It Seems That the Word Cute Was a Deadly Poison to the Girls Who Were Despised as Ugly Women in a World Where Beauty and Ugliness Are Inverted
He could not bring himself to look at his watch to see how many minutes had passed.
Sitting side by side on the sofa, the two of them remained silent without exchanging a single word, but the silence was strangely comfortable.
Momoka remained still, looking up at the ceiling, as if she didn’t even want to blink.
Yuma, too, was searching for words, but in the end time passed quietly without a single word being spoken.
“….I think it’s time to get out of here.”
“……, you’re just now showing concern for me?”
“I’m hungry.”
“…righ.”
After leaving the karaoke bar, they decided to have lunch at a family restaurant in front of the station.
Momoka orders curry without hesitation, and Yuuma follows suit and chooses the same thing.
It was supposed to be medium spicy, but the spices seemed to be more effective than expected.
Momoka’s forehead was sweating profusely, and she was bringing the spoon to her mouth with a frown on her face.
“Do you want me to …… eat it for you?”
“No. I’ll eat it all by myself.”
The hand holding the spoon was shaking slightly.
But Momoka herself did not seem to notice.
After finishing their meal, the two quietly paid the bill and left the restaurant.
The sun was still shining brightly, and the faint smell of concrete lingered in the afternoon air.
” …..you”
“Hmm?”
“Wanna walk a little bit?”
“……Eh?”
“Nothing. There’s no good reason. If you don’t like it, you can go home.”
“I was surprised……. I didn’t expect you to ask me out.”
“…… is it bad?”
Yuuma’s eyes widened for a moment at the words that came out of Momoka’s mouth.
As she turned to look at him, her eyes took on a slightly glaring look.
“You were the one who hit on me. You’ll have to take responsibility for this until the end.”
“Wh-what?! I didn’t mean to hit on you!”
“…Remember what you said.”
The smile was so natural that Yuma’s cheeks turned slightly red.
The smile was so natural that Yuuma’s cheeks turned slightly red.
Then, the words he had said came back to Yuuma’s mind.
[Because you …… are so beautiful]
[I’d like you to play with me, if you like]
[Is there any reason why you shouldn’t choose me?]
He was serious. But when you put them together, it sounds like a pick-up line.
“Hmm… What a naive reaction, Kanna-san.”
“…… please, forget it.”
“I can’t hear you.”
Momoka grins and peers into Yuuma’s face.
“Hey, your face is getting redder and redder…. So you were seriously trying to pick me up?”
“N-No! I didn’t really mean it like that…”
“Then what is it? Is there any reason not to pick someone pretty? Like… Who are you to say that, huh?”
“That was …… just a spur of the moment thing, or rather, the flow of …… the moment.”
“Haha. That’s not an excuse.”
Momoka shrugs and laughs.
“…Well, I don’t particularly dislike that sort of thing.”
Yuuma is at a loss for words and drops his gaze.
It’s gone beyond red, a gentle heat has risen all the way to the back of his cheeks.
“…”
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow of someone passing by.
A girl in a dress. With long black hair. He couldn’t see her face.
But he felt like he’d seen her somewhere before, and was about to turn around – but then stopped.
“Ahhhh, you found another cute girl and your eyes are on her again? You really never get tired of it, do you?”
“I’m not looking!”
The voice of Yuma, who immediately denies it, became louder than expected.
Perhaps noticing his desperation, Momoka suddenly smiled and quickly lowered her eyes.
“…Well, you’re probably going to get tired of me sooner or later, right?”
The words, which sounded like a joke, had a slight dry sound to them.
The smile on her face turned into a shadow, and Yuma was slightly puzzled.
Unable to keep up with her ever-changing temperature, yet unable to ignore it either, he quietly searched for words.
“I want to tell you it’s definitely not true, but… you probably won’t believe me anyway, right?”
“…It’s a soft-spoken name after all. …I’m a bit scared that one day I might get abandoned.”
It was her way of hiding her embarrassment, but also her true feelings.
Yuuma’s eyebrows quirked just for a moment as he felt the obvious stares directed at the two of them as they walked down the street.
He immediately returned his gaze to Momoka’s shoulder, as if he had noticed, and took steps with her as if nothing had happened.
Momoka glanced up at his profile without a word, as if to say that it was natural for him to be next to her.
What she saw was a face that did not care about other people’s gazes or her own insecurities.
Momoka had no words to reply to Yuma’s quiet kindness.
The two of them walked in silence for a while, as if accompanying Momoka.
They arrived at a riverside promenade a short distance from the station.
The afternoon sun was just beginning to soften, and the light reflected off the surface of the river.
Short-cropped lawns and benches lined the sides of the path, and a breeze, cloaked in the smell of early summer, blew through the air in places.
The view was open, but for some reason it felt like it was just the two of them.
“Hey, Kanna.”
“Hnn?”
“Your face has been red for a while now… I guess you’ve fallen in love with me?”
“Ha? Me? Who?!”
Yuuma’s voice cracked at the unexpected straight pitch.
Beside him, unable to hide his agitation, Momoka slowed down and grinned.
“…So, you’ve been keeping your distance from me since earlier. Is it just me or something?”
“Eh, that’s ……!”
“Hmm. Well, it’s alright. Don’t get scared and run away, okay, Pick-up Boy?”
“No, I’m not saying that! That’s not what I meant–“
“Then prove it.”
“W-What are you ……”
“Walk hand in hand. If you can’t …… do it.”
Momoka said, holding out her left hand in front of Yuuma.
With a confident smile on her face, she lifted her chin just a little and looked down at Yuuma.
She was probably overconfident, thinking that even after provoking him this much, he wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on her.
Yuma’s gaze alternated between her hand and her face.
The next moment, he took a small breath and quietly extended his right hand.
“…., it’s that one.”
The moment their fingertips touched and intertwined, Momoka’s eyes shook faintly.
The hand that he had offered half-intentionally as a tease was wrapped unexpectedly tightly, and a slight gasp could be seen in the gesture.
Was it because she was surprised at how easily she was touched, or because she realized that he was confused?
He didn’t seem to know which it was.
“Don’t do that……. Hesitate more, damn it.”
‘You said it, Momoka-san. Your hands are surprisingly smooth.”
“Don’t say creepy things!”
“Are you …… embarrassed?”
“I’m not embarrassed,……!”
The two naturally continued to walk together, holding hands.
When the conversation stopped and their walking slowed, Momoka suddenly put just a little more strength into her fingers, and Yuuma noticed and gently shook them back.
Their eyes didn’t meet, and no words were spoken, but the feelings flowing between them were undoubtedly the same.
“…Sit over there. Come on, hurry up.”
“Eh, hey, Momoka?! That’s too pushy!”
Suddenly he’s pulled by the hand, and Yuuma loses his balance but hurriedly follows.
The destination is one of the benches lined up along the river.
Her hand was still in his and Momoka’s stride was somewhat light.
When they eventually reached the bench, she exhaled heavily and sat down.
“I’m so tired”
Yuuma sits down next to her, glances at Momoka, then quickly looks away.
“…… Um, Momoka-san.”
“What? Why is your face red?”
“…I’m a guy, after all. I don’t know where to look.”
He hesitated, nonchalantly turning his gaze away to find Momoka, who was sitting far too relaxed next to him.
The line of the innerwear peeked out slightly through the gap in the worn uniform, and Yuma’s cheeks became even hotter.
“Oh, hey ……! Are you ashamed to look at the underwear of an ugly woman like mine?”
Momoka hurriedly pulls her shirt back on and says with glaring eyes.
“What’s so ugly about …… Momoka-san? You’re cute, that’s normal. So …… be more aware.”
For a moment, it was as if time had stopped.
“Did you just say …… cute?”
Momoka slowly confirmed that single word in a voice that sounded as if she was repeating it like an incantation.
Yuma couldn’t avert his gaze, yet he didn’t run away either.
With his lips trembling slightly, he still gave a straight answer.
“…… yes. Momoka-san is cute. I think so.”
There was a pause of silence.
Immediately after that, Momohana’s mouth twisted slightly.
The wave of ambiguous emotion, which looks like it is about to cry or laugh, grazes the face.
“I see,…… I see. Then prepare yourself, Kanna.”
Her voice was low and trembling. But it was filled with passion.
“If that’s how you want to be, I might not be able to stop.”
“What’s that? Momoka san, aren’t you the one who’s out of sorts?”
Yuma let out a soft voice, happy that she, who was so cautious, had become so close that she could joke with him.
“…..Kana, get your phone out.”
The small words that Yuma heard from her made him stunned for a moment.
Suddenly, I noticed that Momoka’s ears were slightly red.
“Eh, smartphone?… No, that’s definitely not okay!”
“Don’t get the wrong idea! I just wanted to register my contact information.”
“…You’re too much of a yankee, Momoka-san. You didn’t explain it well enough.”
“Just give it to me!”
He took it out of his pocket and handed it over obediently.
Watching Momoka’s fingertips gliding across the screen, Yuuma let out a quiet sigh.
It was supposed to be just a trivial exchange, but he felt a strange warmth deep in his chest.
“…… look. If you feel like it, just read it.”
Momoka said in a somewhat clumsy voice as she handed back the phone.
Yuma chuckled as he accepted the phone.
“Momoka-san would probably send it to me every day even if she doesn’t feel like it.”
“Don’t make fun of me, ……!”
Momoka’s voice rose a tone.
As if drawn by her movement to stand up, the two of them opened up a little distance between them.
However, their hands were still… connected.
“…We should be heading home soon.”
Yuuma slowly rose to his feet at the sudden remark.
They both looked away, not wanting to let it be known that they were reluctant to leave.
The next moment Momoka exhaled softly, her fingertips finally separated.
The only thing that remained for a while was the warmth of her finger on his palm.
(…… Momoka-san, I wonder if you’re surprisingly friendly.)
Yuma was vaguely thinking about this while listening to Momoka taking a step forward behind him.
He became friends with the cute senpai, and that sense of satisfaction spread through his chest.
Maiasa