Chapter 16 – Winter (Part 1)
Winter, Part 1
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*
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The wood stove excited Harune more than he had imagined.
“It’s fascinating, no matter how long I stare at it. The warmth feels different too.”
One afternoon, on a day the shop was closed, Kouki sent a message to Harune, inviting him to come over and warm himself by the wood stove. The message also mentioned that baked sweet potatoes were already prepared, so there was no need for him to bring any.
Remembering the situation with Hinako’s ring stirred up complicated feelings within Harune, but he scolded himself for even feeling that way in the first place.
More than anything, though, the temptation of the wood stove was irresistible. Harune found himself wandering once again along the path through the shrine’s forest to Kouki’s house.
In the winter forest, all the leaves had fallen, and the frost pillars, which remained frozen in the shadows even past noon, made a satisfying crunch underfoot. The biting north wind occasionally stung his ears, but the moment he stepped into Kouki’s house, the warmth melted his body like a Dalí clock, soft and relaxed.
Kouki was wearing the knit sweater Harune had given him recently, and this secretly lifted Harune’s spirits, making his heart melt along with the rest of him.
He couldn’t help but think that Kouki looked a hundred times cooler and better than the model from the knitting book. Was that just the bias of someone in love? The combination with his well-worn work pants was perfect, and his broad shoulders and thick chest made the outfit stand out.
“Are you sure it’s not too hot, sitting so close?”
“No, it’s super comfortable.”
Harune had deliberately gotten as close as possible to the stove, hoping to blame the heat for his flushed face. But the radiating warmth from the stove felt soothing to his body, chilled by the outside air.
Harune sprawled lazily on the rug in front of the stove, closing his eyes in bliss.
“You’re like a cat.”
“Ah, I like that. In my next life, I want to be a cat, so I can just laze around in front of a wood stove all day.”
He said it half-jokingly, but there was some truth in it.
Yeah, if only he were Kouki’s cat. He wouldn’t have to think about anything complicated and could stay by Kouki’s side as much as he liked.
Unaware of Harune’s feelings, Kouki chuckled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t have to be a cat. You can just laze around there all day anyway.”
Laughing, Kouki playfully ruffled Harune’s hair as if petting a cat.
Harune felt a surge of panic, as if the touch might make all the moisture in his body evaporate.
“It might be ready soon.”
As Kouki peeked into the stove, Harune got up and moved back a little to avoid getting in his way.
In reality, Harune was the complete opposite of a cat. He was always conscious of the distance between himself and Kouki.
“I thought you just threw the sweet potatoes into the fire, but you put them in there?”
Kouki was taking the potatoes out from a small door at the top of the stove.
“This part opens up. You can cook them inside the stove too, but in that case, you’d have to let the fire die down, and then you wouldn’t get to see the flames.”
“Ah, I see.”
Kouki split the sweet potato in half with his work gloves and placed it on a ceramic plate for Harune.
“Be careful, it’s hot.”
“Thanks.”
The deep yellow of the split flesh and the slightly dried texture with small gaps convinced Harune that it was going to taste amazing even before he took a bite.
He bit into the piping hot end, and the fluffy sweet potato melted in his mouth.
“So sweet! It’s so good!”
“Right?”
However, it was too hot to eat in big bites, so Harune blew on the potato to cool it down. His eyes then wandered to the cute design on the plate.
The plump oval-shaped plate was decorated with hand-drawn polka dots at random.
“Could it be that this plate is also made by Hinako-san?”
“Yeah, good eye.”
Harune’s plate had indigo polka dots, while Kouki’s had purple ones. Were they a matching set? Now that he thought about it, the cups they used last time were similar too.
Hinako’s ring on her left ring finger. Matching dishware. Breakfasts together.
At this point, it seemed almost certain.
Harune subtly glanced around the room, looking for any signs that Hinako might be living there with Kouki.
Part of him was afraid to find anything, but at the same time, he almost wanted to discover some definitive evidence.
“What? Looking for tissues?”
Misunderstanding Harune’s wandering eyes, Kouki handed him a box of tissues.
“Thanks.”
Harune pulled out a tissue and wiped the sweet potato syrup from his fingers. Then, gathering his courage, he finally brought it up.
“Hey, about Hinako-san…”
“Hmm?”
But when he met Kouki’s gaze, the words caught in his throat.
Is Hinako-san going to be Kouki’s future wife?
No, maybe not even in the future… maybe she already…
No matter who Kouki dated or married, it wouldn’t change Harune’s position, for better or worse. He knew that. But learning the truth would still take courage.
“Uh, Hinako-san came by the shop the other day and bought a skirt and scarf kit. I was just wondering how it’s coming along.”
“Oh, she’s been busy preparing for an exhibition lately, so she’s complained that she hasn’t had time to finish it.”
Of course, Kouki knew about her visit to Harune’s shop, and even how her kit was coming along.
A sharp pain throbbed in Harune’s chest. To cover it up, he bit into the sweet potato again. It was still hot enough to nearly burn him, but it tasted delicious.
“Man, it’s nice that you can make something like this at home.”
“I seriously recommend a wood stove.”
“You can recommend it all you want, but I don’t have space for one in my place.”
“Then you should just move over here.”
Harune laughed at Kouki’s usual joke.
“By the way, this place is pretty big, even if you’re using it as a workshop. Isn’t it too large for one person?”
“Well, I don’t plan on living alone much longer.”
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*GLOSSARY:
☝🏻Melting Dalí clock
Next update: 2026.06.22
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