry…”
“I would like to congratulate you for helping with the food stall… You did a great job.”
“Yeah…”
“Well, I’m… going to bed.”
“Ah… good night.”
“Yeah, good night.”
The door was quickly closed.
The closed door seemed like a door to Neneka’s heart, and my heart ached again.
–Maybe she didn’t like me anymore.
I staggered into my room and collapsed on my bed.
I should wash my body and change my clothes, which smelt like yakisoba from the food stall, but I didn’t want to move another millimeter.
–I just wanted to protect Neneka…
When I saw Neneka being made fun of by a person that I knew from school, I knew that I had to protect her.
I wanted to protect her. As a boyfriend, I wanted to protect Neneka.
However, as a result, it caused trouble for Neneka. I annoyed her and made her angry.
–I see. I was selfish and I wasn’t taking proper care of Neneka…
Living in the same house and spending more time together, I thought that I knew a lot about Neneka.
But in reality, I thought that I knew Neneka, but I didn’t.
With things like this, it was no wonder that Neneka was like, “Do you think that you’re lucky that I’m your girlfriend…?” It was natural to feel uneasy.
Summer vacation was almost over.
Once the new school year would begin, we would soon find out how far the rumors of Neneka having a boyfriend had spread.
I felt very, very sorry for Neneka and… I was depressed.
Ever since the new semester had started, I had been distracted.
If I saw my classmates sneaking around talking, my stomach would churn at the thought that they were gossiping about Neneka. Everyone was aware of the entrance exam and often talked about studying during breaks, so I never saw anyone gossiping about Neneka.
But when I asked Neneka about it, it seemed that her friends had heard the rumor and asked a lot of questions.
“I’m just letting it run its course, it’s fine.”
Neneka told me, but I was worried because she seemed a little down.
In the meantime, on the third day of the new semester, I took a competency test.
“You guys, if you studied hard during the summer vacation, you should be able to solve these problems easily, right?” It was supposed to be only basic problems.
But… I wasn’t feeling the response. I couldn’t even fill in all the answer sheets because of the parade of forgetfulness.
–And the impression I got back the next day was the worst.
As I was sinking down on my desk, someone poked and prodded me.
I looked up, thinking who was it… and saw that it was my friend Matsuoka. Matsuoka was in the same class with me in the first year, and in the order of our names, our seats were in front of and behind each other, so he was a guy I had become friends with right after I entered high school.
“What’s the matter, Morita? Were your test scores that bad?”
“… Yeah. I thought that I was studying properly during summer vacation though…”
“Is that so? You weren’t abstinent enough during summer vacation, were you?”
“Huh?”
Matsuoka and I could talk about anything without hesitation, but I was shocked because this topic was a hot one.
Certainly, I was covered in worldly desires during the summer vacation. After all, I had a pool date with my cute girlfriend, saw her in cosplay, washed her in the bath, and slept in the same bed with her.
It was a life of abstinence, but what the hell did that have to do with studying?
“… If I don’t abstain, will my grades go down?”
“Facing your desires is a kind of sport. When you reach the goal, you will feel fatigue. You lose concentration. You can’t learn anything by trying to study there.”
“So, I didn’t face my own desires as much as I thought…”
I was shocked to hear Matsuoka’s words.
… During the summer vacation, I thought that I was studying seriously. But in reality, I thought that I was studying but I was worried about Neneka, and I was spending more time thinking about unnecessary things.
I “intended” to do so, but in reality I “didn’t”.
It had been like this lately.
My head hurt from my own clumsiness.
–No. I couldn’t go on like this. I had to do something and concentrate on my studies.
Neneka would be able to go to college, but I definitely didn’t want to be a Ronin.
As I let out a long sigh, Matsuoka changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, Torii-san seems to have a boyfriend. Did you know?”
In the middle of a long sigh, I almost choked.
For the first time I heard that rumor from someone close to me.
I mean, this guy didn’t seem to be familiar with school rumors, but I heard that topic from… an unexpected person.
“Huh? Oh no, I didn’t know about that… Where did you learn about that?”
“I heard that someone saw Torii-san on a date with her college student boyfriend at a summer festival.”
“Hmm, college student boyfriend…”
I answered pretending not to know anything about iy, but Matsuoka stared at me with a furrowed brow.
“Huh? What?”
“I thought that you would be shocked to find out that Torii-san had a boyfriend, but you seem fine. I thought that Morita really liked her.”
I started to sweat strangely.
“Ah… well, Torii-san is a good friend of mine on the same committee, and I didn’t know about it, so I was surprised, but not shocked. I mean… if you thought that I was going to be shocked, why would you tell me?”
“If you didn’t know yet, it would be sad to find out suddenly during a conversation with someone else, so I thought that it would be better if you heard it from a good friend. Of course, I’m a sweet guy, so I’ve been prepared to comfort you. Shall I comfort you?”
“I don’t care.”
“I see. Well, you don’t stand a chance anymore when you’re dealing with a good-looking college student. I guess you’ll just have to give up gracefully.”
Matsuoka was nodding his head, talking on his own.
Even if I gave up, I couldn’t say that the identity of that college student was me.
I couldn’t even say it to Matsuoka, who I was on good terms with.
Even if I said that, the point was that he would worry and say, “Isn’t it shocking enough that you want to think you’re that college student… Isn’t it better to lie down in the infirmary for a while?”
–I wasn’t sure. I guess that Neneka was now supposed to be dating a guy that I didn’t know at all…
I was mortified by her imaginary boyfriend.
But my blurred feelings were trivial compared to the hardship of Neneka, who was at the center of the rumors.
Neneka couldn’t deny now that, “he’s not her boyfriend,” either, and I was sure that she was secretly sighing behind my back, laughing vaguely and falsely saying, “I’ve been too embarrassed to tell anyone, but actually, he’s… Ehehe.”
“Cheer up.”
“… No, it’s not that. I’m not depressed about Torii-san. Right now I’m depressed over my test results.”
“Oh, I see. That’s a more serious problem for Morita right now.”
Frankly, I was also concerned about Neneka.
But now I had another problem. And it was a very serious one.
In fall, students who would take the entrance exam would gradually lose their minds.
I would be afraid about whether I did well on my exams or not, and I would feel like my life would change drastically.
I would be afraid that if I had studied hard at that time, I wouldn’t regret it forever.
My mother once told me, “You can’t decide how good or bad your life is just based on the results of your college entrance exam.”
I was sure that many years from now, when I would look back, I would see that the college entrance exam was just a passing phase.
But the exam was a big barrier for me now, and I couldn’t easily think… that if I don’t make it here, I would find another way.
–It wasn’t good enough as it was.
I made a decision and sent a message to Neneka saying, “I have something important to discuss with you at night,” and called her to my room.
Neneka, who came to my room for the first time in a while, seemed a bit restless.
Before I got down to business, I decided to ask Neneka about the situation regarding the rumor.
“Are you okay with the rumors?”
“Oh… yeah. Nao-chan and Harumi-chan, who are good friends of mine, asked me, “Why didn’t you tell us before?” So I told them that I was too embarrassed to tell them, and they agreed. “Where did you meet?” and “What’s his name? I was embarrassed to be asked so many questions, but I just kept it a secret.”
“I see… sorry to bother you.”
“No, I’m fine. I was just happy to be able to talk about love with my friends.”
Neneka smiled a little, “Ehehe”, then looked a little uneasy.
“What’s more important than that?”
“Yeah…”
It was hard to say. Because what I was about to tell her was a very uncool story.
But I had to say it. Properly…
“Well… actually… today, I got back the results of my competency test, and… it’s not looking good.”
“Huh?”
Looking at Neneka’s face, I thought that the results of Neneka’s competency test must not have been so bad. I guess I was the only one whose grades had dropped.
I was sure that Neneka did a good job of studying properly while making out with me during the summer vacation…
“So, sorry… I’m going to have to cut out lover’s time for a while and let myself concentrate on my studies. Of course, we’ll get along as brother and sister-in-law.”
“Yeah, no lover’s time is fine… But how long is a while…?”
“That’s right… two weeks or so.”
“Two weeks…”
“How about a new rule? How about a two-week lover’s time ban… as a penalty for a significant drop in grades?”
We didn’t have any lover’s time since our parents’ trip until now, nor did we have any plans to do so.
It was almost like a statement of determination, “For two weeks I’m going to concentrate on my studies.”
I set a time frame because I thought that it would help me push myself harder.
Two weeks was short. The reason I decided on two weeks, even though I thought so, was because I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to take good care of Neneka as my girlfriend while I concentrate on my studies.
Perhaps Neneka would feel that she wasn’t being cared for again, and she might become frustrated. The longer the period, the more I feared that our relationship would come to an end.
Being hated by Neneka was painful.
“I will study hard for two weeks. I’ll go over everything I didn’t do well on the test. So can I ask for your cooperation?”
“Yeah… of course it’s fine. It’s an important time, isn’t it?”
“Thank you… then I’ll get right to studying.”
“… Umm, Daiki. You know…”
“Yeah?”
I waited for Neneka to continue, but she didn’t say anything.
I was fidgeting and wondering what was bothering her.
“What happened?”
“Umm… nah, it’s nothing. I’ll study hard for the two weeks you’re studying hard. Let’s work hard for each other.”
“Oh!”
As soon as Neneka left my room, I headed straight for my study desk.
I was relieved that Neneka accepted my proposal without any complaints. But at the same time, for some reason, I was worried.
I found myself wondering about what if she would have said, “I’m lonely.”
However, Neneka looked the same as usual. She didn’t look lonely.
It didn’t seem like there would be any inconvenience if lover’s time was banned for two weeks.
When I first started living with her, it was hard to stop Neneka from flirting with me so that our parents wouldn’t find out.
I became bewildered and took a conscious deep breath.
Wait. Thinking was a pause.
Since Neneka went to the trouble of saying, “Okay,” I had to work hard on my studies first.
–Let’s seriously study hard for the next two weeks. I would shut down my desires and face my studies with sincerity.
“Yosha! I’m in study mode!”
Thus, I shooked off my fears and began my two weeks of abstinence study.
Akiyo 
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