Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [136]

Tokyo
Nerima Ward.

A petite girl dressed in a hamster onesie put down her game controller and called out without lifting her head, “Onii-chan, I’m hungry. I want a late-night snack.”

She waited a long while without hearing a response. Umaru Doma turned her head—empty room.

She suddenly remembered: her brother was working late tonight and wouldn’t be coming home.

“Good thing I bought snacks today.”

Umaru pulled out her secret stash, grabbed a cold bottle of Coke from the fridge, then flopped onto her long cat-shaped body pillow. She alternated between crunchy potato chips and chocolate-covered candies.

When her mouth got dry, she cracked open the Coke and chugged it in big gulps—ton ton ton.

As the chilled carbonation danced down her throat, she flushed red and let out a satisfied burp—hic~.

“Ahhh~ so good.”

No one around to nag her, completely free to do as she pleased—this, Umaru felt, was what life was all about.

Rolling over, she rested her chest on the long pillow and flipped open a manga. Just then, her phone buzzed—di di!

“Who’s calling this late?”

Without even looking, she answered the call, phone wedged between her ear and shoulder. “Hello?”

“Did you make it home?”

Her hand reaching for a chip froze mid-air. Umaru blinked several times, lips slightly parted. “…Kitahara Takeru?”

A few seconds later, his groggy voice came through the line: “Mm. It’s me.”

His voice sounded like he was about to fall asleep—or had just woken up—lazy and low.

“Did you get home?”

“…Yeah.”

“Alright. I’m going back to sleep. Night.”

Going back to sleep?

Wait, could it be…

Trying to confirm her suspicion, Umaru quickly said, “Wait!”

“What is it?”

“You… You called just to check if I made it home?”

She tested the waters with her question.

Maybe she was imagining things, but it really felt like Kitahara had called just for that.

“Yeah. What else?”

His reply was so casual, but to Umaru, it hit like a tidal wave.

Her lips parted slightly, mouth forming a small ‘O’.

After a long moment, she remembered she was still on the call and finally spoke again: “You waited all this time?”

“Mm.”

Umaru couldn’t hold back and snapped, “Are you stupid? I told you I wasn’t going to message you when I got home!”

He had heard her refuse, loud and clear—so why did he still wait?

“Yeah, you refused. Which means I could call you instead.”

Kitahara said it so matter-of-factly, not the slightest hint of guilt.

“That’s called harassment!”

“Then report me. Have me arrested.”

This shameless jerk!

Umaru was on the verge of a meltdown.

If Kitahara were here, she’d throw both fists at him.

“Doma-san!”

“What?!”

“I like you.”

Hearing his confession again, Umaru’s cheeks burned.

Definitely from anger, she told herself.

What kind of lunatic confesses in the middle of the night?

“I don’t like you.”

She rejected him again and hung up.

Grabbing some more chips, she crunched a few—but her brows furrowed. She grabbed the nearby chocolate candies and popped one in. Her frown deepened.

They tasted different.

Must be expired.

Damn convenience stores, selling near-expired junk!

“Forget it.”

Umaru stomped to the bathroom in frustration to wash up.

When she saw her reflection in the mirror, she jumped.

Her face was as red as a freshly steamed lobster.

“Doma Umaru, why the hell are you blushing like some boiled tea kettle?!”

She turned on the faucet, splashed herself with cold water, and rubbed her face with a towel. Barefoot, she ran back to bed—thump thump thump!

Less than three minutes after lying down, she yanked the blanket up over her head.

The room was unnervingly quiet.

After five minutes, Umaru suddenly sprang up from bed, straddled the stuffed cat Kitahara had helped her buy, and started thumping it with her fists.

Muttering to herself:

“I like you. I like you. What, you think I don’t know? No need to say it twice in one day!”

“You shameless idiot! Don’t you know how to feel embarrassed?!”

“Die! Die!”

Plenty of boys had liked her before, but Kitahara Takeru was nothing like the rest.

He was passionate, direct—like a flame burning wildly. He never hesitated to say what he felt, never hid his feelings.

It was rare to see someone so unreserved in Japan, where people were often subtle and restrained.

Even Umaru could clearly feel—he really liked her.

Until today, Umaru had never thought about this whole “love” thing. But Kitahara had barged into her peaceful world out of nowhere—and didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.

And now, she had no idea what to do.

---

The next day.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Kitahara Takeru saw it was raining. Again.

It had rained just yesterday.

It was Monday—school day. And since he had to commute from Chiba, he had to get up early.

Well, “early” wasn’t really that early—it was the same time he usually got up to go jogging.

After checking out of the hotel, he stepped outside—and was immediately hit by wind and rain.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

“Who made a promise this time? Or did that ‘Rain God’ named Xiao come to Japan for a concert?”

Kitahara looked up at the sheets of rain, then down at the hotel’s complimentary umbrella.

He didn’t really want to walk to the subway station.

Getting his shoes wet would make him uncomfortable all day—and he hadn’t packed spares in his backpack.

He pulled out his phone and checked his account balance.

Plenty of funds. The numbers gave him a nice sense of security.

Screw it, he thought. Let’s splurge. He decided to take a cab to the station.

---

The train raced along, cutting beneath a web of electric wires.

The car headed toward school was packed.

Afraid of being accused of groping and losing their jobs, most men kept their distance from Katsura Kotonoha—even if they were practically being squished into pancakes themselves.

He’s not here today either?

When the train reached Bunkyō Station, Kotonoha looked toward the platform.

She waited, eyes scanning, until the doors closed again—but the boy never appeared.

Disappointment settled over her.

Looks like I won’t get to give it to him again today…

She looked down at the bottle of lemon water in her hand, mood dim.

Staring blankly at the subway doors, her gaze slowly lost focus.

Bit by bit, the world around her turned monochrome, as if everything had faded, its colors stripped away by time and wind.

“Next stop: Kinshichō Station. Please exit in an orderly manner.”

The doors slid open, and a crowd surged into the car.

Someone bumped into Kotonoha, snapping her out of her daze. She staggered and nearly fell.

Luckily, a kind hand caught her.

She steadied herself and looked up to thank the stranger—only to freeze.

When she saw who it was, the world burst back into color.

Everything was suddenly bright again.

---

This is a fan translation of 不是说只拿我当替身的吗？by 雪碧加冰. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!