Chapter 526: Nanami in an Awkward Spot

Chapter 526: Nanami in an Awkward Spot

Himekoji Tadashi fled Mama Shizuka’s house in the most disheveled, struggling way imaginable.

He hadn’t made it more than a few steps from the genkan when his phone buzzed with a notification. On it was the fitness app Mama Shizuka had just installed for him, already getting to work:

“Fighting!”

Followed by a very fitting emoji: [Fighting!]

It made Himekoji sigh inside… Maa—no! Mother-in-la — no! Aunt — finally!

It made Himekoji sigh inside at how Aunt had kept up with the trends just like young people, making him feel even more pressure.

He remembered Hiratsuka-sensei whispering to him just before he left, saying she’d definitely find a chance to properly explain everything to her mom.

Well, he hoped that was true, and he hoped she really could explain it clearly…

Himekoji left the neighborhood, turned a corner, and kept walking straight. Passing a pharmacy, he paused slightly. Looking at the bottle of multivitamin tablets in his hand, an idea suddenly struck him, and he walked inside.

Earlier, when Mama Shizuka brought out the folic acid and told Hiratsuka Shizuka to take it daily, Himekoji had secretly looked up what folic acid was for online. Turns out, it was really good stuff!

Not only for when trying to get pregnant, but also great during early pregnancy. Taken with multivitamins, it could help prevent cleft lip in the baby. Plus, it guarded against various brain problems and nerve defects.

I should buy two bottles for Yukinoshita!

Still blissfully riding the high of becoming a dad, Himekoji thought gleefully.

Inside the pharmacy, Himekoji compared several big brands, meticulously choosing like he was shopping around. Before he could decide, a familiar voice drifted over from the checkout counter.

“Miss, sorry, there’s not enough left on this card. Do you have another payment card or cash?”

“H-huh? S-sorry! I, um… I didn’t bring my wallet…”

Himekoji instinctively looked up. There stood Nanami, holding a small plastic bag of medicine, her face flushed bright crimson with embarrassment.

He froze for a second, then couldn’t help but find it slightly funny. It felt like he often ran into Nanami just when she was at her most flustered.

Well, that wasn’t bad. He was happy to lend Nanami a hand if he could.

Putting the two different bottles of folic acid he’d been comparing back on the shelf, Himekoji quickly walked towards the counter.

Glancing at the amount due:

“It’s 1650 yen total, right? Here, this is 2000.”

He pulled two 1000-yen bills from his wallet, reached past Nanami, and handed them directly to the cashier.

The cashier looked surprisedly at Himekoji, then at a stunned Nanami, hesitating slightly as she reached for the money. Seeing this, Himekoji just pressed the cash into her hand, giving her a reassuring nod. Finally snapping out of it, the cashier started preparing the change.

“H-Himekoji?!”

Nanami hadn’t expected Himekoji to appear at all. Then she immediately realized – he’d witnessed her entire embarrassing moment! How humiliating!

Although… he’d probably seen her look even worse before…

Thinking that calmed her down a little.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Nanami? You walked away so fast earlier, your wallet fell outside. I saw it, picked it up, and ran in to catch you.”

Himekoji thought it through briefly and decided that sounded like a decent excuse. It helped Nanami save face and diffused the awkwardness.

“Huh?!”

Nanami just looked even more dumbfounded. Did that happen? she thought. When did I drop my wallet? I have no idea.

But seeing the distinctly male wallet Himekoji was holding out…

She understood. She got why Himekoji was saying this.

Instead of telling the cashier he’d paid for her, he acted like he’d just returned a wallet she dropped. Giving her a way out.

On one hand, she felt Himekoji didn’t need to go that far. Sure, she was easily embarrassed, but she didn’t cling to pride that tightly…

On the other hand, she just felt… simply happy!

A warm feeling spread through her. She realized Himekoji had thoughtfully, carefully considered her feelings and her situation, going out of his way to do this.

The cashier seemed to catch on too. Smiling, she held out the change to Nanami, teasing kindly,

“Your boyfriend is really considerate!”

Nanami’s face flushed even deeper red than when she’d realized her card was short.

And she looked much cuter than before, too…

Even when Himekoji gently took her wrist and led her out of the pharmacy, her head still felt woozy.

Looking back at the pharmacy, Himekoji silently felt a bit regretful. The folic acid and multivitamins would have to wait for another trip.

“Caught a cold again?”

Himekoji glanced at the medicine bag in Nanami’s hand, asking with concern.

“Why did you say ‘again’…?”

Nanami expressed silent displeasure at that specific word choice.

It just made her recall the last time she had a cold!

At Himekoji’s place… being embarrassingly, overwhelmingly well taken care of…!

“Ah, right, here’s your wallet back. Thanks earlier.”

“Hah.”

Himekoji chuckled dismissively. He shoved his hands coolly into his pockets, not taking the wallet Nanami offered. Instead, he suddenly said:

“The PIN for the card is your birthday.”

“Eh?!”

Nanami froze all over again. Her head felt dizzy, her fingers going weak. She almost dropped the wallet.

“W-why… why is the PIN… my birthday…?”

The Osaka dialect that slipped out uninvited at times like this always carried an unexpectedly sweet charm.

“That’s the salary card we got when we worked part-time together in our first year,” Himekoji explained with a smile.

(He’d already quietly pocketed the cards with PINs set to Akiko and Mashiro’s birthdays.)

“But…”

“No buts!”

Himekoji didn’t give her a chance to refuse.

Seeing Himekoji was determined, and knowing she really needed money right now, Nanami reluctantly accepted it.

She opened the wallet and carefully counted the contents.

“It’s 8,293 yen total. I’ll… I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my paycheck this month!”

Glancing sideways at Himekoji, she found herself adding an explanation almost unconsciously,

“Earlier… when I tried to pay with the card… I thought my salary had already been deposited. I only later remembered… my payday for this month… it’s at the end…”

“Hmm…”

Just as Himekoji was about to respond, his phone rang.

It was Mashiro.

Calling to complain that he hadn’t woken her up that morning.

Himekoji felt a sudden pang of guilt, like a cheating husband being questioned about his wild night out. He hastily plastered on a flattering smile (though Mashiro couldn’t see it) and launched into a stream of apologies and self-criticism.

He didn’t try to hide the call from Nanami. When he finally hung up after talking for a long time, he turned to see Nanami looking at him with a super weird expression.

…

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