LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 8 - Second Date
“Departing nooow~”
With the conductor’s lackluster voice, the train slowly begins to move.
In the cabin, just a little before the rush hour, there are only a few passengers, including Haruya and Akiha.
Their classes for the day are over, and the two are already into their rental boyfriend contract time.
It’s not a shopping mall for two days in a row, and today they are heading to a different place at Akiha’s request.
“We’ll arrive at the next station.”
“Yeah. Uh, Akiha… I feel a little awkward mentioning this, but the rental boyfriend thing… it’s surprisingly expensive…”
Haruya, for some reason, hesitantly speaks to Akiha sitting next to him.
Akiha, the one in question, seems unfazed and responds with a thumbs up.
“Hmm? But it’s okay, right? I got the pay from my part-time job yesterday from my sister, so it’s fine?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. You don’t have to pay me as a rental boyfriend, we could just hang out normally.”
“But, what if someone else might reserve Haruya? If I cancel my part-time job, I won’t be able to save money for my little sister.”
“So you’ve been reserving me so I can earn money for my part-time job…? If that’s the case, really don’t worry about it. Thanks to several reservations next week, I’ll be able to buy a game console.”
“That’s not what I mea… wait, what…?”
Akiha freezes as she stares at Haruya’s face.
Haruya is also taken aback by the sudden intense gaze.
“That’s true… Anyone can reserve Haruya, not just me…”
Akiha quietly lowers her gaze and looks away from Haruya.
Then, she looks a little lonely as she stares at the empty seat in front of her.
On the other hand, Haruya is clearly flustered by Akiha’s sudden change of tone.
“Did I say something wrong…!? Yeah, that’s right. If she reserved me and I tell her not to worry about it, it’d be a shock…”
“Um, Akiha.”
Haruya gently speaks to Akiha, who still looks downcast.
“I’m sorry for saying something strange. I’m really happy and enjoy hanging out with Akiha.”
“Really…?”
“Really! So I’ll do my best to make sure you have fun.”
“…Thank you.”
A gentle smile spreads across Akiha’s face as she looks back at Haruya.
Seeing this, Haruya breathes a sigh of relief.
Well, to be exact, their points of concern are slightly off.
But anyway, the mood has lightened, so all’s well that ends well.
“Ee~ We will arrive shortly. The exit is on the left.”
As the conductor’s voice resonates, the train exits a long tunnel.
Sunlight suddenly floods into the cabin, and the two, squinting at the brightness, look out the window behind them.
Today, with unusually high temperatures for May, the sun shines brilliantly in the clear blue sky.
And if they lower their gaze a bit, they see the surface of the water sparkling under the sun.
It’s the sea.
Akiha’s wish for today is a date by the sea.
“We have arrived~”
They step onto the platform and the moment they pass through the ticket gate, their view opens up.
They have arrived at a beach where the sound of the waves roars.
If there were many beachgoers, they might have mistaken it for summer due to the intense blue.
The sky and the sea are incredibly refreshing.
That being said, it’s not completely deserted, as there are people enjoying surfing.
“Ah~, it feels good.”
“It does.”
“Come on, Haruya, stretch out too? It feels good, right? Ready, go.”
“Uuhhhhhhhhhhh”
As they stretch side by side, they begin to walk on the sandy beach.
Every step they take, a pleasant, crunchy sound resonates.
“Are you okay? Akiha, is it hard to walk?”
“I’m wearing sneakers today, so it’s fine.”
Akiha decided to invite Haruya to the sea the night before, if not from the morning.
She left no stone unturned in preparation.
“Are you okay, Haruya?”
“Yeah. I’m wearing sneakers too.”
The surfers who looked like grains of rice from the station become more visible as they get closer to the sea.
Everyone here today seems to be a pro, skillfully riding the waves.
“It’s so hot, I want to swim, but the water still seems cold.”
“Well, it’s only May after all.”
“It would be nice to come to the beach in the summer.”
“Oh, that sounds good.”
“…”
“…”
“Wait! I casually made a comment about the far future!”
“So you mean you’ll hang out with me even in the summer…?”
“Ah, over there, there’s a beach house~”
Unable to bear the silence where only her heartbeat could be heard, Akiba pointed to the right.
And then Haruya also took this as a good opportunity.
“Is that so~. But I wonder if it’s open at this time of year?”
“Hmm, I don’t know, but let’s go and see.”
“Sounds good.”
The two of them start walking again with a brisk pace.
But when they reach the beach house, it is not open, just as Haruya had predicted.
Moreover, it’s so dilapidated it looks like it could collapse at any moment.
“It doesn’t look like it’s open in the summer either, does it?”
“But, they were open last year, right?”
“Akiba, did you come to this beach last summer too?”
“Yes, with my sister.”
Haruya barely manages to suppress the run-away images of Akiba in a swimsuit flooding his brain.
Unaware of Haruya’s internal struggle, Akiba steps toward the beach house.
At that moment, an old, weather-beaten pillar creaks.
“I have a bad feeling about this…!”
Just as Haruya thinks this, the pillar breaks with a loud noise.
Then the entire building begins to collapse.
“Akiba…!”
Haruya rushes forward and catches Akiba in his arms, gently guarding her head with his right hand.
They roll away from the beach house and onto the sandy beach.
Where they were standing just a moment ago, a large signboard falls.
It was a close call.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m okay.”
“I got protected again… Wait, wait, he’s hugging me, what should I do…!”
Surprisingly, Akiba, who was saved, is calm and has time to think about such things.
To the two of them entangled on the sandy beach, a figure comes running.
One of the surfers had seen the beach house collapse and came rushing over.
“Hey, are you guys okay?”
The one who ran over, “she”, stops dead in her tracks when she sees Haruya and Akiba.
Then, pushing back her wet hair, she speaks.
“Um, am I interrupting something…?”
“Kijima-san…”
“Kijima-chan…”
The two of them, hugging on the beach, the surfer girl – Kijima Ran, her speculation had turned into conviction.