I Was Sleep-Deprived at a Matchmaking Meeting and Ended Up Engaged - Chapter 17

After that, I went to Yoshinori’s room.

As expected, it was tidy like a model home.

There was absolutely no sense of lived-in atmosphere.

…Yikes.

Ayato thought, I can’t live here.

Unless he keeps me tied up all the time, this place will definitely end up in the same miserable state as my room.

While thinking such things, as Ayato stood frozen at the entrance to the living room, Yoshinori was also standing frozen.

“What should we do?”

“Huh?”

“Well, it’s good that I had you come over, but I’m so nervous I don’t know what to do.”

The fact that he’s saying that out loud makes me wonder if he’s really that nervous.

“Sh-should we watch TV or something?” Ayato suggested.

Turning on the huge wall-mounted TV, the news was on.

The two of them sat on the sofa, slightly apart, and watched.

“…Did you get anything out of it?”

“No.”

Ayato thought, Even though it’s not a variety show, nothing? He hadn’t considered the possibility that Yoshinori couldn’t concentrate on the program because of his presence.

“Speaking of which, do you think that woman saw us?

Should we wander around the apartment building?”

“If we do that, wouldn’t we look like suspicious characters?”

Well, true.

“Right.

What should we do?

Should we drink some alcohol?

…And some snacks.

That’s it.

Should we try cooking or something!”

“I can’t!”

“Me neither!”

They were a hopeless pair.

“Should we go buy something?”

“That way we can wander around.”

We’d be complete suspicious characters after all.

If we wandered around just for the sake of wandering around.

We might get reported.

“Well, I’ll probably visit here a few times before we get married.

It might be good to get to know the nearby convenience store, so let’s go check it out.”

“Isn’t there a supermarket? Nearby.”

“There is.

But do you need something there?”

He was completely treating me like someone who doesn’t cook at all.

True, a convenience store might cover all my needs.

But isn’t it expensive?

If my entire daily life relied on convenience stores.

Plus, I like supermarkets for their coupons and point cards too, I thought.

Recently, you can store point cards on your smartphone, which is really handy since it keeps my wallet from getting bulging.

In the end, we decided to go to the convenience store, buy pasta and pasta sauce to make, and try boiling some vegetables.

Wait, if we’re going to the convenience store anyway, we could just buy ready-made food.

“It seems bad that neither of us can cook,” Yoshinori said, so we decided to do it.

The two of us went to the convenience store, looking around a bit.

We were looking around to check if that woman was there.

“Now that I think about it, she probably wouldn’t show herself so easily.”

“If she’s a stalker, she’d be hiding, after all.”

Well, we don’t know for sure if that person is a stalker though…

The two of us bought ingredients, went back, and cooked.

I was a little concerned about Yoshinori’s face when he ate the frozen mixed vegetables I boiled.

We drank wine and had a good time.

—After all, alcohol is nice.

Today, since we’re at home and there’s nothing formal.

I feel like the distance between us shrank all at once.

“Ah, it’s already this late.”

“Should I call a taxi?”

“Sorry.”

Yoshinori called a taxi, rode together with Ayato, and came all the way to Ayato’s family home.

Then, he turned right around and went back.

Wait, why!?

“It’s dangerous to let you ride a taxi alone at night,” Yoshinori insisted.

“If it’s a young driver.

He might confess to you since you’re his type.

When you get off at your family home, a pervert might come from somewhere.”

From where!?

“It’s your precious body before marriage.

Take care of it.”

Does that mean once I’m married off, you don’t have to take care of me anymore…?

Thinking such things, I ended the call on my smartphone.

“What happened after that?”

The next day, Ayato sent Yoshinori that message.

“I didn’t meet her.

And she hasn’t said anything.”

Well, that’s good then, I thought, but Yoshinori said,

“Let’s try challenging it again.”

—Wait, why?

“Won’t you come over on the weekend?

You probably remember where the convenience store is.

This time, let’s go to the supermarket together.”

What is this.

This feeling like the beginning of a great adventure.

You don’t usually go to supermarkets, do you? I thought.

Well, there are lines.

If you’re just buying a few things, you probably wouldn’t go.

On the weekend, a little past noon, Ayato came to Yoshinori’s apartment.

He suggested we put our things down and go shopping.

As we were leaving the room, Yoshinori chuckled a little.

“What is it?” I looked up at him.

“Well, I was just thinking, score.

Right now, I can’t say I’m not grateful to her.”

He started saying.

“Her” seems to refer to that woman with the red car.

“Grateful?”

…More importantly, score?

While I was thinking that,

“Thanks to her, you started coming to my place, so I was thinking, score.

Ah, it’s not like I’m plotting anything bad, though.”

After saying that,

“Well…

Whether it’s bad or not might depend on you.”

He said.

“Anyway, just you coming to my place and being with me is enough for me to feel pretty good about it, score.”

Yoshinori laughed.

No, no, please don’t look at me with those eyes.

It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? — Just as a warm, fuzzy atmosphere started to form.

I wish I hadn’t noticed just now.

Someone’s watching us.

From the shadows.