I_LOVE_RICE+
patreon
Chapter 313: So, When Are You Two Getting Married?
🕑 Added 2025-04-28 15:48:37 +0000 UTC"I-I'm really sorry, Minami-kun!!"
In a hurry, Hitori scooped up the ever-curious Gotoh Futari, who had been rummaging through everything.
Knowing full well how big of a problem this was, Hitori rushed back and immediately dropped to the floor in a textbook-perfect dogeza bow to apologize to Minami.
"..." Minami.
Watching the girl bowing so earnestly before him,
Minami sighed inwardly and set down the DV camcorder.
After fiddling with it for a while, he had pretty much looked through all the videos.
At first glance, it seemed like Hitori had sneakily hidden the DV camcorder inside his closet.
But in truth, she was all bark and no bite.
She had hidden the camcorder, even set the timer properly...
But then, overcome by nerves, she had snuck back in to retrieve it before it could record anything meaningful.
The footage was basically just her hiding the device... and then awkwardly sneaking back to grab it.
Nothing more.
Classic Hitori.
"Hitori."
"Y-Yes!!"
Still sneaking glances at him out of the corner of her eye,
Hitori panicked when she heard her name and quickly sat up straight.
Right now, she had only one overwhelming feeling—
Regret.
Pure regret.
She regretted ever having that moment of weakness, the impulsive thought to plant a camcorder in Minami's room.
And now look what happened.
Not only did she not get anything out of it,
but she might even be branded a stalker in his eyes.
And if she was going to get caught anyway,
why didn't she just record something while she was at it?!
At least then she could have something to... um, enjoy later.
As she was spiraling in thought, Minami spoke, his voice low and teasing:
"Hitori, are you thinking that since you got caught anyway, you might as well have recorded something to watch?"
"Ah... um."
Hitori froze.
Of course, she wasn't stupid enough to actually admit something like that.
But the next moment—
"Hitori, I really like girls who are honest."
Minami suddenly leaned in closer.
"U-uhm... yes."
Unable to resist his sudden, almost devilish charm,
Hitori mumbled a tiny confession.
She immediately realized her mistake, slapped her hands over her mouth, and shook her head violently.
Am I an idiot?!
She wailed inside her mind.
She knew full well it was a trap Minami had laid out for her,
and yet she had willingly walked right into it.
She kept mentally scolding herself, sneaking cautious glances at his expression.
Fortunately, Minami didn't seem mad at all.
Honestly, he hadn't been angry to begin with.
It was just some amateur sneaking around.
Given his relationship with Hitori, he wouldn't have minded even if she had filmed him out in the open, let alone with a hidden camcorder.
Not to mention, Hitori didn't even manage to record anything in the first place.
There really was no reason to blame her.
Still...
Even if he wasn't mad, there was one thing he wanted to ask.
"Hitori, who gave you that thing?"
Minami pulled her closer, gently ruffling her soft pink hair like petting a cat, while pointing to the camcorder sitting next to the little round table.
He didn't believe for a second that Hitori had gone out and bought something like that herself.
Earlier, he had quickly checked online using his phone.
That particular model of DV camcorder started at a whopping 250,000 yen.
The Gotoh family might have been comfortably middle-class, but Hitori definitely couldn't afford such a luxury on her own.
Someone must have bought it and given it to her.
And given Hitori's timid, socially anxious nature, it was unlikely she would've ever dreamed up something like secret filming on her own.
Someone had definitely been whispering in her ear.
"Umm—"
Hearing his question,
Hitori clapped her hands over her mouth again, not daring to answer.
Minami couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.
"Judging by your look, you're trying to cover for someone, huh?
But too bad for you, I've already got a pretty good guess."
Minami blinked at her playfully:
"Judging by your reaction... it was Ryo who gave it to you, wasn't it?"
"Mm-mm!"
Because she was covering her mouth with both hands,
Hitori could only widen her pretty pink eyes and let out muffled noises.
But just seeing that flustered, panicked expression—
Minami already knew he had guessed right.
Honestly, it made perfect sense.
Yamada Ryo had always had a thing for collecting all sorts of luxury goods.
And with her deep blue short hair and mischievous personality,
it was no surprise at all that she'd nudge the honest and naive Hitori into doing something sneaky like trying to film him.
Who knew what tricks that sly Miss Yamada had used this time?
That she could get the usually honest Hitori to cover for her so fiercely was almost impressive.
Thinking that, Minami couldn't help but feel curious and asked:
"So, Hitori, what exactly did Ryo tell you to get you to cover for her like this?"
"Mm..."
Hitori still stubbornly refused to open her mouth,
pressing her hands firmly over it.
Minami found her reaction amusing, but on the surface, he pretended to be annoyed:
"Hitori, if you keep this up, I'm really going to get mad."
"Mm!"
She kept her hands tightly over her mouth.
"I'm going to count to three."
"Mm..."
"One."
No reaction.
"Two."
Hitori's eyes darted nervously toward him.
"Three—"
"D-Don't count anymore! Minami! I'll tell you, okay?!"
When he hit three, the pink-haired girl finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
She quickly moved her hands away, looking at him with a pitiful, almost teary expression.
Honestly!
Hitori knew full well that Minami wasn't the type to seriously get angry with her.
But knowing was one thing.
Whether she was brave enough to wait until he actually finished counting... was another story.
Because whether in those vague dream-like moments
or in the real world they were living in now...
Hitori simply couldn't bring herself to say no to him.
Minami knew this too and yet he still teased her like this.
Her boyfriend is really a bad person.
She sighed internally.
As she recalled the conversation where Yamada Ryo had secretly roped her into this plan,
her already shy nature flared up, her face turning as red as a ripe apple but she had promised to tell Minami everything, so she had no choice but to stammer through the story.
Basically...
After buying the camcorder, Yamada Ryo had gotten a wicked idea:
She wanted to secretly record Minami's daily life and admire the footage whenever she felt like it.
But considering her usual behavior,
there was no way she could sneak into his room herself without getting caught.
So she set her sights on the naive Hitori instead, promising her a "huge reward" namely,
two pieces of Minami's personal clothing if the mission succeeded.
With a bribe like that and given that Hitori herself was admittedly curious...
The two had quickly formed a perfect team: the mischievous dragon and the shy phoenix.
When Hitori got to the part where she said, "Ryo-san promised to give me one or two pieces of Minami's personal clothing as a reward," her pale face flushed a deep red.
No wonder she was so mortified about confessing everything.
For someone like Hitori, having to say something so embarrassing out loud felt like the ultimate punishment.
Minami, for his part, was left a little stunned.
No wonder...
No wonder he always seemed to be missing a few pieces of laundry after drying them.
So it had been Yamada Ryo's mischief all along and worse yet, now she was dragging Hitori into it too.
Minami shook his head in disbelief, amusement flickering in his eyes as he looked at Hitori:
"Is that all? Hitori?"
"Ah... um... that's really all."
After hesitating a bit, Hitori nodded.
Her shy, socially anxious nature meant she wasn't bold enough to pull off anything crazier.
Then, noticing Minami's nonchalant expression,
she spoke again, almost in a whisper:
"U-um... Minami... you're not mad?"
"What's there to be mad about?"
Minami chuckled.
"It's just a little recording. It's no big deal."
Given the relationship between him, Hitori, and Yamada Ryo, this kind of thing barely even counted as mischief.
And besides—
"I mean, Hitori, you and I have already seen everything of each other.
A little recording's nothing compared to that."
He leaned in and teased her softly at her ear.
The blush on Hitori's face deepened instantly, spreading all the way to her ears.
Minami, looking quite satisfied, finally pulled back.
Really...
Considering how many times they'd already been open with each other in various ways,
this kind of thing wasn't enough to stir any real emotions in him.
Minami was thick-skinned.
Hitori... not so much.
Hearing his playful "we've already seen everything" jab, her whole body practically radiated heat.
She blushed as furiously as a freshly steamed octopus.
Minami, watching her reaction, couldn't help but tease her even more:
"So how about it, Hitori? Instead of teaming up with Yamada, why not work directly with me?
No matter how many pieces of clothing she offers you, I'll double it."
"Mm—!"
Too overwhelmed, Hitori jumped up, buried her face in her futon and pulled the blanket tightly over herself.
She knew Minami was teasing her on purpose, but she still couldn't muster the courage to say a single word back and Minami wasn't planning to let her off so easily.
While he didn't really mind the whole hidden-camera stunt,
a little "punishment" was definitely in order.
Smiling mischievously, he stood up, leaned over the bed, and caught her pale, soft hand through the blanket.
"Hitori, you—"
Just as he was about to tease her again—
Slide—
The traditional sliding door flew open.
Before either of them could react, Gotoh Michiyo's cheerful voice echoed through the room:
"Ah—lunch is almost ready! Minami-kun, Hitori, you two should come down and—"
Her voice trailed off into a strange, drawn-out note.
Because what she saw—
Hitori, face flushed bright red, lying on the futon.
Her pink tracksuit messy and rumpled.
Her smooth, pale belly peeking out because of her frantic movements.
And Minami—
Reaching out, gripping her wrist,
his whole posture dangerously close.
Silence.
The lively atmosphere froze in an instant.
Gotoh Michiyo looked at Minami.
Then at Hitori.
And then—
A gentle, knowing smile bloomed across her face.
"Ahh... did I interrupt something?
If you want... you can continue."
She said this sweetly—
Then slid the door shut with a cheerful snap.
Outside the door, Minami and Hitori could both hear her excited shouting.
"Naoki! Naoki! Hurry up, hurry! Throw out the fried chicken!
This afternoon we're having oysters and leek rice!
Oh my god, what do I do?! Am I really about to become a mother-in-law at my age?!"
"..." Minami.
"..." Hitori.
The two of them couldn't help but glance at each other.
In that brief exchange,
they clearly saw the emotion reflected in each other's eyes—
It's over.
"What the heck—"
Later, sitting at the dining table,
Gotoh Michiyo pouted in disappointment after hearing Minami and Hitori's awkward explanation:
"So you were just messing around?
I thought you two had finally..."
"M-Mom!!"
The shout was loud and full of desperate energy.
It clearly showed just how utterly embarrassed and panicked Hitori was.
Normally, her voice was always soft and meek.
But right now, she couldn't afford to stay quiet.
Who knew what other shocking things her overly lively mother might say if she didn't stop her?
"Hmph..."
Gotoh Michiyo wasn't angry though.
She just bit her chopsticks lightly, smiling with that special kind of warm, motherly mischief.
Her look made Hitori shrink back a little, her spine refusing to straighten.
The courage she had just summoned completely withered under that smile.
"B-besides, Futari's still here..."
She mumbled a weak defense.
"That's true,"
Gotoh Michiyo said, nodding with a bright smile,
"As the top of the Gotoh family food chain, I'll let it slide for today, since Futari's around."
"Phew..."
Hearing that, Hitori finally let out a relieved sigh.
However—
Before she could fully relax—
"By the way, Minami-kun, when do you plan on marrying Hitori?"
That sudden shift in topic
slammed into Hitori like a truck.
She only just realized something—
Sure, her mother promised to "let her off."
But she never said anything about letting Minami off the hook.
