Chapter 79: Boyfriend and Girlfriend

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Translator: Soafp

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He held her tightly. Sora’s back trembled in his arms.

“I’m scared… that you’ll disappear, Ginji.”

Big tears kept falling, unstoppable. The warmth wrapping around her soaked deep into her body.

“It’s okay. We’ll always be together. Hey, Sora. Will you listen? Even to the lame parts of me?”

“Ginji, you’re cool.”

Sora's arms wrapped around Ginji's back.

“Not really. If we’re together, we might fight sometimes, and I’m an idiot—so I might hurt you. I was scared that the wounds would stay with you forever. That's not cool, right?”

“Are you still scared now?”

At Sora’s question, lips pressed tight, Ginji pulled back and looked into her eyes. He was smiling. Then he turned his gaze to the painting of the sunset.

“Yeah, I’m scared. But when I look at this painting, I feel like it’s okay. It’s because I care that I'm scared. And I finally understood that.”

The sunset they saw together for the first time, now captured on canvas—every memory piling on top of that moment had become a precious treasure.

The good times and the painful ones—they could proudly say that they needed all of it.

“Ginji…”

“I might not have a memory as good as yours, Sora, but I have feelings that haven't changed either.”

Ginji held out his hand. Sora took it and stood up. Ginji drew in a deep breath.

“Sora, I love you. Be with me. Always.”

Tears spilled from Sora's eyes again as she looked at Ginji. She raised both hands to her face, hunched her back, and leapt into his arms.

“Mmhm, I will! I'll be with you! I love you, Ginji, I love you so much!!”

After that, no more words came. In the center of the sunlit room, the sunset in the painting gently watched over them.

Even after she'd calmed down, Sora couldn't control her overflowing emotions. Still clinging to Ginji, she began to move, dragging him along as she climbed the stairs, kicking off her shoes in a flurry. She pushed Ginji onto the sofa and hugged him again. She pressed her head against him, refusing to let go.

“Sora, look up, will you?”

“No way. My eyes are all puffy, and I look terrible.”

“…Hey.”

Ginji turned his body and lifted Sora's face. Her expression was soft and goofy, grinning uncontrollably. Ginji squished her cheeks between his fingers.

“Nyah—Ginji, what are you doing?”

“You’re cute, so it’s fine.”

Relieved after finally sharing feelings they'd held back for so long, the two of them settled into a relaxed mood.

It felt just like always—but now, there was a sweet, tingling warmth in the air.

Ginji flopped onto the sofa.

“Man, I was so nervous.”

His heart had been pounding like crazy. Even though he'd been sure of her feelings, confessing still made him sweat like crazy.

“Hey, that's my line. I was braced for anything coming from any angle. I mean, I was planning to be the one to confess, actually.”

She'd planned to tell Ginji everything—about Aika disappearing, about her mother—and then ask him to stay by her side. But he'd beaten her to it.

Overwhelmed with happiness and not knowing how to express it, she gave him a mock sulky look and poked his side. Ginji grabbed her finger and intertwined it with his. They started a finger-wrestling match, laughing together.

“Well, I'm glad it turned out this way. I wanted to be the one to say it properly… Just to make sure—are we officially dating now?”

“I-I think so?”

“……”

“……”

Their linked fingers lifted as they looked into each other's eyes—then quickly looked away.

Sora let go, stood up from the sofa.

“I’m still in my coveralls. I'll go change. In front of my boyfriend, after all.”

She emphasized boyfriend.

“Right, and I'll wait for my cute girlfriend…”

Ginji emphasized girlfriend in return. Embarrassed, he couldn’t finish his sentence and collapsed face-down on the sofa. Triumphant, Sora grinned and walked into her third-floor room, shutting the door behind her.

Then she dove onto her bed.

“I did it, I did it, I did it!!”

Sora buried her face in the pillow and kicked her feet in the air.