Chapter 26: Sneaking into my childhood friend’s workplace?

Sneaking into my childhood friend’s workplace?

Yukari and I strolled around the school grounds. From the school building to the main gate, there were various stalls lining up, and the smell of yakisoba and takoyaki wafted through the air.

Yukari briefly turned towards me.

“Boyan, aren’t you wearing the haunted house T-shirt?”

“Yeah, I didn’t buy one.”

Yukari also wasn’t wearing a T-shirt.

“I get it. Sometimes, that kind of vibe isn’t everyone’s thing. Isn’t that right, Boyan?”

“Not really.”

“Hmm…”

Then Yukari stopped and turned to me.

“Actually, I’m wearing one under my blouse. Want to see?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“I see.”

Yukari faced forward and resumed walking, and I followed suit.

As we approached the row of stalls, a voice called out from a yakisoba stand.

“Yukari~ Come have some yakisoba! Oh, could this be a date!?”

As Yukari and I got closer to the yakisoba stand, a girl inside saw me and mumbled, “Oh.”

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“Oh, it’s Boyan. There’s no way this is a date.”

“Does it look like a date?”

With curious interest, Yukari asked the girl.

“Um… Well, it doesn’t look too far off.”

Ultimately, Yukari didn’t buy yakisoba and we continued to stroll down the row of stalls.

Afterward, we were approached several times.

“Hey, Yukari and Boyan, an unusual combo.”

“Oh, Yukari! So you and Boyan are close.”

“Yukari, don’t keep dragging Boyan around too much.”

It seemed like I was still the ‘Safety Man’. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

Perhaps everyone saw it as a coincidence—both of us having free time, the timing just right, so we were hanging out together.

We finished going through the stalls and entered the school building.

By the shoe lockers, Yukari whispered to me.

“Hey, did you notice? Everyone looked at us and made that ‘what’s going on’ face for a moment.”

“Did they?”

“Yeah. Back then, even if you were walking with a girl, no one would react like that, right?”

“You think so?”

“That’s the thing. Your atmosphere changed, Boyan.”

“I see.”

I started walking briskly.

Yukari followed behind.

We walked casually down the corridor.

“Well, it seems we’re still not seen as a couple in the middle of a date.”

“Guess not.”

“I wouldn’t mind being seen like that.”

Yukari smiled next to me.

Probably with her eyes looking up at me.

As we walked, we reached the end of the corridor, where a box had a sign that read, ‘Best Couple Award, Cast Your Vote Here!’

I instinctively stopped and peeked inside.

There were dozens of voting slips.

Yukari peeked in too.

“Hey, did you know? If you win the Best Couple Award, you have to kiss at the end.”

“Kiss?”

“Yeah. Everyone chants ‘kiss, kiss’ together. I overheard Aya and her friends talking about it.”

“I see.”

“Interested?”

“Not much, I guess.”

Aya won’t let me go to the after-party, anyway.

“I see, well… I wouldn’t mind kissing you in front of everyone.”

Yukari said while looking into the voting box.

For now, I kept quiet.

Yukari turned to me.

“Hey, can I kiss you?”

“Isn’t that not a good idea?”

“What about a deep one?”

“That’s not okay?”

“Not okay~”

Yukari muttered lightly.

Yukari and I casually walked around the first-floor exhibition area and then went upstairs.

Suddenly, Yukari stepped ahead of me and started walking briskly.

Instead of heading to the classroom building crowded with fortune-telling booths and cafes, she seemed to be heading to another building where there were art rooms and science labs.

The separate building focused on exhibitions, so it was less crowded than the classroom building, though there were still a fair number of people around.

As we walked along the hallway of the separate building, Yukari suddenly stopped.

She turned towards me and smiled coyly.

“Thanks for coming along today.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Who would’ve thought… you’d be up for this kind of thing?”

“I’m not cheating.”

As I answered plainly, Yukari laughed and said, “Just kidding.”

I only have eyes for Aya, and no one else moves me.

Probably, for my entire life.

However, today I agreed to Yukari’s request because my intuition didn’t object.

So, this might not be an incorrect move in the pursuit of Aya.

And also…

“Hey… why did you agree to come along today?”

Yukari asked.

“I was serious.”

At least, to the point where my wish might reach God.

I know the weight of that… probably better than anyone.

The fingers that moved to show the T-shirt under her blouse trembled.

The eyes that asked if she could kiss were uncertain.

I must’ve been playing a character far from my usual self, following God’s intuition.

Unbeknownst to us, the corridor had fallen silent.

The people who were looking at the exhibits in the corridor had disappeared.

Even the people who were sitting on benches in the corridor were gone.

People vanished from the corridor.

Most likely, it was God’s… Yukari’s God’s doing.

“Ah, that was fun.”

Yukari said with a relieved expression.

She’s probably going to confess.

“You were probably thinking I’d confess, right?”

Yukari said teasingly.

“Yeah, I thought so.”

“Heh, you’re easy to read, Boyan.”

Probably because it’s Yukari.

She’s been watching the person she’s liked for a long time.

Someone like me.

Yukari suddenly smiled quietly.

This is likely her genuine expression.

“Thanks… for not bringing up Aya at all today.”

“Yeah.”

“I like Ryuji-kun. I’ve liked him for a long time, only looking at Ryuji-kun.”

A voice echoed in the quiet corridor.

Yukari was looking straight at me.

So, I looked at Yukari.

“Thank you. Sorry, but there’s someone I’ve liked for a long time.”

“I see.”

Yukari’s lips quivered slightly, opening and closing.

She probably wanted to add more words.

But Yukari slowly swallowed them down.

After a brief moment, Yukari fanned her face with her palm.

“Ah, I got rejected, I got rejected~”

Yukari said with a chuckle as if to brush it off, then her expression turned serious.

“Thank you for facing me properly… and hearing me out.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s almost midterms, so I’ll focus on studying now! I’ll be all about studying for a while!”

Yukari said with a smile.

But her expression quickly clouded, and she bit her lower lip as she looked at me.

“Well, maybe not. I’ll work hard to find someone new.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe I should ask God for help~”

“Yeah.”

“Well then, Boyan.”

“Yeah.”

More people started filling the hallway.

In the midst of that crowd, Yukari walked ahead.

I turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

- - -

When we arrived at the haunted house, a long line had formed outside the classroom.

From within, screams like “Kyaa!” and “Uwaa!” could be heard, the customers’ terror echoing out.

It seemed to be quite popular.

If I remember correctly, Aya’s station was right near the exit.

I pushed through the crowd and entered from the exit, but no one paid me any attention.

This, too, must be the power of the gods.

As I entered the dimly lit haunted house, I stood before a black curtain on the right side.

I crouched down and lifted the curtain from below.

“Uwaa… Wait, Boyan!?”

In the space below the desk, like a small hole, was Aya’s face.

She was sweaty, and her hair was sticking to her forehead.

“I’ll help too.”

“Huh?”

I squeezed my way into the narrow space under the desk next to Aya.

I twisted myself in from my feet.

It was pretty cramped; this was quite a challenging station.

“Hey, Boyan, what are you doing?”

In the pitch-black space, Aya’s whisper reached my ears from right beside me.

We were lying side by side, facing each other.

Aya’s breath brushed against my face.

In her sweat-soaked state, her sweet scent filled the air.

“I thought you might be lonely, Aya. You’re not a fan of dark and tight spaces, right?”

“…Fine, but don’t be a bother.”

Her tone was almost like scolding a child, but I felt a faint hint of joy mixed in.

“How are you scaring people?”

“Well, let’s see… Wait a moment, customers are coming…!”

Aya lifted the curtain slightly.

A faint hint of the outside’s red lighting seeped into the pitch-black darkness.

Aya was lying face down, carefully observing the customers from inside the dark space.

Two pairs of footsteps approached.

Seems to be a couple—possibly university students since it’s a weekday.

“I’m scared, it’s scary…” the girlfriend seemed to panic, while the boyfriend reassured her with “We’re almost at the exit.”

Their voices got closer and closer. Aya suddenly reached out her hand.

“Uwaaah!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Aya quickly pulled her arm back and closed the curtain.

The couple kept running and exited through the door.

From afar, I heard, “What was that? Someone grabbed my leg out of nowhere!” and “That was so scary…”

I see. It’s meant to make them jump.

I’m pretty sure I would’ve jumped on the spot too.

“Aya, be careful not to get your hand stepped on.”

“Yeah, I’m being careful.”

Aya’s breath, when she said that, was closer than before.

When she pulled her hand back, her face must have come close to mine.

I almost wanted to touch Aya’s cheek.

But the desk’s pillar was in the way, and I couldn’t quite reach.

“Next group, come on in!”

Tokita’s voice echoed in the classroom.

“Okay!” “Got it!” were the responses from various directions.

Eventually, a deep scream erupted from somewhere in the distance.

This time, it sounded like a group of three men.

“Hey, Boyan.”

Right in front of me, Aya whispered.

“What?”

“Who were you hanging out with this morning?”

It seemed someone from our class had seen me walking with Yukari or some other girl.

Somehow, that information had reached Aya’s ears, even as she stood here gripping people’s ankles.

“I was with Yukari.”

“Oh, I see…”

Aya let out a sigh of relief.

The sounds of the customers’ footsteps and loud voices were getting closer.

They would pass right in front of us soon.

I spoke calmly to Aya.

“Yukari confessed to me.”

“Huh?”

Aya let out a frenzied scream.

The footsteps of the customers came to a halt right in front.

“I heard something just now.” “Whoa, what was that?” “Sounded like a frog croaking,” they exclaimed in confusion.

Aya is probably frozen.

In her place, I extended my arm as far as I could and lightly grabbed one of the men’s ankles.

“Uoooi!”

With a loud scream, the man jumped on the spot.

I quickly pulled my hand back.

The man stomped his feet and kicked the floor.

“What’s wrong!?” “Damn, someone grabbed me just now!” they said as they left.

That was close.

Aya’s hand might have been stepped on, perhaps.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, I lowered the curtain.

Then, Tokita’s voice echoed through the classroom.

“Are you okay, Aya?”

She’s likely still frozen, so I whispered to Aya.

“Aya, answer him.”

“Oh, yeah… I’m fine! No one stepped on me!”

“Okay, we’re letting the next group in!”

Once again, I could hear screams.

This time, it seemed to be a parent with a small child.

Would it be bad to grab a child’s ankle?

“Aya, what about when it’s parents with kids… Aya?”

No response from Aya.

I managed to bend my arm somehow and tried to touch her shoulder.

Aya’s feelings reached me.

Boyan.

He was confessed to.

By whom?

Oh, Yukari, right?

Boyan, got confessed to.

He.

Confession.

What did you say in response?

I still… haven’t said it.

Perhaps due to the heat within the curtain, Aya’s thoughts were hazy.

Aya opened her mouth.

“You declined it?”

“I declined.”

A small sigh escaped Aya’s lips.

As if she was relieved.

Unexpected.

To convey my affection for Aya so blatantly, to touch our skins together.

To release inside her so many times.

This heavy feeling of mine should have been abundantly clear that I can’t stand it anymore.

That Aya would be so shaken, that was unexpected.

A bit of irritation.

Aya becoming this anxious is because our relationship isn’t clear-cut. We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend, not just childhood friends, not even simply friends.

With no firm ground to stand on… Aya is trembling in an unstable place, filled with fear.

Quickly, let’s create a place for Aya, a place where she can feel safe.

To the extent that I can’t even think about going somewhere, I’ll keep painting her with my presence.

“Aya…”

Feeling around, I found Aya’s lips.

Tracing with my fingertips, Aya responded with a soft suck.

I want to kiss these soft lips, but the desk’s pillar obstructs, preventing me from getting my face any closer.

Reluctantly, I extended my hand towards Aya’s lower body.

Lying sideways, facing this way, Aya’s skirt had already flipped up to the root of her thighs.

While tracing the inner thigh line, I found the desired wet area.

I gently pressed against the damp fabric, which was likely moist from more than just sweat.

A sensation with a touch of moisture, soft and yielding.

“Ahh…”

Aya let out a delicate moan.

I traced my hand over Aya’s underwear’s surface as I passed by.

Then, I twisted my fingers into her panties from her abdomen, and slid my palm in all at once.

“Ah… Boy… yan, mmh…!”

Smoothly, Aya’s entire genitalia fit within my palm.

Ah, so that’s why my intuition prompted me to wake up early today.

If I hadn’t gone to pick her up, Aya would have been wearing shorts today.

…Subtle, but appreciated. This way, I can indulge in Aya’s sensitive spots.

I embedded my entire middle finger into Aya’s soft slit.

Its tip captured the overflowing wet hole, brimming with incessant love juices.

Curving my middle finger into a “C” shape, I inserted it into her vaginal depths.

“Ah… Boy… yan, mmh…!”

Cute coquettish sounds leaked from Aya’s mouth.

Pressing my finger against Aya’s lips, I applied force, indicating for her to remain quiet.

Aya, in response, pressed her lips against my finger, trying to suppress her voice. Yet, unable to withstand it, gradually, she began to enclose my finger between her lips.

It felt as though my finger was being caressed by Aya’s mouth, a tickling and pleasurable sensation.

Perhaps due to the darkness obstructing my sight, Aya’s sensations felt even more vividly discerned.

Outside the blackout curtains, the sound of footsteps accompanying a parent and child seemed to come to a halt.

“Hey Dad, is it over yet?” “We’re already at the exit.” “I wasn’t scared at all.” “The ghost was considerate too.”

The presence of the parent and child gradually faded away towards the exit.

“Once 30 more minutes pass, the afternoon shift will take over! Keep up the good work!”

Inside the classroom, it felt like Tokita’s voice reverberated.

Inside the dark curtain.

In the cramped space, we were devouring each other’s touch.