23rd Piece — 6 Minutes

Pre-Chapter Note: Seven minutes! Seven minutes is all I can spare to play with you!

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—literally, only the quiet stillness filled the bathroom.

Losing control of oneself, this is certainly what it is, I think.
Forgetting words, forgetting how to breathe, a bit longer and I’ll forget who I am, I think.
That’s about how shocking it was.

In my head, now, only one sentence is noisily echoing time and time again.
Sent through MINE, the message from Oshio-kun.

“I like Sato-san.”

It echoes, it echoes, it echoes.
Only my eyes can move, many times over, many times over, tracing over that short sentence and going back and forth over it.
As if unable to digest it even a little bit, I tried many times to continue taking in that sentence.

During such a time, from the ceiling, a drop of water hit the surface with the sound of a splash ringing out—at that sign, finally I bursted.

「~~~~~~~~~~~!!!?!!?」

I immediately covered my mouth with my right hand, then soundlessly raised a shout.
The hand grasping my smartphone trembles and doesn’t stop, my whole body is burning hot.

—it’s dangerous, it’s dangerous it’s dangerous it’s dangerous it’s dangerous!? [T/N: The tricky thing with translating “yabai” is that while it means “dangerous” it, since it is also slang, it can mean a n y t h i n g.]
What do you mean!? This, really…… what do you mean!?
Eh!? Oshio-kun, like!? Who!? No, didn’t he call me by name!?
Wait wait wait wait! I can’t understand anything!

Temporarily! I need to temporarily calm down! First of all, take a deep breath……!

「……hikii.」

—No good! My throat cramped up and then a strange sound came out! I honestly can’t take a deep breath!

I hadn’t been submerged in the bathtub for that long, but my toes were already bright red.
Furthermore, in the middle of the bathtub, my fidgety hands and feet are twisting, like a real octopus.

But, it can’t be helped!

For the sudden MINE that was sent, having the ability to stay calm is crazy!
Gusting out from the depths of my chest, various emotions are starting to become jumbled, and I don’t know what it is anymore!

Th, this, really…… What are you saying!?
That is, if we take this message literally without change, Oshio-kun likes things about me, however……

—it’s me that Oshio-kun, isn’t Oshio-kun, things about me! [T/N: This sentence was a pain since it’s like, all fragments.]
Ah, no! After all, I like Oshio-kun very much but…… this isn’t the case!
Anyways! Oshio-kun is kind to me!
Th, then why would Oshio-kun, to me, reveal this……?

……no, is this what it’s supposed to be!?
This, the so-called confession……

「~~~~~~~~~~~!!!?!!?」

Completely unable to bear it, I vigorously thrusted my face into the bathtub.
If mother or father had been watching this scene, they would make the conclusion that 「Her head is gone」.
But, without such a relationship, they would be confused.
Even if it’s at most ten letters or so in that sentence, it still disturbs my heart.

—don’t get too excited, don’t get too excited Sato Koharu.
Besides, it doesn’t mean I’ve decided on an ambitious undertaking.
Think, calm down and then think……

It was a coincidence, but maybe it was alright in the end to put my face in the bathtub.
Thanks to that, only just a little bit of space to think came back.
Then, let’s try to think.

—possibility one, “LOVE is not LIKE” theory!
Oshio-kun is certainly knowledgeable in this community (※good at communication). [T/N: Not an author note with the ※, that’s in the raw.]
A person whose communication power is high may possibly report their favor to their companion “Thanks for the hard work!” or “As for today, thank you!” with the same tension as “I like you!”.
……It’s possible!

—possibility two, “Mistyping” theory!
Oshio-kun may possibly have intended to send a greeting message.
But, in the case of hitting those letters, the prediction estimate went crazy, and a new sentence suddenly emerged!
……It’s possible! It also happens to me when sending a message to my mother!

—possibility three, “Wrong Target” theory!
Sato is a common name! I’m not the only one in class!
Therefore, perhaps, Oshio-kun meant to send his affection to a different “Sato-san”, mistakenly sending it to my MINE……
……if I keep saying this to myself, tears will begin to run.

「Uuuuuuu……!!」

Entangled in my thoughts, I can’t endure and let out a groan.
I feel like everything is right, and feel like everything is wrong.
Then of course, I feel like I’m making an endless detour.

Straight, I need to think straighter.
If I go with my first intuition, this is Oshio-kun’s “confession”, it seems.
If that’s the case, what does that result in? If that’s the case……

「……I’m happy.」

From my mouth, my honest feelings spill out.

—happy, yes, I’m happy.

I don’t know what kind of miracle happened, but at that time Oshio-kun and I would have 「mutual love」.
That is to say “I also like Oshio-kun”.

Then, seeing as a confession was made,
「Then, from here, too, please take care of me as usual」.
I know it isn’t common sense.

「G…… going out, I wonder…… me and Oshio-kun……」

The moment those words are said, my heart begins to throb.
—to go out with.
I like Oshio-kun.
But, concerning my best efforts to start a conversation, going out is something above the clouds, as I never thought of it.

Anxiety, anticipation, uneasiness, those various emotions were flooding in my head, and again I can’t understand it.
My chest is painful, my head is in a dizzy, and I when I notice it, I notice I’m always staring at this sentence.

“I like Sato-san.”

About how much time has passed?
I kept staring at the display of my smartphone as if it had a hole in it—suddenly, I realized there was one.

「……Ah.」

To change the subject, MINE has an “already read” function.
That is to say, e-mail is different, if I open and check a message, it sends a “already read notification” to the other person.
This is just the middle of the basics, not an explanation.
I know because I just about didn’t use MINE.
In short, it was something simple, that I forgot about it, it seems.

—The reality I had read the message sent from Oshio-kun was already sent to Oshio-kun—

「A, aaaaah!!?」

I unconsciously and accidentally shout.
I become flustered, then compare the time on the smartphone with the message that was sent.
Already from the time Oshio-kun sent the message, six minutes have elapsed.

The time that could seem like an eternity, I was surprised it was only six minutes.
Then, already, I realized the reality that I stared at that message for six minutes had been transmitted to Oshio-kun, and I thought my heart would pop out of my mouth.

This is awful, awful awful awful awful!
Reply, I have to reply!
But what!? “I also like Oshio-kun”!? No, that, if it’s the case I’m misunderstanding……!

Already I can’t grasp the front of my smartphone, and pinning down my trembling hand, my smartphone trembled this time.

I think something is wrong and look at the screen—

“Incoming call from Oshio Sota”

「Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!?」

I shout.
Then at that time, with my momentum, my finger glides, tap the “answer” button at the bottom of the screen—

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Oh boy, here we go. Hey hey, everyone! Two more chapters until the end of Volume 2, huh? It’s been going along steadily.

Not much to say from my end, other than this chapter was super adorable. I’m rooting for these two. Let me know if there’s any super egregious errors that I need to fix!

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