I'm in Love with the Gorilla Sitting Next to Me - Volume 1 Chapter 6.14

Secrets are meant to be revealed 14

“How is it? Do you notice anything different?”

——A girl with a human face stood there.

She was dressed in a summer short-sleeve sailor uniform, her hair a short bob slightly above her shoulders, adorned with a white hair accessory.

Her eyebrows were thin and her eyes had a strong look, carrying a somewhat angry aura.

——The girl I was seeing for the first time in almost four years was right there.

“…Gossan?”

“That’s right. Who else did you think it was?”

“No, it’s just… uh… what…?”

It wasn’t the face of a gorilla, nor was it a 2D girl. Since Gossan equaled gorilla, I wouldn’t recognize her real face suddenly appearing, but the voice was unmistakably the same as Gossan’s.

This meant, in other words…

“The curse has been lifted…? So, that just now was…!?”

Was that sensation on my lips from Gossan kissing me?

And there was another thing that was extremely troubling on my mind, but before I could ask, she spoke up,

“Before we continue, let me ask you again. Looking at me today, do you notice anything?”

True to her word, Gossan repeated the same question as before.

From my perspective now, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘not a gorilla’, but that’s definitely not the answer she’s looking for.

…Or rather, this is the first time I’m seeing Gossan’s real face… I think. The faint traces of memory that had almost vanished seemed to overlap.

With the girl in a yukata I saw for the first time in four years.

“…Could it be… you met me during the summer break in sixth grade…?”

“Well, let’s just say that’s fine. It’s useless to expect too much from you, Saiki-kun.”

I feel like I’m being harshly judged, but that’s trivial compared to the confusion swirling in my head.

——Gossan was the girl I spent that summer festival with? Seriously? And she recognized me? Moreover, she kissed me?

“I can’t handle this. I can’t make sense of the situation at all… Can we sort this out one thing at a time?”

“Can’t be helped. Please finish this before lunch break is over, okay?”

“Not sure I can, but okay…”

I can’t see the clock from here, so the bell will be the limit. It’ll be tough to get back to the classroom before class starts if I stay until the last minute, but honestly, that’s the least of my worries.

The first thing I want to ask──

“Gossan, didn’t you say you didn’t believe in the curse…?”

“I was more than skeptical. But I couldn’t completely disbelieve it either, so I decided to give it a try.”

“Give it a try… you mean, you tried it with a kiss?”

That’s quite bold, to say the least.

But Gossan, with a slightly annoyed expression, shook her head,

“It was because of that question earlier. I made my decision based on that.”

“That question, but you said I was wrong?”

“It’s because it was incorrect. I was outraged when I heard the story yesterday, but as I walked, I calmed down a bit and remembered something that bothered me.”

“Something that bothered you…?”

“——When I first entered the classroom and met you, Saiki-kun, you looked at me and said ‘gorilla,’ didn’t you?”

Gossan’s cool eyes flashed sharply. Such an imposing presence. Is it still there even if she doesn’t look like an animal?

No good, even if she’s not a gorilla, she’s still super scary.

“I… even though I didn’t know, I was terribly rude at that time…”

“I wouldn’t forgive you if there was malice, but it’s strange for Saiki-kun, who didn’t know me and couldn’t read my name, to call me ‘gorilla,’ and you made a strange excuse, so I couldn’t forget and it bothered me. Still, I was indeed angry.”

Probably the last part is the main reason she didn’t forget. Even though I apologized properly at that time, it didn’t settle the score, huh?

But wait? Gossan also thought she didn’t remember me…

“So, Gossan, you didn’t remember me either?”

“I had a sense of deja vu. But that night at the festival, honestly, it wasn’t like it was my first love or anything. I remembered the event, but it was only after talking with a friend several times that I connected that boy with you, Saiki-kun.”

“A friend… the one you mentioned before who goes to a different school?”

“Yes. Do you remember the name Namikawa Yume?”

“Ah, yes. She was a classmate in elementary school… and went to a different high school, right?”

“Namikawa-san is in the same cram school as me, and she invited me to the festival that day because of that connection. She couldn’t make it, though.”

“I see… so you found out about me from Namikawa?”

“I began to suspect it might be so after our midterm tests. I also confirmed that Namikawa-san hadn’t mentioned my name or nickname.”

“That’s more than a month ago… You should have told me…”

“I thought you had completely forgotten about me, so I didn’t want to say it. Besides, I didn’t even properly introduce myself at the festival.”

Now that I think about it, that’s right. I didn’t ask for her name, and I don’t remember telling her mine. It was like, ‘Everyone can’t make it… Well, let’s go just the two of us!’ and I forcefully took her along even though we had just met.

“So last night, when I reconsidered the ‘curse that makes me look like a gorilla,’ it made a little sense. ‘Ah, that’s why he doesn’t remember me,’ I thought. But I was even more annoyed. Seriously annoyed… What part of me looks like a gorilla?”

“Your anger is justified, but I don’t know either! There’s no rule or commonality to who looks like what animal!”

“Really… Anyway, remembering the incident on the first day and last Saturday was significant.”

“Saturday… When we ran into each other on the way home, that?”

Was there something key that happened? It could be a reason for her to suspect the relationship between Tora-senpai and me, but I can’t think of anything else.

As I frowned in thought, Gossan gently stroked her shoulder,

“At that time, I was coming back from the gym after taking a shower. The hairdryer was in use, and I didn’t want to wait, so I just wiped my hair quickly with a towel. My hair was still wet, so I wore it differently than usual… Saiki-kun, you didn’t comment on it, did you?”

“Ah, yeah. I didn’t notice.”

“That’s why I decided to test it. If what Saiki-kun said was true, it would be pitiable, and if it could be resolved with just a kiss, there was nothing better.”

What a gallant statement. Gossan was probably also experiencing her first kiss. I was almost falling for her again because of her kindness and decisiveness.