198 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Chapter 198 When I call out to Miyagi, she responds with a simple "What?" And then, silence takes over the room. As promised before dinner, Miyagi is in my room. However, instead of sitting next to me as usual, she is positioned diagonally in front of me. Even before she speaks, I can tell Miyagi is in a foul mood. "Want me to refill your soda?" I lean back against the bed, reaching for the empty glass, but before I can touch it, Miyagi, who has been silently sitting there, speaks in a rather curt voice. "Didn't you say you had something to talk about?" She avoids looking at my ear. Her gaze is fixed on the platypus tissue cover on the floor. "I do." "Then, hurry up and say it." Miyagi's cold voice chills me to the bone. Although I haven’t uttered a word about work since I returned, Miyagi has already sensed that the topic isn't a pleasant one. I let out a small sigh. When I first decided to take on a tutoring job, it was easy to talk about. But now, it feels impossible. I've become more cowardly than I was back then. This job isn't like tutoring; it's something for about a month, not something long-term. It's manageable, something I can laugh off because it's short-term, and I should approach it that way. I don’t necessarily need Miyagi’s consent to work. If I want to do it, I can, and if not, I don't have to. "Sendai-san, stop being silent and just speak." Miyagi speaks in a low voice. She wouldn't dislike me for just taking up another part-time job, right? Even if it makes her upset, it should only be temporary. There was a time she told me to quit the tutoring job, but here I am without having stopped. "About what I wanted to talk about..." Despite building a wall of excuses inside me, pushing the word "job" up my throat, it doesn’t come out. I'm so consumed by Miyagi that I can't even say something as basic as this. "Sendai-san, what's next?" Miyagi looks at my earrings. I inhale and exhale. "...It's about a part-time job." Somehow, I manage to release a part of what I want to say, nudging a cat-shaped chopstick rest on the table with my fingertip. Instead of meowing, the tabby cat leans against the white cat next to it with a soft sound. "A tutoring one?" "Different job. It's a short-term, about a month, but I've been asked if I'd work at a café." "Why are you telling me this?" "I thought it was the right thing to do." “Like when you decided on the tutoring job, you could’ve decided this on your own.” “That’s true, but I thought I should let you know, Miyagi.” “I heard you, what now?” Her voice, prickly with thorns, pierces my eardrums. Miyagi's mood grows worse and worse, while my spirits sink lower and lower. I feel like I'm on a descent from the third floor to the first, digging down to the Earth's mantle. If I don’t speak up now, I might never be able to utter the word 'job' again. “I want to know how you feel about me working.” Firmly, I state this and meet Miyagi's eyes from my diagonal seat. “Keep the promise from this morning.” Her voice has taken on an even more irritable tone. “The promise from this morning?” “You said if I let you apply my lip balm, you’d listen to me, right?” “I did, but…” “Then listen now and don’t take the job, okay?” “That’s not within the bounds of common sense, don’t you think?” I remember back to when I told Miyagi I was considering a tutoring job. As part of a penalty game, I agreed to do whatever she said just once, which led to her getting her ears pierced. Though the context of “obeying” this time is different from that day, the situation feels all too familiar. “Does this mean you won’t give up on the job?” Miyagi knits her brows. “That’s what it means.” “If you’ll do it even if I say no, then my opinion doesn’t matter, does it?” “It does in a way.” Indirectly, but it does matter. I crave Miyagi’s approval. Even though I’m not willing to abide by a request to stop working, I still want to hear her say it’s okay. For this reason, I ask her one more thing. “What will you do after you graduate from university, Miyagi?” “What happened to the job talk?” “It’ll come up later, but for now, just answer the question.” “I haven’t decided yet. I’ll work normally, I guess.” Her words leave out the part I most want to know. I can’t tell if it’s intentional, but to uncover the hidden parts, I ask, “Will you go back home?”, and Miyagi mutters softly. “What about you, Sendai-san?” “I don’t plan to return home after graduation; I intend to find employment here. Even if I don’t succeed with a job, I won’t go back. So, I want to save money by working part-time.” I want to continue living with Miyagi, in any kind of relationship. That’s part of why I want to work. But I don’t mention this yet. If I do now, I’m scared she’ll run away. “I see.” “And you, Miyagi?” “I haven’t decided.” Her voice is uncertain, lacking confidence, making me want to urge her to decide immediately. But if I push her, she might just say she'll go back home. “Alright.” When I reply briefly, she doesn’t hide her dissatisfaction. “After this talk, what do you want from me, Sendai-san? If you have reasons to work, do it without worrying about me.” “If I’m going to work, I want you to say it’s okay, Miyagi.” “I don’t want to say that.” “Do you hate it that much?” Miyagi averts her eyes from me and grabs the platypus, throwing it at me. The platypus with tissues hits my leg. “Sendai-san, you're not keeping your promise, and I hate it.” She pouts, like a sulking child, and reaches for the platypus again, so I catch her hand. “If it’s anything other than asking me not to work, tell me, and I’ll do it.” “Really, anything?” “I’ll do anything, for now.” I grip her hand and smile gently, as Miyagi’s gaze wanders to the platypus. She seems deep in thought, not opening her mouth. When I call her name, her hand escapes mine. Her eyes, which had been on the platypus, are now on me. But she remains silent. She simply stares, then looks away, and looks back at me again. I have a bad feeling. “—Since that time, have you done it yourself?” A small voice barely reaches me, and I almost ask her to repeat it but swallow back the words. I don’t need to ask what "that time" refers to. It’s the day Miyagi first touched me. And I also know what "done it yourself" refers to. It's what she asked me that day, the truth I admitted. “…Do you think I’d answer that?” The meaning of her words is clear, but that only makes it harder to respond honestly. “You just said you’d do anything.” “Is this just to trouble me?” This isn't the kind of question you should ask in a situation like this. Frankly, it can't be something Miyagi really needs to know. She's probably just trying to steer the conversation towards getting me to promise not to take the job by asking something she thinks I can't answer. If that's the case, Miyagi doesn't understand me. While I can't agree to her request not to take the job due to its implications for my future, I'm willing to accept most other requests. This question included. It's embarrassing and hard to confront, but if Miyagi truly wants to know, I'll answer. "It doesn’t matter what the reason is. If you answer, I won't ask you not to take that job," Miyagi says quietly, gripping the toy platypus tightly. "Don't go back on that," I reply. "Okay," she says, her voice firm. I take a deep breath, slowly exhale, and look away from her, focusing on the platypus Miyagi's holding. Without lying, I answer. "...I did." Saying it makes my voice come out smaller than I'd thought, filling me with the heat of embarrassment deep within. She doesn’t respond. The lack of a retort makes me acutely aware of my own heartbeat as the silence hangs in the air. I glance up in discomfort to find Miyagi's surprised expression, as if she didn't expect me to actually answer. “What... do you think about while doing it?” Miyagi asks hesitantly, but with a clear voice. It isn't necessary to answer such a question, and Miyagi should know it's not something that needs to be asked. Still, she calls my name, "Sendai-san," clearly unwilling to let me avoid responding. “When I was with you,” I respond in a single breath. As Miyagi opens her mouth to say more, I immediately add, “That's enough, right? Let's end this.” "But I still have things I want to ask." "The deal was to answer one thing. I've answered two, so I think I'm being very generous. Does this fulfill the promise?" I sit beside Miyagi, and she nudges my leg with her foot. It seems her mood hasn’t completely improved, though she doesn't attempt to move away or push me further. "Sort of," she replies, sounding displeased. "I think October will be busy, but the job is just until the school festival. I'll let you know if I'm going to be late," I assure her. "Is that a promise?" "A promise. I swear by the earrings." I kiss Miyagi's ear, and she gives my shoulder a firm shove. "If you break your promise, there'll be a penalty game." "Understood." With that short reply, Miyagi takes hold of the platypus's hand instead of mine.