Kikukawa Kyo had already finished her lemon tea, but at this moment, Mutsumi's cup still held more than half of its mango juice. It wasn't just that Mutsumi drank slowly—her small cherry-like mouth also limited how much she could sip at a time.
Kyo stared longingly at Mutsumi, who was still leisurely sipping her mango juice. Then she glanced at her own empty cup, smacked her lips a little, and started craving another drink.
Mutsumi hesitated for a moment before letting go of the straw between her rosy lips. She held her cup with both hands and stretched it forward, her round golden eyes fixed on Kyo. Though she said nothing, her intent was obvious.
Kyo looked at the mango juice being offered to her. Mutsumi's expression was reminiscent of a little otter handing over something precious from its tiny pouch—her blank yet serious eyes had a sincerity that made it hard to refuse.
But…
Kyo blinked and glanced at the straw, which still bore faint bite marks at the tip. She waved her hand.
"Mutsumi, you should drink it yourself. This is a café—if I want something else, I can just order another drink. And if you finish yours and still want more, you can get another cup too."
"But Kyo, you clearly want to drink it," Mutsumi persisted, her small hands still stubbornly pushing the cup forward. "Or… are you pretending again?"
"It's not that…" Kyo's expression turned a little awkward. But since she had already exposed so much of herself in front of Mutsumi, there was no point in hiding anything anymore. "Sharing a drink with someone is something very personal to me. It's almost like… kissing, you know?"
"Even at home during meals, if there's soup, my parents and sister always make sure to pour it into separate bowls for everyone."
Even though she and Mutsumi had reached the level of sharing secrets, this still felt like too much of a leap. Kyo wasn't ready to cross that boundary with Mutsumi just yet.
Hearing this, Mutsumi finally withdrew her hands. She stared absentmindedly at her straw for a while, as if lost in thought.
Phew. Luckily, Mutsumi was the obedient and understanding type. If it had been Tomori instead, she probably would have hung her head in disappointment right away—after all, Tomori was someone who got discouraged easily.
Aside from refusing to share drinks, there was another unexpected quirk about Kyo: despite her love for water, she almost never went to public swimming pools or water parks.
To her, those places were simply… too chaotic.
So instead, whenever she had free time at home, she would prepare a drink in advance and soak in the bathtub.
Eventually, she even bought a small inflatable pool—just big enough for two people to lie in. If two people used it, they'd have to squeeze together to keep from sliding out.
She placed the little pool on the balcony at home. Wearing a swimsuit, she would either lie on her back, rest on her stomach, or sit cross-legged inside it.
On scorching summer days, she'd choose cool, refreshing drinks like sparkling beverages or fruit tea. When the snow fell, she'd brew a pot of hot tea or make a cup of coffee with rich, warm milk. She'd gaze at the ever-changing hues of the sky through the seasons…
If it rained, even better. Whether it was a gentle drizzle or a raging storm, it would add to the experience in its own way.
Mutsumi finally looked away from her straw and focused back on Kyo's face.
"Kyo, have you kissed someone before? With Sakiko?"
"Huh?"
Kyo quickly grasped what Mutsumi meant. She remembered that Mutsumi and Sakiko were childhood friends—they had known each other for years. So naturally, Mutsumi understood Sakiko's personality well.
Mutsumi was probably surprised that Sakiko had accepted Kyo's help. When she saw them together earlier, Sakiko hadn't acted like she was unaware that Kikukawa Books belonged to Kyo's family. In fact, she had seemed quite close with Kyo—so much so that she had entrusted her beloved "half-self," Mutsumi, to Kyo's care.
Sakiko and Kyo were close.
+
Kyo had said that sharing a drink felt like kissing.
(So that means Kyo knows what kissing feels like…?)
Sakiko and Kyo must have kissed.
Kyo mentally retraced Mutsumi's thought process and figured she had likely reasoned it out exactly like that.
Though she understood where Mutsumi was coming from, Kyo was still taken aback by the sheer bluntness of the question. She marveled at just how direct Mutsumi could be, and in that moment, she realized why Mutsumi's words always felt so sharp and precise.
Mutsumi wasn't great at reading facial expressions—Kyo was fairly certain of that. Instead, she seemed to possess an incredibly sharp intuition when it came to emotions. Just like how she had seen through Kyo's façade earlier, Kyo had no doubt that Mutsumi was equally perceptive with others.
And Mutsumi never bothered with buildup or explanation—she skipped straight to the point, leaving out all the in-between thoughts that led to her conclusions. Like right now—if Kyo's mind hadn't been quick enough to connect the dots, she would've been utterly dumbfounded by Mutsumi's sudden question.
Mutsumi, you really have a way with words… Kyo thought to herself.
She cleared her throat.
"First of all, no, Sakiko and I have never kissed…"
Kikukawa Kyo couldn't help but feel a little guilty as she said this. After all, back then, in a moment of desperation, she had ended up drinking from Sakiko's Mojito just to keep her brain running at full speed. And, as if fate were playing a cruel joke on her, out of the two straws in the glass, she had somehow picked the exact one Sakiko had used.
Still, there was no way she could let that guilt show on her face… though whether she could actually hide it from Mutsumi was another matter entirely. Kyo still had no idea how Mutsumi managed to see through her so effortlessly.
Thinking of this, Kyo stole a quick glance at Mutsumi, but her doll-like face remained completely expressionless. When she wasn't speaking or making any deliberate movements, she gave away absolutely nothing.
With no other choice, Kyo pressed on.
"Secondly, I've never actually experienced what kissing feels like. That was just a metaphor. As for my current relationship with Sakiko, we made a deal—if I put it in her words, it's a contract of sorts… You get what I mean, right? Sakiko and her weird chuuni tendencies when it comes to this stuff."
Mutsumi nodded in complete agreement, her blank little face bobbing up and down like a tiny chick. The sight of it was so unexpectedly cute that Kyo couldn't hold back a laugh.
Heh heh, Sakiko, you see that? Even Mutsumi thinks you're ridiculously chuuni. And yet, you had the nerve to get all moody with me over it before. When you come over during lunch break and talk to Mutsumi, I need to find a way to get her to say that right in front of you.
While Kyo was busy scheming, Mutsumi, on the other hand, was simply thinking, As expected, Kyo always understands exactly what I mean…
It feels so effortless.
---
T/N: "Mm. If you've read this far, I suppose you're at least a little invested."
"If you want to support the translator, there's a Patreon here: patreon.com/wisetl. It's optional—think of it as tossing a few extra coins on the counter. Early chapters are just a bonus side-effect of that support."
"This place also has its own strange currency… Powerstones. For every 100 Powerstones the story gets, you'll receive 1 bonus chapter. 100ps = 1 chp, 200ps = 2 chp, 300ps = 3 chp… you can do the math."
"If you'd rather talk than throw money or stones, there's a Discord: discord.gg/wisetl. Go there if you want to complain, theorize, or poke the translator for more updates. Just don't expect me to mediate your arguments."
Say thank you to Maomao guys