20 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

**Chapter 20** "You can give me a hickey if you want." Miyagi said this offhandedly as she shrugged off her blazer. Then, she rolled up her blouse sleeve and offered her arm. That wasn't it. This isn't how it should feel. It's not that I wanted her to resist, but I didn't expect her to agree so willingly. I wanted to bring Miyagi down to the same level as me, but her stepping down on her own was different. It felt as if I were submitting to her, which irked me. Besides, Miyagi should be as bewildered and frustrated as I am. Offering a hickey should've never come from her mouth. "Actually, never mind." I rolled down her sleeve. In the first place, giving someone a hickey is unnecessary between us. It doesn't matter anymore. Deciding to think this way, I took a deep breath to calm myself. But before I could exhale, Miyagi spoke. "But it was you who asked me to offer my arm, Sendai-san." "Because, well, it's not something you do with a friend." Regardless of the intention, the fact that I visited her house after school and spent time together made Miyagi a friend. Although it felt slightly different from a typical friendship, in a broad sense, she fit within that framework. Yet, Miyagi disputed my words. "—We're not friends, Sendai-san." That explains it. I finally understood Miyagi's actions up until now. Because we weren't friends, she made strange faces at Valentine's Day chocolates and told me not to cook dinner. Issuing unusual orders too was because we weren't friends. But then, what exactly are we? At least, I think of Miyagi as a friend. We don't meet on days without school, and we only communicate when necessary. Yet, visiting after school or having casual chats makes us friends. Though it seems Miyagi doesn't see it that way. "If we're not friends, then what are we?" I voiced my straightforward question. "How would I know?" She seemed irritated as she rolled up her sleeve again. "Here." Her arm was offered with a short, light voice. Honestly speaking, having someone I considered a friend reject that notion isn't pleasant. But if I think about it, our relationship doesn’t seem to fit the label of friendship anyway. It started off as a chance occurrence. I was intrigued by the kind of orders this person named Miyagi would give. If something unpleasant happened, I'd just return the 5,000 yen and end it. That's how I started visiting her room. Without the 5,000 yen, we’d have a tenuous connection at best. Even so, unlike the day she poured soda on me, she didn't seem to be pushing me away today. Carefully choosing words to accurately describe our relationship, I spoke. "I'm not Miyagi's lover, you know." "So, does that mean you can't give me a hickey if we're not lovers?" "It’s generally considered that way, isn’t it?" "That's a pure statement coming from you. You don't seem like that kind of person." "I'm not just pretending—I'm genuinely pure. And as I've said before, I’m not the type you think." I knew Miyagi was being deliberate. However, I made sure to correct her often misleading statements about me. "If Sendai-san insists, I'll leave it at that... But there are people who do such things whether they're friends or not." "Those people exist, but I'm not one of them." "Too late to say that when I've already marked you and we aren't lovers." I see her point. It makes some sense. —But no, not really. Even if someone who isn't my lover marks me, categorizing me as someone who does these things regardless of the relationship is incorrect. Also, when Miyagi tells me to give her a hickey, I just don’t feel like doing it. Although I'm the one who intended to leave a mark on her arm, when she pushes so aggressively, I feel like backing down. "Then, I order you." When I didn’t move, Miyagi spoke words I couldn’t defy. "Do it the same way I did." Her voice sounded like she sought proof that we weren’t friends. It probably served as a kind of litmus test. To clearly establish that Miyagi and I aren’t in a friendly relationship. That was her demand. "I understand." I got her order, though not entirely convinced. But I grabbed her arm and gently pressed my slightly open lips to the same spot where she left a mark. As I inhaled, I sucked in the skin on her arm, a small sound resounding in my mind. Touching her skin with the tip of my tongue, there was no particular taste. Unlike when you bite something, there was no distinct sensation. It was like sipping juice from a pack through a straw, just inhaling. The skin under my lips was slightly cold and soft. It didn't feel bad. Pressing my lips a bit harder, I took a quick, deep breath. Biting down as if to nibble her arm, Miyagi's hand grasped my shoulder, prompting me to look up. "It's redder than I thought." At Miyagi's words, I glanced at her arm. There, a mark like a red petal had formed. "What are you going to do about this?" I pressed the mark I left with my fingertip. "I'm not going to do anything about it. It'll fade away eventually. Just tell them your boyfriend left it." "I don't have a boyfriend, and that's misleading, so I won't say that." There's no gym class tomorrow. Without changing clothes, nobody should point out the mark Miyagi left. In a few days, there will be gym class, but well, I hope the mark will have faded by then. "Hey, Miyagi. Are you being a little weird today?" I pressed the hickey through my blouse. She was more talkative and engaged in activities she usually didn’t, even leaving a lasting mark. "I don’t think I’m acting differently." "You are." "If we’re pointing fingers, aren't you being strange too, Sendai-san? You've never made a request that sounded like an order." "That's true, but—" "More importantly, can I unbutton this?" Without warning, Miyagi touched my blouse, aiming for the third button down below the two I had already undone. I don’t have pleasant memories of those buttons. Remembering the day she poured soda on me, my brow furrowed. "No way. What are you planning?" "I’m going to make a mark here too." Saying that, Miyagi released the button, prodding a spot quite far down from the collarbone. "If you leave a mark there, I told you I'd knock you out, right?" "But you didn't seem to mind me giving you a hickey. Besides, at school, you only unbutton one button, so this area won't be visible, right?" I was a bit impressed at how observant she was. Indeed, as Miyagi mentioned, I only undo one button of my blouse at school and don’t loosen my tie much. While I don't strictly follow the school rules, I keep things just within bounds so that teachers don’t pick on me, meaning the area Miyagi touched shouldn’t be seen by others, unless it’s while changing clothes. Still, that doesn't give her permission to leave a hickey. "That's not the point." "It's fine." Miyagi didn't call it an order, but she removed my tie and unbuttoned the third button. Without asking, she opened my neckline and brought her face closer. Her breath tickled my neck. Her warmth approached the spot she had touched earlier, not my own. Her hair brushed against my skin, oddly vivid. I felt all my attention focus on the surface of my skin, and I pushed Miyagi’s shoulder. "Stop it." "You're no fun." Miyagi stepped away from me easily, her voice flat. Then, grabbing the fabric where she'd almost left a kiss mark, she pinched it hard through my blouse. "Ouch!" Instinctively, I grabbed Miyagi's arm, but she wouldn’t let go. "You can leave marks this way too, right?" Saying so, Miyagi increased the pressure with her pinch. If she said she intended to rip my skin off, I'd almost believe her. I forcefully pried her hand away. "It hurts!" "It’s just a joke." "Are you kidding me? That wasn't funny." "It wouldn’t leave a mark just from that, would it?" That wasn't the issue. It simply hurt. It hurt too much to brush off as just a joke. Besides, leaving marks by pinching isn’t something anyone should normally consider. I suspected Miyagi lacked the internal mechanism to maintain common sense. Even if I pointed out how odd her actions were, it wouldn’t resonate with Miyagi, who seemed to have left her sense somewhere behind. When I sighed slightly, Miyagi said in a business-like tone, much like a teacher assigning homework. "Do you want to stay for dinner?" "Yeah, I’ll stay." Either way, I would've eaten alone at home. It's better to dine with someone. I refastened the buttons Miyagi had undone. "Anything’s fine, right?" When she asked, I replied, "Sure," and she stood, as if all prior actions and conversation hadn’t happened, and left the room. I put on my blazer and looked at my arm. Of course, the mark Miyagi left was invisible. "I should’ve refused." I murmured to myself and left the room. Probably, Miyagi needs me. And I, too, need this place. For now, even though our relationship is one of mutual necessity, I'd be troubled if things like this kept occurring. This relationship is limited, and it will likely conclude along with high school life. Considering how much life lies ahead, it's a fleeting relationship. Yet actions that leave physical marks feel like they might bind us together indefinitely, making my stomach heavy. How long will this mark remain? On my way to the living room, I pressed down on my arm.