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Chapter 5 â To Move Forward\nVolume 2\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nThere was probably no one else who would go with him other than us. If you go once, youâll never want to go through that again.\n\n
âBy the way, donât ever tell him about this.â\n
âAh, thatâs right. Itâll be trouble if he gets to know.â\n\n
My father loves karaoke. If he knew we were going, he might try to follow us no matter what. In addition, considering the disastrous state of affairs when I invited Fujisaki to my house, it is conceivable that he might say, âIâm greeting my future daughter-in-lawâ.\n
âŚItâs really no good. We have to hide it no matter what.\n\n
âIf by any chance our father comes with us, it will be a traumatic experience for Fujisaki. I donât want anyone else to have to go through that.â\n
âYes, yes. We canât have any more victims.â\n\n
Strangely enough, my father has been doing karaoke a lot, but he never seems to get any better. The reason why I know this is because when he comes home, he tells me what his score was, even though I didnât ask him.\n
Generally speaking, the score is quite low, but my father doesnât realize that. He is a happy man.\n\n
âEven when he hums, I get these chills. No, like I donât know how he can hum so out of tune.â\n
âI try to stay away from him when heâs in a good mood. Because I feel like my ears are going to break if I listen to his humming.â\n
âI donât even know what song heâs humming, but itâs so obviously messed up that it makes me sick. It makes me nervous to think that Dad is humming that song at work too.â\n
âUgh, that seriously sucksâŚâ\n\n
Itâs a kind of pollution. Once he starts humming, he canât stop, so it doesnât matter what you say. The only thing you can do is wait for it to end.\n\n
âItâs really annoying because we canât stop the noise. I wonder if he really has any friends.â\n
âMaybe he does. Well, maybe they hate it even more than us.â\n\n
Heâs not a bad person. Itâs not that I donât respect him as a father myself. I know I can rely on him at times, and he watches over me warmly.\n
But that and this are different things.\n\n
âDadâs department is basically a desk job, so Iâm sure his humming can be heard in all directions. Just thinking about it is terrifying.â\n
âThe offices you see on TV donât have any partitions. I bet they can hear it.â\n\n
I really donât know how he could get married. My mother must have been a saint or something.\n
Sayaka fiddled with her phone.\n\n
âWell, I donât care about that father anyway.â\n\n
She abruptly dropped the subject. I laughed bitterly.\n\n
 âThatâs a terrible thing to say.â\n
âHow are things going with shitty brother and Fujisaki-san?â\n\n
My heart jumped at the sudden question thrown in. Sayakaâs gaze flicked back and forth between the screen of her phone and my face. âWhat are you talking about?âăI blurted out.\n\n
âWhat do you mean⌠No matter how naive my shitty brother is, you should know that much, right? Iâm talking about romance.â\n
âYou also do this love-talk stuff huhâŚâ\n
âAre you doing this on purpose from before to drag it on?ăAnswer the question.â\n\n
Actually, it was on purpose. I was at a loss as to how to answer.\n\n
âIâll ask again. How far have you gotten?â\n
âNo, I and Fujisaki are not like thatâŚâ\n
âLiar. Donât underestimate the sensors of a secret otaku. Iâm usually monitoring peopleâs expressions, so I can understand a lot of things.â\n
ââŚwhatâs with that?â\n\n
Even though I was talking lightly, I searched for the best course of action. I didnât want to tell anyone that she had done something similar to a confession.\n\n
âWhat do you think of Fujisaki-san?â\n
âYouâre saying the same thing as our father.â\n
âD-donât put us together like that! Iâm not saying it in her presence.â\n\n
She really doesnât want to be put together. My poor fatherâŚ\n\n
âI donât know why youâre asking me that in the first place. It has nothing to do with you.â\n
âItâs none of my business⌠but..â\n\n
She was gritting her teeth. Perhaps she got a hunch about something while interacting with Fujisaki. Itâs true that Sayakaâs sensors are not stupid. She is sensitive to the changes in my expression.\n\n
âFujisaki-san initiated this karaoke as well, didnât she?â\n
ââŚwell.â\n
âI think you should think about all this properly. Seriously.â\n\n
There is no mistake in what Sayaka is saying. I know that I have to think about it myself.\n
However, thinking about it also means facing the past. Will I be able to forgive myself? Do I have the will to move forward?\n\n
âBy the way, if Iâm to tell you my personal opinionâŚâ\n
She turned off the screen of the phone she had been looking at earlier.\n
âI donât think anyone could be that good. I was surprised to find out that there could be such a pure person. A high school student is bound to have a corrupt thought or two, but sheâs not like that at all. Isnât she a blessing for someone as helpless as my brother?â\n
âRegardless of whether Iâm helpless or not, Fujisaki definitely has a good personality.â\n
âSheâs kind, cute, smart, and she never talks bad about anyone. Sheâs like the ideal girl. Donât you think so?â\n
ââŚâ\n\n
I couldnât answer anything. She continued as if to deliver a finishing blow.\n\n
âI like her better than that beauty.â\n\n
âŚShe is completely aware of Fujisakiâs feelings. Thatâs precisely why she said that. Sheâs asking me to take responsibility as a man.\n\n
âAnyway, just do it right on Sunday.â\n\n
That was all she said, and then she turned to her computer. Without paying attention to my presence, she started up an otome game and put her headphones in her ears. I guess that means the conversation is over.\n
Thereâs nothing I could do about it, so I left her room.\n
Even after I returned to my room, I couldnât get her words out of my head.\n\n
I have a responsibility. Iâm well aware of that.\n
I canât run away from this forever. I have to think about it seriously.\n\n
I ended up agonizing over it all night.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: Iâll try to get back to the usual pace⌠:p\n\n