Even so, we are living in the present

Chapter 46 – False Smile

Several minutes after the spying on Kouki and the others.

Yuu was in front of a restroom in the theme park.

He was waiting for Kyosuke, who had gone to use the restroom, to return.

“…”

Without even looking at the people passing by, he simply waited for him to come back.

Then, two minutes later.

For some reason, his face flushed red with shame, and with an aura of indignation and a glint in his eye, he strode out of the restroom.

“Yuu, you..!”

In his hand, a cat ear headband that he should have been wearing only moments ago was clutched. When Kyosuke approached him, Yuu shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “What a pity.”

“Ah, so I have been exposed.”

His unabashed response unhesitatingly poured oil on the flames of Kyosuke’s anger. Taking a deep breath once, Kyosuke quietly uttered his exasperation, frantically restraining his emotions.

“If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?”

When confronted with the accusatory words, Yuu’s eyebrows showed a slight grimace.

“You’re blaming me? It’s your own fault for forgetting you had it on.”

“You’re the one who put it on without permission.”

He kept having a comeback for every remark made. Kyosuke, not to be outdone, retorted to the person who gave him exactly such a response. Then Yuu’s eyebrows drooped, and his shoulders and gaze slumped.

“Are you mad at me…?”

It was most likely an act. Despite feeling so, once his partner’s beautiful and sorrowful expression was displayed, his rage was diverted without any regard to his intentions.

“I’m not mad at you, but…”

Even someone can tell from the side, and even Kyosuke himself knew that he was angry, nevertheless, he spat out words that he did not want to hurt his partner.

“Were you embarrassed?”

“…”

At the ensuing question, Kyosuke choked on his words. It was only when he washed his hands after doing his business and caught sight of his reflection in the mirror that he realized that the cat-ear headband was attached to his head.

If he traced it back to the source, he figured it out immediately who was the culprit for the whole thing.

His gaze, which had been staring straight into the other’s right eye the whole time, was awkwardly diverted.

“I thought it looked good on you, but were you embarrassed? And when I wore it, did you think I was embarrassed?”

Seeing Kyosuke’s change in attitude as an opportunity, Yuu relentlessly thrust his interrogation.

“…”

“It’s sad because I thought it would look good on you. I feel like I’ve been despised.”

When Kyosuke couldn’t say anything back, he threw the final blow on him. Before he knew it, the conversation was dominated by Yuu.

“No, I mean…”

“…”

If he tried to say something back, he would be met with a silent, accusing stare.

“… I’m sorry.”

At last, he broke down and mumbled an apology. But Kyosuke didn’t miss the mild upturn in the corner of Yuu’s mouth, as if he were the devil, which finally brought him to his senses. Yuu, assuming he was oblivious to this, proceeded on.

“Can you put it on?”

Normally, if compelled to do so by his cute upturned eyes, he would nod his head without refusing, but not now that he has realized his partner’s intention. Sighing briefly, he looked down at the headband in his hand with a reproachful look and put it on Yuu’s head while brushing his soft, light-pigmented hair. Then he calmly lifted the corners of his mouth and cast a gentle glance at him.

“This suits you better.”

Although Kyosuke has shown various expressions in front of Yuu, such as anger and impatience, what will work most effectively on the other person would be a smile. To prove this, Yuu averted his gaze, which had not been withdrawn until now.

“… Idiot.”

Swearing without any high spirits was a sign of Kyosuke’s come-from-behind victory. Having safely returned the cat-ears headband, he took his sulky partner’s hand and paced aimlessly, wondering what to do next. While walking around looking at the various attractions, such as the merry-go-round and the trapeze, suddenly Yuu’s feet came to a halt.

Catching on to this, Kyosuke stopped as well.

“What’s wrong?”

When he turned his gaze from looking elsewhere, he found that Yuu was silently staring at a particular spot. Kyosuke also looked beyond that spot.

… Sakura?

In a corner of the restaurant, there was his figure. Many tables and chairs were lined up. It was undoubtedly Kouki, sitting on the terrace, drooping his head. Although he was sitting across from a brown-haired boy and did not seem to be talking, the atmosphere was dark.

“…”

After staring at them for a while and resenting his inability to neglect someone in trouble, he headed towards the pair with Yuu’s hand still in his.

“… Ah, Ichinose. What a coincidence.”

At the top of the shallow steps of the terrace, Kouki noticed him and made a smile. Approaching such a person, he went straight to the point and conveyed the matter in a frank and serious tone of voice.

“My bad. I’ve seen it.”

“About what?”

The smile plastered on his face as he tilted his head appeared somewhat painful.

“The part where you lose your temper with the guy.”

The other party, who had guessed what he was referring to just from that, had a sort of twitch in his expression.

“… I see…”

“I also heard you say ‘Mr. Sakura.’”

Kyosuke continued, mentioning the facts he had seen and heard.

“…”

“I was wondering, do you know that man?”

When the other side kept his mouth shut, he asked in an even quieter tone, causing a slight reaction from the shoulders that had been maintaining a calm demeanor.

“… Well, kind of…”

“Hey, this guy doesn’t seem to have any idea the situation, so why don’t you just tell him?”

A brown-haired boy, who was probably a friend of Kouki’s, promptly posed the question. However, he shook his head, seemingly unwilling to do so.

“…”

“I do get it, but if anything I’m the only one of your friends who knows, so I suppose it’s going to be tough to keep it under wraps.”

When his friend made a meaningful suggestion, Kouki’s expression faded darkly.

“Well, if you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.”

Kyosuke, who could not bear to look at him, followed up, and his friend shook his head gravely.

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to say it, it’s just that he can’t say it.”

“‘Can’t say it’?”

When questioned about it, his friend suppressed his voice and spoke out the crux of the matter.

“An illegitimate child, I mean.”

“Tsuzuki!”

Kouki, who had been calm until then, raised his voice incisively. Although the gazes of the others around them temporarily glanced at the four of them, this quickly subsided once they realized that there was nothing to be seen. After a short pause, the boy called Tsuzuki opened his mouth.

“Please don’t tell anyone. If you do, I’ll make you disappear.”

The unexpected post-conditions involuntarily caused a twitch in his cheek.

You were the one who said it without permission, that’s not how it should be.

Despite his inner thoughts, he nodded his head in agreement with Tsuzuki’s words.

“I won’t tell anyone.”

The two men relaxed their shoulders in relief, albeit it was only a verbal promise. While looking at them, Kyosuke was finally convinced about the scene he had witnessed a short while ago.

“If that’s the case, it makes sense. At any rate, it would be hurtful to have your father call you a ‘stranger’ right in front of you.”

“You’re a real family, yet you have to play the role of a complete stranger.”

When Kyosuke and Tsuzuki agreed, this time it was Kouki, who was watching them, that weakly shook his head.

“… It’s fine. I’m already used to it.”

When he told them this, another gentle smile was plastered on his face.