Free Web NovelChapter 118: A ’Date’
"You coming with us?" Kichiro asked the moment the group got back to the Aoi Umi Dormitory. He asked casually, jerking his thumb towards the group already gathering by the entrance of the Dormitory. The last day of the school trip had arrived— time for their leisurely tour around the sights of Tokyo.
"No, I’m going somewhere else." Hajime vaguely replied as he separated from the group. He figured that not specifying his location would lessen their suspicion but such wasn’t the case, they immediately assumed that Hajime was going on a date with someone. Even with that assumption though, they responded just like what Hajime expected,
"Sure, take care,"
On the teacher’s signal, the separate group of students went about their merry way to tour Tokyo without their supervision. They did have a curfew of seven o clock, just a little bit after dinnertime. It was the usual curfew for the school trip so no one bothered listening to the additional information the teacher relayed.
Hajime stayed by the Aoi Umi Dormitory, waiting for most of the groups to go away before meeting with Megumi. even though Megumi had already clearly told him that she doesn’t mind being seen together with him, he still couldn’t help but mind it. After all, he didn’t hail from a prestigious family.
After a couple of minutes of waiting by the Aoi Umi Dormitory Common Area, Hajime finally met up with Megumi by the cafe they were supposed to rendezvous in. Megumi opted to accompany her group a little bit before meeting up with Hajime since they invited her to try the aforementioned cafe. And after that, they still have plans to cafe-hop so Megumi told them to leave her there since she was going to meet someone. For some odd reason, Megumi’s group accepted her request in a flash, they didn’t even ask any questions— she found it suspicious but she decided not to contemplate too much about it.
...
A few minutes later, Hajime arrived at the cafe, wearing a totally different outfit. He decided to change up his appearance by wearing something more casual compared to his usual get-up. Instead of his usual pants and jacket combo, he opted for a shirt and pants. He still wore the same rubber shoes though since he only has one pair. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Seeing Hajime from afar, Megumi couldn’t help but get flustered as she turned away, taking a swig from her cup of coffee and choking on it. She suppressed the cough coming out of her mouth and because of that, the cough was replaced with a hiccup.
Hajime awkwardly put his hand on his head as he approached Megumi. Somehow, he felt a bit awkward. Quite frankly, he felt like he was naked since he wore a shirt. Even though the date was far from over, he was already regretting wearing a shirt to it. ’It would’ve been much better if I wore a hoodie. That way I’d feel more comfortable and relaxed. It’s not like Megumi would mind, right?’ Hajime said to himself.
On the other hand, Megumi could hardly keep a straight face as she waved at Hajime. Even with his awkward gait and his more casual appearance, he still looked appealing. Megumi’s face reddened the more she stared at Hajime, and that’s why she averted her gaze after two seconds.
Her gesture was misunderstood by Hajime though since he felt like Megumi dislikes his outfit. ’Does it really look that bad? I did look at myself in the mirror and it... ’ Hajime stopped his thought process. Even he felt uncomfortable just wearing a shirt. Somehow, he grew more conscious of Megumi in the past few days. If it were a couple of weeks ago, he wouldn’t have minded appearing in ragged clothing in front of Megumi.
"Where are we going?" Hajime asked.
"Your um... your outfit looks nice." Megumi blurted out of nowhere. "I-i-in any case! Follow me, I’ve already set up a route for us!" She awkwardly pointed at empty space as she forced a chuckle to come out of her mouth.
"What was that about?" Hajime muttered to himself, scratching his head.
Apparently, right by the alleyway of the police station was a small street that had stalls on them. Megumi noticed it yesterday during the incident with the three kidnappers and decided it would be the perfect spot to spend time with Hajime. Now that the fated time had come, she decided to enjoy it to the fullest.
After all, it took all of her courage just to ask Hajime out. Why would she waste such a rare opportunity? "It’s just spending time with a friend, right? Right? It’s not like I have ulterior motives or something, right? I mean, it’s been so long since we spent time together, just the two of us." Megumi muttered to herself. She couldn’t believe that she was trying to justify her actions after implicitly telling herself yesterday that she was going to ask Hajime out on a date.
Shaking her head, Megumi slowed down her pace so she’d be able to walk side by side with Hajime. She still couldn’t help but avoid Hajime’s gaze since her face would automatically blush, but that was beside the point. Her nervousness was gone a couple of seconds later when she saw a stall that sells crepes.
"Hajime!" Megumi cheerfully said as she subconsciously grabbed Hajime’s sleeves while pointing at the stall with her other hand.
Hajime didn’t have to ask what she implied. He could tell by the sparkles in her eyes that she was craving a crepe. Without hesitation, Hajime pulled out some cash from his pockets just when Megumi turned around to order the largest crepe on the menu.
"And also one for him! Hajime, you like to eat sweets, right?" Megumi asked. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"For breakfast?" Hajime returned but he didn’t deny his sweet tooth.
"And one for the boyfriend, coming right up!" The lady in the stall responded with a plastered smile on her face. The two were her first customers for the day so she couldn’t be happier to greet them.
Before Megumi could get her wallet from her purse, Hajime was already reaching his hands toward the lady, handing her the payment.
