Chapter 22 – Episode 22
I think I ate lunch without knowing what it tasted like.
It was a delicious pasta.
Yes, it was quite a delicious pasta.
A specialty store known only to students was a store I had never seen before when I was in school.
However, as if to prove his skills, numerous students were waiting and eating the pasta there.
Befitting its appearance, it was delicious.
Although I am someone who eats food regardless of taste, it was delicious.
If it tastes good to me, it must be really good to others.
Gahye also ate well, her eyes sparkling.
It was nice that the price was reasonable, but I remember all these little things, but I can’t remember what it tasted like.
No, I think it actually had a slightly bitter taste mixed in.
Uncomfortable.
Doubts seep out, turn black, and the unknown mind becomes complicated.
There was a mixture of flavors that made your tongue twist.
Thanks to that, the pasta was delicious, but it didn’t taste very good.
So much so that I want to clear my mouth right away.
So, after sending Gahye off to go back to class, I headed to the café to take a break.
That’s right, I headed to the café where Nayu was working part-time.
***
When I arrived, it was after 3 o’clock, and the front of the café was reasonably quiet.
Although there weren’t many people gathered, there was a steady stream of people occasionally buying coffee.
I saw Nayu leaning out the window and offering coffee, but I deliberately stayed far away and waited quietly.
I didn’t want to disturb you while I was working, and I thought the story I was going to talk about would take some time.
Of course, there were things I wanted to organize my thoughts in my head.
‘Why did you lie?’
This is assuming that Nayu lied and bringing it up.
You shouldn’t bring it up right away.
Before you start doubting, you need to check with yourself to see if you really deceived me.
But.
But yes.
Let’s assume Nayu lied.
After Nayu held my hand and went home together and Gahye deceived me, the days when I mistakenly thought Nayu and I were dating are still true.
If you assume that my thoughts are mistaken, let’s take this assumption out of the picture.
Then, I decided to date Nayu, and the next day’s events changed like this.
Hye asked Nayu if she and I were dating, and she answered no.
And Nayu came to me and asked me out, and she told me Nayu’s lies.
“Nayu says she’s not dating your brother?”
Gahye truly knows this.
Later in the night, while Gahye and Nayu were talking, Gahye told Nayu that she and I were dating and Nayu congratulated her.
And then this morning, out of sheer kindness, she introduced me to anyone other than Hye as her boyfriend.
So, does Nayu want to date me in secret from Gahye?
‘Why?’
Am I that attractive?
So much so that two women like me at the same time?
And, even if one woman keeps it a secret from the other women, does she want to date me?
No, I need to refocus for a moment.
Something is strange.
Yeah, something is strange.
Two things are strange.
Just by summarizing it, two questions arise.
First of all, why did you hide me in the first place?
So, on the day when Nayu and I went home holding hands, when Gahye came home, Nayu hurriedly hid me.
Was it because she didn’t want to be seen doing that?
I don’t think so.
She had already been seen doing something similar.
At that time, nothing happened.
It wasn’t as bad as it was, but it was okay anyway.
But now you’re hiding it?
‘Why?’
The reason becomes strange.
I had a hunch that it was because they wanted to hide the fact that they were dating.
That’s what I thought, but the reason doesn’t seem right.
‘Then why did you hide it?’
What is the meaning of the show that was done to hide Gahye’s appearance and to hide the fact that they were together in the first place?
If that behavior wasn’t to hide the fact that they started dating, then what was the reason?
And secondly, why did you introduce me to your part-time job boss as your boyfriend this morning?
It’s a lie that’s too easy to get caught.
That’s right, Nayu already found out last night that I was dating Gahye.
She even said congratulations.
In that case, it would have been officially acknowledged that Gahye and I are dating.
And that, of course, I, the person involved, know.
You probably knew all that, but you introduced me like that this morning?
Yesterday, you introduced a man who became a couple with someone else as your boyfriend even though both you and the man knew about it?
Moreover, the reaction at that time really seemed like that.
It is said that she seemed embarrassed when introducing her new boyfriend to others.
It’s strange.
Assuming that Nayu lied about the reason for hiding it and this morning’s introduction, it just gets weirder in my head.
Then change your mind…
“What are you doing?”
“Wow!?”
I was suddenly startled by the feeling of a tap on her shoulder.
As I quickly stepped back, I saw who had touched me, and it was Nayu.
“Uh, weren’t you working yet!?”
“I came because I saw you.”
Nayu corrects her posture and crosses her arms.
“It’s almost shift time now, and I’ve done everything I needed to do.”
“Oh, I see.”
“You picked me up and even came to see me off?”
Nayu smiled and looked happy.
That’s right, he seemed really happy that I came.
The slight blush on her face, the corners of her mouth that she liked even though it didn’t seem like anything special, and the words she said that she expected to come to see her off all seemed like that.
By any chance, are you trying to trick me?
Such questions do not arise.
I couldn’t ask that question after seeing this face.
‘Fool me? What?’
Nayu didn’t directly lie to me.
Then, should we ask why he deceived Gahye?
But what if that’s not the case?
The questions that just arose were the decisive reason for stopping me from asking questions.
When we say that Nayu is lying, two very strange things come out.
So, what if Nayu is not lying?
What if Nayu didn’t lie or deceive Gahye?
What if you didn’t lie to me or deceive me?
“What’s wrong.?”
Nayu asks if it’s strange for me to stay still.
No, this is something to worry about.
“Oh, no.”
“Is it still because of work? “Didn’t it work out well for the company I went to look into again last time?”
“Uh, uhm, no, I just haven’t heard from you yet. I’m waiting.”
“As expected, you must be anxious while waiting. You were worried about work today too, right? It must be difficult”
Deb show is so kind and concerned.
I don’t dare ask anything from those eyes that show such tender concern.
“… Hehe, I guess you don’t have to worry too much. It will work out somehow.”
“Yes, I guess so.”
Although he was responding verbally, his head remained still.
Nayu hugged me like that.
He grabs my head, pulls me to his chest, and buries my head in that big chest.
In response to a surprise attack, I just act like an idiot.
A still head cannot cope with sudden attacks and rising emotions.
“Cheer up, everything will be fine.”
Nayu is stroking me while saying that.
I couldn’t resist those hands and chest.
Rather, I began to feel a sense of guilt filling me.
A rebuke for doubting Nayu.
And, I suspect that Nayu may be having an affair with Gahye.
No, guilt.
That kind of worry and anxiety that I’m doing something I shouldn’t.
I guess Nayu held me in her heart to console my worries.
He must be stroking me to alleviate my anxiety and cheer me up.
But the more I felt the touch of my chest and the warmth of my hands, the more guilty I felt.
“First of all, I have to clean up the store and then change shifts with the boss.”
Saying that, Nayu takes me out of her arms.
“Just wait a little bit, I’ll be right out at 4 o’clock.”
Saying that, Nayu slightly turns her gaze as if to say she will go now.
“Uh, I’ll wait.”
“Thank you.”
After answering that, Nayu returned to the store.
In order not to disturb Nayu, I move away for a moment to a place where Nayu cannot be seen.
No, I stayed away because I wanted to relieve some of the guilt.
After I became distant from Nayu and after struggling with my guilt and suppressing it to some extent, I started to turn my head again.
If so, then so be it.
In the end, it was Gahye who was deceiving me?
I tried to organize my thoughts again, but Nayu came out soon, so I had no choice but to stop thinking about her.
“You waited, right? Now.”
“What is this?”
“Coffee. The boss gave it to me. Give it to my boyfriend.”
Nayu smiles while saying that.
When she said she was her boyfriend, she sounded embarrassed and pleased.
It was so nice to hear that voice, I felt so sorry, and I was so confused.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, uhh, nothing.”
I answered appropriately and accepted the coffee.
“What do you think? I heard the coffee here is pretty good.”
I took a sip right away, but I don’t know what it tastes like.
“I don’t know what the coffee tastes like, but the customers say so.”
“Um… Well, I don’t know what coffee tastes like either.”
“Really? I’m not sure if it tastes like coffee.”
Giggling.
Nayu smiles happily.
“I guess you didn’t enjoy coffee either.”
“Yeah, well… I just drank it to wake up.”
“The boss said that coffee is not like that.”
“You seem to be a person who is quite proud of coffee.”
“Yes. So, they must have opened a café or something.”
Well, I guess so.
“Now that I think about it, today…”
Nayu is chattering next to me.
The way he talks about what happened today almost seems like a blessing.
He wasn’t the type of kid to talk about things like this, but he started talking to me.
In fact, he may have been a child who liked small talk like this. They were just hiding it.
Or, maybe he just wants to chat like this with me.
They may want to share their daily lives and chat together.
Whichever of these two things is true, it breaks my heart.
Only questions bloom in a confused mind.
What on earth happened?
Who lies and why?
I continued to be confused and could only agree with Nayu’s story.
