Chapter 3.5: A Long Phone Call Between Runa and Nicole
“Seriously...? What can I say... I dunno, I can’t find the words.”
“...”
“Anyway, too bad about the Lisa and Lottie thing.”
“Yeah...”
“Also, are you okay being on the phone? Aren’t you recovering from being sick?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. My fever is down already. I’m just a bit sluggish at the most. Sorry I couldn’t go to the girls’ Christmas party today.”
“Don’t worry about that. And don’t force yourself either. Go to sleep early tonight.”
“Okaaay! Heh heh. You’re like a mother, Nicole.”
“I get that a lot. From my juniors at the club, for instance.”
“Speaking of mothers, though...”
“Seriously. Who could’ve imagined things would end up like that? After how hard you worked too.”
“Yeah... Still, there was nothing I could do. It’s not like I could force them to get married again if they don’t love each other anymore.”
“Are you okay? You’re not depressed?”
“Nah. I have Ryuto. Maybe I wouldn’t have been able to get over it had I been alone, though...”
“It’s amazing. He looked after you all night yesterday, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And nothing dirty happened? He didn’t do anything weird to you while you were asleep?”
“Ryuto wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Huh... Is he really a guy? Does he even feel lust?”
“...”
“Runa? Something wrong?”
“I think he does. He said he pushed Maria down in the gym storage room.”
“What?! When did that happen?!”
“Before summer break...”
“What the hell?!”
“It’s fine, though, since he stopped himself.”
“But still... Well, if you’re okay with it.”
“...I’m not.”
“Then...”
“I mean, what I’m not okay with is the fact he didn’t try anything on me last night!”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t it weird? Being alone with your beloved girlfriend on Christmas Eve—it’s gotta be weird not to get horny.”
“No, but isn’t that because you were sick? I know it’s weird for me to side with him, but like, it wasn’t really a good time for it, was it? He was focused on nursing you back to health, right?”
“Isn’t that how lust works, though? You’re not supposed to, like, be able to contain it through reason.”
“Well, I think that depends on the person... Maybe he didn’t want to do it that badly, or maybe he was able to hold himself back because he loves you.”
“Hey, which do you think it is in Ryuto’s case?”
“What?! How would I know that better than you?”
“I don’t know! I’ve never talked to Ryuto about stuff like that.”
“By the way, weren’t you avoiding that kinda topic on purpose?”
“So?”
“’Cause if you talk about something like that to your boyfriend, you’re gonna get a sexy mood going on. And you don’t wanna have sex yet, right?”
“I dunno! I dunno, but when I think how Ryuto pushed Maria down but didn’t do anything to me even though we spent a whole night together, I get really pissed! And worried if I’m not attractive...”
“...What about that time in Enoshima?”
“Huh?”
“You spent the whole night together there and nothing happened. You weren’t even ill.”
“I guess so...”
“That didn’t bother you?”
“That was... I mean, we’d only been dating for a month at the time...”
“...Say, are you finally starting to feel like doing it?”
“Huh?! A-Am I?”
“Isn’t that what this is about?”
“Eh, I dunno! I just can’t stop myself from thinking about this... Like, what kinda face did Ryuto make when he pushed Maria down...? Even though it makes me jealous and all. I know it’d be better if I didn’t think about it.”
“...Sounds like someone’s in love.”
“Well, sure.”
“You’re finally in love.”
“Huh? Whatcha mean?”
“Your relationships never start with romantic love, do they?”
“I guess not... But then what was it?”
“Well... If anything, it’s love for humanity, I guess.”
“Now that sounds kinda fancy!”
“Some guy would say he liked you and you’d do your best to come to like him in return, right? That’s why when they walked away from you, things just ended. Even if you were hurt, you didn’t cling to them and try to stop them.”
“I guess...”
“That’s why it wasn’t romantic love. And now, it finally is—for the first time, with Kashima Ryuto.”
“For the first time... I guess so.”
As Runa uttered those words with flushed cheeks, she awkwardly lowered her eyes to her knees. She held them to her chest as she sat on the bed.
“So even I had a ‘first’ that I could give to Ryuto...”
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