Miyagi's gaze — 198
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
When I call out “Miyagi,” she replies, “What?”
And then the room goes quiet.
The promise I made before the meal is kept, and Miyagi is in my room.
However, not next to each other as usual, but diagonally in front of each other.
I could tell Miyagi was in a bad mood even before she spoke.
「Shall I go put some cider in it for you?」
Leaning back against the bed, I reach for my empty glass. But before my hand could touch the glass, Miyagi, who had been sitting silently, spoke in a brusque voice.
「I thought you had something tell me, didn’t you?」
Miyagi doesn’t look me in the ear.
Her gaze is on the platypus tissue cover on the floor.
「I do.」
「Then, say it to me quick.」
Miyagi’s cold voice lowers my body temperature.
I haven’t mentioned the word “part-time” since I got back, but Miyagi knows that what I am about to talk about isn’t a good one.
I let out a small breath.
When it came to working part-time as a tutor, it was easy to talk.
But now I can’t.
I am more timid than I was then.
Unlike tutoring, this part-time job is for a month or so and will not last long. It’s just enough that I can smile and push it through because it’s short term, and I should. Part-time work can be done without Miyagi’s approval, so if I want to do it, I can, and if I don’t want to, I don’t have to.
「Sendai-san, don’t just go silent, speak up.」
Miyagi says in a low voice.
Miyagi shouldn’t dislike me so much for having more part-time jobs. Even if she ever had a bad mood, it’s only temporary. I have been asked to quit my tutoring job, but I never did.
「I’m talking about…」
I piled up excuses in my mind and shoved the word “part-time” up my throat, but it wouldn’t come out of my mouth.
I am so invaded by Miyagi that I can’t even say this.
「Sendai-san, where’s the rest of it?」
Miyagi looks at my earrings.
I breathe in and out.
「…I’m talking about a part-time job.」
I manage to get some of what I want to say out of my body and poke the chopstick rest on the table with my fingertips. Instead of meowing, the brown tiger cat clung to the white cat next to it and made a small noise.
「Is it your tutoring job?」
「A different part-time job. It’s short term, like a month, but they asked me if I wanted to work at a cafe.」
「Why are you telling me this?」
「I thought I should tell you.」
「Why don’t you just decide on your own, like when you decided on the part-time tutoring job?」
「Yes, but I thought I’d let you know, Miyagi.」
「I heard it now, but so what?」
A tsun-tsun and a thorny voice pierced my eardrums.
Miyagi’s mood is getting worse and worse, and my spirits are dropping. I feel like I’m on the third floor, then the first floor, and then deep enough to reach the mantle by digging further into the ground.
If I don’t say what I want to say, I’ll never be able to say the word『part-time job』for the rest of my life.
「I’d like to hear what you think of my part-time job.」
Clearly, look into the eyes of Miyagi, who is diagonally in front of me.
「Keep your promise from the morning.」
Her voice has changed to something more gruff than before.
「Promise from the morning?」
「You said if I let you paint my lips, you’d do what I said, right?」
「I did say it, but…」
「Then, you heard me said, you shouldn’t work a part time job.」
「That’s not within the bounds of common sense.」
I recall as I answer.
The day I told her I was thinking of getting a part-time job as a tutor, I promised to do one thing Miyagi said as a punishment, which led to me getting her ears pierced. Although the content of “listen to me” is different from that day, I think it’s a very similar situation.
「You mean you’re not going to stop working part-time?」
Miyagi wrinkles her brows.
「Something like that.」
「If you do what I tell you not to do, then my opinion doesn’t matter.」
「That’s right, but…」
It doesn’t matter, but it does.
I want Miyagi’s forgiveness.
I was not willing to accept the word to stop working part-time, but I want the word that I can.
To that end, I ask one question.
「What will you do after you graduate from college, Miyagi?」
「What about the part-time job?」
「That will come up in the future, but for now, answer the question now.」
「I don’t care. I will work as a norm.」
Miyagi’s words are withholding the part I want to know the most.
I don’t know if I dare, but to uncover the hidden part, I asked,「Are you returning home?」And Miyagi blurted out.
「…What about you, Sendai-san?」
「I don’t plan to go home after college, so I’m going to look for a job here. Also, if I don’t get a good job, I won’t go home. So I’m hoping to get a part-time job and save up some money.」
I don’t care what kind of relationship we have, I want to work part-time so that I can live with Miyagi forever.
I will not say that I think so, but I will not say that I am.
I am afraid that if I say it now, Miyagi will run away.
「Okay.」
「What about you, Miyagi?」
「…I haven’t decided yet.」
She sounds unsure, and I want to tell her to decide now. But if I try to rush her, she’s likely to say she’s going home.
「Is that so.」
I answer shortly and hear a voice that doesn’t hide its dissatisfaction.
「What do you want me to do, Sendai-san, by talking like that? If you have a reason for wanting to work part-time, why don’t you just do it without worrying about me?」
「If you want a part-time job, I’ll be happy to tell you if it’s a good one, Miyagi.」
「I’m not saying that.」
「Do you really hate it that much?」
Miyagi takes her eyes off me. Then she pulled the platypus and threw it at me.
The tissue-grown platypus hits my leg.
「Sendai-san, you don’t keep your promises, I don’t want that.」
She said it like a sulking child and tried to pull the platypus close again, so I grabbed her hand.
「I’ll listen to anything you want to say, except to tell me to quit my part-time job.」
「Anything, really?」
「I’ll listen to anything right now.」
Miyagi shakes her hand and smiles, and her gaze wanders and reaches the platypus.
It’s hard to open my mouth to ask what she is thinking.
When I call out “Miyagi,” her hand moves away from mine.
The eyes that had been watching the platypus turn to me.
But she didn’t say anything.
She stared at me, look away, and then look at me again.
I have a bad feeling about this.
「——Tell me if you’ve done it yourself since then.」
I hear a small voice, and I almost hear it back, but swallow my words.
I don’t have to ask where the “since then” refers to.
It’s the day Miyagi touched me.
And I know what “I did it myself” means.
It must be what Miyagi asked me that day and I answered.
「…Do you think I would answer?」
It is difficult to answer honestly because I understand the meaning of the words I hear.
「You just said you’ll do whatever I say.」
「You’re just trying to embarrass me, right?」
Now, this is not the kind of question you would ask in this situation.
In fact, it’s probably not something you want to know much about.
I think she just wants to ask me questions that I can’t answer on purpose, to get me to promise not to take a part-time job.
If so, Miyagi doesn’t understand me.
The part-time job is about my future, and while I can’t accept Miyagi’s request not to do it, I can accept most other things. The same goes for the question I just asked.
I am embarrassed and I cannot help but hesitate, but if Miyagi insists on asking, I will answer.
「It doesn’t matter what the reason is. If you answer me, I won’t tell you not to take that part-time job.」
Miyagi says quietly and squeezes the platypus’ hand.
「Don’t take that back.」
「Okay.」
I hear a hard voice and I suck in my breath.
I exhale slowly and remove my gaze from Miyagi.
I look at the platypus hand held by Miyagi and answer without lying.
「…I did.」
My voice is quieter than I thought it would be, and I feel like I said something extra embarrassing, which makes me feel hotter in the back of my body.
There is no reply to my answer.
Miyagi didn’t say anything, so I thought I could hear her heart beating impatiently. Unsettled, I looked up and saw Miyagi, who looked surprised, as if she thought I wouldn’t be able to answer.
「——What do you mean, what are you thinking about?」
Miyagi says in a voice that is hard to say, but clearly audible.
There is no need for me to answer him, and I am sure Miyagi knows she doesn’t have to ask.
Yet Miyagi still called me「Sendai-san」and would not allow me to run away without answering.
「When I did it with Miyagi.」
Miyagi tried to open her mouth again when I answered in one breath, so I added,「That’s it. This is done,」to prevent her from saying anything more.
「I still have a few more questions, though.」
「I promised to do one thing, right? I answered two questions, so I guess I’m about as good as serviceable. So, does this mean I kept my word?」
Then I sit down next to Miyagi and she kicks me in the leg.
Apparently, her mood is still not getting better. But she seemed to allow me to be next to her and didn’t run away or kick me any further.
「Barely.」
Miyagi replies in disgust.
「I know October will be busy, but I’ve been told that my part-time job will last until the school festival. I’ll let you know if I’ll be late.」
「Is that a promise?」
「A promise. I swear to your earring.」
I kissed Miyagi’s ear and she pressed my shoulder as hard as she can.
「If you break the promise, you’ll be punished.」
「I know.」
I answered shortly, and Miyagi shook the platypus’s hand instead of mine.
