Stealing Spree

Chapter 571: Equal

Minutes passed inside the Poem Appreciation Club’s clubroom and Mina was still on my lap, comfortably resting her head on my chest. We drank the tea that she brewed and spent the time just being close to each other.

I kept my embrace on her tightly all the time. It would not be wrong for us to be mistaken as an intimate couple if someone saw us like this.

Either way, it’s not about whether we had something to talk about or we needed something to talk about. Just feeling each other’s warmth was enough for me and perhaps, for Mina as well.

“You still have your secretary job, don’t you? Finish this cup and you can go.”

Mina said after pouring tea on my empty cup.

“I’m still curio—”

Before I could finish my words, Mina’s lips had already covered mine, stopping me from finishing it.

“Stop there, mister. I told you to figure it out yourself. Anyway, I’ll take you home this Saturday. Is it fine?”

“It’s time for the competition, huh? No problem, I’ll be there.”

It’s only Monday, there’s a lot of time to prepare for it. Since it would be me visiting their house, it would be unlike last Saturday with my date with Himeko.

Meeting her mother... From her story, her mother is a strong woman who raised her by herself. I wonder how I should present myself to her? Mina isn’t one of my girls yet. However, with how close we were already, this girl was just delaying it, or rather, she’s still feeling some sort of reservation.

“Behave yourself in front of my mother.” Mina reminded me while tapping my cheek.

“I will. But can I...”

“No.” She promptly answered, not waiting for me to finish my words.

“I haven’t finished my words yet.”

“Why? It’s the same ‘introducing yourself as my boyfriend’ anyway.” Mina shrugged her shoulders before picking up her cup and sipping her tea.

Alright. That’s a fair judgement. She’s still against me acting as her boyfriend even with all this.

“Uh... Do you think your mother will believe you that I’m just the guy you bragged about?”

“Unless you proved yourself equal to Haru in my eyes. I’ll always be her girlfriend, not yours.”

In the end, Haruko would always be my rival to them.

Well, that’s also how it was with Himeko. At first, she tried to compare me with Haruko until she was convinced that there’s no need to anymore.

“I see. I have to work harder then. By the way, the tea is delicious. You improved once again.”

Since she’s right and I had to leave now for the Student Council, I wryly smiled at what she said before giving my feedback for today’s tea.

“... It’s thanks to your feedback.”

“Well, I’m your tea tester and I love drinking your tea regardless of the taste. Nonetheless, since you want to win in that competition with your mom, I’ll make sure you bring out all of your potential.”

“Stop flattering me, idiot.” Mina silently muttered as I began gently putting her down from my lap so that I could stand up and leave.

“Flattery or not, I really love it. Moreover, I always feel relaxed whenever I am here with you. Uh... Although I keep teasing you most of the time, that’s just one of my ways to appeal to you.” I paused for a while to kiss her before continuing. “Haruko might’ve pushed me to come at you and get to know you... but the longer I interact with you, the deeper I fall. Instead of making you fall for me, I’ve fallen for you instead.”

Is that cheesy? I don’t know but that’s just what I’m feeling for this girl. Although it’s similar to how I fell in love with my other girls, I cannot just say something that’s not true.

True, we’ve already kissed more times already and quite possibly, we desired each other just the same. Nonetheless, that last kiss I initiated was the sweetest to date.

Mina grabbed my hands as she welcomed my kiss wholeheartedly as if she’s waiting for it all this time.

As our lips separated, Mina let go of my hand as she obediently allowed me to slide her down to my previous seat.

Standing up and picking the teacup to drink it in one gulp, I then turned around to leave the room.

“Shameless guy, see you tomorrow.”

Mina’s voice chased after me before I completely left the room.

“Mhm. See you.” I turned around, nodded and smiled at her as I pulled the door close.

Although I was also expecting to see Himeko there, spending the time alone with Mina was bliss in and of itself.

Naturally, I would keep with my promise to visit her every day. She’s always in that room anyway. If not for Satsuki’s practice in the Gymnasium wherein spectators werenʼt allowed, I would probably devote a few minutes of my time to see her as well.

To satisfy my longing for Himeko, I messaged her to ask if I could meet her. Not a minute later, the door of the Poem Appreciation Club opened, Himeko somewhat guiltily greeted me. She was inside all along.

Even if I didn’t ask, I could guess that they gave way to my time with Mina. Or rather, she accompanied the other two seniors in their storage room to sort out their scrolls of poems that they themselves created.

After catching up with her about the result of their work last Saturday as well as what happened in the house yesterday, Himeko returned inside, slightly envious that she failed to come yesterday.

It’s Sunday and Itou apparently advised her not to leave because of the risk that their father might find out about it. Our date remained a secret but their father was slightly sour upon knowing that Itou let Himeko help at the hotel. Nonetheless, he couldn’t reprimand her since the two truly did a good job.

Asahi or Yue’s manager was extremely satisfied with the sisters’ work that she promised to give their hotel a free promotional ad by letting Asahi talk about it in her next TV appearance.

Anyway, to think that someone from my past was already that big of a name in that industry... I could only silently cheer for her...

If we ever meet again, I guess it’s a lot better if I act as if I don’t recognize her anymore rather than intentionally letting her know that I haven’t forgotten about her.