My extroverted girlfriend has zero sense of boundaries — Is It really wrong to take her home right after we meet? - Episode 18

♠

After returning home, Kyousuke’s parents bombarded him with questions about what had happened, but he managed to push through by insisting that he had stayed over at a friend’s house.

Of course, it made little sense to say that after skipping the closing ceremony altogether, but thanks to his father’s casual remark,『You’re young, so it’s fine』the matter was safely brushed aside.

The next day, he headed to school together with Ayano. After apologizing profusely to their homeroom teacher, he received various assignments and documents, and at last, the summer vacation officially began.

However, from there, things got hectic.

It seemed that during the time Ayano hadn’t been coming to school, she had also been skipping work, so she said she had to go around apologizing everywhere and hurried off toward the station.

Just as he watched her leave, he got a message from Kotarou, asking me to help him with his summer homework.

It had become something of a tradition for him to procrastinate until the very last day of summer break and end up half-crying as he tried to finish everything, but since this was his first high school summer vacation, he apparently wanted to complete it early and make Sayo admit defeat.

Since it was also a huge relief for him to get his own homework done early, he accepted his offer. They met up at a family restaurant and worked on their assignments until evening, promising to continue again tomorrow.

For the first week, he  spent all his time buried in study. He managed to meet Ayano only once; otherwise, she was completely occupied with work.

During that time, by sheer coincidence, he ended up starting a part-time job.

The workplace was a small bookstore in the neighborhood.

It had been run by an elderly couple, but the old man hurt his back, and they were short on hands. Hearing that, his ever-helpful mother offered up her son without even asking him first.

Though the decision was made without his consent, it was actually quite convenient.

He had been looking for a part-time job anyway, and since it was summer break, he had plenty of free time and more importantly, there was a reason he desperately needed money right now.

Under the guidance of the old lady, Kyousuke worked his way through the unfamiliar tasks.

Given the location and small size of the shop, it was never so crowded that the register got overwhelmed. There were some physically demanding tasks like carrying boxes of books, but overall, the hours flowed gently from morning till evening.

“Welcome.”

In the empty store, Kyousuke, who had been sitting at the counter reading a book, looked up when he heard the clatter of the sliding door.

Along with the sweltering air from outside, Ayano stepped in.

She was dressed in a cute beige camisole with frilled hems and light blue wide denim pants that gave off the scent of summer. A straw hat rested on her head, and she was pulling a large carry bag behind her.

Taking off her sunglasses, she gave a mischievous grin and said,『Hehe, you’re really working』as she looked Kyousuke over from head to toe, staring at him in the bookstore apron with the shop’s name embroidered on it.

“…Dear customer, if you’re just here to loiter, please leave.”

“W-wait, that’s not it! I came here to actually buy something!”

She looked around the shelves, murmuring『let’s see…』 and finally brought a travel guidebook to the counter. From the name of the prefecture printed on the cover, Kyousuke understood why she was rolling a carry bag with her.

“You’re leaving today?”

“Yeah. I thought I’d do some sightseeing while I’m at it. Look forward to your souvenir, okay?”

She had mentioned before that she’d be heading to the countryside during summer vacation for a drama shoot.

Her role was the protagonist’s older sister—not a lot of screen time, but apparently an important character.

Incidentally, the actor playing the protagonist was five years older than Ayano, which Kyousuke couldn’t help but find amusing.

“I wish you could’ve come with me.”

Murmuring that as she took out some bills from her wallet, Ayano looked wistful. Kyousuke let out a small sigh and said, “That’s impossible.”

“I’ve got work, and I already spent all my money when we went to the beach the other day. Besides, I plan to earn as much as I can this summer. Once school starts again, I won’t be able to work every day like this.”

“Ehh? What about time to hang out with me?”

“I’ll make time for that too… but you’re going to look for your mom, right?”

Kyousuke put the book in a paper bag and handed it to her along with her change.

“Travel expenses, lodging, meals—it all adds up. I don’t know how much you’ll need, but I don’t want you to struggle while you’re there.”

“I can cover that myself. You’re only coming along because of my selfish request, after all.”

“No, that’s not it. I’m coming because I want to. I want to meet your mother… so this is my selfishness too.”

If he relied on her wallet, everything would go smoothly and comfortably.

If it were just a simple trip, that would be fine.

However, this was something extremely important in her life. No matter how much of an outsider Kyousuke might be, if he wanted to approach it seriously and with a sense of involvement, he believed that paying out of his own pocket was the bare minimum requirement.

“The reason I’m working isn’t just for that, you know. I mean, having money never hurts. I’ve got things I want too.”

Feeling embarrassed for suddenly blurting out something so serious, Kyousuke hurriedly twisted his words to cover it up.

Ayano relaxed her flushed cheeks and smiled softly. “Thank you.”

“But don’t overdo it, okay? If you push yourself too hard and get sick, I’ll get mad at you.”

“You too—don’t sleep with your stomach uncovered and catch a cold.”

“I won’t do that!”

“You totally did when we went to the beach. I was the one who covered you up, remember?”

“W–wait… y-you saw my stomach? Was it only my stomach you saw?”

“Ah—uh, it’s fine. I tried not to look at anything… unnecessary.”

Thanks to the heat, things had ridden up and slipped down here and there, and in that dim, uncertain light, everything had looked strangely alluring—remembering that, Kyousuke turned his gaze away, his cheeks growing warm.

“I’ll be careful” Ayano said shyly, shrinking a little and hiding her face under the brim of her hat.

“Then… I-I’ll be going now, Kyousuke.”

She opened the door again and stepped out onto the sunlit asphalt.

“Take care, Ayano.”

Kyousuke waved to her gently, sending her off—wearing a slightly awkward smile as he spoke the name he still wasn’t quite used to calling.

♥

Since it was right in the middle of summer vacation, the train was livelier than usual.

Ayano stood just beside the door, heading toward the station where the shinkansen would stop, gazing out the window at the scenery flowing past.

For some reason, she felt gloomy.

She had no complaints about the work itself, but she hated the thought of leaving this town—or rather, of leaving Kyousuke. She had been trying not to think about it until yesterday, but seeing his face just now had reignited those feelings. She wanted to turn back right away, go home, and just laze around with him.

‘…You’re unfair, Kyousuke.’

He’s small-framed, somewhat gloomy, lacking in self-confidence. He always looks down, avoids eye contact, and blushes so easily.

And yet, he still desperately reaches out his hand to pull her along. Even when he can’t see what lies ahead, he keeps walking forward. Though he’s timid, he’s probably the one who’s most afraid of all.

Unfair. He’s always doing unfair things.

Before she realized it, he had taken up residence in a corner of her heart. No matter where she was or what she was doing, his face would flicker through her mind.

While walking through town, she would wonder if they might bump into each other by chance. When she felt lonely at night, she would think maybe he’d call at just the right time. For no reason at all, she simply wished he could be by her side.

“……”

Remembering the warmth of his hand lingering in her palm, she bit her lip tightly.

The heat filling her chest spread all the way to her cheeks.

‘What should I do…’

She whispered to herself without speaking aloud, exhaling at the realization that had taken shape inside her.

‘I…’

There was no way to fool herself anymore.

The desire to talk to him, to touch him, to have him nearby—none of those feelings came from friendship. Her face burned too much for her to blame it on the summer heat.

‘…I love Kyousuke.’

Afterword

Nice to meet you. I’m Tokiwa Youshou.

Did you enjoy the cheerful girlfriend?

In both light novels and manga, it’s overwhelmingly common for the main heroine to be shorter than the protagonist, so I wanted people to know that tall girls are cute too!—and that’s why I wrote this story. If this work makes you fall in love with tall girls, even just a little, I’ll be very happy.

About ten years ago, I entered the world of writing, inspired by the Student Council’s Discretion (Seitokai no Ichizon) series published under Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. I never imagined that I’d one day be able to publish a book under that very same label that started it all for me. To my past self, who felt dejected after failing the first round of the Fantasia Awards—I wish I could tell you this news.

I’m also active as a manga story writer, and in fact, the first work I ever released—the Yuri story about a 190 cm girl and a 130 cm girl—became the original concept for this novel.

So many emotional coincidences kept piling up that I honestly wondered over and over if I was dreaming.

Now then, please allow me to express my gratitude.

To Hamu-sama, who illustrated the novel—when I first saw Ayano’s design, I was deeply moved by how perfectly her youthful innocence and mature charm coexisted. Thank you for giving her such a vivid form and a living soul.

To Editor N-sama, thank you so much for seeing potential in this work, even though it wasn’t something that had gained popularity online.

And to everyone at Fujimi Fantasia Bunko’s editorial department, the sales team, the proofreaders, the printing staff, and everyone who picked up this book—thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I’ll put down my pen now, hoping that we can meet again in the next volume.

Tokiwa Youshou