(We haven"t done it for a week now..)
Watching Hasegawa eating in front of her, Hina heaved out a deep sigh.
Hasegawa hasn"t touched her ever since Rin arrived at the company. He didn"t even ask for a kiss.
Although Hina was extremely dissatisfied, it"s not exactly appropriate to do those things especially since they weren"t lovers. In actual fact, the way things are now is what"s more appropriate and ideal.
She shot her gaze back to Hasegawa and saw him continue eating, looking as though he wasn"t bothered by their situation like Hina was. That made her depressed.
(Has he lost interest in me?)
Because of what"s happened, negative thoughts swam in her head.
Nevertheless, because they still spend time together at night, Hina was still filled with hope.
“Well then, see you tomorrow.”
Hasegawa was facing Hina at the entryway as he said his usual goodbye. Seeing him off at the door, Hina felt uneasy and lowered her head.
"Also, I have a business meeting outside early in the morning so you have to go to work alone…"
"It"s morning so I"ll be fine. Don"t worry about it."
Hasegawa caressed her cheeks and gave her a rea.s.suring smile. The heat warmed her heart. She felt her cheeks burning.
Hina placed her hand top of his and rubbed her cheek. In front of her, she vaguely saw Hasegawa suck in a breath.
"Hasegawa?"
Hina softly called his name as his hand brushed the contours of her cheek. Then, the atmosphere around them changed.
Hina closed her eyes, antic.i.p.ating a kiss.
However…
(Eh? Nothing happened?)
Hina waited for a while but still nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw Hasegawa with his eyes slightly red and brows furrowed.
"I"m sorry."
Hasegawa said as he withdrew his hand from her face and quickly went out of the door.
Hina couldn"t do anything but stare at his back.
The next day, Hina left her apartment earlier than usual. The reason was because she couldn"t sleep well after Hasegawa left like that. The shock of being refused a kiss depressed her all night.
While resisting the yawn that came out even though she wasn"t sleepy, Hina locked her door.
Just then, she heard the same locking sound next door. It was from Hasegawa"s room. Hina waited expectantly as she looked out in that direction.
"Ah…”
The person who came out was Rin Katayama. She looked prim and proper as usual. They stared at each other in shock.
"…Good morning."
"Oh. Yes, good morning."
Hina greeted first. Then, Rin also responded accordingly.
"M-Ms. Uzuki also lives in this apartment! I didn"t know!"
"Yes, well…"
After a moment of silence, Hina nodded as she finally processed the words Rin had said.
Hina"s mind was reeling. Rin came out of Hasegawa"s room and she even locked it. Only that fact was running through her head.
"U-um, I"m going out with Kaoru so I"ll be staying here with him for two months!"
Hearing her call him by his first name as she declared that they were dating, Hina hang her head. Rin didn"t mind her reaction and continued.
"But it"s a secret and you"re the only one who knows it so please keep it to yourself! Anyway, I have to hurry so I"ll get going!"
Rin quickly got into the elevator as if to escape. Hina remained frozen on the spot and could only stare at her shoes.
"I see…"
A single tear fell down her shoes before she burst out crying.
She finally understood the reason why Hasegawa can"t use his room. And why he hasn"t reached out and kept his hands off her.
"Well, the perfect girl is here so he no longer wants me…"
Rin"s image that embodies his ideal type came to her mind. Hina squeezed her skirt tight.
"How foolish of me…"
She felt so sad she couldn"t lift her head. Because of his effort and everything"s he"s done for her, she thought he really had come to like her. Hina felt ashamed of herself.
When Hasegawa confessed to her, she had predicted that if a person close to his ideal appeared, he would easily turn his attention to her. What she couldn"t predict was that she would come to like Hasegawa. Hina took a deep breath and wiped her eyes.
The next moment, her cellphone rang from inside her bag. When she took it out and looked at the screen, her ex"s name was there.
After her room had been raided by a thief, Hide has called her about two, three to five times a day. She always ignored his calls but somehow she felt the urge to answer today.
A beaming voice echoed when she placed the phone to her ear.
"Hina! You finally answered!"
"Hide…"
Her voice came out a little nasal after the call successfully connected.
"What"s wrong? Were you crying?"
"Nothing, I"m fine. Anyway, what"s up?"
Hina tried her best to calm herself. Hide took a deep breath, then asked in a serious tone.
"Well, can we meet up tonight?"
"Sorry, I won"t meet you anymore…"
Ever since he yelled at her at the convenience store, her feelings for him had turned cold. Furthermore, he"s been pestering her with calls recently, which bothered her and made her feel uneasy.
She didn"t think the stalker and theft incidents were his doing but his persistence scared her.
"Don"t say that. I"ve been reflecting a lot since we broke up. Say, can you give me another chance?"
"Sorry. I have someone I like now."
She wanted to laugh at herself after saying that. Just now, she was heartbroken over the person she likes.
"Is it the guy with the gla.s.ses? Stop liking him! He"ll just throw you aside!"
"No matter how many times you call me, my feelings won"t change."
Hina said and hung up. Her phone rang again immediately but she ignored it. She blocked Hide"s number and her phone was silent until a text came in.
"Please be careful on your way to work. -Hasegawa"
His kindness now felt painful to her.