The Sister of My Childhood Friend Who Has a Boyfriend Has Been Involved With Me a Lot Lately - CH 2

A week has passed since Karen’s confession.

Today is Christmas Eve in the world, I guess.

I was in my room on my bed, feeling depressed.

I love Karen.

I’ve tried many times to make peace with the fact that I like her and that it would be fine if she could live her life with a smile on her face, but it seems that I’m much more sensitive than I thought.

In the end, I spent most of my time outside of school in my room.

“I really liked Karen, didn’t I…?”

Lying on my back on the bed, I put my arm on my forehead and muttered to myself as I looked up at the ceiling blankly.

I laughed out loud at the funny words I said to myself.

I couldn’t help it if I realized it now.

I looked at the top of the study desk in the corner of the room and saw the neatly wrapped Christmas presents that I was going to give to Karen and her younger sister, Ageha.

…I’ll give it to them one of these days.

For now, for the time being, I don’t want to move another step.

I feel as if I have been asleep for the past few days.

I don’t want to sleep, but I want to keep my consciousness in the depths of darkness.

I don’t want to think about anything.

I slowly close my eyes, as I have done many times in the past week.

–Pean pawn, peen pawn.

“……?”

I reflexively raised my upper body at the sound of the intercom ringing throughout the house.

But then I lay back down again, hoping that one of my family members would answer it.

–Pean pawn, peen pawn.

Again, the sound echoed in my head.

“… Oh well, dad and mom are both on a spa trip.”

I climbed out of bed, scratching up my slightly quirky black hair.

Every year around Christmas time, my parents go on a trip to a hot spring.

Naturally, I was invited to join them, but I always turned them down because I had a Christmas party at Karen’s house.

This year, too, I declined.

“Yes!”

I manage to drag my heavy body down the stairs in slow motion.

I slowly pushed open the front door.

“Ahh, finally out! Good morning, Haru-kun!”

“… Ageha.”

Standing in front of the door was a cheerful-looking girl with black hair in twin-tails – Karen’s younger sister, Aizawa Ageha.

I looked at the clock by the front door.

It was 9:20 am.

“Did I promise you something?”

“No, nothing. It’s just that Ageha just barged in on her own.”

“You barged in …Well, come on in anyway. It’s cold outside, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to bother you.”

There was no point in talking outside at this point, so I invited Ageha inside the house.

I led her straight into the living room.

“What do you want to drink? Cocoa? Tea?”

“Cocoa!”

I chuckle to myself at the fact that I feel as if I too have somehow been cheered up by the cheerful response of Ageha.

In the living room, Ageha had taken off the beige coat she had been wearing and draped it over the back of the sofa.

I put the cocoa powder from the bottle into a mug and turns on the electric kettle.

Hot water pours into the mug, making a cloud of white steam.

“So what? What do you want?”

When I asked Ageha over the kitchen counter while slowly mixing and dissolving the mixture with a teaspoon, she, who was sitting on the sofa and flapping her legs, replied with a pout.

“I was free because my sister was on a date today. I wondered if Haru-kun was free too.”

“Ugh.”

It is quite painful to hear that now.

As I held my prickly, aching chest, Ageha laughed a little sadly.

“I’m certainly free, but I’m not in the mood to go anywhere. I’m sorry, but could you leave after you drink this?”

He tells her as he gently places a mug of cocoa in front of her.

Frankly, it pains me to say this, but I am not confident that I would enjoy spending time with her in my current state of mind.

I sit down on the sofa across the table from her and puff on my mug, which has an illustration of a cat on it.

Lifting the mug with both hands, she muttered with a mysterious expression on her face.

“… I know. Haru-kun, You loved my sister.”

“!? Goho, keho, what are you talking about all of a sudden!”

I almost spit out the cocoa I had in my mouth.

When I looked at her in protest, she was staring straight at me.

“Haru-kun, you’ve always loved my sister, haven’t you? So when I heard that my sister had a boyfriend, I thought you might be depressed. Then, bingo. Your eyes are swollen.”

Saying so, she gently held out a hand mirror that was on the living room table.

I took it and looked into it.

It was a… terrible face.

I was speechless as she completely saw through everything.

It was more pathetic than frustrating that my lost love could be revealed to me by the younger sister of the person I had lost love to.

She gently put the mug on the table and raised the corners of her mouth in a slightly happy smile.

“But, well, it’s not worth it if you don’t grieve that much, right? …I’ve been feeling the same way as Haru-kun right now for a long time.”

“What… does that mean?”

When I asked her back, she puffed out her cheeks.

Apparently, I had offended her.

I have absolutely no idea why, but I wonder if I should apologize…?

As I was pondering this, she relaxed her expression and let out a small sigh.

“As usual, Haru-kun, you are dull. Well, so was my sister.”

“?”

I don’t really understand what Ageha is talking about.

As I was tilting my head, She leaned forward over the low table.

‘Really, you’re so dull. I’m saying I like… you, Haru-kun!”

“… Eh?”

My mind went blank.