Chapter 25: We’re dating!

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Translator: Soafp

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Now that Sakura and I were officially boyfriend and girlfriend…

What exactly was I supposed to do?

Since I had accepted her confession, I needed to act like her boyfriend, even if only for one week.

Even if, in my heart, I had no feelings for Sakura.

That was the absolute condition for her to return to high school.

But if you asked me what I was actually supposed to do, I honestly didn't know the answer.

Was holding hands and going on dates enough to make her my girlfriend?

If we just said “I like you” to each other, even if it was a lie, would that count as dating?

This… was a hard problem.

It was like the question of where exactly the line is between friends and not friends.

That boundary was different for everyone, and ultimately depended only on personal feeling.

As for me, I didn't actually like Sakura, so the best I could do was at least act like a boyfriend… but I didn't have any couple nearby that I could use as a model.

No, wait. There were perfect people for that.

So I'd use them as my template and spend this week following their example.

I called out to her in the back area, where she was standing around dazed like she'd been overboiled.

“Sakura.”

“Hm?”

“Do you have any favorite foods?”

“Why are you asking all of a sudden?”

“As your boyfriend, it's natural to know my partner's preferences.”

“…!”

For some reason, Sakura blushed and stepped backward, only to catch her foot on a cardboard box and nearly fall.

“Wah!”

She almost went down hard, but I managed to support her back just in time.

I looked at her from close up.

“Are you hurt?”

“…!!!”

Sakura quickly stood up and fidgeted awkwardly.

“Y-Yeah, I'm f-fine.”

“Good. Then that's a relief. I have a lot I want to ask, but we're at work right now, so I'll do it later. Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you sent me things like your preferences and tastes in messages. I won't be able to remember everything at once anyway.”

I'd organize it later in a spreadsheet.

“Come to think of it, we never exchanged contact info. Do you have your phone on you?”

“…”

“Why are you freezing up?”

“Because… you're being so proactive that I'm surprised.”

“If you don't want to, I can stop.”

“N-no! Please, by all means, keep things as they are!”

“Leave it to me.”

Good. For now, I had Sakura's contact information.

That was enough for the moment.

When I returned to the lobby, Sakura hurried back to reception and started fanning her face with a paper fan.

Then she gulped down barley tea in one go.

As for me, I was immediately approached by Murata-senpai as soon as I came back.

“Subaru-kun, could I get your contact info too? And if you're free tonight, would you like to have dinner with me? I'm a local, so I know some great places.”

“Thank you, but I have a girlfriend, so I have to decline.”

Murata-senpai spat out her barley tea.

Sakura, who was told “Onee-chan is messy” by Shizuka-chan, was coughing hard and staring wide-eyed at us.

What was she doing?

“A-eh? But when I asked earlier, you said you didn't have anyone you were dating…”

“That's right. But just now, Sakura confessed to me, and we started dating.”

“Whaaaat!?”

Murata-senpai dropped her phone with tremendous force.

It made a nasty clacking sound when it hit the floor.

When she picked it up fearfully… damn, the screen was completely shattered.

“Murata-senpai, this—”

“…”

Without saying a word, she took it from me and swayed side to side as she walked toward Toshie-san.

“Manager… sniff… can I take the rest of my shifts off?”

“W-well… yeah, take your time and rest. You can go home for today.”

“…yes…”

With that, Murata-senpai hunched her shoulders and disappeared into the back area.

We still hadn't exchanged contact info yet.

---

It was June now.

It was still a little early to call it summer, but standing by the sea in the evening wind, you could strongly feel the approach of summer.

After finishing our first day of work, Sakura and I were cleaning up together.

We washed the snorkeling gear customers had used and checked the equipment for any damage.

Sakura, who had been acting strangely the whole time, quickly went back to her usual self.

Now she was cheerfully working along, humming a tune.

“Hm-hm-hm~♪”

What a simple girl.

She'd gone from depressed to recovered just as quickly.

Well, that was pretty much like her.

“Wow, she's seriously gorgeous.”

While I was carrying in wetsuits that had been hung out to dry in front of Blue Note, Sakura was being called out to by a man passing by.

“Hey, if you're free after work, wanna hang out?”

He was a darkly tanned man carrying a surfboard.

A surfer, maybe.

He waved at Sakura casually, looking very used to this kind of thing.

“Oh, sorry. I already have a darling!”

Sakura answered immediately, and the surfer let out a choked sound.

“Well, come on, even just grabbing a meal is fine.”

“Hehe, I'm super in love with my darling, so no can do!”

And then she winked at me…

It was like something straight out of a picture-book flirtation.

It was hard to believe this was the same person who had been moping around and ready to repeat a year just yesterday.

I watched the surfer retreat in defeat, and work finally ended.

We still had time before dinner, so Sakura invited me to the beach.

In the free time, she said she was going to do windsurfing.

“Heh, you can do that on your own?”

“Hehe, I can only handle beginner boards for now. Actually, I picked this place because I wanted to do this.”

“So you chose this trip spot to ride the wind and heal your heartbreak?”

“Yeah, exactly! You get it, Subaru!!”

Sakura smiled and leaned in to look at my face.

“But I don't need that anymore. I'm super happy right now.”

“Even with a temporary relationship?”

“Yep. Things like that can be dealt with later. If you can't enjoy this moment with everything you've got, that would be such a waste!”

Against the orange-colored sea, her golden hair shimmered and glowed.

“Oh, I found a pretty shell!”

Sakura held up a white spiral shell for me to see.

“Hey, Subaru, you're not doing this with me, right?”

“Yeah, I'll just read here.”

“Then, catch!”

I caught the shell she tossed and sat down on the sand.

She placed the surfboard with the foldable sail into the shallow water, then stopped and looked back.

“…Oh, I forgot to say this. When you turned down Murata-chan's invitation, I was really happy.”

“I'm your boyfriend, after all.”

“Hehe, but you really can't afford to make me fall any harder for you.”

“That depends on you, doesn't it?”

“Well, that's one way to put it. So I'm going to try really hard not to like you too much either. I'm never going to lose to Subaru. Or to dogs!”

Well, whatever.

There were probably all kinds of problems ahead, but for now, I was glad Sakura had brightened up.

As she climbed onto the board with a burst of energy, I told her:

“I forgot to say something too.”

“What is it?”

“I reported our relationship to Toshie-san, and as a little celebration, he gave me a half-day off tomorrow afternoon. We're going on a date.”

“WHAAAT!?“

Sakura fell straight into the sea with a splash and popped her flushed face back up above the surface.

“Su-Subaru…”

“Leave it to me. I've been planning the ultimate date.”

One that would guarantee maximum satisfaction, no matter who it was.

As Sakura bubbled in the seawater, she muttered something.

“Pubububu…bubububuubuuubuu…” (Afterall, I still can’t beat you, Subaru)