I'm Being Threatened by My Sister's Ex-girlfriend. (GL) - Chapter 24

“Please be home after 6 PM.”

 

The message from Hakobe came around the end of my fourth-period class.

 

She didn’t bother explaining why, just gave me the schedule. Don’t try to make plans without telling me the reason, I thought as I replied.

 

“Got it.”

 

I accepted it without much thought and, on the way home, I briefly considered buying some tea at a nice shop. Wait, am I really doing this?

 

Yes, I was.

 

After the Chinese language class ended, I walked through the scorching summer evening for a solid twelve minutes and headed to a retail store near the station. I spent another twenty minutes and 1480 yen, buying a pack of strawberry-flavored tea and pistachio cookies.

 

I was pretty sure I’d never bought cookies that cost 800 yen before.

 

With the logo-printed paper bag swinging in my hand, I walked back home. Honestly, I felt a little excited, like when I was a kid going to a friend’s house. If I wasn’t careful, I’d probably start skipping as I walked.

 

The high spirits reached their peak when I saw Hakobe in front of my apartment. She had dyed her school blouse orange and was holding an eco-bag.

 

When she spotted me, she smiled softly.

 

The moment her smile hit me, I froze. I don’t know how to explain it… I thought she was so cute. Like, really cute.

 

Her fingers, neatly manicured, glinted in the sunlight. The pale gloss on her lips shimmered as if wet. The slimness of her legs, extending from under her skirt, made my chest tighten.

 

I thought, Is it okay for her to be this cute? I was worried someone might try to kidnap her.

 

Because, seriously…

 

“Tsuguno-san?”

 

“Ah!”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Nothing, probably.

 

We walked into the apartment together.

 

The eco-bag Hakobe was carrying had tomatoes, ground beef, small onions, garlic, and dried noodles inside. There was also a folded navy-blue apron.

 

“I’m making pasta,” Hakobe declared, and I clapped in response.

 

“By the way, we only have salt, stick sugar, and soy sauce for seasonings at my place.”

 

“The seasoning for tomato sauce is basically just salt,” Hakobe replied.

 

“Wait, really?!”

 

What’s she talking about? The look in my eyes probably said it all. I’d always thought that tomato sauces had things like ketchup or Worcestershire sauce in them.

 

Hakobe put the apron on, tying the strings behind her back. As the kitchen’s fluorescent light illuminated her, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu. A high school uniform with an apron. It didn’t seem real, but at the same time, it felt strangely familiar.

 

Each time she expertly chopped the onions, the hem of her skirt fluttered.

 

“Oh, could you pass me the tomatoes?”

 

“Yeah, sure. Hey, Hakobe, I’m still paying for this stuff.”

 

I still felt it was the right thing to do. The tomatoes she handed me weren’t free either. Two of them probably cost around 300 yen.

 

“It’s fine. I’m doing this on my own,” she said.

 

“Well, yeah, but still.”

 

I leaned against the hallway wall. My kitchen was embedded into the hallway wall that connected my one-room apartment to the entrance.

 

“I just grabbed it from the fridge at home.”

 

Wait, seriously?

 

“Aren’t you worried your parents will get mad?”

 

“Not really. They don’t care. They’re not interested in what I do.”

 

The words she casually said lacked any warmth. My heart chilled instantly. While I hesitated, wondering if I should ask more, Hakobe turned around.

 

“Please fill the pot with water and put it on the stove.”

 

The words I’d been about to say dissolved in the air and disappeared. I filled a brand-new pot with tap water and put it on the burner.

 

When the two of us stood side by side in the cramped kitchen, it almost felt like we were close friends—or even lovers.

 

“Let’s eat.”

 

“…Yeah, let’s eat.”

 

The freshly made Bolognese was so flavorful. The taste of the ground meat was rich, and the tomatoes had a deep, savory sweetness from being carefully cooked. It was so good, it almost made my tongue tingle.

 

Hakobe’s way of eating the pasta reminded me a little of Serina. I’m sure my own way of eating looked a lot like Ichika’s, and that’s probably why Hakobe seemed to rate us the same way.

 

After finishing her meal neatly, she boiled some water in a kettle. The high-quality tea had a sweet, tangy, spring-like scent.

 

“Hakobe, you’re really good at cooking. Do you make it at home?”

 

“Not much anymore.”

 

She pulled a box of pistachio cookies from a plastic bag and opened it. Imported sweets were always so sweet, but that’s what made them taste so good.

 

Hakobe picked up the empty cookie box and stared at the product description in English for a while before speaking.

 

“Did you buy this just for me?”

 

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

 

“For me?”

 

“Not really for you… I just wanted to eat it myself.”

 

What was this line? Was I being tsundere now? Was I that kind of character? No way.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Hakobe squinted her eyes. It felt like she could see straight through me, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

 

“I’ve been thinking… Tsuguno-san, do you maybe like me a little?”

 

A piece of pistachio got caught in my throat, and I coughed hard. Hakobe laughed through her nose, then stood up and moved behind me, gently rubbing my back.

 

When the coughing stopped, she leaned her weight against me and slid her arm around my waist. Her breath brushed my ear, and my whole body went stiff.

 

A whisper, warm and soft, grazed my earlobe.

 

“Don’t forget.”

 

—Forget what?

 

Before I could ask, she pulled away and pointed to the Switch sitting in the corner of the room.

 

“Wanna play a game? No bets this time.”

 

She selected a game packed with mini-games, then handed me one of the red-and-blue controllers.

 

We played a ridiculously fast ping pong game, unlocked a safe, and even milked a cow. Honestly, it was a lot of fun—so much so that I even let out a little cheer.

 

“Yay!”

 

When Hakobe, laughing innocently, slapped my arm, I caught the sweet scent of vanilla coming from the top of her head.

 

And just like that, something else inside me slipped away.

 

The fun started to take on deeper meaning. The tension from the game, the pounding in my chest, my brain overanalyzing every little thing.

 

The intensity in her eyes as she focused on the game, her controller swinging down with the samurai on screen—it felt like a sharp arrow piercing my chest. I knew I had to admit it to myself.

 

Maybe I did.

 

Probably.

 

Most likely.

 

Definitely.

 

I think I like her. Hakobe. White-haired Hakobe.

 

“Hey, Hakobe.”

 

“What is it? Are you trying to distract me with small talk?”

 

“No… that’s not it, but…”

 

A fatal word was about to slip out. My heart was pounding loudly, and words were stuck in my throat. I couldn’t get them to come out properly.

 

Seeing me like that, Hakobe sighed and gently put the controller down on the floor. Her gaze turned toward the window.

 

“It’s raining.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“It’s raining outside, don’t you think?”

 

It was only then that I noticed. Sure enough, the large raindrops had been hitting the window with a loud pitter-patter for a while now.

 

“My house is quite a walk from the station, you know. There aren’t many buses at this time, and… I really hate getting water in my shoes. I really hate it. So…”

 

Our eyes met.

 

After a brief pause, Hakobe spoke again.

 

“So… could I stay over?”

 

I swallowed hard.

 

Instinctively, excuses formed in my mind—not to reject her, but to find a reason to accept her request.

 

Because it’s raining. Because it’s already late. Because it’s not good to let your body get cold. Only these pre-determined excuses filled my thoughts.

 

Before I knew it, I was nodding.

 

“I’ll go take a shower.”

 

With that, Hakobe stood up.

 

I let out a deep breath. My heart was racing, almost like it was going to burst out of my chest. What was going on? Hakobe, with her carefree demeanor… She was just a high school girl, after all. Well, I guess I was too, just two years ago.

 

It wasn’t the first time someone had stayed over in my tiny 1K apartment. The first time was Hayasegawa. Back when we were first years, I let a drunk Hayasegawa crash at my place after a welcome party. We stayed up late, watching a marriage hunting show, laughing at the sharp comebacks Hayasegawa kept throwing.

 

Would Hakobe stay up with me and watch that kind of show tonight?

 

Was that something I even wanted?

 

Peering through the gap in the curtains, I looked out at the rainy night. A flash of purple light streaked across the sky, followed by a loud rumble of thunder.

 

The doorbell rang.

 

At first, I thought it was some kind of sales pitch. I figured I could just ignore it.

 

But… who would come in this kind of rain?

 

A bad feeling crept up my spine.

 

I walked down the creaky hallway and pressed my eye to the peephole. I couldn’t see anything—it was pitch dark. Just in case, I grabbed a kitchen knife. I hid it behind my back, trying to cover up the tomato remnants on it, and slowly turned the doorknob while leaving the door chain on.

 

“What is it…?”

 

My voice faltered.

 

Through the small gap, a woman’s face appeared. She was drenched from head to toe, like she’d just poured a bucket of water over herself. Her makeup had run, and her sheer top and deep blue dress were soaked through.

 

Her faded lips curved into a soft, familiar smile.

 

“Long time no see, Tsuguno.”

 

The woman spoke my name in the exact same voice I would use, as if she were an old friend.

 

“Sorry, could you let me in for a bit? You know, since we’re twins and all.”

 

The woman was my twin sister.

 

Standing in the rain, Shinonome Ichika pushed her wet bangs out of her face and smiled brightly, as if nothing had changed.