Liar's Lips Fall Apart in Love - Volume 1 Side Story 2

TLN : BIG ANNOUNCMENET AAAAAA

SECOND VOLUME RELEASE ON JUNE. LETSGOOOO SAGARA AND HARUKO LOVE STORY CONTINUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy White Day!

Up until last year, I viewed the hype around Valentine’s Day and White Day with a cold eye, thinking it was all just a conspiracy by confectionery companies to dance to their tune. The only chocolates I ever received during high school were obligatory Tirol chocolates distributed by the girls to all the boys in class; I thought Valentine’s was an event far removed from me.

(tln : Tirol chocolate is japanese brand of choco. google it)

However, a month ago, I received Valentine’s chocolate from Nanase.

Receiving it turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. The heart-shaped chocolate cake, neatly wrapped in a box, was moist, not too sweet, and incredibly delicious.

Yet, receiving chocolates doesn’t just end with a happy ending… That’s the thing about Valentine’s Day. There’s always the expectation of a return gift. It’s not a matter of just receiving and that’s that.

In other words, I have to give Nanase a return gift for White Day. Confectionery company conspiracy, be damned. I’ll dance the limbo or the Cossack dance or whatever they want.

On March 14th, White Day itself, I visited Nanase’s room before heading to my part-time job at 18:00. When I pressed the intercom, Nanase appeared in her bare face, glasses, and track pants. Seeing my face, she couldn’t help but loosen her cheeks into a near smile.

“Ah, Sagara-kun. What’s up?”

“…This. For White Day.”

I handed her a small paper bag nervously. Nanase’s face lit up with joy.

“Really? Can I open it?”

I nodded silently. Nanase took out a box tied with a ribbon from the paper bag, carefully peeled off the tape, and opened the lid. Inside were six shiny chocolates. “Wow, they’re cute! And they look delicious!”

I had bought them at a department store event three days ago. The event, branded as a White Day collection, featured all kinds of return gifts. There were bouquets, handkerchiefs, and accessories, but lacking confidence in my taste, I didn’t have the courage to choose something that would last.

After wandering around for hours, I finally settled on the “number one popular” chocolates from one of the stores.

Nanase likes chocolate, and if it’s the most popular, it probably wouldn’t be a huge mistake.

“Sorry it’s nothing special.”

They say that the return gift for White Day should ideally be three times the value of what you received for Valentine’s. What Nanase gave me was a homemade chocolate cake. Considering the cost of ingredients, utilities, and the effort she put into making the cake, a store-bought chocolate could hardly match the value of a threefold return.

“Why? This chocolate is really good, isn’t it? I’m happy you chose it!”

Nanase said “Thank you” with a soft smile. If I could see that smile, then being danced around by the confectionery companies’ conspiracy was worth it.

After successfully giving my return gift to Nanase, I headed straight to my part-time job. Even the convenience store where I work sells White Day return gifts.

Preparing a return gift at a convenience store might feel a bit tacky, but maybe that’s fine for obligatory chocolates. According to Itokawa-san, our convenience store chain’s exclusive white chocolates are “so good, you can’t really make light of them.”

“Maybe I’ll buy some for myself after my shift ends. But, I wonder if they’ll be discounted tomorrow?” Itokawa-san said while looking at the boxes of chocolates on the shelf. It’s funny how the price can change so drastically from the 14th to the 15th, even though the taste of the chocolate hardly changes at all. It’s surprising how many people are fooled by the confectionery companies’ conspiracy.

…Well, this year I’ve joined the ranks of those fools.

“But, I wonder. Giving chocolates as a return gift on White Day isn’t supposed to have a good meaning, right?”

“Ah?… What does the return gift mean?”

“I think… depending on the type of sweets, there’s supposed to be a meaning…”

“Ha… Huh?”

Itokawa-san said, “Wait a minute, let me google it,” and started searching on her smartphone. After a while, she showed me the screen, saying, “Here it is. Are you sure about that return gift? What special meaning is hidden in White Day sweets?”

“Marshmallows mean ‘I don’t like you,’ and cookies mean ‘Let’s remain friends,’ something like that.”

I was dumbfounded. What the heck is that? It’s a terrible trap. Being judged based on the type of confectionery whether it’s dislike or just friends is ridiculous. Could it be that men out there are actually considering this deeply when choosing their return gifts? The meaning behind marshmallows is too harsh. Then don’t sell such things!

Driven by anxiety, I timidly asked Itokawa-san.

“…By any chance, what about chocolates?”

“Um… it’s like, ‘I can’t accept your feelings, so I’m returning them as they are.’ White Day is too difficult, isn’t it!

***

I was grinning as I looked at the chocolates from Sagara-kun. They were shiny and looked lovely.

“Ah?”

“Chocolates come in various colors and shapes, almost like a treasure box. When I think that Sagara-kun chose them for me, they seem even more wonderful.

It’d be a waste to eat them, but letting them spoil would be an even bigger waste…,” I thought as I opened and closed the lid. Then the intercom rang. When I opened the door, there stood Sagara-kun, out of breath.

“Ah, Sagara-kun! Did you finish your shift? Good job!”

“…Um, Nanase! Actually, forget about the return gift I just gave you!”

I was so shocked by his unexpected statement that I froze. That’s so cruel…! After making me so happy, to say it’s off now…!

“No, I don’t want that! Why would you say that?”

“No, because… it’s chocolates.”

“I like chocolates!”

“But… it doesn’t have a good meaning, right?”
As I tilted my head, Sagara-kun said, “……Maybe, you don’t know?” When I nodded, he just squatted down right there.

[…]

“…Well, I guess I didn’t need to worry so much about it…”

“Hey, Sagara-kun. What do you mean by ‘meaning’?”

“…A senior at work told me that sweets have meanings depending on their type. Chocolates are like, ‘I can’t accept your feelings’…”

“Eh? Sagara-kun, you thought that?”

Seeing how shocked I was, Sagara-kun hurriedly looked up.

“No, that’s not it! That’s why I panicked and bought something else!”

Saying that, Sagara-kun pushed a small bag into my hands. It was taped with a convenience store’s tape and contained colorful heart-shaped candies.

“…It’s cheap. You might not want it, but I’ll give it to you anyway……”

“No, I want it! Thank you!”

Anything from Sagara-kun is welcome, and the heart candies are really cute. I’ll take a photo of them later, next to the chocolates. My treasures have increased again.

Then, I became curious and asked Sagara-kun.

“Hey. So, what does the candy mean?”

Sagara-kun, with a bright red face, looked down and didn’t say anything. Even though I asked persistently, Sagara-kun didn’t tell me in the end. Annoyed, I looked up the meaning of the return candy on my smartphone and ended up grinning broadly.

“I like you.”

“AAAAAAAAA. Sagara-kun, me too!!!”

“…Ah, I just want to die…”

Tln : Someone just requested me on discord, thanks to No Name. this side story is available in GA Bunko Twitter. If u guys like my works please consider of donating me to my ko-fi

You can dm me on discord if u wanna say something
takusafuyuki

here’s the link to the side story

SS1 : https://twitter.com/GA_bunko/status/1757696021398983122
SS2 : https://twitter.com/GA_bunko/status/1768186743461908541