Chapter 25 – Winter (Part 10)
Winter, Part 10
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 freenovels.net, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Harune stopped in his tracks and let out a heavy sigh.
He turned the light back on, unlocked the door, and slid it open.
Standing there in the freezing night air was Kouki, dressed in a black oil coat. His tall, broad figure, shrouded in the dark, seemed intimidating at first glance. But as Harune looked more closely, Kouki’s shoulders seemed lower than usual, and he resembled a dejected, large dog.
Harune crossed his arms over his cardigan defensively and glared up at Kouki.
“What do you want at this hour?”
His voice was sharp, thornier than the tips of Himuro cedar branches.
Kouki blinked hesitantly for a moment before offering the cake box he was holding.
“Swan’s chocolate roll cake. Want some?”
It was from Harune’s favourite old pastry shop, a cake he had loved since he was a child.
Still glaring, Harune turned away, his voice bitter as he responded.
“…Do you really think I’m going to eat that, given the circumstances?”
What is wrong with this guy? After saying such awful things and doing something so cruel, he shows up in the middle of the night with cake?
“I’m sorry!” Suddenly, Kouki bowed deeply, almost folding himself in half, his head nearly touching his knees. The cake box slipped from his hands, and Harune quickly dove to catch it before it hit the ground.
“Wha—what are you doing all of a sudden?”
“I was wrong. No, that goes without saying, and an apology doesn’t even begin to cover it, but still… I was wrong. I’m really sorry!”
Kouki’s rapid-fire apology left no room for Harune to get a word in, momentarily disarming him.
“Uh, well, it’s not like…”
Pressured by Kouki’s intensity, Harune almost said it wasn’t a big deal, but then quickly caught himself.
No, no, it was a big deal, and it’s not something that can be forgiven with just an apology…
He tried to argue back, but the freezing cold made him sneeze repeatedly instead.
“Just come inside, already.”
Harune invited Kouki in, more for his own sake than Kouki’s, as he could no longer stand the cold. His bare feet were now colder than the floor itself, so he hurried back inside, tiptoeing to avoid touching the freezing floorboards.
Kouki glanced at the half-finished knitting project on the kotatsu table and quietly asked, “Were you working?”
“Yeah. Sit down.”
Harune set the cake box on the table, offering the invitation carelessly as he quickly tucked his feet under the warmth of the kotatsu.
“I was going to leave if it seemed like you were asleep…”
Kouki, taking off his leather coat and sitting down formally, added, “But I saw the light on.”
How long had he been standing outside?
“…Are you a stalker or something?” Harune muttered, and Kouki froze for a moment before a wry, cynical smile crept across his face.
“Yeah, I guess I am.” He admitted it.
Harune shot a sideways glare at Kouki, whose eyes were slightly higher from sitting in a formal position.
“What could you possibly dislike about me enough to stalk me?”
Kouki clenched his fists tightly on his knees and said, “It’s because you said you liked my brother…”
Harune didn’t even need to hear it. He already knew that Kouki’s hatred stemmed from his disgust toward Harune’s sexuality.
“Are you still hung up on that? Naoki’s married to my sister, you know. I don’t have any weird feelings like you think I do. Enough with the brother complex already.”
Kouki stared at Harune with suspicious eyes.
“You’ve given up on him?”
There was nothing to ‘give up’ in the first place. Harune had only ever admired Naoki as a kind neighbour, nothing more. But explaining all that from the beginning was a hassle, so he just replied curtly, “Yeah.”
“Then, are you seeing that guy from the other day now?”
Harune sighed deeply.
What do you call this? Morbid curiosity?
Like a child turning over a large rock on damp soil, squealing at the sight of bugs crawling out, disgusted yet intrigued. If Kouki hated Harune’s sexuality so much, he could just stay away, but instead, he kept probing, digging, only to wrinkle his nose in disgust. It was too much.
“…Look, I’ve told you many times, whoever I date is none of your business. You should focus on you and Hinako and be happy together.”
Harune said this irritably, but Kouki furrowed his brow in confusion.
“Huh? Me and Hinako?”
“You’re getting married, aren’t you?”
“…Who is?”
“You and Hinako-san!”
Kouki blinked in bewilderment, his brow furrowed as he stared at Harune, confused.
“It’s true Hinako’s getting married, but I’m not the one she’s marrying.”
Harune’s eyes widened in shock.
“Huh? What are you talking about! I was invited to the wedding today!” Harune protested.
“Did she say I was the groom?” Kouki responded.
Harune rewound his memory. “Of course she did! She clearly mentioned that you’d be happy if I attended!”
“Well, yeah, I’d obviously be happy if you were there as a guest too.”
“…Huh?” Harune pressed his hands to his temples, trying to make sense of the situation. “But… didn’t Hinako-san have breakfast with you recently?”
“Breakfast?”
“Pulled pork sandwiches.”
“Oh, that. That was the day she and her fiancé were going over the furniture for their new place, and I served some snacks along with tea.”
“…Wait, but this morning, didn’t Hinako stop by your house early?”
“She said she ran into you after an all-nighter of firing pottery, and you asked her to deliver something.”
“What?” Harune moved his hands from his temples to his cheeks in disbelief.
Could it be that Hinako had just coincidentally been passing by? And Harune, in his haste to get some sleep, had misunderstood and forced her to run an errand?
“I thought she came by your place because the two of you were dating…”
“Why would I date Hinako? The one I’m in love with is you, Harune.”
“…What?”
Harune stared at him, dumbfounded. Did he really just say that?
He asked again, his voice cracking, “What?”
Kouki, still seated formally about a metre away, gazed steadily at Harune.
What did he just say?
The one he loves… is me?
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Next update: [Random days]
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