Chapter 66: Choose Your Gifts Carefully
After leaving Taka’s house, I took the train to a large shopping mall in the city center. The time was now past 4:30 pm. I told Kaede that I would be back by 7:00 pm, so I still had plenty of time to spare.
Based on Harumi-san’s advice, I came up with a gift for White Day: a watch. I had never seen Kaede wear a watch, but that was why I wanted to give her one.
I thought about necklaces and chokers, but if it was something she could wear every day, whether it was at school or on her days off, a watch would be a good choice. With this conclusion, I looked at the showcases, but there were so many that I couldn’t choose which one would suit Kaede.
“Welcome. What kind of watch are you looking for?”
As I groaned, a clerk approached me. Thankfully, it was a female clerk. I was a little embarrassed, but she was the perfect person to talk to.
“I’m looking for a White Day gift for her. I’m not so sure, I think it should be cute… but it’s hard to choose when there are so many to choose from.”
“So you are looking for a cute watch as a gift for your girlfriend. Most of such customers choose by color or design.”
According to the sales clerk: For women with thin arms, it was safer to choose a ladies’ design with a small dial. However, there were some people who would prefer rugged designs like those worn by men, so it was hard to say for sure. Leather bands gave a mature impression, but they also get stuffy and dirty in the summer, and can even tear. Yeah, I don’t get any wiser with this.
“By the way, what is this girlfriend of yours like?”
“Kaede? Well… she’s a pampered girl, she has a cute smile on her face, she’s very aggressive but not good at fighting back, and she’s a pampered girl who falls asleep in your arms when you notice her… Oh, was that the second time I said she’s a pampered girl?”
“… I understand. I get it. Really, it’s enough.”
As for me, I wasn’t even close to finishing. The one person who cared about me more than anyone else, the one person I truly wanted to take care of more than anyone else. That’s Kaede.
“How should I put it, she’s like a cat, isn’t she? A cat is a cat, but I get the impression that she’s a cat who’s madly in love with her owner.”
Oh. That’s the shopkeeper! He expressed Kaede in a clear analogy while his face somewhat slackened. I couldn’t help but clap my hands. I don’t know how he was able to come up with such a precise answer with such fragmentary information.
“Ahahahaha… thank you. There are some brands that are recommended for her. This way.”
The clerk led me to a glass case with an amiable smile on her face, where I found a watch of an unfamiliar brand. But the design was very cute, and I knew it would suit Kaede.
“The most unique feature of this brand is the cat’s face motif. It’s pink gold, which is popular among women, so it gives off a lovely and pretty impression.”
And that was not all. The dial and cat’s ears were adorned with an abundance of bright red light stones. In addition, there was a playful touch; in that a cat was secretly lurking among the many hearts on the dial.
“Oh. Looks like you like it, don’t you?”
“…Yes. I’ll take that. Can you wrap it up for me?”
‘Yes, of course,’ the clerk said with a smile, put on her gloves and took the watch out of the glass case. She made sure there were no scratches and had it wrapped for a gift. She also declared that if Kaede tried it on and it didn’t fit, she would be available to freely fix it for her. Thank goodness.
“Thank you for your purchase.”
“Thank you very much too. Thanks to you, I was able to make a good purchase.”
“I look forward to seeing you again. And when you do, please bring your proud girlfriend with you. We’ll be waiting for you.”
“Yes, I’ll be sure to come back if I ever need to buy a watch!”
I thanked her again and left the store. The time was still before 6pm. It looks like I would be able to get home in plenty of time. I guess I’ll leave a message for Kaede before I return.
As soon as I sent a message that I was going home, I got a read and a reply. It seemed that Kaede and her friends hadn’t broken up yet, but they were leaving early. As I was reading, I received a phone call. It was Kaede, of course.
“Hello, Kaede? How are you?”
“Yuya-kun! Help me, please! Akiho-chan is teasing me!”
“Otsuki-san? What do you mean by this?”
“When I insisted I’ll be going home first, she claimed that I just want to see ‘my darling, darling’ as soon as possible! And that I would ask ‘my darling, darling’ to nudge my head as a reward for studying hard for the exam! And these other terrible suggestions… please help!”
“… Can you put Otsuki-san on for me?”
I won’t tolerate anyone who says anything to annoy Kaede, even if it was my girlfriend’s best friend! I also want to see Kaede as soon as possible. So I’m going to ask her to let Kaede go!
“Hello hello, this is Otsuki calling for you~. What is it, Yoshi?”
“Oh…Otsuki-san. Can you please stop picking on Kaede?”
“Shut up! Kaede-chan is everyone’s Kaede-chan, not just Yoshi’s! You’re breaking anti-monopoly laws!”
‘That’s right, that’s right!’, came the voice of Shinji and the girls who seemed to be playing with him from the phone. I can understand why you want to keep playing with Kaede. But…
“I’m sorry, Otsuki-san. Kaede is a very, very important person for me. And I seem to be surprisingly possessive. I can’t wait to meet her. So I’m sorry, but can you please let Kaede go?”
“…I, I understand… I’ll release Kaede-chan right now. I hope you’ll be happy… take care of Kaede-chan.”
“Yuya-kun… well, I’m going home now.”
“Yeah, be careful on your way.”
“Y-yes. I… also love you, Yuya-kun.”
In a hazy voice, Kaede said, and then the call ended. What was this phone call about? Could it be that Kaede was made to call me? No, I’m thinking too much.
I put the watch in my bag and headed home. The time to give it to her would be before she went to bed. Right now, the sun has gone down.
Kaede, I hope you’ll be pleased.
Chapter 66: Choose Your Gifts Carefully
After leaving Taka’s house, I took the train to a large shopping mall in the city center. The time was now past 4:30 pm. I told Kaede that I would be back by 7:00 pm, so I still had plenty of time to spare.
Based on Harumi-san’s advice, I came up with a gift for White Day: a watch. I had never seen Kaede wear a watch, but that was why I wanted to give her one.
I thought about necklaces and chokers, but if it was something she could wear every day, whether it was at school or on her days off, a watch would be a good choice. With this conclusion, I looked at the showcases, but there were so many that I couldn’t choose which one would suit Kaede.
“Welcome. What kind of watch are you looking for?”
As I groaned, a clerk approached me. Thankfully, it was a female clerk. I was a little embarrassed, but she was the perfect person to talk to.
“I’m looking for a White Day gift for her. I’m not so sure, I think it should be cute… but it’s hard to choose when there are so many to choose from.”
“So you are looking for a cute watch as a gift for your girlfriend. Most of such customers choose by color or design.”
According to the sales clerk: For women with thin arms, it was safer to choose a ladies’ design with a small dial. However, there were some people who would prefer rugged designs like those worn by men, so it was hard to say for sure. Leather bands gave a mature impression, but they also get stuffy and dirty in the summer, and can even tear. Yeah, I don’t get any wiser with this.
“By the way, what is this girlfriend of yours like?”
“Kaede? Well… she’s a pampered girl, she has a cute smile on her face, she’s very aggressive but not good at fighting back, and she’s a pampered girl who falls asleep in your arms when you notice her… Oh, was that the second time I said she’s a pampered girl?”
“… I understand. I get it. Really, it’s enough.”
As for me, I wasn’t even close to finishing. The one person who cared about me more than anyone else, the one person I truly wanted to take care of more than anyone else. That’s Kaede.
“How should I put it, she’s like a cat, isn’t she? A cat is a cat, but I get the impression that she’s a cat who’s madly in love with her owner.”
Oh. That’s the shopkeeper! He expressed Kaede in a clear analogy while his face somewhat slackened. I couldn’t help but clap my hands. I don’t know how he was able to come up with such a precise answer with such fragmentary information.
“Ahahahaha… thank you. There are some brands that are recommended for her. This way.”
The clerk led me to a glass case with an amiable smile on her face, where I found a watch of an unfamiliar brand. But the design was very cute, and I knew it would suit Kaede.
“The most unique feature of this brand is the cat’s face motif. It’s pink gold, which is popular among women, so it gives off a lovely and pretty impression.”
And that was not all. The dial and cat’s ears were adorned with an abundance of bright red light stones. In addition, there was a playful touch; in that a cat was secretly lurking among the many hearts on the dial.
“Oh. Looks like you like it, don’t you?”
“…Yes. I’ll take that. Can you wrap it up for me?”
‘Yes, of course,’ the clerk said with a smile, put on her gloves and took the watch out of the glass case. She made sure there were no scratches and had it wrapped for a gift. She also declared that if Kaede tried it on and it didn’t fit, she would be available to freely fix it for her. Thank goodness.
“Thank you for your purchase.”
“Thank you very much too. Thanks to you, I was able to make a good purchase.”
“I look forward to seeing you again. And when you do, please bring your proud girlfriend with you. We’ll be waiting for you.”
“Yes, I’ll be sure to come back if I ever need to buy a watch!”
I thanked her again and left the store. The time was still before 6pm. It looks like I would be able to get home in plenty of time. I guess I’ll leave a message for Kaede before I return.
As soon as I sent a message that I was going home, I got a read and a reply. It seemed that Kaede and her friends hadn’t broken up yet, but they were leaving early. As I was reading, I received a phone call. It was Kaede, of course.
“Hello, Kaede? How are you?”
“Yuya-kun! Help me, please! Akiho-chan is teasing me!”
“Otsuki-san? What do you mean by this?”
“When I insisted I’ll be going home first, she claimed that I just want to see ‘my darling, darling’ as soon as possible! And that I would ask ‘my darling, darling’ to nudge my head as a reward for studying hard for the exam! And these other terrible suggestions… please help!”
“… Can you put Otsuki-san on for me?”
I won’t tolerate anyone who says anything to annoy Kaede, even if it was my girlfriend’s best friend! I also want to see Kaede as soon as possible. So I’m going to ask her to let Kaede go!
“Hello hello, this is Otsuki calling for you~. What is it, Yoshi?”
“Oh…Otsuki-san. Can you please stop picking on Kaede?”
“Shut up! Kaede-chan is everyone’s Kaede-chan, not just Yoshi’s! You’re breaking anti-monopoly laws!”
‘That’s right, that’s right!’, came the voice of Shinji and the girls who seemed to be playing with him from the phone. I can understand why you want to keep playing with Kaede. But…
“I’m sorry, Otsuki-san. Kaede is a very, very important person for me. And I seem to be surprisingly possessive. I can’t wait to meet her. So I’m sorry, but can you please let Kaede go?”
“…I, I understand… I’ll release Kaede-chan right now. I hope you’ll be happy… take care of Kaede-chan.”
“Yuya-kun… well, I’m going home now.”
“Yeah, be careful on your way.”
“Y-yes. I… also love you, Yuya-kun.”
In a hazy voice, Kaede said, and then the call ended. What was this phone call about? Could it be that Kaede was made to call me? No, I’m thinking too much.
I put the watch in my bag and headed home. The time to give it to her would be before she went to bed. Right now, the sun has gone down.
Kaede, I hope you’ll be pleased.
