Choosing a Present (2/2)

Sumi discretely looked to the side and noticed Kazuya's expression which was filled with adoration and pride for his girlfriend.

'So cool…'

Sumi might look shy, but her thoughts were very vivid.

Ever since she'd met Kazuya for their rental date for the first time, he'd made a deep impression on her heart.

He seemed so kind and caring for her mentor. She remembered when he'd come to watch Chizuru's play and cheered her on with all his heart.

She even remembered hearing them talk in that cafe, she was sitting at another table when she saw them both enter.

'Things you consider mistakes… might not even be mistakes at all.' She thought back to something that he told Chizuru back then.

The way Kazuya cheered Chizuru up was heart-touching for Sumi.

'He cares so much for her. I hope that he gets a good idea for her gift after watching this play.'

She didn't realize that by bringing Kazuya to this play, Sumi had given him the perfect ammunition to tease Chizuru.

Her feelings were pure and she wanted nothing but happiness for her mentor and her boyfriend.

She thought back to the talk she had with Chizuru when she told her that she was leaving the rental gig.

(Flashback Start)

Chizuru and Sumi were sitting together in a cafe, they always talked together every once in a while to check up on Sumi's progress with her rental dates and to allow Chizuru to give her some advice.

Sumi considered Chizuru as a sort of big sister figure who always advised her.

Although Chizuru hid it well, Sumi was very perceptive and noticed the walls that she kept around her after a few interactions.

Sumi realized that Chizuru was a very lonely person and she wanted to be there for her.

Sometimes, Sumi would even end up making up reasons, just to hang out with Chizuru.

"I have something to tell you Sumi."

Sumi instantly got alert, she sat up straight and intensely looked into Chizuru's eyes. It was as if she was ready to fight a war for Chizuru.

Chizuru was used to her expressive actions and continued, "I'm leaving the rental gig." Chizuru said that lightly, as if afraid of Sumi's reaction.

But Sumi's reaction was something very unexpected for her.

Sumi instantly got up and went around the table to stand in front of Chizuru.

She leaned over to the sitting Chizuru and gave her a tight hug, whispering into her ear, "I'm so happy for you."

Chizuru was surprised since she expected a sad Sumi or an angry Sumi

Seeing the pure goodwill emanating from this girl, Chizuru realized that Sumi was the most gentle and caring person that she knew, including her selfish boyfriend who was only with her for her body.

'I'm still sore from last night… or the night before that… damned horny fuck…' Although Chizuru was complaining about him in her heart, her face couldn't help but get graced with a smile.

It was a pure smile, full of joy, far from her usual smile that seemed real, sure, but didn't have the true intention behind it.

Sumi noticed her expression and observed, "Happy?"

'Woah… That's such a new smile. It's like she's been fulfilled or something.' Sumi was surprised since Chizuru has never smiled that brightly in front of her.

Chizuru broke out of her reverie and looked at Sumi with a different smile, "It's nothing, Sumi."

Sumi didn't budge, she'd realized that there was a story here and she wanted to know. She looked at Chizuru intensely.

Chizuru was planning on lying her way out of the situation but ended up cowering under Sumi's intense stare.

She'd remembered how much Sumi cared for her and didn't feel that it would be right to lie to such a pure girl.

"Sigh… You really want to know?"

She nodded furiously.

"Do you remember Kazuya?"

"Your lover?" Sumi subconsciously ended up saying it out loud and covered her mouth.

She'd remembered hearing their talk in the cafe and thought that they were together.

"W-What?" Chizuru was flustered that Sumi already knew what she was about to tell her, "How do you know?"

Sumi was about to wave her hands and try to clarify the misunderstanding but froze when she realized that Chizuru didn't deny it.

"True?" She was slightly wide-eyed.

"Yeah… We're together. Being with him is one of the reasons that I'm leaving the gig. It doesn't sit right with me to go out on dates with people when I already have a boyfriend."

"Amazing." Sumi caught Chizuru in a tight hug again and didn't let go for a long time.

(Flashback Ends)

While Sumi was deep in her thoughts, Kazuya looked at her.

"Sumi, we should leave, the play's about to end. I wanna surprise her when I tell her that I saw her play."

Sumi broke out of her reverie and nodded to Kazuya.

They both left the open stage.

"There's still almost an hour left for our date, wanna hang out?" Kazuya proposed the idea.

Sumi happily nodded and agreed to his idea, she got another one of her usual eureka moments and grabbed Kazuya's hand.

She brought him to the mall nearby and brought him to a certain photo booth.

"A photo booth?"

"Mhm." She pulled him in and they both got a few pictures clicked.

The last one was one where Kazuya hugged Sumi and he was only planning to hug her shoulder while standing behind her.

Sumi, realizing his intentions held both his hands and brought them around her stomach, and crossed them around it.

She was blushing furiously but didn't stop her actions.

Seeing her take the initiative, Kazuya indulged her, knowing how passionate of a person she actually was behind that shyness.

Kazuya got a copy of the reel and Sumi kept it with herself as a sort of memento for their date.

Next, they hung out around the department store in the mall.

Sumi brought Kazuya a brown fedora and offered it to him while looking to the side shyly.

"Do you want me to wear this?" Kazuya smiled at her actions.

She nodded with a slight blush on her face.

Kazuya put on the fedora and looked at Sumi, "How do I look?"

"You…look…cool." Sumi spent a lot of effort and finally said to Kazuya.

"Thank you for the compliment, Sumi. You're such a cutie." Kazuya lightly rubbed her head.

For a second there Kazuya thought that Sumi seemed to be pouting at his action, but chalked it up to something else since Sumi changed that expression in less than a second.

They hung out for a while longer and finally it was time to leave.

"Bye Sumi," Kazuya turned around to leave but was stopped by a tug on his sleeve.

"Hm?" He turned around and looked at Sumi.

"What is it?" Kazuya looked at Sumi.

"Wait… a moment." She was looking down, hiding her expression behind her hair.

'Shit I acted without thinking…' Sumi froze up since stopping him took all her courage.

"Do you need something?" Kazuya asked Sumi.

"…"

Kazuya waited patiently since he knew that she was gathering her courage.

"I want to… know… your birthday." She seemed to take a deep breath after that. It was as if that sentence took far too much strength out of her.

"My birthday?" Kazuya smiled and told her, "It's the first of June."

Sumi looked at him with what seemed like a starry-eyed look of gratefulness and ran off.

She quickly walked until she was sure that she was out of his view.

'So awkward… I hope he didn't think that I'm weird for asking for his birthday…' Sumi leaned her back to a wall and opened her phone.

'The 1st of June…' She saved that date in her calendar as Kazuya's birthday.

'I'm happy…' She smiled with pure happiness radiating from her entire being and hugged the phone to her chest.

…

'Well, she's a change of pace from both Mami and Chizuru. I should hang out with her more often.' Kazuya thought noncommittally as he walked to his next destination.

'Should I go to meet her tomorrow instead? Chizuru's play was over a while ago, she might've already reached home…'

Kazuya decided to postpone her grandma's visit for tomorrow and decided to go back home for the day and spend time with his girlfriend.

He was going to show her the pictures that he took during the play and enjoy embarrassing her.