Chapter 3 - First Date (Part 1)
I'm not the kind of person who worries too much about personal things. If I think about it too much, I won't be able to enjoy this introverted and detached life. I used to be a very selfish person, but it wasn't until recently that I felt this worried. This has been happening ever since I became the fiancée of a gyaru. Since Miran Hanatsuki became my fiancée, I have had the opportunity to deal with things that I had avoided and never had. So, the number of things that bother me is increasing.
For example, how to deal with Miran at school is one of the issues that bothers me. My fiancée, Miran Hanatsuki, is very popular with both boys and girls, and she is a person who is in a completely different position from an introvert like me. It's not hard to imagine what the people around me would think if they found out that Miran was my fiancée. So, I tried my best not to talk to her in public to keep it as secret as possible. However, since we were in the same class, I was inevitably sensitive to Miran's presence.
Unintentionally, I often watched Miran's movements. Although there were times when I felt nervous when our eyes crossed. On the other hand, there are some people who are uncomfortable with our relationship, so I try not to attract too much attention so that the problem doesn't become more complicated.
Besides, there was another problem. Lately I have the feeling that more and more boys are approaching Miran. Or maybe I feel that way because I'm more sensitive to her presence. But the point is—those who approach Miran are flashy boys who are good at communicating, not nervous in interacting, and they are well prepared to become popular person.
Every time these flashy guys get involved with my fiancée, I get a feeling of inferiority. Of course, it's not that I don't have confidence. It's just that the girl who is so beautiful and popular, who has let those extroverts get close to her, is my fiancée. So, of course, if I want to brag about it.
Anyway, that's the case—
Will an introvert and otaku like me be completely ignored one day?
Or would it be okay if I stayed like this?
The frustration that comes from feeling inferior to my fiancée is getting bigger every day.
***
It was lunch time again today. As usual, I left the classroom without attracting attention. As I walked down the quiet hallway, I heard a familiar cheerful voice behind me.
"Shuuji~" she called.
When I turned around in shock, I saw my fiancée running towards me with a paper bag.
"M-Miran?"
Normally, I would have checked to see if there was anyone else in the corridor, but—instantly—my eyes fell on Miran's figure. The cheerful aura overflowed from her good looks, so beautiful and dazzling. Although the corridor was dark and shady, I could feel the level of brightness and saturation around her increasing. This must be how bats feel when they are suddenly illuminated by such a bright light. When I thought of something unrelated, Miran apologized in a tone of regret.
"Sorry, I promised to eat with Adzuki and Hanako today, so I might not be able to go to the place we usually go."
"Uhm, ah, don't worry about it!"
From the first day we exchanged smartphone contacts, Miran and I often ate lunch together at the back of the school building. However, as you might imagine from the top caste in the school, she has many friends and is often invited out during lunch.
"Really, I'm sorry!"
"You don't have to apologize like that, really. It's okay to put your friend before me."
I said it seriously, not to be satirical. People might think I'm speaking from the loner's point of view, but what I mean is that she should keep an eye on her friends. I also feel bad that I made her worry about me!
"Don't worry about me!" I said while waving my hand, which Miran returned with a smile.
"Shuuji is a kind person, right."
"W-What do you mean?"
I felt confused when I heard that. Instead of being kind, I thought about apologizing. Then, when Miran looked at me like that, she handed me the paper bag.
"Here, your bento."
"T-Thank you!"
I checked the corridor again to make sure no one else was there and received the paper bag. It contained a lunch box. When I felt the weight of the paper bag, a feeling of happiness rose in me, but at the same time, a feeling of guilt also appeared.
"............"
Miran made a bento for me. However, because we decided to keep the fact that we were already engaged while at school—instead of giving this bento in the classroom, she had to give it at our fixed location at the back of the school building, or in quiet corridors like this.
In fact, I felt guilty for secretly accepting the lunches that she made with time and effort without anyone else knowing. On the other hand, if I openly accepted it in the classroom, it would have a bad effect on Miran's reputation. That's why this issue has become a serious dilemma for me.
"I'm so confident with my food today—"
"I-I see, yes."
Every time I see Miran's cheerful smile, a feeling of doubt arises, is this the right thing to do?
"Then I'll go back to class first, okay♪. I'll take the empty box later..."
"Oh, yes. Thanks for the bento," I said.
I looked at Miran as she returned to the classroom. When I could no longer see the back of her shimmering hair, I took a long breath and walked to the usual spot, which was at the back of the school building.
"Huffh..." I sighed.
Is this okay? Is it okay to stay like this?
I thought as I felt the weight of the lunchbox in my arms. I don't hate Miran at all. On the contrary, the more we got to know each other, the more I felt Miran's kindness and innocence, so I wanted to get to know her even better. Besides, I want her to recognize me more and, if possible, to like me.
"What should I do?" I asked myself.
However, I don't know how to deal with her, and that's what I've been thinking about lately.
"Aaaah...."
I don't know how to approach her, I don't know what to say, really, there are so many things I don't know. I want to thank you for the lunch, but what can I do? For me, who is a loner and an introvert, just being a 'fiancée' is too much. Most of all, I am dealing with an extroverted gyaru whose world is very different from mine. I felt like I was lost in the maze and kept asking myself how to proceed.
***
"Hmmm ...."
At night, I locked myself in my room and stared seriously at a book. It wasn't a manga or a novel, but a love guide called 'Even Monkeys Will Know the Basics of Love' with illustrations of monkeys that are annoying to look at. This is a book that I would never touch in the past, but I saw it in the library and subconsciously borrowed it. That's how problematic I thought about how to deal with Miran.
"Apparently, what is written here is just vague stuff. Can they write something more detailed? Like how someone who is introverted interacts with gyaru."
While I was complaining to the monkey on the cover of the book, I suddenly felt a presence behind me.
"Wow, you are so eager to learn, right?"
I was startled and turned my head, only to find my mother peeking at the contents of the book.
"Huh? Don't break in here carelessly!"
"Mom already knocked on your door, you know?"
"I didn't hear. At least wait until I answer—"
I complained as I hurriedly hid the book, but my Mom didn't care.
"It's better if you go into the living room soon."
My mother nodded casually regardless of my complaints, and finally she just said that and walked out of the room.
"Hmm~?"
I frowned at the déjà vu-like sequence of events. When I went downstairs to the living room, my father and mother were sitting at the table with mysterious expressions on their faces. This is the same scene again.
"Shuuji, sit down," Dad asked me to sit down.
Just like before, I can't guess what they're going to talk about.
"Shuuji, what about Miran-chan?"
Obviously about that, yes....
"A-Although Dad asked that...."
The topic was exactly what I had imagined, but I did not know how to answer. When I ran out of words, Mom said to me in a pitiful tone.
"Since it's Shuuji, don't just use your difficulty in interacting as an excuse to do nothing. You are so professional in the game, but you are so cowardly in real life."
"......!"
It's up to you what to say! I won't deny it because that's the truth! While I was gritting my teeth, Dad, who was looking at Mom, suddenly put something on the table.
"Shuuji, take this."
"T-This?"
"This is the war fund."
Something placed on the table was a small amount of money.
"War fund? What do you mean?" I asked confusedly, to which my father replied with a serious expression on his face.
"Take Miran on a date. Use this money for your dating expenses."
"D-date?"
This date...! What did they mean by 'date'? The word was so foreign to me that it took me a moment to think about it. I immediately remembered that it was a command in a love simulation game, which stunned me.
"I... go on a date with Miran?"
At that moment, I might have looked like a cat thinking about the universe.
"It's okay... don't think about it too much, you two just go and play together on your next day off", Dad repeated in a caring tone, while Mom looked inexplicably sad.
"Take Miran to play together...?"
Even though I was told not to think too much about it, it still crossed my mind. I can't imagine it at all. Why not? Because it's an unimaginable thing for me, an introverted otaku, and Miran, an extroverted gyaru, to play together.
"What are you going to do, Shuuji?" Mom asked me while I was thinking.
"What am I going to do...?"
To be honest, I was confused if I was suddenly supposed to ask Miran out on a date. In fact, I couldn't imagine it. Anyway...
In that situation, what came to my mind was the shadow of Miran trying hard to make me a bento. The genuine smile she showed while talking to me. A happy look on her face when I told her what I thought of her homemade lunch. Thinking back, I feel grateful to Miran. However, at the same time, I felt guilty for worrying too much about other people's opinions when she gave me a bento box, which was caused by the feeling of inferiority and frustration in my heart.
Thinking about all these things, I took a deep breath and made up my mind,
"I'm going to ask Miran out."
I want to thank her for making me lunch, and this might be a good opportunity. Also, I hope I can use this opportunity to find out how to deal with Miran. When I made up my mind, my parents looked a little surprised.
"Shuuji, who likes to worry...! I'm so overwhelmed."
"Good, Shuuji! You can do it!"
I don't know if they support me or not. It's hard to tell the difference.
***
"I said I would ask Miran out, but ...."
After receiving the money from my parents, I stayed in the room again, drifting away in confusion.
"How do I ask her out?" I asked myself.
Soon after, I was faced with a new problem. Like the main characters in games and manga, they usually ask their heroines out on dates, but when the time comes for me to do so, I have absolutely no idea how to act. Is it better to ask her out in person? Or is it better to ask her out with a message that can be saved? Miran must have her own plans too, so it would be better if I asked her as soon as possible. But what should I say?
"I don't know..."
Later, I tried to find information from travel guides as well as the Internet, but there were too many suggestions that made me even more confused.
"Well, for now, I will ask her with a message that can be saved"
I opened the REIN app and started typing my message. I've read that 'honesty is important' in a love guide, so I'll keep that in mind as I type my message.
"In my opinion, it's not good if it's too much, so I'll just choose a casual language..."
I kept typing and deleting different messages. Finally, after so many attempts, I found the right sentence. After reading and revising it over and over again, the message was finished. Personally, as an invitation to the first date of my life, this message is not bad. I also made sure that the timing of sending messages at such a time wasn't crazy, and just as I was about to hit the send button, my finger stopped.
"Phew...."
My heart is beating faster and my fingers are shaking. Asking a girl out is a stressful thing! I took a deep breath in front of my smartphone and finally pressed the send button with all my might!
"It's delivered...."
After sending the message, I squirmed in front of the smartphone and realized that there were some parts that should have been typed in nicer words. Besides, even though I am asking her, there is a possibility that she is not interested in going out with me. If there were any wrong words, I probably wouldn't get a response. Not long after imagining such bad things—
"So fast—?"
Within seconds, I received an answer.
"............"
I stared at the message from Miran and thought for a moment. Immediately after I had digested the meaning of the words, a feeling of joy and relief washed over me.
"I-I successfully asked her!"
It felt like I had successfully completed a high-level mission in a game. If my parents weren't in the living room downstairs, I might have jumped up and down with excitement. Then I held back my overwhelming feelings and tried to answer Miran—but my hand suddenly stopped.
"I managed to ask her out, but what am I going to do on the date?"
Because I was so busy thinking about how to ask her out, I forgot what to do on the date itself. This is the first time in my life that I've asked a girl out, so of course I've never done it before. These events are common in games and manga, but they are only fictional, and I doubt that I can imitate them. Besides, this partner of mine isn't an ordinary girl, but a fashionable and cheerful gyaru. I think I need to think more about what our date will be like.
"C-Can I?"
In contrast to the previous feeling of pleasure, now the feeling of dizziness is approaching. But only Miran is willing to accept my invitation without hesitation, and I have to make her feel comfortable as well.
"Let's do it."
Even though there's not much time left before the Sunday date, I still have the Internet and a romance guide! From that day on, my struggle to make dating plans began.
Unbeknownst to me, time for the date was approaching—
TL:
YouthTL (JP-ID), Retallia (ID-EN)
PF & ED: Retallia
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