Chapter 217: Kouhei-kun’s Girlfriend
Nagisa stepped through the grand entryway of the Saionji Mansion, the faint scent of freshly polished wood and garden roses trailing in the air. The mont her shoes touched the floor, the quiet ambiance was abruptly broken.
Hina bolted toward her like a bullet, her voice sharp with urgency.
“Where’s Kouhei?”
Her eyes locked onto Nagisa with laser precision, and without hesitation, she leaned in close, sniffing. Her senses imdiately picked up that Nagisa still carried the faint trace of Kouhei’s scent, clinging to her like a mory that refused to fade.
“I was just about to explain that to everyone,” Nagisa said, her voice calm, but with a subtle edge of unease.
Hina’s heart began to thud violently in her chest, like drums warning of a coming storm. A heavy, cold pressure settled in her stomach. Sothing was off. It felt disturbingly close to the vision she once had… a nightmare that now seed to bleed into reality.
“What happened to Kouhei-kun, Nagisa?” Yuuna’s voice rang out as she stepped forward.
Nagisa drew in a breath, her lips parting as she began to recount what had happened earlier.
“I see… So his aunt found out he’s been living here,” Yuuna murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“She sounded furious, to be honest,” Nagisa replied with a small shrug. “I an, it’s understandable. Imagine discovering your nephew has been living in soone else’s house without your knowledge. She only found out just now.”
“So Kouhei’s at his apartnt now? Speaking with her?” Yuuna asked for confirmation.
Nagisa nodded. “Yes. He told he’d handle it on his own… so I left him there.”
Hina clenched her fists. “So… nothing bad happened to Kouhei, right?”
Both Nagisa and Yuuna turned to her, their eyes subtly widening. It was the first ti they’d seen Hina this visibly shaken. Her voice trembled, her brows pulled tight with anxiety.
“Well… I think he’ll be fine,” Nagisa said, slowly and carefully choosing her words. “He didn’t seem like he was walking into any danger.”
And just like that, they watched Hina exhale a shaky breath, as if she’d been underwater all this ti and had finally surfaced. The tension in her shoulders eased… just slightly.
She was scared.
Yuuna tilted her head. “You’re really that worried about Kouhei-kun, Hina?”
Hina turned away, shaking her head gently. “I just… I get this feeling. Like sothing bad will happen if I’m not keeping my eyes on him constantly.”
Yuuna frowned. “Why’s that?”
“No real reason,” Hina muttered, arms folding over her chest. “It’s just… intuition.”
That word hung in the air.
Yuuna felt a strange ripple in her chest. Hina wasn’t soone who usually acted on feelings or spoke about them so openly. This… this was different. If Hina’s instincts were screaming at her like this, maybe… maybe there was sothing to it.
“Should we go to him?” Nagisa asked softly, her voice betraying her own nervous thoughts. The idea was clearly weighing on her too.
“No. It wouldn’t be smart for all of us to show up at once,” Yuuna said, her voice steady and thoughtful. “It’s best if just one of us goes. That way it won’t escalate anything. I’ll go. I can help explain everything to his aunt.”
It made sense. If anyone could keep the situation from spiraling, it was Yuuna. She was composed, reliable, and Kouhei trusted her. With her around, things might actually go smoothly.
“Are you both okay with that?”
Hina and Nagisa nodded in unison. There was no one more fitting than Yuuna to handle this.
***
The sun had long dipped beneath the horizon by the ti Kouhei returned to his apartnt. The familiar hallway echoed under his footsteps, but it felt strangely distant and hollow, like the mories he’d left here had aged without him.
It had been ages since he stepped inside this place.
The last ti he was here, he had sex with Aria. And now, once again, he was back.
He slowly turned the key in the lock, the sound louder than usual in the silence of the night. As he nudged the door open and slipped inside, his eyes scanned the empty space. It was quiet. No sign of anyone.
She must be in the back sowhere.
With calculated steps, he tried to move as silently as possible, his breath caught in his throat. Each step felt like walking into a trap, and his fingers trembled as he reached to close the door behind him.
Click.
The instant the latch clicked shut, the overhead light blazed to life, flooding the room in harsh white.
He flinched.
Slowly, his neck turned—muscles stiff, creaking like rusted tal—as his gaze landed behind him.
There she was.
A woman stood with arms crossed, bathed in the light like an angel of wrath. Her eyes were afla, her jaw clenched. Every inch of her scread fury.
“Kou…”
“Yuka-nee-chan…”
His voice cracked as he tried to smile. A weak, barely-there smile. The kind you give when facing a beast you can’t run from. His palms were sweating. It felt less like a reunion, and more like facing judgnt day.
They both took their seats in the living room, the tension so thick it pressed against his chest like a weight.
Hanazono Yukari.
She was 24, a young woman already hardened by life. An office worker by day. Single. Never been in a relationship. Her only companions were drinking and smoking.
She was the one who had taken him in after his parents died. The one who raised him. And right now, she looked like she was ready to kill him.
“Yuka-nee-chan, let explain,” Kouhei said quietly, almost pleadingly.
He was kneeling on the hardwood floor, his legs folded neatly beneath him in a formal posture, while Yukari lood above from the couch, her expression unreadable and her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her legs were crossed with a sort of casual elegance that made her look like a queen sitting in judgnt, and her cold stare bore down on him like twin blades.
She hadn’t even changed out of her office attire. The rigid, professional lines of her pencil skirt and blazer made her look even more severe, adding a layer of sharpness to her already intimidating aura. It was as if the stress and exhaustion from work had amplified her anger, making her seem more formidable than ever.
Right now, she didn’t look like his aunt. She looked like an interrogator. The air was heavy. Kouhei could feel sweat forming at the back of his neck, and his chest tightened with guilt. It felt like he was about to be devoured whole.
“Explain it to in a way that actually makes sense, Kou,” Yukari said. “Your landlady called ——because she hadn’t seen you coming ho for days. She was worried, Kouhei. She thought sothing might’ve happened to you. So she called . Do you know what that felt like? How much blood drained from my body when I heard those words? I thought you were dead. I swear, I almost aged ten years in a single mont because of you!”
“I’m sorry… but really, I’m okay. I haven’t been hurt. Nothing happened to .”
“Then why the hell haven’t you been coming ho?!” she snapped, her voice suddenly louder. “Don’t tell it’s because you’ve been hanging out with bad influences—going out clubbing at night, doing God knows what!”
“I promise I’m not doing anything illegal,” Kouhei said. “And I’m still eighteen, nee-chan. You know I can’t legally get into clubs yet. And I’m not with so shady group either. The people I’m with… they’re actually good people.”
Yukari leaned back into the couch with a slow, deliberate exhale, one hand lifting to pinch the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes in frustration.
“Well… I guess I can believe that,” she muttered, the fire in her voice simring down into a low grumble. “But why didn’t you say anything to ? If you had just let know where you were, I wouldn’t have been worrying sick. I thought… I thought you were kidnapped. Or worse.”
“I know… I should’ve told you. I really should’ve.”
Kouhei looked down at the floor, guilt twisting his stomach. His voice cracked slightly with remorse. He couldn’t even et her eyes.
“You should be sorry,” Yukari continued. “What if sothing had happened to you, and I had no idea? How would I even look your mother in the eye? What would I say to her? I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Right… Sorry…” Kouhei mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.
That was all he could offer. Apologies that felt too small for the weight of her worry.
“Now then,” Yukari said sharply, straightening her posture and sitting upright with a determined look in her eyes, “I want you to call the person you’ve been living with. I want to know who they are. I need to et them.”
Before Kouhei could answer, a knock suddenly echoed through the apartnt.
Knock. Knock.
“I’m going to get that,” he said quickly, grateful for the distraction.
He stood up and hurried to the door, his heart pounding slightly in his chest. He opened it, and instantly froze.
“Hello.”
Standing in the hallway, with a soft smile on her face, was none other than Yuuna.
“Yuuna-san?!” Kouhei’s voice jumped a few octaves, unable to contain his shock. His eyes went wide, and he instinctively stepped back.
“Kou? Who is it?” Yukari called from the living room, curiosity tinged with suspicion.
She peeked around the corner, and her eyes landed on Yuuna.
“Oh my…”
Yuuna returned her gaze with a composed, friendly smile.
“Nice to et you,” she said with a graceful bow of her head. “I’m Sarushima Yuuna. And I’m Kouhei-kun’s girlfriend.”
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