Chapter 7: Her First Love
Hitotsuba Electronics. A global Japanese electronics manufacturing enterprise celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The company’s business was not limited to home appliances, but also included renovation, electric vehicles, and infrastructure development.
“My father, Kazuhiro Hitotsuba, is currently the fourth generation president. The current system based on family inheritance might be a bit old-fashioned nowadays, that’s why my father plans not to follow such a tradition anymore. This means you must be very well prepared if you are going to follow in my father’s footsteps, right?”
A death sentence. This was an unmistakable death sentence for me. I could understand that you had to devote yourself to your work every day once you have entered the workforce. However, I never thought that as a freshman in high school, I would be told that I had to already work hard to become the president of a company with tens of thousands of employees.
“You will be asked to enter a university in the future. Yes, at the very least, it has to be a national and public university. But it doesn’t really matter if it’s private as long as you don’t go to a strange place.”
“But if I go to university, I won’t be able to work for your father, will I?”
“You want to work? Do you mean that you are going to waste your time with part-time jobs and clubs? Or do you want to join a drinking club or a hook-up club to have fun? No, could it be that you want to be taken care of and nurtured by the kind senpais at your part-time job despite having me in your life?”
Just what are you imagining? I just asked if I should work for my father-in-law while attending university, because I thought I was going to be by the boss’s side as soon as I graduated from high school. He said that I would be working for him after I became his son-in-law. During such a time, I would be attending university.
“Yuya-kun, all you have to do is to flirt with me. Despite my appearance, I am a very hard-working person. I’m sure I can meet your expectations and wishes, no matter how unique Yuya-kun fetishes are. So don’t do it with other girls, okay?”
“Uh-huh. Of course.”
If someone as cute as her looked up and winked at you, you would have no choice but to agree! How else could I have answered?
Still, there was still a question left unanswered. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to ask this now, after hugging her and crying, but there was something I had to know.
“Hey, Hitotsuba-san. Why did you try to help me? I don’t think we had that much in common, did we?”
“That’s right. It’s true that Yuya-kun and I didn’t talk much at school, but I kept an eye on you. Specifically, at the football team practice after school.”
There were few things I’ve continued to do since I was a child. One of them was soccer. However, the football team of Meiwadai High School was not that strong. My position was forward, but I never seemed to have received the ball. The reason was that our soccer team was especially weak in the midfield.
“Whenever the sun was setting and everyone else had already gone home, only one of the footballers kept kicking the ball by himself. Every day, from day to day. He never got tired of it. He was always kicking the ball towards the goal, and he had an attitude that I didn’t usually see in people.”
“…”
“This guy was different from me. I thought that he was capable of working hard with all his effort. I couldn’t do such a thing. And then, strangely enough, before I knew it, I had my eye on that boy. I was rooting for him. I hoped that his effort would be rewarded one day.”
But the effort never paid off. I had dreamed of participating in the national tournament, but the result was that our team was defeated in the third round of the regional tournament. All my daily practice never bore fruit.
“But the boy was not despairing of his defeat. The next day he was kicking the ball by himself again, as usual. I thought he would rest a bit or stop practicing by himself.
Yes, you are a wonderful person with a strong heart that never gave in to despair. My heart has been riveted to your charm.”
“I’m not such an… amazing person, you know?”
“It doesn’t matter what you say. I have fallen in love with your dedication! Before anyone else would notice your charm, I wanted to make sure that you only look at me!”
I was very happy that Hitotsuba-san, who was voted as the cutest high school girl in Japan, thought so highly of me. I never thought that she would fall in love with me for kicking a ball around like an idiot every day. But since she liked me from a distance, that meant I didn’t really know anything about her. So if you were to ask me if I liked her, my answer would just be: ‘I don’t really know’.
“Thank you for telling me your feelings. It’s honestly nice to be liked by such a beautiful girl like you, Hitotsuba-san. But I don’t know you very well yet. So, I can’t provide you with an answer to your feelings right now.”
“That’s okay. In fact, that is exactly why you are my first love. You can’t answer because you don’t know Hitotsuba Kaede; you didn’t just accept me because of my appearance. And with such an answer, my liking for Yuya-kun is skyrocketing!”
I wonder if that is the case. I think it’s important to know who the other person is before you fall in love with them. At least in my mind, my criteria for falling in love with a girl was whether it was fun to be with her and whether she wants to show her true self with me. There was also the question of whether they were able to see and understand the inner workings of me, Yoshizumi Yuya, properly. Otherwise, relationships would fall apart quickly when people were to start dating on looks alone. Well, in my case, I can’t allow that to happen.
“Fufufu, even though I was somewhat too pushy, the strategy of breaking your guard was a success (Footnote: Originally an idiom, which meant: to remove obstacles in the way of one’s objective.)! I don’t know how yet, but someday I’m sure I’ll get Yuya to say, ‘I like you’, and kiss me. Then I’ll just push Yuya-kun down and… guhehe… “
So in her delusion, it was not me pushing her down; it was Hitotsuba-san pushing me down. Also, a girl of your age shouldn’t be slobbering all over herself while saying “Guhehe”! Such a waste of your beauty! This would destroy the public perception of the dignified Hitotsuba Kaede.
“Oh… I’m not sure what to say, but I think I’ve learned something new about you. There’s a big gap between you at school and at home.”
“Every human being wears a mask. It’s also the same for you, Yuya-kun. While I’m not sure if it’s conscious or unconscious for you, but the person you are now and the person you were when playing football are two different people. Of course, I meant that in a good way.”
I didn’t know how others perceived me, but my friends often told me that I seemed like a different person on the soccer field than I thought I usually was. I was made aware that I could be a bit aggressive and egotistical, but I wasn’t sure if that was the right term to describe me.
“If it’s done unconsciously, then you aren’t aware of it. By the way, which personality of mine do you think is the mask and which one would be my true self?”
“I don’t know yet. You can be cute like you are now, or you can be cool like you are at school. Well, I don’t have any way to judge which one is your true nature, so to borrow your words, I guess we’ll find out later.”
I admire the cool Hitotsuba-san because she was dignified, cool and dependable even though she was a girl. Also, I find it cute when she makes a silly face when she is immersed in her fantasies or when she turns red with embarrassment.
“Yes, you’re right. I also want to learn more about Yuya-kun’s favorite foods, favorite types of women, sexual habits, favorite scenarios, and more. So, let’s do our best together, shall we? By the way, my favorite situation is getting whispered in th-”
“STOOP! Let’s talk about it another time. Let’s get to know each other more normally first, okay?”
Whenever there seems to be an opportunity, she would just throw a bombshell at me with a straight face, and I would never be able to process it correctly! In addition, if it was just that, then I wouldn’t be so flustered, but if you were to say it with an embarrassed expression while slightly turning your eyes away, my heart would be about to burst! I’d even like to suspect that this is all part of your calculated plan!
“Well. I was just kidding, Yuya-kun. It’s time to start packing. We’ll move on once we’ve wrapped up the bare minimum.
“Move? To where?”
“Isn’t it obvious? To our love nest.”
What? Is this living together already starting today?
Chapter 7: Her First Love
Hitotsuba Electronics. A global Japanese electronics manufacturing enterprise celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The company’s business was not limited to home appliances, but also included renovation, electric vehicles, and infrastructure development.
“My father, Kazuhiro Hitotsuba, is currently the fourth generation president. The current system based on family inheritance might be a bit old-fashioned nowadays, that’s why my father plans not to follow such a tradition anymore. This means you must be very well prepared if you are going to follow in my father’s footsteps, right?”
A death sentence. This was an unmistakable death sentence for me. I could understand that you had to devote yourself to your work every day once you have entered the workforce. However, I never thought that as a freshman in high school, I would be told that I had to already work hard to become the president of a company with tens of thousands of employees.
“You will be asked to enter a university in the future. Yes, at the very least, it has to be a national and public university. But it doesn’t really matter if it’s private as long as you don’t go to a strange place.”
“But if I go to university, I won’t be able to work for your father, will I?”
“You want to work? Do you mean that you are going to waste your time with part-time jobs and clubs? Or do you want to join a drinking club or a hook-up club to have fun? No, could it be that you want to be taken care of and nurtured by the kind senpais at your part-time job despite having me in your life?”
Just what are you imagining? I just asked if I should work for my father-in-law while attending university, because I thought I was going to be by the boss’s side as soon as I graduated from high school. He said that I would be working for him after I became his son-in-law. During such a time, I would be attending university.
“Yuya-kun, all you have to do is to flirt with me. Despite my appearance, I am a very hard-working person. I’m sure I can meet your expectations and wishes, no matter how unique Yuya-kun fetishes are. So don’t do it with other girls, okay?”
“Uh-huh. Of course.”
If someone as cute as her looked up and winked at you, you would have no choice but to agree! How else could I have answered?
Still, there was still a question left unanswered. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to ask this now, after hugging her and crying, but there was something I had to know.
“Hey, Hitotsuba-san. Why did you try to help me? I don’t think we had that much in common, did we?”
“That’s right. It’s true that Yuya-kun and I didn’t talk much at school, but I kept an eye on you. Specifically, at the football team practice after school.”
There were few things I’ve continued to do since I was a child. One of them was soccer. However, the football team of Meiwadai High School was not that strong. My position was forward, but I never seemed to have received the ball. The reason was that our soccer team was especially weak in the midfield.
“Whenever the sun was setting and everyone else had already gone home, only one of the footballers kept kicking the ball by himself. Every day, from day to day. He never got tired of it. He was always kicking the ball towards the goal, and he had an attitude that I didn’t usually see in people.”
“…”
“This guy was different from me. I thought that he was capable of working hard with all his effort. I couldn’t do such a thing. And then, strangely enough, before I knew it, I had my eye on that boy. I was rooting for him. I hoped that his effort would be rewarded one day.”
But the effort never paid off. I had dreamed of participating in the national tournament, but the result was that our team was defeated in the third round of the regional tournament. All my daily practice never bore fruit.
“But the boy was not despairing of his defeat. The next day he was kicking the ball by himself again, as usual. I thought he would rest a bit or stop practicing by himself.
Yes, you are a wonderful person with a strong heart that never gave in to despair. My heart has been riveted to your charm.”
“I’m not such an… amazing person, you know?”
“It doesn’t matter what you say. I have fallen in love with your dedication! Before anyone else would notice your charm, I wanted to make sure that you only look at me!”
I was very happy that Hitotsuba-san, who was voted as the cutest high school girl in Japan, thought so highly of me. I never thought that she would fall in love with me for kicking a ball around like an idiot every day. But since she liked me from a distance, that meant I didn’t really know anything about her. So if you were to ask me if I liked her, my answer would just be: ‘I don’t really know’.
“Thank you for telling me your feelings. It’s honestly nice to be liked by such a beautiful girl like you, Hitotsuba-san. But I don’t know you very well yet. So, I can’t provide you with an answer to your feelings right now.”
“That’s okay. In fact, that is exactly why you are my first love. You can’t answer because you don’t know Hitotsuba Kaede; you didn’t just accept me because of my appearance. And with such an answer, my liking for Yuya-kun is skyrocketing!”
I wonder if that is the case. I think it’s important to know who the other person is before you fall in love with them. At least in my mind, my criteria for falling in love with a girl was whether it was fun to be with her and whether she wants to show her true self with me. There was also the question of whether they were able to see and understand the inner workings of me, Yoshizumi Yuya, properly. Otherwise, relationships would fall apart quickly when people were to start dating on looks alone. Well, in my case, I can’t allow that to happen.
“Fufufu, even though I was somewhat too pushy, the strategy of breaking your guard was a success (Footnote: Originally an idiom, which meant: to remove obstacles in the way of one’s objective.)! I don’t know how yet, but someday I’m sure I’ll get Yuya to say, ‘I like you’, and kiss me. Then I’ll just push Yuya-kun down and… guhehe… “
So in her delusion, it was not me pushing her down; it was Hitotsuba-san pushing me down. Also, a girl of your age shouldn’t be slobbering all over herself while saying “Guhehe”! Such a waste of your beauty! This would destroy the public perception of the dignified Hitotsuba Kaede.
“Oh… I’m not sure what to say, but I think I’ve learned something new about you. There’s a big gap between you at school and at home.”
“Every human being wears a mask. It’s also the same for you, Yuya-kun. While I’m not sure if it’s conscious or unconscious for you, but the person you are now and the person you were when playing football are two different people. Of course, I meant that in a good way.”
I didn’t know how others perceived me, but my friends often told me that I seemed like a different person on the soccer field than I thought I usually was. I was made aware that I could be a bit aggressive and egotistical, but I wasn’t sure if that was the right term to describe me.
“If it’s done unconsciously, then you aren’t aware of it. By the way, which personality of mine do you think is the mask and which one would be my true self?”
“I don’t know yet. You can be cute like you are now, or you can be cool like you are at school. Well, I don’t have any way to judge which one is your true nature, so to borrow your words, I guess we’ll find out later.”
I admire the cool Hitotsuba-san because she was dignified, cool and dependable even though she was a girl. Also, I find it cute when she makes a silly face when she is immersed in her fantasies or when she turns red with embarrassment.
“Yes, you’re right. I also want to learn more about Yuya-kun’s favorite foods, favorite types of women, sexual habits, favorite scenarios, and more. So, let’s do our best together, shall we? By the way, my favorite situation is getting whispered in th-”
“STOOP! Let’s talk about it another time. Let’s get to know each other more normally first, okay?”
Whenever there seems to be an opportunity, she would just throw a bombshell at me with a straight face, and I would never be able to process it correctly! In addition, if it was just that, then I wouldn’t be so flustered, but if you were to say it with an embarrassed expression while slightly turning your eyes away, my heart would be about to burst! I’d even like to suspect that this is all part of your calculated plan!
“Well. I was just kidding, Yuya-kun. It’s time to start packing. We’ll move on once we’ve wrapped up the bare minimum.
“Move? To where?”
“Isn’t it obvious? To our love nest.”
What? Is this living together already starting today?
