Stealing Spree

If not for that background, it would’ve looked like a normal photo of a pair of a man and woman walking on the street. Besides, there was even a definite distance between us.

One thing made me question the photo though. If he’s that near us, why didn’t he come forward and confront us? Don’t tell me he’s someone who wants to be cucked?

Although a little unlikely, won’t it perfectly explain that guy’s behavior? In retrospect, because Ohori-senpai seemed to love him a lot, she couldn't fulfill his wish to be cucked by her. And that led him to concoct a plan of making her angry by cheating openly.

And with that, Ohori-senpai’s actions can also be interpreted with it; the girl loves him a lot and because of that, she can’t really agree with his fetish.

Now, that’s some kind of p*rn-level degeneracy if that was true. If this girl was truly suffering because of that guy’s total lack of concern for her feelings, she better get out of it, be it by convincing her or forcing her.

Well, it’s still unconfirmed but now that I think of it, everything is falling into place.

I’m sure Aoi will get a good laugh if she hears this speculation of mine.

A while later, we reached our floor and started to make our way to the room.

As always, the hallways of this kind of establishment would either be too silent or too loud depending on the time of the day. Since it was still fairly early, we arrived in front of the room without hearing anything or running into someone.

Using the key to open it, I let Ohori-senpai enter first before following her and closing the door from behind.

If she was already nervous earlier, the girl stood in place as she looked on in shock at the state of the room.

It looked like a simple room at first but with that enticing bed as the first thing you’d see, everyone would either be surprised or amazed during their first time in this kind of establishment.

Well, she picked the ordinary room so… it’s more like just a wider room in your house, equipped with your own bathroom. The shower area wasn’t see-through but there was no door leading to it.

Uh. Well, as someone who was like a regular in this back then, I simply walked in and took the lone cushioned seat near the bed.

Well, its backrest was tilted at an obtuse angle because it can also be used by couples. But no matter, it’s a lot more comfortable than the bed, after all.

A few minutes later, Ohori-senpai finally snapped out of her trance. While still nervous, she stared at me as she walked towards the bed, sitting right in front of me.

Her hands burrowed in the softness of it as she released a sigh of relief. “Onoda-kun…”

“Have you calmed down yet, senpai?”

“I… I don’t know. This is my first time here.”

“I see. I thought he would’ve brought you in here considering he’s bringing other girls too.”

Is their relationship not at that point yet? If so… then there’s a possibility that this girl hasn’t been claimed by the guy yet. What the hell is wrong with him?

“No. We… haven’t even done it yet.”

And there’s the confirmation. This girl… is more pitiful than I thought.

“Is that for real? Well, I guess he’s trying out other girls first before saving you for last.”

“Don’t say that!”

This girl… how lovestruck is she for him? After everything, she doesn’t want him to be insulted by another guy.

But should I care about that? It’s better to slap her with the reality of her situation.

“Am I wrong though? Senpai, you cannot always close your eyes.” As I said that, Ohori-senpai became depressed again. She bit her lips as frustration could clearly be seen oozing out of her head. “Anyway, senpai can start talking now. As I promised, I will listen to you. Then after it, let’s talk about that guy taking photos of us outside and how he might be waiting there.”

“You’re right. We should get to it… Can you promise me not to tell anyone about this? Even Aoi.”

“Let’s see. Is there a reason why you don’t want her to know? I mean, I’m basically close to a stranger to you. You even hated me, as you stated, but you’re willing to tell me about it but not Aoi? That’s odd.”

Upon hearing that, Ohori-senpai’s eyes shook and broke contact with mine. They darted around as though trying to find something that could let her escape from that question.

She failed to find anything though. So, while trying her hardest not to meet my gaze, she silently muttered, “W-with you, I don’t need to worry about being ashamed. You might be the most shameless person I ever encountered but you’re someone who always keeps your word. That’s enough.”

Am I the shameless one? So, her boyfriend isn’t one, huh? This girl is too blinded by her love.

“I see. But if Aoi—”

I tried arguing again but the girl cut me off. “I said no. If you tell her about this… I don’t know what I will do. I might stop talking to her.”

“That doesn’t sound like a threat. But I understand. You must have your reason. I won’t bring it up again.” I conceded.

Well, better to say yes for now and then weigh it in later. But like she said, I might keep quiet about it if it’s truly something worth doing so.

“T-thank you. Then, please listen to me.”

As she said that, Ohori-senpai finally started her story.

At first, she looked rather uncertain but as words started to leave her mouth, her shoulders gradually became light as if she was unloading whatever she was carrying inside her.

According to her, the guy fell in love with her first. That’s surprising, to say the least. He courted him last year and the girl fell for him as well a month into the courtship.

In a way, that should be the start of their wonderful romance. However, upon getting her ‘yes’, the guy asked her to keep their relationship a secret. As for the reason, it was for her sake. According to him, he’s kinda popular that the girls close to him might take their frustration out on her or bully her.

Ohori-senpai accepted at first. However, as months went by, she found that reason to be unfounded. She even became close to those girls and they’re aware of their relationship.

When she brought that up to him, the guy came up with another excuse. And it’s still going on now.

When it reached this point, I raised my hand to ask something, Ohori-senpai nodded, allowing me to do so.

“Senpai, are you content with that kind of relationship? Has he ever taken you on a date? Watch a movie together or even walk you to your house?”

“That… We’re going out on weekends but not for a whole day. He’s always had something to do in the afternoons. Uhm. When that happened a few times, I started suspecting him.

“I see. You didn’t confront him, right away, right?”

“No… But when I did, he brushed it off by saying that whoever he was meeting, I don't have to be concerned about it because I’m the one he loves. But as you could remember, he’s meeting not only one girl. There’s probably more and he’s aware that I’m aware.”

Alright. That’s the same as admitting that he’s meeting other girls. But this was also something in line with what I know already. There’s nothing new in it.

That’s why I stopped asking questions there and let her continue her story.

A few minutes later, she finally arrived at it. The girl stared straight at me again, her earlier fright or even uncertainty, gone from her eyes. It’s like seeing the old Ohori-senpai again. The unruly girl who’d never back down.

“This is what I want you to know, Onoda-kun. I think he’s intentionally making me jealous. As for the reason… he’s either deriving pleasure from it or he’s tormenting me to do something he wants to see…”

This… Don’t tell me it’s really that?

Ohori-senpai paused for a while as she stood up and walked over to me. She crouched down and held me by my shoulder before continuing, “… Earlier today, I sent him a message that I’m meeting someone. I only wanted to test it but you see… I saw him outside the café earlier. He’s hiding from a distance, watching me or us from afar. And even when I spotted him walking a few steps behind us, he never walked up to confront me.”

“Then the reason you dragged me inside with you…”

“Yes. I want him to follow us. But you see, he only sent that photo. And this message.”

Upon saying that, Ohori-senpai showed her phone again. This time, however, she scrolled it down to the guy’s subsequent messages after sending that photo.

And it reads, “Karin, you finally understand me! How delightful!”

Dammit. Now I might hate getting my guesses correct.