Free Web NovelChapter 115: I’ve Been Meaning To Ask...
Aoi Umi Dormitory Common Area
With a blank stare at the ceiling, Hajime lay down on the couch in the common area of the Aoi Umi Dormitory. It was already nighttime, with the cold air whistling through the windows and ruffling his hair. He couldn’t sleep, and he didn’t want to stay in his room, that’s why he opted to stay in the common area. At least there, no one bothered him.
He made sure to tell their group leader that he’d be staying by the common area though, since there’s the likelihood of them looking for him when he was, in fact, not missing at all.
"This is more tiring than I thought. I should have just stayed at home... but doing so would automatically fire me from my job... I can’t have that, not with my sister still relying on me for the money." Hajime muttered to himself, his eyes still fixated on the ceiling and the single light bulb that illuminated the common area. He watched as a fly happened to get attracted by the bright light, and it stupidly fluttered around it. Hajime let out a chuckle, not because he was enjoying the idiocy of the fly, but because he also had nothing better to do— just like the fly that amused itself as it flew around the light.
A few minutes passed, and Hajime still had no idea what he could do so he’ll fall asleep. ’Should I just go back to our room? Nah, they’re probably still awake, playing card games and the like.’ Hajime muttered to himself. Closing his eyes, he thought that maybe if he stayed in the common area long enough, he’d doze off on the couch.
The faint memory of his dad carrying him from the backseats of the car and to their couch at home suddenly resurfaced in his mind, and he was once again reminded of the incident that took his parents’ life and his sister’s consciousness. He shook his head, but the more he tried to forget, the more vivid the memories become, like a pesky mosquito sucking blood on the same spot in the skin.
A masked man. There was a masked man during the incident. It took him the entire year to remember that final scene during the incident. It could very well be a false memory— an imaginary person that he wanted to blame for everything that happened to him and his family. But then again, there was no way it could be a false memory, not when he knew for a fact that there really was a masked man there.
Like his nightmares, the masked man plagued his mind. But after much contemplation, he decided not to fight the memory. Instead, he tried to embrace it, replaying the memories in his head a couple of times until he caught one of the masked man’s special features.
Every single time the masked man would appear in his repetitive simulation, Hajime would pause as much as he could, trying to figure out who the person behind the mask was. He examined every portion of the man’s body. From his clothes to his stature.
That’s when Hajime noticed it.
"..."
"A ring."
"He had a ring. One of them wide-rimmed ones with a red gemstone embedded in it... sigh~ as if that would help me with anything." Hajime heaved a sigh. He was back to square one again, but at least his memory about the incident didn’t bother him that much anymore. It still appeared in his nightmares, but whenever he remembers it, he wasn’t that traumatized compared to when the accident was still fresh.
"A ring? What are you talking about?" ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Surprised, Hajime opened his eyes as he heard a familiar voice call out to him. It was Megumi, and he was holding out a carton of milk in his hands directly on top of Hajime’s face.
"Can’t sleep?" Hajime casually asked as he avoided the carton of milk that Megumi handed to him. It wasn’t your regular carton of milk that one could finish in one gulp, but a full-fledged one-liter carton of milk. She had two, and she opened one and handed it to Hajime the moment he sat upright.
"I... I wanted to take a walk outside to clear my head a bit... but I remembered we’re still in the middle of the school trip." Megumi stated the obvious as she drank the milk in her hand.
Hajime was prompted to do the same. "You were worried for me, weren’t you?" Hajime joked, recalling Megumi’s expression as she ran away from the scene. It was a mix of helplessness and utter concern. Hajime was actually surprised that Megumi could pull off that expression when all she did was look down on him most of the time.
"M-me?! Worried?! What are you talking about?" Megumi flat-out denied it as she let out an exhale from her mouth, implying that what Hajime said was wrong as it is outright ridiculous.
’She didn’t have to deny it that much.’ Hajime forced a smile on his face. She was still the Megumi he knew. How could she be worried for him when they could hardly be considered friends?
"Anyone would... be worried..." Megumi’s face reddened as she clutched the milk carton she was holding. "Of course I was worried... do you really want me to say it out loud?"
’Oi oi oi... are you kidding me right now?’ Hajime said to himself, turning away from Megumi’s bashful expression while taking a huge swig of the milk. "Ah right, thanks for the milk. Where did you get it?"
"Hajime... tell me the truth..." Megumi didn’t even consider Hajime’s question about the milk. Her body stiffened as she turned to the side towards Hajime, pressing her face closer to him as she wore a resolute expression on his face.
Hajime could’ve sworn that his heart skipped a beat as Megumi’s face moved in closer. His right eyebrow twitched as he tried to maintain his composure. Nevertheless, that didn’t help with his stuttering with his response. "W-w-w-what is it, Megumi?"
Gulp.
"You..."
Gulp!
"You’re working under my dad, weren’t you? As my bodyguard? Don’t you think I wouldn’t notice you following me around from time to time?" Megumi had been meaning to ask the question for quite some time now. She finally got the courage to ask.
"Eh?!" Hajime let out, surprised that Megumi actually knew about his bodyguarding duties.
