Chapter 24: Friends and the Couple Discount

"There's a movie I want to see today. That okay with you?"

"Sure, but what are we watching?"

I had picked Haru up and now we were on the train, headed to our destination.

Today, Haru had her black hair tied in a ponytail, wore a short pleated mini skirt, and some kind of short-sleeved top—I'm not exactly sure what kind, but it looked like a shirt. She wasn’t showing cleavage or her shoulders, but still, she looked absolutely adorable. And with her great figure, she looked absolutely stunning.

Why does she dress like this while still calling herself my best friend?

The moment I showed up at her place this morning, she greeted me in a flustered tone and said:

"I mean, look! I actually wanted to wear something more normal, okay?! But when you're with a cute girl, you gotta level up your game, right?! So even though I really didn't want to, I wore this for your sake, Kiri! I really didn’t want to, okay~? So you'd better be grateful!!"

When I told her she genuinely looked cute, she kept making excuses afterward.

Like how her hand "accidentally" grabbed a mini skirt instead of pants, or how she felt like she had to wear something cute.

What kind of excuses are those?

Maybe… it was her subconscious desire to be seen as a girlfriend. If that's the case, well, that’s a good sign.

Anyway, back to the train—Haru brought up the idea of going to the movies.

I was thinking of killing some time at an arcade, so as long as it wasn’t too far from the café, our main destination for today, I was down for anything.

And the movie theater was close by—perfect.

"It's a kaiju movie. Apparently it’s getting amazing reviews. Remember the last one? The one where the monster crashed a train? We saw that together back in middle school."

"Oh, that one! Yeah, we did go see it. So this is the sequel, huh… now I’m excited."

It all came back to me—that was during summer break in second year of middle school. Just the two of us went.

Afterward, we were both hyped and spent a while flipping through the pamphlet and talking about all the details.

Nostalgic. And now there’s a new one.

The memory of that thrill and excitement made my heart start to flutter again.

And from the look on Haru’s face, she felt the same—she was practically buzzing with anticipation.

"Remember? We were so fired up after watching it in middle school! I hope this one gets us just as pumped!"

"Yeah, I remember. You even started talking super fast. Brings back memories."

"Well, I couldn’t help it! It was so good! Of course I started talking fast!"

Haru was so excited, her voice was getting louder and louder.

Honestly, it was starting to cross the line for train etiquette. In other words—too loud.

To quiet her down, I raised a finger to my own lips, then gently pressed it to hers.

"Haru."

"Ah—"

The gesture, combined with softly calling her name, was enough to tell her to lower her voice.

Haru got the message right away, covered her mouth with both hands, and glanced nervously around.

"Sorry… I got a little too excited."

"Try to keep it down."

I reached out and gave her head a gentle pat. Something even a best friend is allowed to do.

"Mmm…"

Haru puffed her cheeks a bit in protest, but even that was cute.

Seriously—no matter what she does, she’s either cute or beautiful, and it’s a problem.

It’s hard to hold myself back.

And I could feel the stares and unspoken thoughts of the people around us.

Two kinds.

One was basically: “Shut up already, you damn lovey-dovey couple!!”

The other was envy.

At the sight of this beautiful girl who looked like she was part of a couple, excitedly talking about a kaiju movie with me.

Well, okay. That second one might be wishful thinking on my part.

Still, it’s kind of sad—we’re not actually dating.

But just watch. Sooner or later, I’ll make it real.

"Well, it was kinda fun. Not quite what I expected though."

"Really? I thought it was plenty entertaining."

"Eh, really? I liked the previous one better. I mean, they suddenly started fighting aliens—didn't that feel like a huge leap?"

As we made our way to the café for lunch, we chatted casually about our thoughts on the movie.

But honestly, my mind was already shifting gears to our next event—the couple café.

After all, thanks to yesterday's game, I had won the right to override Haru's lunch veto. I fully intended to cash that in and drag her along no matter what.

"So, where are we going for lunch today? I mean, I do know I don’t have veto rights, but I’m still curious."

"You’ll find out when we get there."

"Aw c’mon, you could at least tell me! Stingy."

We continued our playful banter until we arrived at our destination.

"This is the place."

"Ooh—……wait, what??"

Haru looked at the storefront, checked the sign, peeked inside—and then shot me a stunned look.

"Hey Kiri!! This place says 'Couples Only Discount'!!"

"Yup. Perfect, right? I mean, to anyone watching, we totally look like a couple. It’s a good deal."

"Yeah but—! We’re not a couple!! We’re best friends! Friends, not lovers!!"

"Haru, you might think that, but take a look at yourself. Dressed up like that, walking beside me—how do you think people are seeing us? Don’t worry, no one’s gonna suspect a thing."

"I-I mean… this is just…"

Haru looked down at herself and fell silent.

She finally seemed to realize how we must appear to others around us.

I pushed a bit more.

"Besides, remember—when it comes to lunch, you don’t have veto rights."

"Ugh…"

"So today, we’re eating here. We’ll take the couple discount, and we’ll enjoy the couple-exclusive lunch set. Got it? You’re coming along."

Haru clutched her head like she was having an internal meltdown.

Then, as if bracing herself, she took a deep breath and met my eyes.

"Fine. It’s a punishment game, after all. Just while we’re inside the café—I’ll play the part of your girlfriend."

Play the part, huh… Well, that’s enough for now.

"Alright then, let’s head in."

"Y-yeah…"

As we opened the door and stepped inside, Haru followed behind me, visibly tense.

Just as I’d hoped, the café was full of couples. There was a soft, pinkish glow to the place—a sweet, dreamy atmosphere. Should be just the right kind of pressure for Haru.

"Are you two a couple?"

"Yes, we are."

A staff member greeted us, and upon my response, guided us to a couple’s seat.

Despite the name, it was a fairly standard two-person table—just facing each other with a basket under the table for our bags. The main “couple” vibe came from the lacey white tablecloth, which added just a subtle romantic touch.

That said, the couple seats were lined up one after another, and the place was packed with actual couples. Honestly, even someone other than Haru might start feeling a bit overwhelmed here.

“There’s like… a ton of couples in here. Don’t we totally not belong?”

Haru glanced around and muttered to me in a low voice.

She might be right—we probably did stand out. But not in a bad way. The real reason is that Haru’s just way too cute and beautiful, so she kind of sticks out on her own.

Still, I didn’t say that this time.

Right now, I needed her to get swept up in this atmosphere. If I went and told her she was the most beautiful one here or something, it’d just boost her ego and throw everything off.

Watching Haru fidget uncomfortably tugged at my heart a little, but I ignored it and ordered drinks, meals, and the post-lunch parfait from the waiter.

“Hey, seriously—”

“It’ll be fine. Probably. More importantly, don’t forget we’re playing the part of a couple here.”

“Ugh… yeah, yeah, I got it…”

Right then, our drinks arrived.

A single large glass of iced tea… with two straws sticking out of it.

We’re starting with this? They really go all in, huh.

I was a little impressed, honestly. But I wondered how Haru would take it.

Her reaction was exactly what I expected.

“Wait—! Are we seriously supposed to drink this together?!”

Her voice was loud at first, then quickly dropped to a whisper as she leaned in to ask me.

But it was fine—I’d anticipated this.

“What’s the big deal? We used to share drinks in middle school. Why would this be any different?”

“W-Well yeah, but… this is different… it’s kinda… you know, makes me too aware of things…”

That last part came out so quietly, I barely managed to catch it.

“Haru, it’s okay to be aware of it.”

I said it gently, almost like guiding her.

I honestly didn’t expect her to be the one to admit she was getting self-conscious. But it’s better if she starts easing up on this whole “we’re just friends” mindset.

If she keeps thinking she shouldn’t feel anything, we’ll never move forward.

So even if she pushes back now, I think it’s important for me to tell her—it’s okay to be aware. She can feel those things.

“D-Don’t be stupid. We’re best friends, you know? No way anything’s gonna happen between us. Aghh… seriously, fine. I’ll do it… I’ll play the part of someone playing the part of a girlfriend…”

She started mumbling like some kind of ritual chant.

Then, with a look of newfound resolve, she lifted her head and looked at me.

“Okay! I’m good now!”

“Alright, then let’s drink.”

We both leaned in and put our lips to the straws, sipping the iced tea together.

Naturally, our faces ended up pretty close. Haru was right there in front of me.

Despite psyching herself up just moments ago, she kept her eyes glued to the table and wouldn’t look at me at all.

Come on. Aren’t you supposed to look at each other during moments like this?

“Haru, look over here.”

If she’s gonna play the part, she needs to play it. I gave her a light nudge.

Haru, still sipping from the straw, gave a small nod and finally looked up at me. Then she said:

“…You’re really close.”

“Of course I am.”

I think her cheeks were tinged with a faint blush. Was she actually embarrassed?

I pulled away from the straw and waited for our food to arrive.

This was just the beginning. I planned to get her more and more into this “couple” mindset, to close the distance between us—and to shake things up at the root of how she sees us.

So right now, she needs to really play the role of someone in love.