My Rental Boyfriend Is My Boss?! - Chapter 30

Chapter 30. Why

Michiru had turned over three times when, after a small sigh, Kamijemori suddenly called out to her. Michiru reflexively got up.

“Yes, yes.”

“No… you can think of it as just chatting.”

At Kamijemori’s troubled gaze, Michiru waddled back to her futon and turned her gaze on him.

“I was wondering… why you didn’t contact me this morning.”

“This morning? Oh.”

It must have been when Morishita informed him that she couldn’t go on a business trip. Even though it was this morning, it felt like a long time ago because of everything that had happened.

“That time was…”

Michiru stammered. She was not sure what to say, but Michuri just wanted to prove that she could do it alone. And she wanted Kamijemori to review her. But if she told him that Michiru didn’t contact him for that reason, he would think she was being childish. He might be dismayed that Michiru neglected to make the important call to review it.

“I thought it would be impossible to find a replacement right away because of the time of day. I’ve done business trips before and I’m on… so I thought I could do it alone this time.”

Michiru was not lying. She didn’t want to be taken aback, so she said something that sounded like it, but even saying it made her feel reckless.

In fact, Michiru almost panicked after the first case. No, she almost did. But because Kamijemori was next to her, she was able to resist the urge to run away. Michiru was able to get through it because she felt she could handle it.

Kamijemori was silent for a while as her voice faltered.

The time of silence was very heavy for Michiru right now. She couldn’t even lift her eyes to look at the tatami mats in front of her, so she mindlessly traced them.

She didn’t know how long she had been doing this, but it was probably only a few seconds. Out of the corner of Michiru’s eye, Kamijemori tilted his head as if thinking.

“I’ve always thought that you don’t trust me… Or others, I guess. I don’t know. You’re as good as anyone at work and with friends, so why is that?”

Michiru looked up at the unexpected words.

“What? No, that’s not true…”

No one had ever told her that before, so Michiru was taken aback.

“I didn’t contact you because, as I said before, it was early in the morning.”

“What happened when you didn’t have the materials for the first case? What about the negotiations with the hotel front desk?”

“That’s…”

Kamijemori’s voice and expression were never questioning. He was calm. Perhaps because of this, Michiru felt fiercely uncomfortable, as if she was worried rather than angry. If he was going to ask her this, she would rather just let him get angry with her.

But then again, he probably wouldn’t yell at her if he did.

His clear eyes pierced straight through Michiru.

“Why did you hire a rental boyfriend?”

“Well, that’s because my best friend is getting married…”

“It doesn’t matter who it is, all you have to do is ask a guy you know to go out with you for the day. You have a brother or sister, and you can ask your friend. Even if you don’t have a real boyfriend, it was really an easy solution. But I didn’t.”

“It’s…”

Michiru wondered why.

Could it be that Kamijemori’s question was normal?

Michiru didn’t understand herself and couldn’t think of anything to say back. She found herself looking down at the tatami again.

‘… Why is that?’

As Kamijemori said, it’s not about work, but about playing the role of a boyfriend. All she had to do was ask. It didn’t have to be her brother, it could have been someone she knew. It could have been anyone, but Michiru chose to pay for it. Why? The reason was quite simple.

“I couldn’t ask.”

“Why not?”

“Because… that’s not nice, isn’t it? If I was going out with a friend, they would not want to go with me and pretend to be my boyfriend.”

“Why not?”

“Because… they wouldn’t want to.”

Kamijemori looked at her puzzled. Michiru was slightly annoyed by his reaction.

Michiru didn’t know why Kamijemori, who was so smart, couldn’t understand this. Did he really want her to tell him about this?

Michiru hesitated, bit her lip and dropped her gaze. Her mouth naturally arched. A smile of self-mockery appeared on her face.

“… Because no one would play the role of my boyfriend.”

Michiru said the humiliating words herself. She was ashamed of herself.

She felt uncomfortable. In such a case, Michiru should have pretended to be asleep. She regretted this situation so much.

When she looked at Kamijemori, who was not saying anything, he looked straight at Michiru. As before, he asked her with his eyes why she would say such a thing.

Michiru sighed heavily, half in despair.

“When I was in the fourth grade, the whole class was invited to a Christmas party held at the house of the girl who was the leader of the class. She had a ballroom dance class at her house, and she herself was taking it… So she told us that there would be dance time at the party, and she taught us some simple steps during recess. But I wasn’t very good at moving my body, so I couldn’t learn the steps during the break time. But I felt bad asking her every time, so I practiced by myself at home. So I practiced by myself at home, looking at the Internet. It would be embarrassing if I couldn’t dance when I was invited, wouldn’t it?”

As she talked, her memories of those days came back to her.