Yuunchan
"Ah. That"s right, today is the day it will be rebroadcasted…"
In the past, during my second year of high school, there was a certain drama broadcasted that I liked. It seems that it was sometime around now. I checked the TV column of the newspaper that was set on the table. It was just as I thought.
It was now during lunch on Sat.u.r.day. While eating our meal at Hiiragi-chan"s place, we were watching TV.
"Rebroadcast?"
While holding her chopsticks, Hiiragi-chan tilted her head with a blank expression.
"Is it alright for me to change the channel?"
"Yeah, that"s fine."
I used the remote to change the channel. I really liked that drama… It"s true that I did end up liking it, but there was a reason that I started watching it, even though I didn"t really watch dramas. It was the most cliché of all clichés as a school life drama. Now that I think about it again, the setting for it was also kind of cheap. I wonder if it"s just nostalgia. Still, I can"t help thinking that it was good.
"We can do something about it, together!"
… Yeah. Even now, she"s really cute. Katsuragi Yuuna. Long black hair that was gathered and let down around the side. It was a slightly unique hairstyle. Later, she becomes a super popular pure-type actress. Man, I"ve really always thought that since then.
"Recently, you"ve been watching that girl a lot."
"R-really?"
"Do you like her?"
"… N-no, i-it"s nothing… B-but she"ll become really popular from now on."
"Maybe. She has quite a beautiful face, and has a bit of cuteness to her."
However, her charm isn"t just that. In fact, her chest is secretly big.
"Seiji-kun, you pretty much watch all the shows that this girl appears in, right?"
"…I-it"s just sometimes."
How did she find out? She was featured in almost all the dramas and variety shows that we watched.
"Really? I mean she always shows up on the TV shows we watch, right? Also, she"s the guest, Yuunchan on that one show that you always record, right? She often shows up so I just thought that maybe that was the case."
If I were to straight up and just say it, "Yeah, I like her, Katsuragi Yuuna."
"She"s just an actress on the other side of the TV! Wake up, Seiji-kun!"
I feel like she"d end up grabbing my shoulders and shaking me while saying something like that.
"There are places where she"s similar to Sanchan, right…?"
"They"re not the same! What part of them could be similar!?!? Yuunchan is at least a thousand times cuter!"
"See, you do like her!"
"Kuuu… that was a trap…"
"It wasn"t a trap, you know? That was just my honest thoughts, and you just walked straight into it… Hmmm? So, this is the type of girl that you like?"
She stared at me with half-closed eyes. See, this is why I didn"t want her to find out.
Even ten years later in the present, Yuuna hadn"t married and there weren"t even any rumors. She was a forever pure actress. Wouldn"t it have been fine if she ended up liking a suitably aged male?
"She"s a completely different type from me…"
Hiiragi-chan looked upon the Yuunchan within the TV with a sad expression, staring at her as if she had some grudge against her.
The week ended, and then it became Monday. After that on Sat.u.r.day, it became a little awkward. Sunday, I didn"t hang out with Hiiragi-chan, and spent my time alone at home.
"That drama, I wonder what"ll happen at the end?"
Fujimoto spoke to me from the seat next to me. If he"s talking about a drama that we"re both watching, there"s only the one that Yuunchan appears in. The rebroadcast that was done earlier was a marathon to recap before the final episode.
"Rika, the character that Yuunchan is playing ends up getting pregnant, you know?"
"Haaaah? Stop making things up, Sanada."
"Or at least, that"s what I predict."
It"s true though.
"So that"s how it was, you scared me there for a second. Yuunchan becoming pregnant… I"ve had it with the drama…"
The first time I saw it, I really thought the world was going to end. I"ll have you taste that feeling.
It was the third period and time for world history. Hiiragi-chan came into the room.
"Huh? Sensei, you"re a little different today!"
"It"s true! Your atmosphere really changed!"
The first ones to react were the girls who had noticed Hiiragi-chan"s change. As usual, she"s the center of attention regardless of gender.
"Eheheh. You can tell?"
Having someone notice made her really happy. Adding on to that, she took a glance in my direction.
"Ohon."
The hair that she normally had gathered behind her was now gathered on her shoulder.
"Then, let"s start cla.s.s."
During cla.s.s, she looked around, and when our eyes met, she made a smug face for a moment.
"That hairstyle…"
Fujimoto whispered. You don"t need to tell everyone, Lonely Man.
I know, I know. I"m the one who knows best.
"Hmmm? So, this is the type of girl you like?"
While saying that, Hiiragi-chan changed her hairstyle to that of Yuunchan.
"Hmm… how should I put it… no…"
Fujimoto formed a wrinkle between his eyebrows.
Stop staring at someone else"s girlfriend so much. I lightly punched his shoulder.
"Why!?"
"You guys over there! What are you doing during cla.s.s?"
Hiiragi-chan reprimanded us after pointing her finger.
"… All because of you, Fujimoto…"
"No, it"s your fault, right?"
Fujimoto quickly retorted to my simple act of playing dumb.
After that, every time our eyes met during cla.s.s, Hiiragi-chan made a smug expression. This feeling of her wanting me to notice, is quite amazing.
Cla.s.s continued on, and once it became lunch break, I headed towards the world history reference room.
How should I bring it up? Hmmm…
While worrying, I walked down the hallway and entered the room.
"Seiji-kun, good work during cla.s.s."
Hiiragi-chan had already spread out the leisure sheet and laid out the bentou. Her preparations were complete.
"Yeah. Sensei, good work as well."
"Mou~, it"s Haruksan when we"re alone, right?"
She pouted with her cheeks.
Her reaction is always cute so I just do it for fun. Sorry sorry, while apologizing I lie down on her lap.
"What do you want to eat?"
"I"ll leave it to you."
"Okaaay."
After grabbing a piece of karaage with her chopsticks, Hiiragi-chan fed it to me.
"S-Seiji-kun. Don"t you think I"ve changed?"
"Ah, you finally asked."
Her appeal was quite intense after all.
"If you do know, then can"t you say it? Mou~"
In truth, I"m sorry to say, but I also had the same thoughts as Fujimoto"s initial reaction. I got up and sat in seiza.
"Haruksan. You may die from shock, but I need to ask."
"Eh!? Die from shock!? I-I don"t want to die yet…"
"Your hairstyle, you made it look like Yuunchan"s right?"
Hiiragi-chan"s expression bloomed into a smile.
"Yeah, yeah. As expected, a fan does well to notice."
She couldn"t help but stay silent for a bit, as she chose her words carefully. Then, Hiiragi-chan swallowed.
"…and? Your thoughts?"
"It"s refreshing and cute."
"M-moouuuu, that"s what"s called dying from shock!"
She"s super embarra.s.sed! The most deredere woman of the year!
"I"m so embarra.s.sed I could die…"
With her face still red, she fell into my lap and rolled around.
"Calm down, it"s okay."
I patted Hiiragi-chan, trying to calm her down.…This is like being shown some attention by some large dog.
Well, leaving that aside. No, actually, it doesn"t really suit her… I think. It"s just my opinion though. The girls were all over her about it, but I wasn"t the type to do that. Hiiragi-chan is cute, so no matter what she does it would look nice, but still, this awkward feeling is what stands out the most.
"Still, I think I like Haruksan"s usual hairstyle more."
"Eh? Really?"
"Yeah. It"s only my thoughts though."
Hiiragi-chan was happy for some reason.
"It"s the same for me too. I woke up early, and decided to put in some effort to try it out. But, I just couldn"t help thinking something was off."
Fufufu, she laughed quietly.
"So, Seiji-kun also thought the same."
"Then, it would have been fine if you just stopped it."
"I already did it, so it couldn"t be helped, right? Besides, you might have liked it. It"s Yuunchan"s hairstyle after all."
Hiiragi-chan smiled teasingly, and then got up. She took off her scrunchy, and changed her hair back to the usual ponytail.
"We really are similar as a couple."
Having said that herself, Hiiragi-chan became quite embarra.s.sed. I also became a little bit embarra.s.sed as I made a shy smile.