Translator: Haruto.
I’m not good at expressing my emotions.
My face remains serious whether I’m feeling happy, sad, or having the time of my life…
Facial expressions are just as important as words when communicating with others. Without them, it’s inevitable to leave a bad impression. And when the first impression you leave on others isn’t good, they begin to look for other negative traits you may have, even without realizing it themselves. Conversely, when you leave a favorable impression, people tend to look for other positive traits they expect you to possess. At least that’s what a book I read once said.
I mean, sure, Hibari-san doesn’t ignore you when you talk to her, but like… she’s always got such a serious face on.
It doesn’t matter if she’s pretty or talented, there’s just no life on her face… It’s boring.
Being around her would be so much easier if she’d smile a little.
She’s way out of our league anyway. No point in even trying to get close to her…
Unfortunately, the knowledge you obtain from books can’t always help you in real life.
I actually tried forcing myself to be more expressive, however, it ended in failure. I practiced how to smile a few times, but I was told it looked fake.
From an early age, people have been creeped out by me and have misunderstood me constantly, which is why I’ve always been ostracized. I eventually convinced myself that I couldn’t help it because it was in my nature. All I could really do was put up with the pain.
Which is what I did throughout high school and college… and I figured nothing would ever change…
But I was wrong.
By the way, Hibari, one of our sponsors, a guy called Kasashima, is the head of a super huge company…
Around the time I lost all hope of my situation improving, I had a chat with my noisy but extremely kind sister.
…and he’s looking for a maid. It seems he wants someone to both take care of and keep an eye on his only son who’s about to enter high school… Why don’t you give it a try? You can just quit if you don’t like working for him…
Her proposal would then lead me to meet a very peculiar individual.
***
Lately… I feel like smiles have been leaking from my face a bit more often. Not fake smiles, nor wide smiles—some subtle yet completely genuine smiles have been appearing on my face from time to time.
And they’re always directed at…
“You’re leaving already, Hibari?” Yuuji-sama says in a dejected tone.
“Yes, I must excuse myself now. You should hurry back to your friends or they’ll get worried.”
“Yeah, you’re right—”
“They’ll think you’ve been arrested or something of the sort.”
“There’s no way they’ll think that… Okay, maybe. After all, without you, I might have ended up wearing that elementary school swimsuit.”
The serious look in his eyes indicates that he really was intending to wear it. Thank goodness I realized he’d forgotten his shorts right away.
“Still…” Yuuji-sama mumbles, appearing to have something left to say.
He probably feels bad about making me come here just to bring his swimsuit.
“You really are peculiar, Yuuji-sama.”
“Huh? Do you mean I’m weird?”
Yuuji-sama is peculiar.
I started working for him a week prior to the entrance ceremony and at first…
Hey, maid!! Where’s my food?!
He was as harsh as his intimidating face suggested. That was what stood out the most about him.
However, the day before the entrance ceremony he changed completely.
Complaints, huh… Okay, sure. Hibari, I don’t want you to shoulder the blame for everything like that anymore. I don’t care about being by myself today. Besides, everyone has to head to school by themselves eventually. Just think of this as me being one step ahead of them.
He started worrying about how I felt…
It’s true that you always look extremely serious, making it hard to know what’s going through your mind… But just hearing you say that you’re having fun is enough for me… I ended up rambling a lot, but the point is… I get you, Hibari. And you get me. So, seeing how we understand each other well, I’d like us to have a relationship where we’ll never have to hold back or hide how we really feel!
He understood and accepted me…
Thank you for the ride!
That was delicious, just like always.
Thanks, and sorry for making you carry them by yourself.
He now thanks me for the smallest of things…
Not at all. It makes me happy. Next time, I’ll take you somewhere you’ll enjoy even more than the amusement park or the mall.
I won’t be able to get in the pool with you today, but… let’s come together some other time, okay?
He invites me to go to all sorts of places with him…
Not just your face… Your body is stunning as well, so if a girl as attractive as you keeps doing more stuff to me here, my heart might not be able to take it…
And even his heart races for me.
This man is very peculiar, indeed. No one has ever treated me like this before.
I was always expressionless. I wasn’t able to change so all I could do was endure the pain. My sister was the only person I was able to rely on.
And yet, despite my flaws, he never once averts his eyes from me.
“Only a peculiar person would be so kind to someone like me.”
“What do you mean, someone like you?”
“Huh?” I can’t help but be surprised by his instant reply.
Yuuji-sama glances at me with a serious look in his eyes.
“I’m kind to you because you are who you are.”
“…”
Aah, honestly, this man is just…
He probably doesn’t mean much by it. I’m sure he’s just being kind like he always is.
But that’s enough for me.
“Yuuji-sama, there are 365 days in a year, you know?”
“Why are you copying a certain famous model’s catchphrase?!”
“What I mean is that a year is long, and your summer has just begun.”
“Ah, yeah, I guess…”
“So… it’s okay.”
“Huh?”
Just as Yuuji-sama always says what he’s thinking, I should also—
“Yuuji-sama, you don’t have to worry about me… As long as I get to be by your side, my time is all yours.”
“…” An expression of surprise appears on Yuuji-sama’s face.
Normally, I’d never say something like this. But it’s not a lie, so it’s fine, right?
I want to be as honest as you…
“On that note, I hope you have a wonderful day.”
“Huh?! A-Ah, yeah, take care on your way home!”
I turn around, begin to walk away, and let out a sigh. I touch my cheeks and they feel warm even though we were eating shaved ice just a moment ago.
“…The fact that it shows on my face so easily is a bit problematic, but… Hehe…”
“Hey, did you see that girl just now? She was freaking gorgeous!”
“I know, right? And her smile was so pretty!”
***
Yuuji-sama, you don’t have to worry about me… As long as I get to be by your side, my time is all yours.
I think… she was just trying to be nice. She probably wanted me to stop worrying about her and focus on having fun today…
But… something tells me there was a little more to it than that.
Well, I do want to hang out with her more often and thank her for everything she does for me, so I gotta come up with something fun to do together in the near future.
“Alright, for now, I’ll go enjoy myself!”
I decided to have lots of fun with Yuito and the others today and that’s exactly what I’ll do!
I glance at the pool, but there’s such a huge crowd that I can’t spot Yuito, Mahiro, Rina, or Tajima.
“I’m sure there’s at least one of them near the water slide.”
I look towards the large water slide that stands out like a sore thumb in the middle of the pool area.
“Alright, let’s head there—Ghaa?!”
“Haha! Right on the mark!”
Someone just splashed water at me. I turn around and see Rina holding a water gun.
“Looks like you got your swimsuit. Nice!” she says.
“I got some in my nose. Cough, Cough… Huh? Rina-san? What are you doing here?” I’m actually more surprised by her being alone here than the splash of water. “What about Yuito?”
I find it hard to believe that she left Yuito behind just to come see me.
“He’s with my sister right now. We’re taking turns.”
“I see.”
As expected of Yuito’s biggest fans! They came up with a plan so they could both spend some private time with him.
“And so, Kasashima, I want you to hang out with me while I wait!”
“Do I have to…?”
And back to being pushed around…
Also, where the heck is Tajima?
Previous Chapter – Contents – Next Chapter
