267 – Give and Take
“Brother! We have guests!”
From noble mtl dot com
After taking me home, Yuika headed straight to Ryuji’s room.
Although the sun had risen in mid-sky, Ryuji was lying on the bed with the blanket pulled over his head as if she was still sleeping.
“Ugh… 5 More minutes…”
“Really! Hurry up!”
Yuika strode to her bedside and pulled off the blanket. Ryuji in pajamas was lying curled up like a fetus.
「What? Are you here already?」
Then, Chiaki went through the closet and showed her face.
Since Yuika was by my side, I greeted her casually with a glance and pointed at Ryuji as if she wanted to do something.
Then Chiaki glanced at Ryuji, who still seemed unwilling to get out of bed, and suddenly snapped his fingers.
In that very moment,
“Oops!”
Ryuji, who had been wandering in the land of dreams until just now, raised his upper body.
“What! What!”
Ryuji looked around while holding onto the scruff of his neck.
Yuika, who didn’t know about Chiaki’s existence, asked if she looked like she was having a good time, squinting her eyes.
“Brother! Are you still dreaming?”
“No! You’ve got something really cold on your throat?!”
Ryuji expressed his regret, but unfortunately, there was no one who would take his side.
“Yo.”
I was standing in front of the door, and when I sneakily lifted the bag containing the comic books, Ryuji blinked with a dazed face.
“Yooseong? Why are you here…”
“Are you still awake? You promised to bring me comics this weekend.”
When I said that and blinked one eye in the sense of arguing, Ryuji suddenly agreed, saying “Huh? Uh huh, that’s right.”
Anyway, now that the problem has been resolved, it’s time to leave Yuika, who is unnecessary for what we are going to talk about.
“Yuika, could I get a cup of tea by any chance? She rushed out in the morning and didn’t even drink a glass of water, so she’s thirsty.”
“Ah! Yes! I’ll get it right away!”
Having naturally induced Yuika to leave her seat in that way, I closed the wide open door and spoke to Ryuji, who was still making a bewildered expression.
“Were you surprised by my sudden visit?”
Then Ryuji nodded his head and accepted it.
“So what did you come to my house for today?”
At Ryuji’s question, I said, putting down the bag full of comic books on the desk.
“It’s nothing else, I came today because of Chiaki’s request.”
“Chiaki?”
“He said he had something he wanted to buy, and he asked me to go with him.”
I explained the situation while saying that, and Chiaki said with an angry expression.
「Hey! What if I say that!」
I replied calmly.
“You didn’t say the subject.”
「Still!」
Unlike Chiaki, who seemed nervous that his true purpose would be discovered, Ryuji tilted his head and asked if he had no idea.
“Why didn’t you ask me, who lives with you?”
Then Chiaki replied with a grim expression, avoiding her gaze.
「Ryuji is busy playing games on the weekends. I didn’t want to bother you with my personal business.”
A really clumsy lie.
No matter how much Ryuji is a gamer, there’s no way he would have ignored the request of his childhood friend Chiaki.
“Ah, that was it.”
Uh… ?
Unexpectedly, however, Ryuji immediately believed Chiaki’s absurd excuse.
I didn’t understand it at first, but maybe it’s because of Japan’s unique Meiwaku culture.
In Japan, which is extremely reluctant to cause nuisance, Chiaki’s excuse must have sounded plausible.
It seems that I approached it from a too Korean perspective.
Anyway, Chiaki, who successfully covered herself, waited for Ryuji’s answer with a thrilled expression.
This is because Ryuji has to answer YES to buy him a Christmas present.
If he said that he would go with me, today’s plan would be completely ruined.
Perhaps because he knew that, Chiaki’s face looked even more nervous, but unexpectedly, Ryuji accepted Chiaki’s proposal very willingly.
“I can’t help it if it’s like that. Goodbye.”
Slippery!
Like a scene in a manga, Chiaki momentarily loses her balance in empty space.
I think it could be because of the worldview of Jump, but now I feel that I have changed a lot when I see that excessive reactions feel like nothing.
「W, aren’t you going to ask me what I’m going to buy?」
When Chiaki asked with the corner of her mouth quivering, Ryuji shook his hand and said.
“Ah~ It’s rather rude to ask such a thing. There’s something I really want, so I shouldn’t have asked Yooseong instead of me. I’m aware of that as well.”
「… ….”
At this point, I think that being ignorant is not a concept at all.
How can people be so consistent?
I watched the conversation between the two from the side, but I intervened before the atmosphere heated up any further.
“Then I’ll borrow Chiaki. Can I take you home after shopping?”
“Ah, yes. Then I think it will work. Thank you for pampering Chiaki instead of me today, Yoosung.”
Ryuji smiled brightly as he said that.
I leaned over to Chiaki, who had just escaped from Ryuji’s body, thinking that it was not right for him to become a man.
***
After getting a cup of cool oolong tea and leaving Tower Mansion, I took the subway with Chiaki to the nearby downtown area.
“By the way, where is Mahes?”
「Mahes? Why is that Egyptian man suddenly?”
“I don’t seem to be able to see you these days.”
Unlike Chiaki, who basically came from the Underworld and must not leave the vicinity of the person possessed, Mahes, the self-proclaimed great pharaoh, had no restrictions on movement.
I don’t know if that’s why, but unlike the beginning of the semester when I followed Ryuji around, he seems to be wandering around here and there by himself these days.
「I went out early in the morning saying I was going to go to Mt. Fuji today. They said that if you climb to the top of Mt. Fuji, you will be able to see the stars better than in the city.”
“Stars? Why are stars suddenly?”
「Yesterday, while looking at the night sky from the veranda, they said they found some strange stars. He said it seemed like a bad omen and was muttering something only he knew.”
“Really?”
Come to think of it, I didn’t know much about Mahes.
If this was a jump-style battle, Mahes would be nothing short of a lump of rice cake, but maybe it’s because it’s a love comedy worldview, so it doesn’t seem like he’s doing much.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve been spending time with Chiaki alone like this, so we exchanged recent talks throughout the subway ride.
As expected, Ryuji was what Chiaki mainly talked about, and seeing as the prefix Ryuji, Ryuji, Ryuji guy, at the end of every word, it seems that he really likes Ryuji.
Well, since he likes Ryuji that much, he still can’t let go of his lingering feelings and clings to this world.
At that time, the kid sitting on the chair in front of me suddenly pointed with his finger and said.
“Mom, this man keeps talking to himself into the air.”
“Hey! Sorry!”
“…….”
Come to think of it, this was the subway.
I lowered my head, blushing at the belated embarrassment.
***
Although they were treated as crazy by children unintentionally, they are people you wouldn’t want to see anyway.
I tried to win the spirit like that, but the wounds in my heart did not heal easily.
Chiaki, the culprit behind everything, grabbed his stomach and giggled, saying he was laughing, but when I threatened, “Shall we go home now?”
“So what do you want to present?”
Generally, Christmas presents are divided into two types.
A gift you are happy to receive and a gift you are not happy with.
Of course, judging from Ryuji’s usual activities, the best gift would be a game, but I wouldn’t recommend that to Chiaki.
Because I also have something to notice.
And to see how accurate my predictions were, Chiaki, who hadn’t been able to answer my question straight away and only wiggled his fingers, managed to open his mouth.
「I want to present something meaningful to Ryuji. That’s why I’m going to ask you.”
“A meaningful gift?”
「I don’t know what gifts boys like these days. Still, I think it would be better if it was something that could be kept for a long time.”
“Hmm…”
It’s something you can keep for a long time.
It feels like a hurdle has suddenly risen.
“First of all, let’s think about the gift later, would you like to take a walk?”
「Ah, yes.」
There is still a lot of time given to us.
There is no need to make a decision too hastily, so it wasn’t bad to think slowly while walking down the street.
Has it been about 5 minutes since I started walking without a destination?
I opened my mouth because I remembered one thing.
“Chiaki, come to think of it, I have a favor to ask of you too.”
「What is it?」
“I also have to buy a present for my girlfriend. Can you look after me?”
The world goes back to the original give and take.
If you receive favors from others, you have to repay them once, if not twice as much.
And as if persuaded by this logic, Chiaki readily accepted my request.
「Okay. Let’s do that.”
I stopped walking after waiting for that answer.
“Then I’ll ask you soon.”
It was because I finally saw a store that was perfect for my purpose.
「What? Jewelry shop? Do you have a lot of money?」
From noble mtl dot com
Chiaki looked at me as if it were absurd, but I didn’t bother to answer.
Because my bank account has a large sum of 100,000 yen that I received from a broadcast appearance a while ago.
“Let’s go in and talk.”
As I said that, I opened the door and went inside. Chiaki, who looked at me with a stupid expression, said “Hey! Go with me!” And came in after me in a hurry.