CH 8.3

Yuki was in a good mood after we returned to the apartment.

Even while folding our laundry together, or eating dinner with each other, she had her phone glued to her the entire time. I kept watching her, and she seemed as if ready to receive a message from me at any time.

But… I haven’t opened my phone once since we exchanged numbers since, well, I don’t bother with it if we’re both together. It wouldn’t really be a good idea to send a message if she’s right beside me.

However, I too was looking forward to talking with her on my phone. So much so, I couldn’t concentrate on the game I was playing on the TV, since I was always glancing at my phone.

“I wonder what she’s doing right now…”

Yuki was on the other side of the wall.

I wondered if she was still studying while sitting at her table, or if she was lying down to rest. Eventually, I put down the controller and reached for my phone, and opened our chatroom, which was empty since we haven’t exchanged messages before.

I kept pondering on what I should send. Maybe, ‘Thank you for today, I’m glad we’re able to keep in touch via phone’, or, ‘I’m glad I got to sit next to you’. Hmm, or rather ‘I loved your performance at the tournament a few days ago’, something like that.

Writing, erasing, writing, erasing—I kept mumbling and thinking of something to say.

After a bit, I opened the messages with my mother and messages with my oldest friend from junior high, hoping to find any clues. In the end, I went for a safe option, ‘What are you up to right now?’… What trivial content to send, huh.

I nervously fiddled my fingers, hovering over the send button.

Honestly, I can’t believe I’m nervous just to send such a short message. Yuki and I are very good friends, so it shouldn’t be a problem even if I sent a few weird messages, but I kept anxiously staring at the screen of my phone, wondering what kind of reply I would get from her.

“Huh?”

Immediately after I sent it, the message was marked as read, just as if… She had been looking at our previously empty messages for some time, waiting for a message to be sent. Even so, there was no reply after a while, and I started to regret the message I sent. Maybe I should’ve chosen a more thoughtful one?

“I was just chilling. How about you?”

She answered simply.

“I was just playing a game earlier.”

“Is it the game we played together the other day?”

“Yup. I just bought it after all, so it’s gotta be that one.”

“Let’s play together again. I had so much fun when we did!”

What I would normally talk to her about, we did so through messages. It was refreshing to do it this way, and even these casual topics were much more enjoyable than just doing so personally. I typed, staring intently at my phone’s screen.

After a few exchanges, the tension I felt quickly dissipated. I used this to tell her something I’ve wanted to, but was too embarrassed to say. Gathering up my courage, I sent her the text.

“Yuki, thanks for always cleaning, doing the laundry, and making me food every day.”

I thanked her for everything she did for me daily.

My sloppy life living alone in this apartment was greatly improved by her arrival. Thanks to Yuki, my diet, which used to consist of cup noodles and ready-made lunch boxes, has become more balanced and nutritious. Also, the inside of my apartment, which used to be a messy place since I’m not good at cleaning, is now neat and tidy because she’s here.

I had a lot of other things to thank her for, but I was too shy to convey them in all detail, so I did my best to send short messages.

However, although I sent her my thank-you message, she didn’t reply. I began to wonder if it wasn’t a good idea to say this in the message and if I should’ve done so in person.

As I put my phone down and wondered what to do, I hear some noise coming from her room… It sounded like flapping as if something was quickly hitting a blanket. Fast poof-poof noises were closer as a description, though.

She was the one creating the nose, I was sure.

“Hmm, maybe…”

I don’t have X-ray vision, so this is just my imagination, but it seemed to me that she was lying on her bed, sticking her face onto her pillow, and kicking her blanket with her feet, frolicking. The sounds that continued echoing through the wall made me think that.

Soon after, a message and a sticker were sent to my phone. It was a cute, scuffed dove with a huge heart symbol on it.

“I’m very happy to hear that! I’ll do my best to please you more, Haru-kun!”

It was a very polite reply, but I could clearly imagine what kind of face she had on as she typed this: a huge warm smile plastered on her face as she read my words of appreciation. I wanted to see that personally, but I decided to content myself with the cute and scuffed dove sticker with a heart she sent me.

After a few more messages with each other, she asked me to take a bath first. My body and mind warmed up as I recalled our interactions. Fortunately, this happy night was not over yet.

Even after we finished bathing, we kept sending messages to each other until it was almost bedtime. The lights in my room were off, and I was wrapped in a blanket as I stared at my screen. Yuki then sent me a message.

“If you’d like, we could talk until we fall asleep.”

“Talk? Are we gonna sleep in the same bed?”

“No, I just want to call you. ”

“Hm, a call?”

“Yes, I want to hear your voice, Haru-kun… Can I call you?”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

“Thank you, I’ll call right away, then.”

After reading her message, a widget appeared saying she was calling me. I tapped on the green answer button, and her voice came out right away.

“Hello, Haru-kun!”

“Yuki, you surprised me. Honestly, I didn’t think you wanted to talk on the phone.”

“Ehehe~ I’ve always wanted to do something like this.”

“It’s kind of strange, isn’t it? I mean, we’re in rooms next to each other, and we’re talking like this instead of in person.”

“Yup, you’re right. We used to sleep in the same bed before, but this is the first time we talk like this. It makes my heart flutter.”

“Mhm. Let’s just not go too far into the night since we have school tomorrow, and you always get up early.”

“Mkay, just a little bit until I fall asleep… Please keep me company until then.”

“Yeah, of course.”

Her voice through the speaker was very different… Honestly, it’s a really strange feeling. I always hear her voice, and even though I’m currently the closest person to her since she’s in the room next to mine, it felt fresh and fun to talk to her like this.

“You know, Yuki, I wonder… Do couples, dating at school talk like this every night?”

“I’m sure they do, Haru-kun. I get lonely at night, so I want to hear the voice of someone I like.”

“So you get lonely at night?”

“Of course. When I lie in bed, just like this… I often think about the one I love.”

“Are you thinking it right now?”

“Yes—I’m thinking of you, Haru-kun.”

I could hear her sweet breathing through the phone.

Even though I was wrapped in my blanket, just by hearing her say that my whole body warmed up. It had been that way ever since we met again. She cares for me, we spend our days together, and even after all this time, she continues to think of me single-mindedly.

If she wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my days like I am now. I would’ve continued to live a lonely life, living in a messy room, eating takeovers and cup noodles every day. She is the reason I’m able to happily spend my days.

I knew this was the right moment to voice out my gratitude as I did in the earlier message.

Though, just as I was about to say the words—

“That’s right. I wanted to send you something, too.”

“Send me something?”

“Yes, just give me a second, I’ll get ready now.”

Right after she said that Yuki muted her microphone.

I tilted my head, confused and wondering what on earth could she be sending me. A bit after, I received a message with an image attached.

“Eh.”

It was a selfie of Yuki.

Hiding her face with one hand, she bit the hem of her pajamas, flipping them up and revealing her large, soft breasts held up by a light-blue bra. Her snowy-white skin glistened, and right below her lovely lace-patterned panties, her plump thighs were accentuated by her sitting on her bed.

Her cheeks had a faint flush to them, and her soft glossy lips were smiling bewitchingly as they nibbled on her clothes.

“Please, look a lot~”

I felt my face quickly heat up as I read Yuki’s message, and I gulped down some fresh saliva. After that, Yuki unmuted her microphone and I could finally hear her sultry voice through the speakers.

“…Haru-kun, did you like that picture?”

“Y—Yuki… J—Just now…”

“Ehehe~ I just took this picture. Boys like this sort of thing… Right?”

“A, Ah… I love it too, but I never thought I’d get one from you…”

I had the opportunity to see her in her underwear a couple of times in person until now, but seeing a picture was totally different. The way she hid her face with one hand gave me a sense of immorality, which turned me on even more.

“Well, I’ve sent you what I wanted to send, so I’m going to bed now. See you tomorrow~”

“G—Good night, Yuki.”

“Good night, Haru-kun.”

After that, I could hear the sound of the call ending.

However, I couldn’t take my eyes off Yuki in her underwear, and I kept staring at my screen for a while. She was so cute and pretty, and she took this selfie even while being shy.

I vowed to keep this picture as a family heirloom.