Surprisingly, Saito and Minaka matched very well.
Cool and passionate.
Despite having completely opposite personalities, they synced perfectly, almost like magic.
In fact, it was precisely because they weren’t in sync that they fit together so well.
When Saito moved his right foot, Minaka moved her left.
Without even thinking about it, they were naturally able to do this, making it surprisingly easy.
“This is fun because it’s so easy. Let’s pick up the pace and do a lap around the field.”
Winning first place didn’t seem like a dream anymore.
But then, they discovered a fatal flaw.
“Huff, huff, this pace is tough enough. If you want to go faster, let’s do half a lap. A full lap is impossible.”
“Wow, you’ve got no stamina.”
“Don’t compare me to exercise freaks like you! I’m an indoor person, not an outdoor one. I don’t have your stamina. Ah, talking while running is really hard. Can we stop around here?”
“You don’t have enough stamina even for an indoor person! Fine, we’ll stop in the shade over there, okay?”
“Huff, huff, okay.”
Minaka’s stamina was disastrously low.
Saito was stunned that Minaka was already exhausted after running just over fifty meters.
Even if their timing was in sync, it was meaningless if they couldn’t go fast.
Saito concluded that he should pair up with a girl who could run a bit faster, and so the pairing of Saito and Minaka was shelved.
“Huff, huff. I can’t go on.”
“Kanzaki, are you going to be okay at the sports festival at this rate?”
“It’s fine. I’ve just scheduled to be unwell on the day.”
“No, that’s not okay.”
“Um, Minazuki-kun, could you practice with us too?”
“Huh?”
Just as Minaka was planning to skip the sports festival and Saito was about to comment, some girls from the class called out to him.
“I don’t mind, but why me? Haruki’s here too, right?”
He didn’t mind practicing since it was a given,
but he wondered why they came to him when there was also Haruki, even though most of the boys were with Lili and Mizuki.
“Nishizono-kun is kind of scary because it feels like he’ll take advantage of us.”
“Yeah, and it feels like he might touch our chests or butts.”
“It’s worse because it wouldn’t be on purpose.”
“And there’s also the risk of Mizuki-chan glaring at us.”
“Being compared to those beautiful girls is tough too.”
“Nishizono-kun looks relieved when he’s with Mizuki-chan, Shirayuri-senpai, or Machigane-san, but not with anyone else, so we don’t like him.”
“Besides, Nishizono-kun is hanging out with Machigane-san, so we can’t invite him.”
“Haha, Haruki’s got a bad reputation.”
According to the girls, everyone hesitates to get involved with Haruki because of the trouble he causes with women and his daily behavior.
As a friend, Saito wanted to support Haruki, but it was true that he had a knack for getting into trouble, especially with women.
It was understandable that the girls wanted to keep their distance. Unable to figure out how to defend him,
Saito could only manage a dry laugh.
“In contrast, Minazuki-kun is Machigane-san’s childhood friend, so we feel safe around him.”
With Haruki’s evaluation finished, the conversation shifted to Saito.
“Yeah, he doesn’t look at us weirdly.”
“He doesn’t try to touch us.”
“No trouble with women.”
“He can be a bit childish, though.”
“He’s more of a little rascal, but that’s kinda cute.”
“Like a little brother’s friend.”
“Totally!”
“Are you guys complimenting me or making fun of me!?”
“Of course, we’re complimenting you. In a good way.”
“Well, if you say so.”
“That’s just like you.”
The girls’ evaluation of Saito was better than he expected.
Relieved, Saito noticed Minaka looking exasperated beside him.
When he tilted his head in confusion, the girls around them giggled.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Meanwhile,
things were going horribly for Lily.
“…… Nice to meet you “
” …………”
The reason was that it was finally her turn to pair up with her ex-boyfriend, Haruki, whom she had been avoiding.
She tried to stall to avoid partnering with him, but being touched by any guy other than her childhood friend made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, so it was impossible.
She ended up running off and quickly dispatching her partners one by one, saying, “We don’t seem compatible,”
As a result, other boys disappeared easily, until only Haruki was left.
Honestly, she didn’t want to pair up with him.
Even if Haruki didn’t remember their first time together, like Lily, he had also time-leaped, making it even more unpleasant.
Dealing with the guy who cheated on her was the last thing she wanted.
“Uh, nice to meet you.”
“Ugh, can you not talk to me? It’s annoying.”
“Sorry.”
“I said, don’t talk to me.”
“S-forry.”
“Don’t apologize with your mouth shut. It’s creepy. Just stay quiet and let’s get this over with.”
“…”
Despite her reluctance, they had to participate for class.
As Lily started tying the rope, Haruki’s expression softened slightly but only for a moment.
When he tried to put his arm around her shoulder, she sharply told him, “Don’t touch me, I’ll get dirty,”
“Let’s run to that wall.”
“…”
When Lily called out to Haruki after getting ready, he nodded, indicating he was ready too.
Lily signaled, “Ready, set, go,” and they started running.
Annoyingly, their steps matched perfectly.
It was natural, though.
Haruki was Lily’s ex-boyfriend and had paired with her at the first sports festival.
They had practiced together, stumbling many times, so Haruki knew her rhythm well.
She didn’t know when exactly he returned, but it must have been at least five years ago.
Remembering all this made her hate both Haruki and herself.
Should I trip him?
The thought crossed her mind, but Haruki’s “lucky pervert” nature stopped her.
If she did something unnecessary, he might touch her by accident.
“Alright, we’re done. Bye.”
After finishing the run without incident,
Lily quickly untied the rope and turned to leave without looking at Haruki, but he called out to her.
“Wait.”
“What?”
Looking thoroughly annoyed, Lily turned to face Haruki.
He hesitated slightly but then looked straight at her and said,
“Thank you.”
then
“Sure.”
She understood roughly why he was thanking her,
but it wasn’t because she had forgiven him or anything.
It was just because it was a class assignment
and she didn’t want to make Saito feel awkward.
She had no reason to be thanked.
In fact, she wished he wouldn’t thank her.
It was annoying to deal with him.
But instead of saying that, she just gave a short reply.
Looking forward, Lily searched for her childhood friend.
The thought of finally spending time with him made her heart race.
Pushing aside the unpleasant experience, she thought about how to catch Saito’s attention when she saw an unbelievable sight.
“Ah!”
“Oh, sorry. Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah. Thanks. You’re surprisingly muscular for someone so slim.”
“Well, I do work out.”
“Wow, you’re rock solid.”
“Hehe, stop poking me, it tickles.”
“Ah, so you’re ticklish here. Poke, poke.”
“Hey, stop it!”
Saito had caught a girl who almost fell and was now playfully chatting with her.
“What?”
Jealousy flared up inside Lily.
──Not fair.
──I had to waste my time with a guy I didn’t want to pair with.
──Meanwhile, everyone else was pairing up with Saito.
──I want to be caught by Saito.
──I want to touch Saito.
──I want to see him laugh and squirm up close.
──That’s my place.
──Saito is my childhood friend.
Ugly emotions surged within her.
She wanted to run to him immediately
but she can’t.
Their relationship was that of childhood friends, not lovers.
She had no right to be possessive, and Saito hated being constrained. If she did that, he might dislike her.
──No.
──I can’t bear that.
──But I don’t want to lose him.
──I want to prove he’s mine.
Struggling with these childish, conflicting emotions, Lily accidentally dropped her lip balm from her jacket pocket.
(Today really isn’t my lucky day.)
Feeling frustrated and exhausted from everything going wrong, Lily picked up the lip balm.
Her lips weren’t dry, but she applied it out of habit.
However, perhaps because she was doing it out of habit without thinking, her hand slipped slightly, and the lipstick went beyond the edge of her lips. Lily used a tissue to wipe it off.
Looking at the wiped part, it was stained pink the color of cherry blossoms.
Unable to see herself at the moment, Lily became anxious that some might still remain and wiped again.
She did so meticulously to ensure no trace of her mistake was left.
“Ah!”
The next moment, something clicked in Lily’s mind.
“Fufu”
Then, her expression changed completely from a displeased look.
As if she were a child who had just thought of a mischievous prank, Lily’s face lit up.
(With this, I can do it without Saito noticing.)
Imagining the near future, Lily chuckled to herself.
Time passed, and it was lunchtime.
Lily was eating her lunch on the rooftop as usual when her childhood friend across from her started dozing off.
“You’re tired, aren’t you?”
Lily teased Saito, who rubbed his eyes sleepily and replied,
“…Yeah.”
Smirking, Lily watched him, but he didn’t notice.
“I had to do the three-legged race with a lot of girls today. It was exhausting to match their pace… I’m tired. I’ll take a nap, wake me in twenty minutes.”
“Got it.”
“Snore.”
Asking to be woken up just before the end of lunch break, Saito carefreely departed for the world of dreams.
“Fufu”
Just as planned.
This childhood friend had a habit of taking a nap during lunch if he had intense exercise or used his brain excessively in the morning.
Moreover, during this time, he wouldn’t wake up unless something significant was done, like making a loud noise or shaking him vigorously.
In other words, he wouldn’t wake up if anything less than that was done.
“…Saito is my childhood friend, so he’s not allowed to leave my side on his own,” Lily whispered softly.
She then took off the cap of her lipstick and marked the back of Saito’s neck as he slept.
[Reserved]
She then marked the back of Saito’s neck as he slept.
She inscribed it in a spot that was just barely hidden or visible under his blazer.
This was the most Lily could do to assert herself right now.
There was a possibility that no one would see it, but that was fine.
This was just self-satisfaction to relieve her ugly feelings of jealousy.
If she could be greedy about one thing, Lily wished that he would remain reserved to her forever, just as these words implied.
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