My Rental Boyfriend Is My Boss?! - Chapter 38

Chapter 38. Do You Hate Me?

Michiru stood up and hurried to the elevator.

“Oh, I forgot something!”

“Oh, Oikawa, what are you-”

Michiru got up and hurried to the elevator.

‘Inspection…!’

The electronic board that always displayed the number of floors was now lined with three words: “Under Inspection.”

The fact that the elevator was undergoing maintenance at this time, which was rare, made Michiru suppress the urge to scream inside and quickly go to the emergency stairs.

‘Ugh… so long…’

When she looked up, she saw a spiral staircase that went on forever. In the dim light of the setting sun, the emergency lights that signaled each floor were shining at even intervals.

When Michiru thought about going up from the fifth floor, where Michiru was, to the twelfth floor, where Kamijemori was, she felt like she was going to lose her mind, but Michiru scolded herself desperately and ran up the stairs.

Her body, which was not usually so active, immediately gave up breathing. As she continued to climb the stairs, Michiru had a sense of déjà vu.

‘Oh, just like when Minoru was drunk.’

That time, too, Michiru was gasping for air as she struggled up the stairs. She was carrying a large object on her back, struggling not to drop it.

It was sweaty, heavy, tiring, and difficult, but Michiru was definitely having fun at that moment. She felt full of life.

She was a little different from her friends. She was different from her siblings too. The mysterious distance between them was comfortable, and she wished for more time like this to continue. She still wanted it. That’s why Michiru was climbing the stairs.

‘Well, finally, the twelfth floor…’

Breathing hard, Michiru managed to climb the remaining few steps with sluggish legs. It was hard work because of her lack of exercise.

When Michiru finally reached the doorknob of the twelfth floor, it was pushed open with a strong force from the other side.

“Ah!”

Michiru’s body, which had been caught off guard, easily bounced back and tilted backwards. She was caught off guard and her body was easily knocked backwards.

Falling… or so she thought.

“What are you… doing?”

A strong hand grabbed Michiru’s arm. Déjà vu. Michiru had her body supported with this kind of force before.

He pulled Michiru close and her body slumped against his chest before she could resist. A familiar scent hit her nose.

“Oh… Minoru.”

When Michiru looked up, she saw Kamijemori with a dumbfounded and surprised look on his face. It’s been a long time since she had seen his face.

Michiru had planned to say a lot of things before she came here, but maybe it was the shock of almost falling, or maybe it was because she was in front of Kamijemori, but in an instant, Michiru’s head was empty.

After a quick scan to make sure Michiru was not injured, Kamijemori let go of her arm with a sigh.

“Did you forget something?”

“Oh, yes.”

Michiru nodded loudly, remembering something she had almost forgotten.

“Well, I like you now, Minoru.”

Immediately, Kamijemori’s narrow eyes widened slightly.

Michiru didn’t want to be interrupted and forget what she wanted to say, so Michiru hurriedly added words.

“Whether it’s your love of cute things, your weakness for alcohol, or when you get surprisingly annoyed… when it comes to work.”

At the end, the momentum subsided a little. This was because Michiru still remembered the way they used to walk together through the town.

“I’m a fool and I take things as they come. When you told me how nice I was, how cute I was, how much you wanted to spoil me, I misunderstood… I thought I was the only one who was special to you.”

She felt Kamijemori gasp slightly.

Michiru couldn’t look up because she was afraid of his reaction. She was staring at the toe of Kamijemori’s shoe, which was much closer to her.

Someone’s voice whispered in Michiru’s head.

‘Why are you here? Why did you come here?’

She ran up the long, long staircase and didn’t stop even though she was out of breath.

Michiru was so scared that she actually wanted to run away. She wanted to laugh and pretend it never happened.

Michiru desperately swallowed her cowardly feelings even after coming this far, and summoned up the courage to look up.

“I won’t hire you anymore. Would you hate me if I said that? Still, I want you to like me without any restrictions.”

It’s not because he was playing as Michiru’s boyfriend, nor was it because Michiru was paying him in exchange, but she wanted to look straight at Kamijemori and hear his true words. In Michiru’s own way, this was a declaration of war.

Feeling a little let down by Kamijemori’s frozen in his spot, Michiru wondered if there’s anything else she’d forgotten to mention.

“… Oh! Also, I forgot to say. Thank you for letting me move on.”

“… Mich-”

When Kamijemori finally opened his mouth, a light ringing sounded. It was Michiru’s phone.

Michiru was in a panic, and Kamijemori urged her with his hand, turning his face away as if to say she could leave.

“… Yes?”

“Oh, Oikawa? We’re about to leave, so we’re closing. If it takes longer, I’ll wait.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I’ll be right back!”

Remembering that she had thrown everything away, Michiru bowed her head repeatedly through the phone.

Michiru hung up the phone and turned to face Kamijemori, who also seemed to be aware of the situation and looked at him awkwardly.

“No, it’s fine… I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay! I’m going to leave now for the day.”

At any rate, Michiru had already declared her intentions. When he announced that she would come back later with a sniffle, Kamijemori smiled slightly with a troubled expression.

“… Ah.”

‘Oh, he doesn’t mind, right?’

Michiru had considered the possibility that he might tell her right then and there that she was annoying him, but surprisingly, his reaction was not bad.

‘Is there even the faintest, tiniest chance of this?’

Michiru’s lack of experience made it impossible for her to judge, but at least she was relieved that he didn’t reject her.

Without saying goodbye, Michiru hurried down the stairs she had come from to return to the office. Her legs were exhausted, but her heart was light.