Carefree
“Yuuki-kun, how about we go for a little walk right now?”
After closing the café, Yuuki and the others went to the Shimizu house. While they were relaxing on the sofa, Yume called out to Yuuki like that.
Shimizu Yume.
She was Shimizu Kyousuke’s daughter, and not a high schooler but a second-year university student.
Her voice was drawn-out, and she carried a soft, airy atmosphere. She had a pretty face resembling her absent mother, with a straight nose and languid eyes. Her bob-cut hair had blue inner coloring, and she was the type commonly referred to as a “downer.”
Yuuki glanced at Yume, then immediately looked forward again.
“No, I don’t want to.”
“…Ah, I see.”
Yume hadn’t expected Yuuki to refuse, so a silly-sounding voice slipped out of her.
If it had been the Yuuki from before,
“Sure, let’s go together.”
He would have smiled and answered like that.
But Yuuki’s voice now was cold, as if he were wary of Yume. No, wary might be too soft a word.
His way of speaking had no inflection, mechanical and detached.
“Then… is it also too difficult just to talk for a little bit?”
Yume asked, but once again he didn’t so much as glance her way.
“Yes.”
He answered mechanically, leaving Yume at a loss for words.
As she wondered what to do, Kyousuke stepped in to help.
“Yuuki-kun, could you keep Yume company for just a little while?”
Since Yuuki couldn’t brush off Kyousuke’s words, he reluctantly nodded.
“Well then, I’ll go take a bath. You two can talk.”
Judging it would be better if he weren’t there, Kyousuke left the matter to his daughter and walked off.
“Alright then, let’s chat for a bit.”
“Yes.”
Yuuki still didn’t look at Yume, just stared blankly forward, so she had no idea what kind of expression he was wearing.
“Yuuki-kun, do you dislike me?”
Yume didn’t beat around the bush but asked him directly.
Yuuki was a little taken aback, but quickly recovered and replied.
“No, I don’t dislike you, but I’m not good with you.”
“Not good with me, huh. Why? You never acted that way before. Were you forcing yourself?”
“That’s not it. It’s not that I find you especially difficult, I dislike women in general. You’re better than most. You haven’t done anything to me, so I don’t dislike you.”
Yuuki replied flatly, and Yume smiled brightly.
“That’s good, then.”
Even though he had said she was difficult for him, Yume seemed happy, while Yuuki continued treating her with the same cold, mechanical attitude.
“By the way, Yuuki-kun, you have school tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then let’s skip school tomorrow.”
When Yume said that, Yuuki only turned his eyes toward her.
“Why?”
“Let’s go on a trip.”
At Yume’s sudden words, Yuuki gave her a look that said, what is she talking about?
“Hey, sounds good, right? Dad. You don’t have work tomorrow, so let’s close the café for the day.”
Calling out toward the living room door, Yume watched as Kyousuke came in with a sigh, his hair not wet in the least.
“Yume, you’re always so sudden. But sure, why not. Let’s go. We can’t go far, so just one night.”
“Yay. Then… since I want somewhere relaxing, let’s go to a hot spring town.”
Kyousuke and Yume excitedly talked about the trip, but Yuuki cut in.
“Master. I haven’t said I’m going yet.”
“It’s fine. I’ll contact your school, and don’t worry about the money. I’ll cover it.”
Kyousuke brushed off Yuuki’s words with a slightly off reply and forced the discussion forward.
Yuuki gave Kyousuke a cold look, but Kyousuke and Yume went on planning, even deciding on a place to stay.
“Don’t worry, Yuuki-kun. We won’t treat you badly, alright? Think of it as repayment for letting you stay here.”
“…Alright.”
Since he’d been told that, Yuuki couldn’t refuse and reluctantly nodded.
Just as he was starting to regret coming to Kyousuke’s house, Yuuki’s phone rang.
When he looked, the name Ayaka was displayed, so he rejected the call and immediately blocked it.
There were also LINE messages from his mother and younger sister, but he didn’t reply, just left them on read and put his phone back in his pocket.
“Was it okay not to answer?”
“It’s fine. It was a worthless nuisance call I couldn’t care less about.”
“I see.”
Yume showed no concern for Yuuki’s behavior and simply answered like that.
“He hung up… Maybe he had something urgent?”
Ayaka muttered, but for some reason she felt uneasy.
Maybe it was because of what they had talked about after school.
Feeling worried, she tried calling again, but couldn’t get through.
Yuuki and Ayaka usually talked on the phone every day, and today they had promised to talk as well.
“I wonder if he’s okay.”
There’s school tomorrow, so I can ask him then. It should be fine.
Thinking that was all she could do, Ayaka tried not to worry, but in the end uneasiness lingered and she couldn’t get to sleep.