52 - Ayaka Tojo's Love③

RAW

After enjoying the barbecue and fireworks, Haruto returned home, and Saki stayed over in my room.

I opened the closet and asked, "Saki, do you need a blanket?"

"Nope, just a towel blanket is fine for me."

"Alright, use this then."

"Thanks a bunch!"

I handed Saki a towel blanket I rarely use.

It’s been a while since Saki stayed over, and the thought of it made me smile without realizing.

When was the last time she stayed over? I think it was right before she moved, when I was feeling lonely and begged her to stay. I remember clinging to her and crying because I was so sad back then.

"Phew, today was fun!" Saki said with a sigh.

"Yeah, it really was," I agreed.

Saki dove onto the futon next to my bed and glanced around my room.

"As always, this is such a nice room," she said, kicking her feet in the air.

She skimmed through the bookshelf by the wall and pulled out one of my favorite romance manga. "Oh, they released a new volume! Mind if I read it?"

"Go ahead. I'll read the previous one while you're at it."

This manga is so good that I can't stop rereading it. For a while, Saki and I read in silence.

The story follows two childhood friends in high school who are secretly in love but keep missing each other’s signals as they slowly grow closer. No matter how many times I read it, I always get butterflies.

I was flipping through the pages when I paused at a particular scene.

It was where the two childhood friends were doing sparklers in a park at night. At one moment, they both looked up at each other, their eyes met, and they blushed from the closeness. The sweetness and frustration of their relationship made me squirm with excitement.

And then it hit me—wait, this scene is kind of like what happened with Haruto and me earlier, isn’t it?

The memory of doing sparklers with Haruto suddenly came back to me in vivid detail.

His face, illuminated by the faint glow of the sparkler… I wanted to turn and look directly at him. But being that close made me too shy, so I could only sneak glances from the corner of my eye.

But what if… What if we had actually looked at each other? Under the flickering lights of the fireworks, we could have leaned in closer…

Oh no, just imagining it makes my face heat up! But it would’ve been so romantic, like something straight out of this manga. What if… what if we’re secretly both in love and are just now starting to realize it?

Wait… hold on. I like Haruto. And if Haruto asked me to be his fake girlfriend, does that mean he might like me too?

…Could it be we’re both secretly in love? Is my situation just like this manga?

I flipped back to the sparkler scene. The way the characters were shy and blushing around each other… how they crouched so close their shoulders nearly touched.

Oh my gosh, that was us earlier!

We were in such a good mood back then, weren’t we? If I had pushed just a little more, maybe I could’ve won Haruto’s heart.

But… being that bold would be too embarrassing. Still, if I want Haruto to confess, I need to do something… right?

As I buried my face in a pillow, groaning, Saki finished reading the manga and sighed contently. "That was so good! I can’t wait for the next one."

She returned the manga to the shelf and gave me a puzzled look. "What are you doing?"

Speaking of which, Saki suddenly smirked and said, "You know, Ayaka, you should just hurry up and start dating Otsuki already."

"Huh?! But Haruto hasn’t confessed yet…"

"I know, I know, but today was the first time I’ve seen you two together."

Saki crossed her arms and stared at me, dead serious.

"And let me tell you, the atmosphere between you two is already exactly like a couple! Why aren’t you two dating yet?"

"W-Well… technically, I am his girlfriend, right? Even if it's just for when his grandma's around…"

"Exactly! And why did he even come up with that fake relationship in the first place? It’s just making things more complicated!"

Saki was pouting, clearly frustrated.

"He didn’t want to upset his grandma…"

"Yeah, but if he really cared about her feelings, he should just confess for real and make you his actual girlfriend! You’re already head over heels for him!"

"Head over heels… Do I really seem like that?"

I know I haven’t exactly been hiding my feelings for Haruto, but hearing it spelled out like that made my face flush with heat.

"You’re always watching him, aren’t you?"

"Am I…?"

"And you can’t stop smiling whenever you’re around him."

"I-I don’t know… Whenever I see Haruto, my face just kind of lights up on its own. I can’t help it."

Whenever Haruto’s around, I feel my heart flutter. It’s like everything about him stands out more than usual, like the world around him gets more vivid and sparkles.

"That’s called being in love, Ayaka."

"Y-Yeah…"

Ever since I realized my feelings for Haruto, it feels like my emotions for him have only grown stronger with each passing day.

Sometimes it scares me, how deep these feelings go, and I don’t know how to deal with them. It’s as if there’s a different person inside me, someone I can’t fully control. But at the same time, I know that person is still me.

These uncontrollable emotions swirl inside, and I don’t know how to face them.

"So, how much do you actually like Otsuki, Ayaka?" Saki asked, sitting cross-legged on her futon and looking up at me.

"How much…? Hmm, I’m not sure."

"Come on, there are different kinds of love, right? Like, do you like him casually, like a summer fling? Or are you at the 'this is my soulmate, I found my life partner' level? Where do you stand?"

"Hmm, well… I think I really like him, not just a fleeting crush or anything…"

"Okay, so, let’s say, hypothetically, that the housekeeper who came wasn’t Otsuki but another classmate. This guy is just as skilled, calm, and similar to Otsuki in personality. Do you think you’d fall for him instead?"

"Huh… I don’t know."

It’s hard to imagine anyone else being in Haruto’s place. He’s the only one I can picture as the housekeeper, so the thought of someone else doesn’t really click.

"I can’t imagine anyone but Haruto… I don’t think I’d fall for anyone else."

I say that, but honestly, I’m not sure.

Haruto was my first love, and he’s the person I like now. I just can’t imagine feeling that way about anyone else.

"See? You’re totally smitten with Otsuki."

"Being called ‘smitten’ is kind of embarrassing…"

"But it’s the truth."

"Y-Yeah, I guess…"

Saki and I stayed up late into the night, talking about love.

The next morning, I woke up to sunlight streaming through a gap in the curtains.

"Ugh… still sleepy…"

My body still craved sleep, and I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed.

Last night, after Saki and I finished our love talk and went to bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about something she said.

"So, what if the housekeeper wasn’t Otsuki, but another guy? Would you still have fallen for him?"

I kept replaying that question in my mind, and it made it impossible to fall asleep.

The possibility of me falling in love with someone other than Haruto-kun.

If the housekeeper had been someone other than Haruto-kun...

These thoughts kept me up all night.

"Faa~... Maybe I'll go back to sleep..."

As I was thinking that, Saki, who was lying on the futon, started to stir.

"Mm? ...Huh?"

Saki sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and glanced around my room, still half-asleep.

"Good morning, Saki."

"...Good morning, Ayaka? ...Oh, right, I stayed over."

It seemed like she finally recognized where she was, and she stretched with a big yawn.

"Mm! Now I'm awake!"

"Did you sleep well?"

"Of course, sleeping in a rich person's bed was the best!"

Saki said, half-joking, while giving me a thumbs up.

"That bed is worth more than just its price. Are you getting up now, Saki?"

"Yeah, I’m awake. What about you, Ayaka?"

"I'm still a little sleepy, but I'm also getting hungry, so I think I'll get up."

After Saki and I washed our faces and brushed our teeth together, we headed to the living room.

Mom was already awake, sitting at the dining table, sipping milk tea while looking at her laptop.

"Oh, Saki-chan and Ayaka. Good morning."

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Mom."

"Are you two hungry?"

Mom stood up from her chair and asked us.

"Yeah, I'm hungry. How about you, Saki?"

"I think I'm getting hungry too."

Saki rubbed her belly as she said that, and Mom smiled warmly.

"Alright. I'll prepare breakfast right away, so have a seat and wait."

"Thank you! I’ll gladly accept!"

Saki thanked my mom and sat down at the dining table.

I sat next to her and watched as Mom started cooking in the kitchen.

"Mom, are we having Japanese food today?"

"Yes. Saki-chan, would you prefer rice or bread for breakfast?"

"I'd prefer rice, thank you, Ikue-mama."

Hearing Saki's answer, Mom immediately started preparing breakfast.

Within just a few minutes, dish after dish was being placed on the table. Saki looked shocked by the speed at which the food was prepared.

It was so amusing that I couldn't help but giggle.

"Huh? Huh? Isn't breakfast ready too quickly? How can you make so many dishes in such a short time? What's your time-saving secret?"

On the table, there was spinach salad, pickled daikon and carrots, simmered vegetables, and marinated small horse mackerel, along with miso soup and freshly cooked rice.

Saki seemed astonished by the variety of dishes, especially so early in the morning.

"Wait... Was all this food pre-made?"

Mom laughed and answered Saki with a smile, "Correct."

"You see, Haruto-kun made all of this when he came as a housekeeper. When mornings are busy, Haruto-kun's prepared dishes really help out. It's such a relief."

"Wow, Haruto-kun’s housekeeping skills are amazing."

"And his cooking is always delicious too."

Haruto-kun's cooking had never been anything less than perfect. Every dish was so tasty that I had to be careful not to overeat.

"Alright, let’s dig in."

Saki clasped her hands together and reached for the simmered vegetables first.

"!? What? This is amazing!"

She widened her eyes slightly and continued sampling other dishes. With every bite, she quietly whispered, "So good."

Hearing Haruto-kun's cooking being praised like that made me feel strangely happy.

"See? It’s delicious, right?"

"Yeah, this is incredible. I’m a little jealous. Maybe I should ask Haruto-kun to be our housekeeper too."

A slight sense of panic rose within me at Saki's words.

"H-Haruto-kun is my... I mean, he's exclusively contracted with the Tojo family, so if you want housekeeping services, you'll have to hire someone else."

"What? You're hogging all this amazing cooking for yourself? That’s not fair!"

"It’s not unfair! It’s a proper exclusive contract!"

As Saki and I playfully argued about fairness, Mom brought over some chawanmushi with a laugh.

"Saki-chan, this is also something Haruto-kun made. It's delicious, so try it."

"Thank you! I will!"

Saki eagerly dug into the chawanmushi. The moment she took a bite, her face lit up.

"The smooth texture, the rich egg flavor, and the gentle dashi... Hey, Ayaka, maybe just a little of Haruto-kun could—"

"No! Absolutely not!"

I cut Saki off before she could finish her sentence.

Haruto-kun isn’t just important to me—he’s indispensable to the Tojo family!

I don’t have the authority to decide where Haruto-kun works, but I still want him to remain as our exclusive housekeeper.

His cooking is so irresistible that it awakens my possessiveness.

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Ayaka's determination towards Haruto: I’m not giving Haruto-kun to anyone!