The weather outside today was horrible.
Most people would probably complain about a downpour during the holidays, but since I was spending my time at home, it didn’t really matter to me. The real problem wasn’t the weather—it was that the movie playing on my tablet was really boring to watch.
「Do you think it’s good so far?」
I asked Miyagi, who was staring intently at the screen while sitting beside me.
「It’s pretty good.」
「What do you like about it?」
「Hmm, a lot of things, I guess.」
Miyagi replied, not actually answering my question.
Some kind of weird looking character was moving around on the screen. Miyagi was so focused on it that she didn’t even bother turning to me when I spoke.
Watching a movie on my tablet had been Miyagi’s suggestion for what we could do together over the break, and honestly, it made sense. We didn’t have much in common, so this was probably the most reasonable option. But because we didn’t have much in common, we didn’t like the same kinds of movies either. I’d told her to pick whatever she wanted, but maybe I should’ve thought that through a little more before saying it.
Apparently, the movie was based on a game. I had found it interesting at first, but somewhere along the way, the story got confusing. I wasn’t sure if that was because I didn’t really play games, or if it had nothing to do with that. Either way, I wasn’t enjoying it anymore.
「What parts do you like the most about it, Miyagi?」
I poked Miyagi, who was sitting close enough that our shoulders were almost touching.
Miyagi didn’t react or say anything.
Her lack of reaction felt lame to me, too.
To be honest, I was getting tired of the whole situation.
It was boring.
I was glad we were in my room—if we’d been at a movie theater, I wouldn’t have been able to say anything even if I was bored.
「Hey, Miyagi.」
When I poked her again, Miyagi reached for the tablet to pause the movie.
「Sendai-san, you’ve been talking nonstop for a while now. You don’t have to watch the movie if you don’t want to, but be quiet.」
She said as she pushed my shoulder with the same hand she had used to pause the movie.
It wasn’t a strong push—just a light one, so I could tell she wasn’t angry. But her voice was a little low, and she looked annoyed. I guess it was nice that she found the movie interesting enough to not want to be interrupted, but the more Miyagi was into the movie, the less attention she had for me, and things felt unbalanced. It always felt like it was hard to make the time she spent with me enjoyable.
「I’ll get us something to drink. Want anything?」
I stood up, hoping to change my mood.
「Soda.」
She answered in a flat tone.
「Okay. Feel free to keep watching without me.」
I left the room and walked over to the cupboard. I took out two cups and let out a quiet sigh.
I should’ve just picked a horror movie without asking Miyagi and scared her with it. Made her feel like she didn’t want to be alone in her own room at night. I doubted Miyagi would sit through a whole horror movie without saying something about it, but I should’ve gone with that anyway.
「… Well, if I’d actually done that, she probably would’ve kicked me or bit me.」
I took out bottles of orange juice and soda from the fridge and poured them into cups. After wondering for a bit if I should just carry them as they were, I decided to grab a tray and brought them back to my room.
I set a glass filled with clear liquid and another with orange liquid next to the tablet.
「Thanks.」
Miyagi said without taking her eyes off the screen.
I sat down beside her again and stared at her instead of the screen.
She was wearing a thick hoodie and jeans.
She was dressed warmly, probably because the weather was bad and it was cold out. It was just like Miyagi to be sensitive to the cold. A stark contrast to me, wearing only a shirt and a long skirt.
Her hairstyle was the same as always, which meant that her ears were hidden today as well.
Even though she’d gone through the trouble of having them pierced, Miyagi still wouldn’t show them to me. I’d told her to leave them visible, but she never did. Maybe she was embarrassed—or maybe not. I didn’t know why, but the fact that she kept them hidden only made me want to see them more.
I reached out toward Miyagi, whose eyes were still fixed on the tablet.
I touched the hair that was covering her ear.
Miyagi immediately brushed my hand away with an annoyed look, but I reached out again anyway and tucked her hair behind her ear.
The moment I caught sight of her earring, Miyagi paused the movie again.
「Stop bothering me.」
I didn’t say anything. Instead, I touched her neck.
Miyagi frowned as my fingertips traced along it.
「Sendai-san, move away from me.」
She pushed my shoulders firmly and put the platypus between us.
「Don’t cross this line where the tissue box is until the movie’s over.」
She said something completely lame.
I stayed quiet, and the movie she’d paused started playing again.
Not wanting to get on her nerves more than I already had, I picked up my orange juice.
I drank about half of it, then set it back down on the table.
「Hey, Miyagi.」
I called out, already knowing she wouldn’t answer.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the screen. She didn’t look at me.
「I want to kiss you.」
I’d promised not to do anything weird, so I wasn’t actually going to do it.
I didn’t think it was something that would be considered weird, but Miyagi probably would. Still, just saying it out loud should’ve been fine.
「Miyagi.」
I called out again to her, but she still wouldn’t look at me.
「Why do I have to kiss you, Sendai-san?」
She spoke in a sulky voice, her eyes still glued to the screen.
「Because we used to do it all the time before.」
「Things are different now. We’re supposed to be roommates.」
Miyagi finally looked at me.
I didn’t like what she said, but she wasn’t wrong.
I moved the platypus to the bed and leaned in toward her.
「Sendai-san, you’re heavy.」
She said bluntly, but she didn’t push me away.
「Don’t you want to kiss me too, Miyagi?」
「I don’t.」
「I thought you’d say that.」
「Then why’d you even bother asking?」
Her eyes returned to the screen.
The tablet continued playing loudly, and the volume somehow seemed even louder now.
「Miyagi, give me an order. I’ll do anything you ask of me right now.」
「I don’t want to, and you don’t need to do that either.」
She rejected everything I said, but today, that actually came as a bit of a relief. Even after getting her ears pierced, Miyagi was still Miyagi.
I wanted her to change. But at the same time, I was scared she would change. I was afraid that if I ever went too far, Miyagi might decide to move out. So for now, I was glad she kept turning me down. If she hadn’t, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold back. I’d want more, and I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.
「Sendai-san, you don’t even want to watch a movie with me, do you?」
Miyagi pushed me away.
We were once again just far enough apart that I wouldn’t be crossing the line if the platypus were here.
「I do want to watch movies with you. But this one’s kind of boring.」
I turned off the tablet.
「I was still watching that, you know.」
「Let’s watch something else. Like, you know, a horror movie.」
「Absolutely not.」
Miyagi glared at me, clearly annoyed.
And even though she’d just been the one not letting me touch her, this time she reached out to me. The platypus wasn’t between us anymore, but if it had been, she would’ve crossed the line. She held tightly onto the front of my shirt without hesitation, so I grabbed her hand.
「If you pull that hard, it’ll stretch out my clothes.」
It wasn’t anything expensive, but I still didn’t want it ruined. Miyagi ignored me and pulled even harder. Not wanting my shirt to get messed up, I leaned in toward her.
「I told you to let go already.」
I tried to pry her hand off, but I couldn’t. Miyagi’s face drew closer, and she blew a breath on my neck. My shoulders jerked on reflex. She leaned in more, and something warm touched me.
Her lips pressed against my neck, and she sucked hard on my skin.
It didn’t hurt like a needle prick, but it still stung.
Her tongue touched me. It was warm.
Miyagi didn’t stop.
She’s too close…
I could hear my own heartbeat—loud and clear.
Louder than the movie from earlier.
Her lips pressed down harder, and she sucked more forcefully.
The pain seeped through my skin and slowly spread deeper.
It was definitely going to leave a mark.
This wasn’t good.
But even knowing that, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to wrap my arms around her.
Not knowing what else to do, I reached up and stroked her hair.
That made Miyagi finally let go.
The pain faded away.
I couldn’t see my neck, but I had a pretty good idea of what was there.
「You’re so stupid, Miyagi. You definitely left a mark on me just now.」
「Well, that’s your own fault, Sendai-san.」
She said, sounding annoyed, as she continued staring at my neck.
「Yeah, but there are some things you just don’t do, you know.」
I already had a pretty good idea of what was on my neck just from the way she was looking at it, but I grabbed a hand mirror and checked anyway.
Sure enough, a red mark stood out clearly on the side of my neck.
「Hey, Miyagi. If you’re going to leave a mark, do it somewhere people can’t see it. What am I supposed to do with this?」
「If I put it somewhere you couldn’t see it, then you wouldn’t reflect on your actions.」
「This isn’t the time to be thinking about stuff like that. You’re the worst for leaving a mark this obvious.」
「You said you weren’t going anywhere over the break, so who cares where it is?」
「Even though you’re going out with Utsunomiya?」
「Yeah, I am, but you’re the one staying home.」
Miyagi shoved my shoulder again.
「You should stay home too, Miyagi.」
「No. I already promised Maika we’d hang out.」
Annoying.
So annoying.
So, so annoying.
I was really annoyed.
I looked at the mirror again.
The red mark was impossible to miss.
And it was right out in the open.
I’d been thinking of maybe hanging out with some friends over the break, but I couldn’t show up like this. If I could wear a turtleneck, I might be able to cover it, but it wasn’t the right season for that. If I went out with this thing on my neck, someone would definitely say something. And if I tried lying and said I had a boyfriend, they’d want pictures or ask to meet him, so it wasn’t like I could say something careless either.
Miyagi was always like this, doing things that were way too extreme.
She said she didn’t want to kiss me, but then went and did something like this without even hesitating. Normal roommates wouldn’t do this kind of thing. I had no idea what kind of relationship Miyagi wanted with me. And I didn’t even know what kind of relationship I wanted with her. It was all a blur.
But the one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to be with her.
I let out a sigh and put the mirror down.
I brushed my fingers over the mark she left on my neck.
「Miyagi.」
「What?」
She turned toward me, not looking the slightest bit guilty.
I could hardly believe just how fast I was ready to forgive her.
I held my head and let out a clear sigh.
「Let’s keep watching the movie.」
I said as I turned the tablet back on.
Ave Lilium Translations 