A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover

Chapter 139: Sorting Feelings

When things started looking down, Hajime kept pushing on without thinking about where it would lead up. And now, things were finally looking up for him. He had no idea how it would turn out, however, but he lived his usual life while returning to his usual work at construction. Of course, the company was more than elated to have him back despite his young age.

Two weeks later,

Hajime’s reputation had taken a drastic change in school. And with it, he changed his appearance as well. Taking Megumi’s advice to cut his bangs so they wouldn’t cover his eyes that much, his transformation immediately affected his image in a positive way. Long story short, no one viewed him as a delinquent anymore, and those who did were immediately shut down by the girls who became interested in Hajime.

"You called for me, Akamine-sensei?" Hajime asked, shaking in his boots as he went inside the office. This wasn’t the first time he got called to his homeroom teacher’s office ever since the incident. After all, he once again missed a couple of morning classes since he had to work for construction. This was the only way he’d be able to pay for his sister’s medical bills after he quit his job as Megumi’s bodyguard.

"Yes, and you know why I called you here, right?" Akamine-sensei folded her arms on the desk as she eyed Hajime up and down. This prompted Hajime to uneasily sit down while fidgeting.

"Is this about my... morning classes?" Hajime asked, already wincing since Akamine-sensei seemed ready to fly off the handle. freewebnøvel.com

"Yes... and no." Akamine-sensei heaved a sigh. "Can I ask you a question?"

"May I..." Hajime was about to correct Akamine-sensei just like she does but he stopped himself short. He then cleared his throat before he nodded his head in anticipation.

"You... you’re working at the construction site again, right?" Akamine-sensei asked. "Then... does that have to do with you avoiding Megumi?"

Akamine-sensei asked two questions, back to back before Hajime could answer them. They were both hard questions, so Hajime pursed his lips before he nodded his head.

"I uh, I didn’t mean to... to avoid her," Hajime mumbled. "It’s just that... it’s been weird since the incident. And..."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them sat still. Hajime couldn’t straight-up say that their classmates had been pairing them off ever since the incident, and he didn’t want them to get any wrong ideas.

It’s not like he doesn’t like Megumi, it’s just that he still wasn’t sure whether Megumi would reciprocate that feeling or not. That’s why he decided to keep his distance— so there won’t be any misunderstandings.

While there were signs that Megumi might be interested in him, Hajime didn’t want to jump to a conclusion, especially at this weird time when the incident with Ricardo Basilio just concluded.

"I see. Why don’t you talk to her? That way, you can clear up the misunderstanding." Akamine-sensei advised, fanning herself with her hand as she tried to act slightly frustrated. She had no idea why she had to play the matchmaker role for these two when clearly, the two of them liked each other.

Then again, she was the one who started all of this. That’s why she had a sense of duty regarding the two of them.

"Talk to her?" Hajime repeated. It didn’t seem like a bad idea, but Hajime was too embarrassed to ask Megumi out for a conversation.

"Yes, talk to her." After advising something so simple, she dismissed Hajime from her office.

Hajime was out of there in a second, feeling like he just escaped a lecture by the skin of his teeth. There was no way he was going to stay there and wait for Akamine-sensei to remember that he had been missing out on the morning classes. freёwebnovel.com

As Hajime got out of the office, a flash of yellow hair appeared in his gaze, causing him to flinch. The hair in question belonged to Natsumi, and she stopped short the moment she saw Hajime in front of her.

"Ah, Hajime," Seeing Hajime all of a sudden made her so nervous that she forgot how to greet him like a normal person.

Since Hajime was a bit dazed by what Akamine-sensei advised, he absent-mindedly bowed toward Natsumi before heading his way. This surprised Natsumi since Hajime would usually greet him back. She was fairly certain that something was wrong, but she couldn’t quite put her finger around it.

Shaking her head, Natsumi returned to the present and grabbed Hajime by the forearm before he could take another step. "You’re coming with me." She ordered before Hajime could say anything.

Bewildered, Hajime found himself being dragged around by Natsumi. The first thought that came to mind was that he probably did something wrong, but now that he contemplated on it, he couldn’t remember anything that would anger her.

Regardless, he followed Natsumi as she pulled him all the way to the school grounds. She only stopped when they arrived in front of a bench. Asserting her dominance, Natsumi pointed at the bench, handed Hajime a bento box, and ordered him to sit down.

Everything was going too fast that Hajime found himself being swept by the current. Before he knew it, there was food in front of him, and he was sitting down beside Natsumi while they ate lunch together.

...

"So you should talk to him, okay? He’s having a hard time as it is with her sister still hospitalized and all that. He’s got a lot on his mind, Megumi." Akamine-sensei said as Megumi fidgeted in front of her.

"B-but..." Megumi swallowed her words. Of course, she was the one at fault regarding the matter. She knew just how hard it was for Hajime to quit his bodyguarding duties, and now he felt inclined to avoid her just so it wouldn’t get any more awkward. Apparently, Megumi was only waiting for Hajime, she wanted him to approach her first.

Nevertheless, at this rate, nothing would happen. If anyone should make the first move, then it should be her.

After thanking Akamine-sensei, Megumi went out of the homeroom teacher’s office and started searching for Hajime. They need to talk, not just because of her recent realization, but because she needed to tell him something important— the reason why he was allowed by her parents to quit his bodyguarding duties.

Somehow, her intuition told her to look through the windows as she passed the hallway. To her surprise, she saw Hajime and Natsumi, sitting together by one of the school grounds benches. They were eating lunch together.

"Oh-hoh~" Megumi’s eyes turned into slits as her expression shifted into annoyance. "So that’s how it was, Hajime?" She muttered, clenching her fists.