146 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Chapter 146 I told myself I would wait until noon. I had that thought, but now it was long past noon and two in the afternoon is approaching with no reply from Miyagi. Lying on the bed, I glare at my phone. I had decided I would only wait for Miyagi’s reply until noon, so I know I ought to leave the house soon. I have work today. While I can skip university, I can't exactly skip a job where there are students involved. If I continue to lazily wait for a reply, it will soon be time to leave for work, so I should head out quickly. But when I think of the awkwardness of meeting her, I find myself unable to leave the house. I lack the confidence to talk normally. I lack the confidence to look at Miyagi’s face like I usually do. And if Miyagi sees me acting differently and misunderstands that I regret what happened on Sunday, I won’t be able to bear it. If I try to clear up the misunderstanding by telling her I love her, it will appear as if I’m using the word "love" to justify what happened on Sunday, and my true feelings won’t be conveyed. Besides, if I say I love her, Miyagi will likely disappear from my life again. “Damn it.” I mutter to no one in particular and sit up. As I stare at my phone without any reply, my desire to meet Miyagi is overshadowed by negativity pulling me down. ‘Miyagi, please reply!’ I send Miyagi a message filled with irritation and hope. But, as expected, my phone remains silent. Time continues to waste away senselessly, and I resolve to leave the house. There’s little clouds and the sun shines, but it’s not excessively hot. I walk briskly to the station and board the train. My phone inside my bag lies there as if dead, unfazed even by the jolts of the train. I take it out and check the screen, but there’s still no reply. It's not such a tough question to answer as to when she'll come back, so she ought to reply quickly. I look at the scenery flowing past outside the window. Thinking about what lies ahead makes me restless. I want to get off at the next station and go back home. As if drawn to the opening door, I arrive at my intended station, lugging my feet heavily as if wearing iron boots. One step, then another, toward the university. I can’t tell how many minutes I’ve walked, but as the destination comes into view, I stop in my tracks. “Come to think of it, I didn’t check.” I checked the university’s location when choosing my current home, but I haven’t looked into its interior, so I know nothing about it. I've not done any preliminary investigation because I was so preoccupied with thoughts of Miyagi. I pull out my phone to search for what is located where within the university. “I hope I can find Miyagi.” I knew this before arriving, but a large, crowded university isn’t suitable for searching for someone. Even if it’s a university I attend myself, it’s difficult to catch someone when you don’t know where they are or can’t contact them. I should've listened more about the university. We didn’t completely avoid university talk, but I haven’t grasped her schedule, so I can’t even begin to guess where Miyagi might be at this time today. Holding my phone in one hand, I enter the university. Although outsiders are permitted entry, I feel a slight tension. I casually peek into places students might frequent but no matter where I go or how many people I pass, Miyagi is nowhere to be seen. Besides, it’s uncertain if Miyagi is even at the university today, so this search might be a waste in its entirety. After walking around for nearly an hour, I sit on a bench. It feels as though I’ve been doing something meaningless; just walking aimlessly, yet a strange exhaustion grips me. Checking my phone, there’s still no reply from Miyagi. I want to ask her directly where she is, but if she realizes I’m at the university, she’ll likely avoid being found. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ll find Miyagi by wandering aimlessly like this. “Maybe I should just wait by the gate.” Searching for someone in a university is like looking for a grain of salt in a jar of sugar. I don’t think Miyagi can be found easily no matter where I am. However, if I'm in a place where a lot of people pass through, the odds of finding Miyagi should increase. I stand up and head toward the main gate. Despite the slight breeze, it feels a bit hot, probably from all the walking. The sky is annoyingly blue. On a normal day I’d think it's splendid weather, but today the bluer it gets, the more it irritates me. I let out a small sigh. I turn around, deciding I should look inside a little more. Just as I’m walking, glancing around with a glimmer of hope that Miyagi is somewhere, I spot a familiar face. “Ah!” I inadvertently blurt out loudly. Her atmosphere has changed, but it’s unmistakable. “Utsunomiya!” “…Huh? Sendai-san?” I rush to the lone figure of Utsunomiya coming my way and grab her arm. “What? Why are you here, Sendai-san?” Utsunomiya looks at me, surprised. As I thought. Miyagi had said she's told Utsunomiya she lived with me, but she wouldn’t be this surprised to see me if she knew I was Miyagi’s roommate. I figured Miyagi wasn’t telling the truth to Utsunomiya, and it turns out I was right. “I’m looking for Miyagi.” Though I feel guilty towards Miyagi, I name-drop her. “Miyagi? You mean Shiori?” “Yes, that Miyagi. Could it be she’s staying at your place?” “…Why is Sendai-san looking for Shiori?” “Didn’t she tell you?” “Tell me what?” Utsunomiya gives me a puzzled look, failing to understand the situation. Miyagi will be absolutely furious. However, we’ve graduated from high school, and there’s no need to hide my connection with Miyagi from Utsunomiya anymore. Miyagi wanted to keep it a secret, but things won’t progress unless it’s said. Even if it leads to trouble and Miyagi is vexed, it’s her own doing. Miyagi lied to Utsunomiya, and it’s Miyagi’s fault for not replying to me. “I’m living with Miyagi. She didn’t tell you, it seems?” I smile warmly at Utsunomiya. “She didn’t. Is that true?” “It’s true.” “Shiori said she lived with a relative.” Utsunomiya furrows her brows, lets out a sigh, and continues. “…Honestly, I didn’t think the person Shiori lived with was really a relative. I never guessed it would be you though, Sendai-san.” “Miyagi said she was living with a relative?” “She did.” It’s a plausible lie, yet it’s a lie too easily exposed. And indeed, it’s come undone. “Why are you living with Shiori?” Utsunomiya asks an obvious yet dreaded question. Considering the relationship between Miyagi and me during high school, it’s understandable she’d want to know, but it's difficult to answer. Consequently, I, too, end up lying in a way that would quickly be exposed if I said I couldn’t talk about Miyagi. “Maybe because we’re friends.” “I didn’t believe it back then either, but in high school, I asked if you were friends with Shiori and you said you weren’t, right?” “Did I say that?” I remember, but acknowledging Utsunomiya’s words would complicate things. “Yes, you did.” “Oh well, let's just say we're friends.” I couldn't think up a reasonable excuse, nor could I find another plausible reason for living with Miyagi, so there was no turning back here. I put on the broadest smile I could muster and looked at Utsunomiya. “So, what brought you two close enough to move in together? During our second year in the same class, you guys didn’t seem that close.” Utsunomiya asked earnestly, and I wavered, unsure of how to respond. Miyagi hadn’t talked to Utsunomiya about us, not during high school and not now. Miyagi and Utsunomiya’s relationship probably wouldn’t shatter with a secret or two, but if it did cause any strain, I would feel bad for Miyagi. “There was this one time when I forgot my wallet, and Miyagi lent me some money. That was the start.” “That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Is borrowing money really enough to become roommates?” My vague answer didn’t seem to satisfy her, and Utsunomiya pressed for more details. “Well, you’ll have to hear the rest from Miyagi.” Since Utsunomiya was a friend of Miyagi, it was up to Miyagi to decide what to share. I didn’t want to inadvertently sour their relationship. For now, I'd leave the troublesome explanations to Miyagi and focus on my primary objective. “Anyway, back to the point, is Miyagi staying at your place?” “Before I answer that, could you let go of my arm?” “Oh, sorry.” I released Utsunomiya’s arm. It was an instinctive grab to prevent her from running away, but thinking it through, she wasn’t Miyagi, so she wasn’t going to flee at the sight of my face. “If it’s Shiori you’re talking about, she is staying at my place… So, you’re the person she had a fight with?” “Fight?” The unexpected word caught me off guard and I unconsciously asked back. “She said she had a fight with the person she’s living with, so she asked to stay at my place.” Utsunomiya stated, studying my face intently. If someone stays at a friend’s house for several days, there’s usually a significant reason. I could imagine Miyagi wouldn’t have told Utsunomiya what really happened between us. I didn’t know what reason Miyagi gave her, but I decided to play along. “Well, yeah, it was over something trivial, but we ended up arguing.” “Arguing with Shiori?” Utsunomiya said with surprise. While “something trivial” sufficed as an explanation, the word “arguing” seemed to have been a mistake. “Yeah, with Miyagi.” “I can’t picture Shiori getting into a fight, much less arguing. What kind of relationship do you two have?” The conversation headed in an odd direction. But beyond that, a different thought consumed my mind. The Miyagi I know might argue with me, but it seems that the Miyagi Utsunomiya knows wouldn’t. This means the Miyagi I know and the Miyagi Utsunomiya knows are two different sides of the same person. I’ve known this for a while, but hearing Utsunomiya confirm it stirred a mix of superiority and irritation within me. Like my heart was brushed with bare hands, an unsettling feeling began to spread through my body, prompting me to clench my fists. “We’re just roommates. More importantly, can you tell Miyagi to come home soon?” “Shiori is on campus, so why not tell her directly? If you wait here, I can call her for you.” “That’s impossible. If Miyagi sees me, she’ll definitely run away. So, could you tell her to come back home, Utsunomiya?” “That bad, huh? Still, you should talk to her directly.” Utsunomiya seemed genuinely concerned, even though she couldn’t have taken all my words at face value. “I only see a future where she runs.” “Then why not drop by my place and talk? Shiori said she’s staying over at my place again tonight.” At Utsunomiya’s place, Miyagi wouldn’t have much of a choice but to face me. However, I had a sense of foreboding. Meeting her right after exposing her lie could lead to a very complicated situation. Plus, I wasn’t sure I could interact with Miyagi as casually as before. “I would, but I have work right now. I can’t skip tutoring, so I’d appreciate it if you could tell Miyagi for me.” I gave a legitimate reason, not a lie, hoping Utsunomiya would agree to relay the message. “Sendai-san, you’re a tutor? Doesn’t quite fit the image.” “Really? I’m actually pretty good at it.” “Then come by after your work.” “It’ll be late, though.” “That’s fine.” Utsunomiya said nonchalantly, giving me directions to her place. Not going didn’t seem to be an option. Though I anticipated nothing good, I assumed Miyagi wouldn’t act too harshly in Utsunomiya’s presence. “Thanks. I’ll give you my number, just in case.” I decided to visit Utsunomiya’s house after work, and we exchanged contact details.