Chapter 17 – Winter (Part 2)
Winter, Part 2
Novel Title: ツァイガルニクの恋の沼 (Zeigarnik’s Love Swamp)
Author：月村奎著 (Tsukimura Kei)
Illustrator：志水ゆき (Shimizu Yuki)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 市川春音 (Ichikawa Harune -MC) & 二ノ宮航輝 (Ninomiya Kouki -ML)
*Please read at universalnovel.com, the original site of translation. TQ*
֍֍֍
With that one suggestive comment, Harune felt the smile drain from his face.
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place with an audible click.
So, they really were in that kind of relationship after all. It was exactly as he’d imagined, yet he was more shocked than he expected.
The sweet potato that had melted so sweetly in his mouth just moments ago suddenly lost its flavour, turning into a lump he couldn’t swallow.
Get it together, he scolded himself silently. He’d known from the start that this was an unattainable first love. Not only that, but considering the fact that they’d once cut ties over Harune’s romantic feelings for someone of the same gender, it was a miracle they were even able to be friends like this now, as if nothing had happened.
And yet, here he was, on the verge of tears. What was wrong with him?
“…Harune?”
As expected, Kouki noticed Harune’s teary eyes and peered at him with a puzzled expression.
Harune hastily patted his chest to play it off.
“Uh… can I get some more tea? The sweet potato is stuck in my throat…”
He exaggeratedly widened his eyes, pretending that the tears were because of that.
“Hey, you okay? You’re eating too fast,” Kouki said, laughing as he poured more tea.
Just as Harune reached out to take the cup from Kouki’s hand, his phone started ringing.
Saved by the bell, Harune searched through his coat, which was tossed on the sofa, and pulled out his phone.
He was ready to answer even if it was a prank call or a wrong number, but the name on the display showed it was Ishii Yuuichi, a friend from Tokyo back from his technical school days.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Harune! Where are you right now?”
The abrupt question caught him off guard.
“Where? At a friend’s place.”
“Is it close to your house?”
“Yeah, pretty close.”
“Great!”
Not understanding what was so great, Harune swallowed the rest of the sweet potato in his mouth as Yuuichi chuckled on the other end of the line.
“I thought I’d surprise you with an unannounced visit, but when I got to your shop, the shutters were down. I rang the doorbell in the back, but there was no answer. I was at a complete loss.”
“Huh? You’re in front of my shop right now?”
“Yep.”
“If you were coming all the way from Tokyo, you should’ve told me ahead of time.”
“Then it wouldn’t be a surprise!”
“I don’t really see the point of surprising me.”
“What? You don’t like surprises?”
Harune generally wasn’t a fan of surprises. But today, it was a relief.
“Anyway, I’m heading back now, so just wait there.”
“No need to rush, but it’d be nice if you could come back before I freeze to death. There’s nothing but closed shutters around here, and no cafes to kill time in. What kind of town is this?”
It was a run-down shopping street, with many vacant stores to begin with, and today being a local holiday, most of the old-fashioned shops were closed.
After hanging up, Harune pulled his coat closer.
“Sorry. A friend is waiting for me at the shop, so I’ll be heading out now.”
Grateful to Yuuichi for giving him an excuse to leave, Harune slipped his arms into the coat sleeves, but he was suddenly pulled back by his shoulder.
When he turned around, he saw Kouki glaring down at him with a displeased expression.
“You’re that eager to leave me behind to rush to someone else?”
Kouki’s low voice made Harune’s heart skip a beat, and he froze for a moment.
But then Kouki’s face softened, and he laughed.
“I’m kidding. It’s cruel to leave someone waiting outside in this cold.”
He released his grip on Harune’s shoulder.
For a moment, it looked like there was a hint of reluctance in Kouki’s expression. It was probably because he wanted Harune to ask more about his earlier comment—about not living alone much longer. When someone is about to get married, they naturally want to share their love story.
Harune had been shaken up today. But he’d head home, gather himself, and be ready to hear Kouki’s stories when the time came.
At any rate, Yuuichi’s timely call had really saved him.
“Here, take this with you.”
Kouki packed several roasted sweet potatoes into a paper bag and handed it to Harune.
“Thanks.”
Harune hurriedly rushed out. As he passed through the winter-bare trees and returned to the shopping district, he saw Yuuichi fiddling with his phone in front of the shop.
With his lanky frame and a distinctive knit jacket featuring a 3D skyscraper pattern, Yuuichi, leaning against the closed shutter, looked like a fashion magazine model.
Noticing Harune, Yuuichi let out a high-pitched, “Harune~” and threw his arms around him.
“So cold~”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
Even with a warm knit jacket, it couldn’t block the wind.
“You should’ve worn a coat.”
“It was so warm in Tokyo, I didn’t think I’d need one.”
“Don’t underestimate winter in the valley. Anyway, hold this.”
Harune handed him the bag of roasted sweet potatoes, and Yuuichi hugged it tightly, exclaiming, “Whoa! So warm!”
In the meantime, Harune unlocked the back door and let Yuuichi inside.
To be honest, the cold inside wasn’t much different from outside, but without the wind, it felt a little better indoors.
As the evening darkness crept in, Harune switched on the lights and turned on the kotatsu.
“Wow, this is retro,” Yuuichi said, looking around the living room with curiosity.
“If I knew you were coming, I would’ve tidied up a bit.”
Though, in such a small space, tidying up didn’t mean much more than moving the knitting needles and mugs off the kotatsu table.
“It’s already pretty neat,” Yuuichi remarked, picking up the cylindrical knitting needle holder made from intertwined wooden branches that Harune had tossed aside.
“A friend made that for me a long time ago.”
“Is it from your first love?” Yuuichi asked with twinkling eyes.
Harune sighed inwardly.
He remembered how, in a drunken moment, he’d let slip that story to Yuuichi once. Yuuichi, despite being straight, had no prejudices—likely because he had a cousin who was gay. That lack of judgement made Harune a bit too comfortable, leading him to reveal things he normally wouldn’t.
At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it since Yuuichi wasn’t part of the same circle. But he never expected Yuuichi to spring something like this on him out of the blue.
“What are you talking about?” Harune played dumb and snatched the needle holder from Yuuichi’s hand.
֍֍֍
*Translator’s Note: Not a love rival, but jealousy about to happen anyway. Hahaha I love it when a seme is jealous. -K
Next update: 2026.06.23
֍֍֍
Would appreciate some donation. Thanks!
