“I know you don’t want to see me.”
Those words made Asakura stop his movements.
Ah, this guy is sharp after all. Then if you know, why the hell are you here, flaunting your harmonious relationship to the rest of us single dogs, huh?!
Seeing Asakura pausing, Rintarou smiled and tilted his head to the side.
“But I don’t plan on leaving Keita alone. Even if I’m not his Editor, I’ll still be by his side.”
“Kurosawa-kun, are you perhaps looking for a fight?” Asakura asked, half-jokingly. He already felt his temples throbbing in vexation.
“I wouldn’t dare! You’re too powerful for me to take on.” Rintarou grinned.
Despite his modest words, a prideful glint flashed in his eyes. But that challenging gaze was soon gone and a more serious expression appeared on Rintarou’s face.
“You have loved the same person for so many years. Even though you’ve never properly met or talked even once, your feelings never faltered. And after you made your feelings known, you had to bear with a rejection from that person.”
At these words, Asakura could feel his veins popping. He took a few deep breaths, trying to contain his rising temper. It wouldn’t be an elegant act to punch a man inside a hot bath and leave him there to drown, would it? No, of course not! Therefore, he had to repress the urge to sink his fists into that brat’s face.
To make matters worse, he soon heard Rintarou continue his provocative monologue, unaware of what waves his words caused to rise in Asakura’s mind.
“You know, I really admire Asakura-san.”
“Hearing you say this, I’m not sure whether you’re praising me or mocking me instead.” Asakura squeezed through gritted teeth, a strained smile plastered on his face.
“No! It’s definitely praise!” Rintarou exclaimed hastily. “I mean, there is nothing laughable about loving someone. Harboring an unrequited love for so long, being able to bear the pain of longing despite the hurdles you have encountered… I find that to be very praiseworthy.”
Oh yeah? Then I invite you to try it for yourself! See how you like it! Asakura cursed silently and let out a deep sigh. At this point, he had to admit defeat in the face of such bluntness. Rintarou managed to deal yet another blow to his ego.
However, his next words were said in a different kind of tone from before.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Well, to be honest, I find you to be more praiseworthy.”
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“Well, I guess I’m not used to going around in circles and I dislike having to fake my feelings. But I’m not that perfect; no one is. After all, I was one step away from losing someone very important to me because I felt scared.” Rintarou smiled sadly.
“But you didn’t. In the end, you chose to face your own feelings as well as Keita’s.” Asakura retorted, clicking his tongue in displeasure. “Tsk. Now stop making me praise you. I dislike you enough as it is. Any more than this and it will grow into a passionate hatred.”
Rintarou let out a laugh, taking Asakura by surprise. The young man in front of him was showing such a sincere reaction, making hatred to be impossible for anyone who saw him. Hence, Asakura could only smile and shake his head. There was no doubt about it. Keita had chosen a good man, one who would not abandon him. In Asakura’s eyes, Rintarou was the kind of person who would never give up fighting for those who were important to him.
He had to wonder, could he ever be like this? Was there even an ounce of steadfastness in his persona that could help him gain such power? Sure, he had watched over Keita from the shadows all those years, but he had never done anything personally. He had always maintained a safe distance, always afraid of being found out. Will he ever be brave enough to get close to someone by pushing past their boundaries, just like Rintarou had done for Keita?
“…ra-san. Asakura-san! Are you alright?” Rintarou’s voice sounded in his ears, startling Asakura out of his deep thoughts.
“Mh, yes.”
“There is something else I would like to say. For allowing me to join the team and follow Keita on this trip… Thank you very much for making all this possible, Asakura-san.”
“If you don’t stop thanking me, I swear I’ll punch you in the face.” Asakura threatened.
His disposition immediately flipped and he felt a vein almost popping on his forehead. His voice was light but his tone carried an underlying trace of menace.
“Alright. I’m sorry.” Rintarou said, sounding remorseful.
“And don’t apologize either!” Asakura finally snapped.
“Eeh?! Asakura-san, then what should I do?” Rintarou asked, feeling both confused and slightly irritated.
“Just shut up! You don’t have to say or do anything. Just sit there in the water until you feel like fainting!” Asakura threw at him on a whim, before hastily getting out of the hot water. He just wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.
From that moment on, Asakura’s behavior towards Rintarou took an even stranger turn. Whenever they saw each other, he would avert his eyes, ignoring Rintarou sometimes to the point of rudeness. However, for some strange reason, no one got upset over this; not even the man who was purposefully ignored in such a blatant manner. It was as though Asakura’s performance was to be expected, or rather like an odd type of truce had been achieved between them.
The only person who couldn’t fully understand what was going on was Kota. And since he was an extremely curious person he made sure to bring up the subject the moment he got a chance to be alone with his good friend.
On their third day at the inn, Asakura and Kota were enjoying a bath outside. It was still early and the sky hadn’t changed colors yet. The deep blue looked particularly beautiful in contrast with the soft white clouds.
“What’s going on with you lately?” Kota asked suddenly.
“Hm? What do you mean?” Asakura inquired in a disinterested tone.
“I’ve noticed you keep avoiding Kurosawa-kun. Did you guys have an argument? Or did you finally snap and hit him?”
“We did not have an argument and I can proudly say that I have refrained from any violent acts.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Kota looked even more confused now. In his opinion no arguments and no fights were good enough. What could possibly have happened to make his friend act even colder than before.
“What does Kurosawa remind you of?” Asakura asked, abruptly changing the subject.
In the face of this sudden shift in the conversation, Kota could only marvel.
“That came out of the left field, you know.”
“Just answer me.” Asakura pressed, ignoring the strange look his friend was giving him. “And don’t think about it. Say the first thing that comes to mind.”
Kota fell silent for a moment, his thin lips pursing slightly. He looked to be deep in thought. A little while later he finally opened his mouth to answer.
“Uhm, a golden retriever, I guess. That’s the image I had in mind when I first met him.”
Asakura remained silent, digesting the information. It made Kota wonder what he was thinking about, looking so pensive. After a short while, he couldn’t stand not knowing, so he opened his mouth to ask.
“What about you, Ryuu? What do you think of when you see him?”
“That he’s obnoxiously cheerful. Just like a sunny day… so bright it’s annoying.”
“Annoying?! Ryuu, are you a vampire hating the sun? How can you dislike Kurosawa-kun for such a stupid reason as that?”
“Shut up. I just don’t like him.”
“That’s because you’re jealous.”
“No, that’s because he’s annoying. You know what he said the other day? He said he admires me. What kind of person says that to their formal love rival?”
“The kind who won the beauty in the end.”
“Have I told you that you’re heartless?”
“Many times, but I never seem to get enough of it. So, praise me more.” Kota retorted, smiling cheekily.
“How did I end up having a friend like you, Subaru?” Asakura shook his head, but his lips curved into a smile.
“I bet you didn’t think like this when you begged for my help all those months ago.” Kota smirked and splashed some water onto Asakura’s face. “We should get out soon. Otherwise, my brain will become mush from all this steam and I might declare my undying love for you.”
“I apologize, but I don’t like flashy guys like you.”
“Gah! Now it’s my turn to say you’re heartless. You have hurt my young, innocent heart.” Kota closed his eyes, posing dramatically.
“Stop acting stupid and let’s go. Or else I’ll make sure to break that glass heart of yours even further.” Asakura threatened with a grin, pointing at a place below his waist.
After following the direction with his eyes, Kota let out a gasp.
“That’s not fair! Size doesn’t matter!”
Asakura shrugged and, with a loud chuckle, turned around to leave.
In the end, Kota was left brokenhearted and still wondering about his friend’s mysterious behavior.
I don’t know what I would have done in Asakura’s place. I probably would have either punched him or just walked away.
Thanks for the chapter <3
😂🤣 True, Kurosawa was a tad bit too much. But he didn’t mean anything bad by it. It’s just his personality and he genuinely admires Asakura. He’s like an annoying, yet cute puppy 🤣
<333
Lol, Kurosawa‘s personality is really a bit annoying xD I could never deal with such people. I’m kinda similar to Keita. So it’s still a mystery for me. Just how could he fall for someone like Kurosawa? 😂
Thank you for the chapter~
Well maybe it’s a case of opposites attract perhaps? XD It appears that Kurosawa manages to win Keita’s heart but for other people he’s a bit too much 🤭
What annoys us about him is most likely why keita loves him. Hes honest positive n blunt to a fault. I prefer snide sarcasm mixed in n think happy ppl are weird. I’m sure I’m the weird one tho bc I love making fun of and annoying ppl to keep things silly. Just ask the writer ikstrordinari on here. My bfs also put up with it for 7 yrs and idk how he does it tbh.
Kurosawa was quite annoying, even more so because he doesn’t mean anything bad. You just can’t do anything about it 😓
Thank you for the chapter 💕
Mhm, he is just like an annoying dog that barks for attention but he’s just too cute to scold 🤣 That’s his charm after all 🤭
💕💕💕