Dumped by One, Chased by Another? My Ex's Sister Is a Gal and She's Coming for Me - Episode 35
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- Dumped by One, Chased by Another? My Ex's Sister Is a Gal and She's Coming for Me
- Episode 35 - Kengo Akishima
In the end, we spent over four hours at the board game café.
Normally, I suppose people would play a variety of games in a place like that, but we spent the entire time just playing mahjong.
Well, mahjong parlors have a completely different atmosphere than cafés.
At the very least, you can’t exactly take a high school girl to one.
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“Wow, today was so much fun! Let’s hang out again, Haruki-chan. Just to keep Kengorou from getting jealous, maybe we should only exchange contact info between us girls~”
“Yes, I’d love that! Please take care of me!”
“Wait a second—why am I being treated like an afterthought?”
“Thank you too, Marco-san. I hope we can meet again.”
“Hold on, that felt a little too formal, didn’t it? Well, whatever. That’s probably the right amount of distance for a friend’s girlfriend.”
“Hey, wait! It’s not like she’s my—”
“Yeah yeah, sure, whatever you’re saying.”
“Kengorou-kun, that’s exactly your problem~”
“Onii-san, you’re terrible…”
“Ugh.”
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Haruki gave me a long, reproachful stare.
Okay, yeah. That one’s on me.
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“Make up your mind, Kengorou.”
“I know. I will.”
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There are things that must be said—
And I knew that the time to say them wasn’t far off.
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“Today was so much fun!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“It was my first time playing mahjong, but it’s so fun—I totally get why people get hooked on it!”
“Right? I play it with Marco and the others pretty often too.”
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After we left the board game café, we parted ways with the others. Haruki and I were waiting for our train on the station platform.
Since it was a weekend evening, the platform was full of families.
We chatted casually as we watched the heartwarming scenes unfold around us.
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“I’m just glad you had a good time, Haruki-chan.”
“Yeah. Next time, I’d love to play mahjong with your older brother too.”
“Of course—he’d love that.”
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We looked at each other and smiled.
Ah, this is really nice.
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“They were both really good people—just what I’d expect from your friends, onii-san.”
“They’re kind of weird, though.”
“Haha, are they? Hmm… maybe a little.”
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At first she questioned it, but in the end, she agreed.
Honestly, not just my friends—most med students are kind of quirky.
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“Well, you’re a bit weird yourself, onii-san.”
“…Huh?”
“Hmm?”
“You think I’m weird?”
“Not weird, exactly… more like—”
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I didn’t catch the rest of her sentence.
I forgot all about Haruki beside me, and even Marco and Honoka.
Because something caught my eye—
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Across the yellow safety line on the platform, a child was teetering near the tracks.
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“That kid—”
“Huh? Onii-san?”
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There seemed to be a parent nearby, but they hadn’t noticed.
They were busy calming another baby in their arms, probably unable to see the older child with the baby blocking their view.
The moment I understood what was happening—
—I was already running.
I pulled the small child close, lifted them up, and stepped back across the yellow line.
Immediately afterward—
A speeding train roared past in a violent gust of wind.
So close. If I had been even a second later…
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“I’m so sorry!”
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The child’s mother rushed over.
Still holding her baby, she bowed her head deeply.
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“Thank you so much. I’m truly sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. We all help each other in times like this—just be careful, alright?”
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It’s not like she was on her phone or anything. It wasn’t really her fault.
Kids that age can end up in the most unexpected places in a blink.
Haruki used to be the same.
As I watched the mother and child walk away, I thought about all that—
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“Ah…”
“Onii-san!”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just—ow.”
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The words slipped out before I realized.
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“What? Are you hurt?”
“Well, um… my knee.”
“Hang on, let me see.”
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Haruki quickly pulled up the leg of my pants.
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“Your knee’s scraped up… You really do push yourself too much.”
“Ah—sorry.”
“I’ll put a bandage on it. Sit there for a second.”
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Haruki pointed to a bench nearby.
I did as she said and sat down.
She took out some antiseptic and a bandage.
As she dabbed the stinging liquid on the wound and carefully applied the bandage, I looked at her worried face—
and felt both guilty and deeply touched.
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“Thanks.”
“No problem—this is nothing.”
“You carry bandages around?”
“Just in case. I also have gauze and a tourniquet, actually.”
“Wow…”
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We both fell silent after that.
“Just in case”… she probably meant for me.
In case something happened—
In case I ever tried to take my own life again—
She’d prepared everything she could to stop me.
Realizing that, I finally understood why she ran toward me just now.
To her, it probably looked like I was jumping onto the tracks.
The mood had turned too heavy. I tried to change the subject.
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“Hey… earlier, what were you about to say?”
“Oh, that?”
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Haruki glanced briefly at my knee, then looked me straight in the eye, her expression suddenly serious.
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“I was going to say that… you’re a kind person, onii-san. Too kind, even.”
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Her words pierced straight into my heart.