“…………Eh?”
The moment the door to the president’s office opened, Matsuyama’s face flushed a deep crimson.
It wasn’t just his cheeks. The redness crept all the way to the tips of his ears.
“E-excuse me!! My apologies!!”
Slam!
The sound of the door shutting violently echoed through the hallway.
…This is bad.
Before I knew it, I had chased after him. Matsuyama was walking briskly down the hall, his back still within reach.
“Matsuyama-san…!!”
Grab.
I caught his arm and pulled him toward the wall.
In my haste, I had ended up far too close. We were both breathing heavily.
“About earlier…”
“I didn’t see anything! Nothing at all! I saw absolutely nothing!!”
Matsuyama squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously from side to side. The moment he slowly opened his eyes, our gazes met again—and he turned bright red once more, frantically averting his eyes. He began blinking with an almost comical speed.
“President… um, you’re too close. Please step back. …And, your hand…”
Fumbling for words, Matsuyama turned his face away from me. His eyes darted left and right, seemingly unsure of where to look.
“My hand? Ah… sorry.”
I had forgotten I was still holding him. I hurriedly let go and took a step back.
“About what happened… I’m sorry, but I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell anyone.”
“I understand. I mean, I couldn’t even bring myself to say it out loud, something like that…”
Matsuyama pressed his hands to his cheeks, shaking his head slightly with a shudder.
“Thank you…”
I breathed a sigh of relief. If this had been anyone other than Matsuyama, this could have turned into a much bigger ordeal.
“But… who is that person? Why was the president and a cleaning staff member…?”
Still flushed, Matsuyama asked in a hushed tone, his eyes wandering. His eyebrows were slumped pitifully, giving him the look of a lost puppy.
“It’s a long story…”
I explained that Yuno was staying with me, and that as we lived together, things had naturally evolved into a bit of a relationship.
As I summarized the situation, Matsuyama’s face turned red again, slowly and almost amusingly.
Apparently, he had no immunity to this kind of talk.
He’s so pure it’s actually worrying.
“Does that mean… Yuno-san is the president’s girlfriend?”
“Eh…”
“What do you mean ‘eh’? But you do love Yuno-san, right?”
“That… is…”
I couldn’t give a straight answer to anything.
What exactly was our relationship?
We weren’t just roommates. But we weren’t exactly lovers, either.
Moreover, I was afraid to put a name like “love” to this emotion.
Until today, I had simply existed in this ambiguous distance, unable to properly label what we were.
Seeing my silence, Matsuyama let out a small sigh. “…Well, I see.”
“I’m kind of shocked. I’m the one who’s been watching the president all this time… but, whatever,” Matsuyama muttered, looking down.
He whispered it, his voice truly tiny.
Not understanding what he meant, I asked for clarification.
“Eh? What?”
“…It’s… nothing.”
Matsuyama answered without looking back. His profile was bright red, his lips slightly pouted. He looked somewhat sullen, yet as if he were suppressing something.
“I won’t breathe a word. Please don’t worry.”
“Thank you, Matsuyama-san.”
Perhaps out of relief, a natural smile escaped my lips.
Matsuyama stole a glance at me—his eyes widened, and he turned bright red again. His mouth trembled. He seemed to want to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.
“A-anyway. Please stop doing that at the office. At the very least, lock the door… Ah, by ‘do,’ I don’t mean that kind of ‘do’…! No, wait, that’s exactly what I meant…! Aaaah, excuse me!!”
In a state of total panic, Matsuyama hurried back toward the main floor.
Watching his retreating figure, I let out a long, slow breath.
It was funny, and then, it felt poignant.
Just how much had I lost my reason in front of Yuno?
Only after being witnessed by Matsuyama did the reality of it slowly sink in.
“Things like that… should only be done with someone you love…”
The words I had thrown at Yuno pierced my chest with a painful intensity.
I was the one who had begged Yuno for a kiss. In that moment, without a doubt, my entire being had craved her.
Do I “love” her? Yuno.
But in that moment, words directed at me in the past flashed through my mind.
“I found someone I love, so I want to break up.”
“You aren’t even human.”
A sharp pain shot through my chest.
I am cold. I am not human.
Eventually, I will unconsciously hurt Yuno too.
And when that happens, she will leave.
I can’t bear to lose someone and be hurt again.
If I’m just going to lose her, it’s better not to get deeply involved from the start.
It’s easier not to acknowledge these feelings as “love.”
Leaning against the wall, I looked down and sighed deeply.
“Next is this room!”
Just then, I saw Yuno cheerfully pushing her cart into the floor, her voice ringing out airily.