Kissing My Student, It's Over if We're Caught-Chapter 5Volume 1 .8 - Painful thing: Love

But I have no intention of changing my mind.

“Sorry for worrying you. But I’m not stopping. I’ll continue for the next two weeks until the deadline.”

Looking at the screen, Kirihara’s eyes seemed to moisten a bit… I think.

She slowly pressed the screen of her smartphone with her fingers.

“Why would you go so far?”

I pondered over a response.

…The next moment, everything I had been thinking about was blown away.

“Keep an eye on the window for me.”

I sent the message to Kirihara in one breath, quickly packed up my belongings on the table, and asked the master for the check, paying for Kirihara’s share as well.

I hurried out of the shop, and Kirihara quickly followed.

“What? What happened?”

“It’s Kurei-san.”

“Eh?”

“Just now, a woman in a red dress should have passed by the window.”

“Eh? That was Kurei-sensei? …Seriously?”

“Which way did she go!?”

“Towards the station but—Ah!”

I started to jog, leaving Kirihara behind.

—There!

As I chased after her, I saw Kurei-san’s back in the distance.

A red dress shirt with frills on the shoulders, a black long skirt, and high-heeled shoes.

“Is that really Kurei-sensei?”

“I’m sure of it. She came out from the furthest back on the second floor.”

It was the most dressed-up she had been recently.

“Kirihara, I’ll do the tailing. You should—”

“No, I’m coming too. …Being a couple might make us less suspicious in some places, right?”

She had a point.

I nodded and focused on tailing Kurei-san with Kirihara.

Kurei-san entered a beauty salon near the station.

We positioned ourselves in the food space of a convenience store across the street and observed Kurei-san.

“…She seems to be enjoying her conversation with the hairdresser.”

“What do you think? Just here to get a haircut?”

“Would she dress up that much just for a haircut? …Isn’t it more likely that she’s getting her hair done before a date?”

Hope inevitably rises.

“…Well, just meeting someone wouldn’t be considered a weakness, though.”

Kirihara’s words seemed to caution against getting our hopes up too high.

…Kurei-san spent a good two hours in the salon before coming out.

She then flowed towards the station.

We couldn’t see her face as we were tailing her, but it was clear she checked the time several times.

She must be meeting someone.

The crucial question is, who?

“…Maybe they’re meeting under the clock?”

There’s a small clock tower object in front of the station.

Apart from Kurei-san, there are a few others waiting for someone.

We watch from afar as the person arrives.

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Kurei-san spots the person and waves happily, bowing politely as they come near. The person is wearing a tasteful gentleman’s hat. From where we stand, we can’t see his face, but—his hair is peppered with white.

“He seems quite older, doesn’t he? Not exactly boyfriend material but—”

“…But Kurei-san seems happy.”

He doesn’t seem like her father. They are close, with Kurei-san willingly linking arms with him.

The two then walk off somewhere.

Naturally, we follow.

“Could it be, just maybe?”

“…It’d be good if it were.”

Maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, we continued to tail them.

Several hours later, we were back at Kirihara’s place.

Though we were tired from the tailing and stakeout, the sense of upliftment dominated.

We were checking the footage in the living room. The digital camera was connected to the monitor we usually use for games, allowing us to verify on a big screen. Kurei-san was seen dining in a restaurant with a man, smiling.

The footage wasn’t from a smartphone but from a digital camera Kirihara had brought. (…I was scolded for not preparing one myself)

Kurei-san’s and the man’s voices weren’t captured. Since there were no seats close by, it had to be filmed from a bit of a distance.

However, the scene of the two enjoying their meal was clearly captured.

“This man, he’s wearing a ring on his ring finger. He’s married.”

The footage didn’t just show them eating.

A scene where Kurei-san is handed an envelope that appears to contain cash is also clearly visible.

Kurei-san is surprised, clearly refusing to accept it at first.

However, when the man persuades her, she bows several times and quietly places it in her bag.

“Adultery or sugar dating—either way, it seems like a scene that would cause a panic… But, are you really okay with this?”

Kirihara asked with a tense face.

“Kurei-sensei has been good to you, hasn’t she? If you reveal this, things will never be the same. She’ll hate you. …Are you really okay with that?”

***

Two days after achieving the goal of our tailing, on a laid-back Sunday, I welcomed Monday. I told Kurei-san that Kirihara sought her advice and asked her to come to the student council room after school.

Kurei-san, unsuspecting, sat on the sofa.

“I’m glad you relied on me. So, what’s the consultation about?”

I sat opposite Kurei-san. After exchanging a glance with Kirihara next to me, I took out a clear file that was carefully stored in a tea envelope.

Inside, there were photos.

The video in the digital camera was converted to still images and printed at a convenience store printer.

The photos were of decent resolution.

“…”

I recalled what Kirihara said yesterday.

Showing her these would ruin my relationship with Kurei-san.

To repay the respect I had for my senior with betrayal.

There might be a better way. But this was the only sure way to protect Kirihara.

Living a life without being disliked by anyone was my ideal.

But lately, that’s changed.

Choosing something means giving up something else. It was the same when I quit the company I joined as a fresh graduate.

—At first, I thought you were just a typical greenhorn afraid of being disliked.

—But you’re much more attractive acting like you are now.

These words of encouragement coming from Miyoko Kirihara were extremely displeasing, but her words carried a strange persuasive power.

“Hajima-sensei?”

tln : i really dissapointed that kurei-sensei is ….