{My Girlfriend is Satou-san (2)}

By August, every clothing store has begun their summer clearance sales.

I went through racks of discounted summer clothes one after another, searching for something that would look good on Satou-san.

“How about this one?”

I lifted a white dress off the hanger, and Satou-san’s eyes widened as she looked at the garment.

“This? It seems a bit too mature.”

The dress, heavily adorned with frills, was a mini length that barely reached above the knees, very summer-like. It was an off-shoulder design that exposed the shoulders, secured with thin straps to prevent it from slipping off.

“I think it would look good on you, Satou-san.”

I wanted to see her wearing it. I recommended the dress with that thought in mind, but Satou-san’s reaction wasn’t very positive. She didn’t reach for the dress and instead smiled awkwardly as if hesitant.

“Well, it looks like it exposes more of the shoulders than I expected, and it’s quite revealing…”

“It’s summer, so isn’t it about right?”

“And also, the length seems short… I’m not exactly slim…”

“You’d be fine, Satou-san.”

I didn’t voice my true feelings—that I had never thought her legs were that thick despite observing her during gym class—but I had always wanted to see Satou-san dressed in a more mature outfit. I was sure she would look great and would be strikingly different. It was just like when she performed in the cultural festival at Higashi High School.

That’s why I recommended this dress. It wasn’t that I had any lewd intentions about making Satou-san wear a mini dress or showing her shoulders; I had only a slight, innocent hope.

Well, it might be considered somewhat lewd in any case.

“I just want to see you in clothes like this, Satou-san.”

When I honestly said this, Satou-san blinked and then looked down, clearly embarrassed.

“Eh… But do you think it will suit me? I’m not as mature as Hina-chan.”

Indeed, Satou-san wasn’t very mature. In fact, she was quite childish.

But girls can change their demeanor just by changing their outfits, and Satou-san herself had proven that. I had witnessed it during the cultural festival in our senior year. At that time, Satou-san was truly—

“You’ll definitely look good in it. I think you’ll look more mature.”

Even after my insistence, Satou-san still hesitated. Despite saying I could choose based on my taste, she was still quite unsure, which made me want to laugh. I restrained myself, not wanting to laugh at her hesitation.

“Why don’t you try it on? If you think it looks odd, you can take it off without showing me.”

After that suggestion, she finally nodded hesitantly.

“Well, if that’s okay…”

Of course, once she tried it on, I was determined to see it. It would be a waste not to. Opportunities to see Satou-san in such clothes were rare.

And once I saw her in it, I planned to shower her with praise, probably to the point where it might seem excessive, and try to get her to wear it again on our next date.

The plan was perfect. Little by little, I would help make Satou-san look even cuter.

I guided the hesitant Satou-san to the fitting room, let her enter, and closed the curtain.

“Okay, just wait here for a moment, Yamaguchi-kun.”

“Sure.”

I nodded and leaned against the wall directly opposite the fitting room. Although she said “just a moment,” knowing Satou-san’s tendency to be slow, I expected it would take a while.

There was nothing to do but wait. I took out my phone to pass the time.

At that moment, I noticed Narumi-senpai standing in front of the neighboring fitting room, just a partition away from where Satou-san was.

Senpai was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, similarly to me. The fitting room directly in front of Senpai also had its curtain tightly closed, so I could guess that Karasawa-san was probably trying on clothes. Senpai appeared to be waiting for her, staring intently at the empty space.

Despite the description of “staring,” Senpai’s profile looked more calm than I expected. His intense gaze made it seem like he was glaring, but there was no sign of irritation or impatience. He really had a composed demeanor. His monochromatic outfit only added to his calmness, making him seem like a tall shadow clinging to the wall.

Perhaps because I was staring a bit too much, Narumi-senpai looked over at me. With a puzzled expression at my gaze, he gave a slight nod. I took the chance to greet him.

“Senpai, are you waiting for someone to change as well?”

“Ah.”

Narumi-senpai nodded, still without a smile.

I offered a polite smile, as I always do when meeting someone for the first time.

“Girls take a while to change, don’t they? We might be waiting for quite some time.”

I spoke quietly so that Satou-san and the others in the fitting room wouldn’t hear.

Senpai didn’t smile and instead turned his calm gaze back to the curtain.

“I’m used to it. It’s quicker to get used to it.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Yes.”

After that brief response, silence fell.

Senpai continued to gaze at the fitting room with the sound of clothes rustling, and I watched him out of the corner of my eye, thinking.

The conversation wasn’t flowing at all.

Well, it makes sense that one wouldn’t feel like chatting with a former classmate in such a vague connection. I didn’t really want to engage in a lively conversation with Senpai either. Still, it seemed there could have been a bit more effort in the dialogue. Perhaps the rumors were true, and Senpai really was a bit difficult to deal with.

However, the rumors didn’t quite match up. The current interaction lacked the sharpness of the rumors and even seemed like Senpai was offering advice—if interpreted a certain way. The bad reputation of out-debating others at our High School seemed unfounded. The rumors might have been exaggerated.

Senpai did seem accustomed to waiting, remaining completely still and leaning against the wall. During the past five minutes, he hadn’t checked his watch or sighed in frustration. He really did seem like an adult, as Satou-san had said. Come to think of it, he was two years older, so he must be an adult already.

“…What’s up?”

Senpai, now speaking, asked about the meaning of my gaze with a puzzled tone.

I couldn’t say, “I’m surprised you’re different from the rumors,” so I panicked.

“Ah, no, it’s nothing—”

Just then, the curtain of the fitting room directly opposite Senpai opened slightly. Karasawa-san peeked out, only her face visible, while keeping the rest of her body hidden.

“Senpai, I’m done trying it on. Can you take a look?”

“Yeah.”

Narumi-senpai glanced at me before walking toward the fitting room.

I avoided looking over and redirected my gaze to the fitting room in front of me. Satou-san still showed no signs of coming out, and the occasional rustle of the curtain was subtly distracting.

From where I stood, I could hear the conversation between Senpai and Karasawa-san.

“How about this swimsuit? I’d recommend not going with it.”

“Why? Isn’t it to your taste?”

“No, it’s not about taste. Are you really going to wear this in public?”

“In public? Everyone wears this kind of thing at the beach. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

It sounded like they were having a disagreement. Contrary to Karasawa-san’s calm voice, Narumi-senpai, with his head stuck in the fitting room, appeared quite flustered.

“Forget it, just don’t wear this. I’m having trouble finding where to look.”

“You can look if you want, Senpai.”

“It’s not about that. I’m saying it’s not appropriate.”

Narumi-senpai seemed to be momentarily at a loss for words, which was apparent even to me.

“I want to choose a swimsuit that you would like.”

“I didn’t say I liked it.”

“Then, do you not like it?”

“I didn’t say that either. Just change already. How long are you going to keep exposing yourself?”

Narumi-senpai seemed overly flustered over Karasawa-san’s swimsuit. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

Maybe the rumors about him were not very reliable. At least the Narumi-senpai I saw now didn’t show any hint of the harsh reputation he was attributed. He seemed more like he was being pushed around by Karasawa-san than debating with her.

So, maybe the people spreading the rumors exaggerated.

You never really understand a person until you meet them directly. It’s a simple fact, but we often forget and are quick to label others based on hearsay.

The same goes for Satou-san. I grew to like her through direct interaction. There were many things I wouldn’t have known if she wasn’t by my side. It took time, but my feelings grew gradually.

“Yamaguchi-kun, Yamaguchi-kun.”

I suddenly realized that the curtain of the fitting room in front of me had opened, and Satou-san was calling me.

I finally looked up and saw Satou-san, now dressed.

Satou-san was wearing the white off-shoulder dress. The large open neckline of the dress made her rounded shoulders and beautifully defined collarbones clearly visible. Girls’ collarbones are different from boys’, and seeing Satou-san now, she looked very delicate. The thin straps tied around her exposed shoulders seemed oddly fragile and made my heart race. Satou-san seemed concerned about the short length of the dress and fidgeted slightly with her legs together. The smooth knees and white calves peeking out from the hem of the skirt were dazzlingly bright.

“Y-yeah, after all… it’s a bit embarrassing. How do I look?”

Satou-san asked nervously.

I instinctively gasped and suddenly found it hard to speak due to my racing heart.

“Uh, well, um…”

Wasn’t I supposed to praise her excessively? I tried to regain my composure and answered.

“Y-you look… really cute. Very cute.”

“Really?”

Satou-san’s cheeks flushed instantly.

But I probably looked just as red, and I must have seemed flustered enough that I couldn’t even mention Narumi-senpai. I was a bit embarrassed.

“It’s not a lie. I mean… it’s incredibly cute. It suits you really well.”

Was that all I could say besides “cute”? Was this praise too lacking for Satou-san? I chided myself inwardly.

However, it seemed that to Satou-san, it came across as sincere and honest praise.

“Thank you, Yamaguchi-kun.”

She said this shyly, then looked down at her outfit and smiled happily from the heart.

“Well then, maybe I should buy this dress…”

Satou-san decided to buy the dress she had tried on.

It seemed Karasawa-san had also ended up buying the swimsuit she tried on. They lined up at the register almost simultaneously and left the store together.

“See you later, both of you. I hope we can all get together again with Class C soon.”

With that parting remark, Karasawa-san walked away with Narumi-senpai from the front of the store. She was carrying a paper bag from the clothing store, but Narumi-senpai quickly extended his hand to take it.

“Hinako.”

When Senpai called her name quietly, Karasawa-san, as if expected, handed the bag to him. Senpai carried the bag, and with his other hand held Karasawa-san’s, they walked away down the street.

Narumi-senpai seems like such an ordinary person.

Rumors really can be unreliable. I thought, realizing this once again, and turned my attention to Satou-san.

After seeing them off, Satou-san looked at me and smiled.

“They make such a lovely couple, don’t they? Like lovers from a drama.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and then asked Satou-san about something I had been curious about.

“Did you know about Narumi-senpai?”

She blinked in surprise and replied,

“This is the first time I’ve met him. I had heard about him, though.”

“I see. …I had heard rumors too.”

After realizing how different Narumi-senpai was from the rumors, I hesitated to bring up the negative gossip. But Satou-san, surprisingly, continued with a smile.

“I had heard rumors too, and heard about him from Hinako-chan, so I wanted to meet him once to see for myself.”

It seemed Satou-san was aware of the bad rumors about Narumi-senpai.

And yet, she greeted him as she did.

“I wanted to meet him and see if what Hinako-chan said was true.”

Satou-san said this with an open and genuine expression.

“And it turns out he’s a wonderful person, just like Hinako-chan said.”

I wondered what she would have done if Narumi-senpai had been like the rumors suggested—perhaps she hadn’t even considered that.

Satou-san, who is honest in her words, would likely believe sincere words from others, not careless rumors. She probably realized quicker than I did that direct interaction was the way to understand someone.

That’s something I really like about Satou-san.

“…I think I’ll wear this dress the next time we meet.”

Satou-san said this and looked down at the paper bag she was carrying.

Then she looked up at me with a shy expression.

“Then maybe we… I mean, we can become a lovely couple too?”

Her unexpected question made my heart skip a beat.

I hadn’t expected Satou-san to say something like that, and her upward gaze seemed oddly mature. Even though she had changed back into a navy blue T-shirt and denim skirt, her current expression made me feel unexpectedly flustered.

But since she had said that, I thought I should also try to act more mature and take a deep breath before responding.

“Let’s do it. We could be a cute couple… M-Miyuki-chan and me.”

I stuttered. I really fumbled.

Moreover, my voice was trembling.

I wasn’t used to calling her “Miyuki-chan,” and it made me nervous and awkward. But calling her “Miyuki” felt too blunt, and since I had always called her “Satou-san,” it felt strange. “Miyuki-san” didn’t seem right either, since we’re the same age.

Even so, it was still awkward and unnatural!

Satou-san looked puzzled and then smiled sympathetically.

“Um, you don’t have to force yourself to call me by my first name.”

“N-no, I’m not forcing myself!”

It was definitely unnatural and very awkward, but Satou-san was too honest even in situations like this.

“You’ll get used to it quickly if you keep calling me that.”

“But it seems like Yamaguchi-kun is struggling. And I’m not used to it either…”

Satou-san paused, taking a breath as if hesitating, and then continued,

“I also want to call you… Atsushi-kun when the time comes.”

She stuttered less than I did.

But her voice was trembling. It was a bit awkward too. Her unaccustomedness was cute but also made me feel a bit ticklish, and when I laughed, Satou-san laughed a little too.

“Is it okay if I keep calling you Yamaguchi-kun until I get used to it?”

“Got it. Then I’ll try to get used to calling you by your first name too.”

“Yes.”

Satou-san nodded with a relieved look.

Then we left the store and started walking under the August sun.

“Satou-san.”

“What is it, Yamaguchi-kun?”

“It’s hot, but can we hold hands?”

“…Sure. That’s okay.”

We held hands and walked at our own pace.

For now, my girlfriend is “Satou-san.”

I want to call her by her first name someday, but I’ll hold off on that until I’m used to it. I do admire and want to be a lovely couple, but there’s no point in just imitating others if it doesn’t feel right.

Just as I gradually came to love her over time—someday, we hope to naturally call each other by our first names.