Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Keiko did ask me to go with her tonight, but it was to a place I didn’t imagine for a date.

Here we are at a department store. Honestly, I felt uncomfortable. Out of nowhere, Keiko suggested that I start learning makeup. She said, “You are young and pretty, why aren’t you into this?”

I knew nothing about all of this. “Uhmm... I just never really had an interest in it.”

Keiko looked confused. “Hmm, I see… Let me teach you the basics then.”

She was suggesting products left and right, and I was completely lost. What is this? What is that? Is this for my eyes? My lips? I had no idea what was happening or why Keiko suddenly wanted me to do this.

“You really don’t even know the basics,” Keiko said, her brows furrowing in disbelief.

I just nodded sheepishly. She tried putting some makeup on me and told me to look at myself in the mirror. I felt weird.

Then, she kept pushing me to do other girly things, like shopping for clothes that weren’t my usual style. I didn’t know how to react.

The next day, she invited me out again—to a cat café.

The problem? I hate cats. Worse, I have allergies.

“Oh, sorry… I didn’t know you had allergies,” she apologized.

I forced a smile. “Well... that’s okay. You wouldn’t have known.”

She looked genuinely regretful, but I reassured her that it was fine, even as my nose started itching from the cat fur floating in the air. I barely lasted ten minutes before we had to leave.

The day after that, she suggested we go to an arcade. This was strange—it had already been three days in a row that she kept inviting me out. At first, I was happy because she was initiating things, but now, I felt weird.

“You like arcade games, right?” Keiko asked.

“Well… when I was younger, but not so much now,” I answered.

“But you’re still young now?” Keiko looked puzzled.

Oops. “Ahhh, I mean when I was still in school, haha.”

She shrugged it off and suggested playing the claw machine. Oh, this was my time to shine! I was good at this. I could impress her with my skills.

It went smoothly—I managed to grab a few plushies that she liked. Keiko clapped her hands, impressed.

“Wow, you’re really good at this!” she praised.

Feeling confident, I smirked. “Of course! Leave it to me.”

Then she suddenly said, “My husband was really good at this too.”

I froze. My hands clenched, and I felt a cold sweat run down my back.

She looked at me with an unreadable expression. I shivered slightly, feeling like she was seeing through me bit by bit.

“A-ahh… really? Wow, I bet he wasn’t as good as me, hahaha,” I tried to brush it off with a joke.

Keiko simply smiled. “Let’s go eat steak.”

As we were leaving the arcade, Keiko suddenly stopped walking. I turned to look at her, confused. "What's wrong?" I asked.

She shifted her weight and sighed, glancing down. "Wait... my shoelace came undone."

I looked at her feet, and sure enough, her right shoelace was untied, lying messily on the floor. Before she could crouch down, I instinctively knelt in front of her and started tying it for her.

"Ah, you don’t have to—" Keiko began, but I cut her off.

"Just stay still. You'll trip if you leave it like that," I said, focusing on the laces.

The moment was oddly intimate—me kneeling in front of Keiko, carefully looping the shoelace, while she stood there watching. I felt her gaze on me, and my face started heating up. What the hell am I doing?

Finally, I finished tying it into a neat bow and patted her shoe lightly. "There. Done."

I looked up, expecting a simple thanks, but instead, Keiko was staring at me with a small, knowing smile.

"You’re really smooth, you know that?" she said, amusement in her voice.

"H-Huh?" I stammered.

She chuckled. "You tying my shoelaces like that just reminded me of my husband."

Keiko smiled knowingly and said, "You even tie them the same way my husband used to."

I forced a nervous laugh, scratching my cheek. "Oh? Hahaha… What a coincidence!"

Keiko narrowed her eyes slightly, still smiling but looking suspicious. "Yeah… A coincidence."

I quickly stood up and turned around. "A-Anyway! Let's get going before the steak place gets crowded!" I started walking ahead, trying to escape the tension.

Well, I love steak, and this restaurant was my favorite. But now, every time Keiko looked at me, I got a strange chill down my spine.

“What’s wrong, Ryuko? You don’t like steak?” she asked.

I jolted. She noticed. “Ah, no… I love it.”

“Good,” she said, then called for the waitress.

I was about to order, but suddenly, Keiko spoke at the same time as me—the exact same order, down to the smallest detail.

She still remembers my order.

I gasped. This was not the time to feel flustered. Did she—?!

I saw her smirk at me. My heart pounded.

“Ehm… sorry, I mean, I want BBQ sauce instead,” I quickly changed my order to throw her off.

Keiko simply looked at me for a moment, then placed her order.

I gulped. This entire moment was suffocating. I suddenly realized that for these past three days, she had been doing this on purpose—to test me. She was trying to confirm something.

Keiko took a bite of her steak and casually said, “This restaurant is really good.”

I knew this was a bait. I forced myself to act nonchalant. “Oh, really? It’s my first time here.”

Keiko set down her fork. “Yes, my husband really liked the steak here.”

I choked on my drink. She was playing mind games with me.

Then she continued, “Why did you change your order just then? The mushroom sauce is really delicious.”

I coughed and quickly replied, “Well, I just wanted BBQ today.”

Keiko sighed. “Well, my husband liked BBQ too.”

I choked again. Wait. Did I just—? But I like mushroom, though.

Why did you lie, Keiko?

She gazed at me with an intense look. “Sorry, did I say something wrong?”

My heart was beating so fast it felt like I would pass out.

She must have noticed something about me already. I was sure of it.