Chapter 2: The Omen of a Storm

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A week after my date with Sagara-kun, my friends celebrated my birthday. The members were the usual four of us: me, Sacchan, Fujii Tsugumi-chan, and Umehara Nami-chan. All of us are in the same Economics department.

We had lunch at a stylish cafe, received birthday presents, and had the waiter take a picture of us. In the photo displayed on my phone, I’m laughing happily with my friends. If my high school self saw this, she might think I’m a shining girl far removed from her own life. My inner self is still far from being a shining girl, though.

As I savored the joy of having friends who celebrate my birthday, Nami-chan suddenly asked, “By the way, I’ve been curious about something.”

“Is that ring a gift from your boyfriend?”

Blushing, I nodded with a shy smile, “Yes, it is.”

“He gave it to me on my birthday. Isn’t it cute?”

“Wow! That’s really nice. Haru-chan’s boyfriend is pretty impressive.”

I’ve been wearing the ring Sagara-kun gave me all the time without taking it off. I’ve always dreamed of receiving a ring from someone I love.

…If I could be greedy, I would’ve liked it to be on my left ring finger…

The scene of a wonderful lover kneeling and putting a ring on my finger, like in shoujo manga and TV dramas, floats into my mind. If he could propose to me like that someday… Just imagining it, I snapped back to reality. Thinking like this might make Sagara-kun pull away.

When I told him I wanted a ring, and when I asked him to put it on me, Sagara-kun seemed troubled. Maybe he felt a bit pressured. I should be careful not to get ahead of myself.

I also want to celebrate Sagara-kun’s birthday…

Last year, we weren’t dating yet, so I couldn’t do anything special… but this year, I definitely want to celebrate it. I want to make Sagara-kun happy too.

As I thought about where to go and what to do for his birthday, I suddenly realized something.

…Come to think of it, our dates are always about going to places I want to go…

Not just dates, but our entire relationship feels like Sagara-kun is always accommodating me. My fluffy dreams of wanting to do this or that are just making him go along with it…

──I’ll help you have a rosy university life.

Just as he said, Sagara-kun has been fulfilling my requests. But is it okay for me to keep relying on him like this? No, it’s not. I shouldn’t just be receiving; I need to give something back to him.

But what can I do? How can I make Sagara-kun happy…?

Thinking on my own won’t lead to an answer. It’s better to ask experienced friends for advice. Swallowing my pride, I asked,

“…Um, what should I do to make my boyfriend happy?”

The three of them, being natural shining girls, had various relationships before. Maybe they could teach me what to do for a boyfriend.

Tsugumi-chan casually replied while scooping ice cream,

“Just let him touch your boobs.”

“Huh!?”

The unexpected advice caught me off guard, and I was flustered.

Do boys really like that kind of thing!? Do you all do that with your boyfriends!? That’s way too high a hurdle for me…!

“Even if he’s a bit angry, just say ‘Sorry, do you want to touch my boobs?’ and it’ll be okay…”

Nami-chan lightly tapped Tsugumi-chan’s head and said, “Hey, that’s too much for Haruko.”

“How about just a kiss? When your boyfriend is feeling down, a kiss will cheer him up.”

“Is that so…?”

They lowered the hurdle a bit, but it was still quite challenging. Although I’ve kissed Sagara-kun a few times, I’ve never initiated it myself.

…Are we a bit behind compared to others…?

Since dating Sagara-kun, I haven’t really thought about “those things” specifically. But everyone else does it naturally, right? If we’re dating, do I need to do those things too…?

I guess I’m still far from being a shining girl.

The next day, Monday. After classes, I had dinner with Sagara-kun. Today’s menu was meat sauce pasta, with minced meat mixed with chopped lotus root, giving it a slightly Japanese twist.

While eating pasta, we talked about going on a date on the Sunday after next. Gathering my courage, I asked Sagara-kun,

“How about we go somewhere you want to go this time? I feel bad always making you go along with my plans.”

Sagara-kun furrowed his brows in slight confusion.

“I don’t have anywhere I particularly want to go…”

“I see…”

I wanted to fulfill his wishes subtly, but it didn’t work. Forcing him to “think of a place” would be burdensome too.

But what does Sagara-kun like, or want to do…?

As I pondered, Sagara-kun suddenly exclaimed, “Oh.”

“Sorry. I just remembered I can’t make it that day. Let’s do it another day.”

“Really? Do you have plans?”

“The university’s open campus. The professor asked me to help out.”

“Really? You agreed?”

“Well… yeah. I thought I’d give it a try.”

Honestly, I was surprised. Had this been the Sagara-kun from a while ago, he would’ve refused to help with the open campus. Even last year’s cultural festival, he wasn’t keen on it, and I had to drag him along to help. When did he become so proactive…?

“Apparently, Hojo is giving a talk at the presentation.”

“Really? Are you giving a talk too, Sagara-kun?”

“No way. I’ll be doing stuff like guiding prospective students, working reception, handing out pamphlets…”

“Wow, that sounds tough.”

“Oh yeah, the professor told me to wear a suit. Where did I keep the suit I wore for the entrance ceremony…”

“Wow! I want to see Sagara-kun in a suit!”

I leaned forward excitedly. Since we hadn’t met at the entrance ceremony, I’d never seen Sagara-kun in a suit.

“It’s nothing special. Plus, Hojo will be there too. I’m just a supporting role.”

“Really? I think you’d look great… I really want to see it…”

Imagining Sagara-kun in a suit made me swoon. If he gets a job that requires wearing a suit every day, I could see him like that all the time. Imagining myself tying his tie and sending him off to work, I snapped back to reality. No, I’m getting ahead of myself again!

…Open campus, huh. I wish I could participate…

I never attended any open campus events during high school. Even though it’s too late now, I wanted to experience the atmosphere.

“Can I help out too?”

“I don’t see why not. They said they were short-handed, so ask the professor.”

“Okay!”

It’s a bit disappointing that our date got postponed, but helping out with Sagara-kun sounds fun too.

“Let’s take a picture together in our suits!”

I said, and Sagara-kun gently chided me, “It’s not for fun.”