Keiko did ask me to go with her tonight, but it was to a place I didn’t imagine for a date.
Here we are at a department store. Honestly, I felt uncomfortable. Out of nowhere, Keiko suggested that I start learning makeup. She said, “You are young and pretty, why aren’t you into this?”
I knew nothing about all of this. “Uhmm... I just never really had an interest in it.”
Keiko looked confused. “Hmm, I see… Let me teach you the basics then.”
She was suggesting products left and right, and I was completely lost. What is this? What is that? Is this for my eyes? My lips? I had no idea what was happening or why Keiko suddenly wanted me to do this.
“You really don’t even know the basics,” Keiko said, her brows furrowing in disbelief.
I just nodded sheepishly. She tried putting some makeup on me and told me to look at myself in the mirror. I felt weird.
Then, she kept pushing me to do other girly things, like shopping for clothes that weren’t my usual style. I didn’t know how to react.
The next day, she invited me out again—to a cat café.
The problem? I hate cats. Worse, I have allergies.
“Oh, sorry… I didn’t know you had allergies,” she apologized.
I forced a smile. “Well... that’s okay. You wouldn’t have known.”
She looked genuinely regretful, but I reassured her that it was fine, even as my nose started itching from the cat fur floating in the air. I barely lasted ten minutes before we had to leave.
The day after that, she suggested we go to an arcade. This was strange—it had already been three days in a row that she kept inviting me out. At first, I was happy because she was initiating things, but now, I felt weird.
“You like arcade games, right?” Keiko asked.
“Well… when I was younger, but not so much now,” I answered.
“But you’re still young now?” Keiko looked puzzled.
Oops. “Ahhh, I mean when I was still in school, haha.”
She shrugged it off and suggested playing the claw machine. Oh, this was my time to shine! I was good at this. I could impress her with my skills.
It went smoothly—I managed to grab a few plushies that she liked. Keiko clapped her hands, impressed.
“Wow, you’re really good at this!” she praised.
Feeling confident, I smirked. “Of course! Leave it to me.”
Then she suddenly said, “My husband was really good at this too.”
I froze. My hands clenched, and I felt a cold sweat run down my back.
She looked at me with an unreadable expression. I shivered slightly, feeling like she was seeing through me bit by bit.
“A-ahh… really? Wow, I bet he wasn’t as good as me, hahaha,” I tried to brush it off with a joke.
Keiko simply smiled. “Let’s go eat steak.”
As we were leaving the arcade, Keiko suddenly stopped walking. I turned to look at her, confused. "What's wrong?" I asked.
She shifted her weight and sighed, glancing down. "Wait... my shoelace came undone."
I looked at her feet, and sure enough, her right shoelace was untied, lying messily on the floor. Before she could crouch down, I instinctively knelt in front of her and started tying it for her.
"Ah, you don’t have to—" Keiko began, but I cut her off.
"Just stay still. You'll trip if you leave it like that," I said, focusing on the laces.
The moment was oddly intimate—me kneeling in front of Keiko, carefully looping the shoelace, while she stood there watching. I felt her gaze on me, and my face started heating up. What the hell am I doing?
Finally, I finished tying it into a neat bow and patted her shoe lightly. "There. Done."
I looked up, expecting a simple thanks, but instead, Keiko was staring at me with a small, knowing smile.
"You’re really smooth, you know that?" she said, amusement in her voice.
"H-Huh?" I stammered.
She chuckled. "You tying my shoelaces like that just reminded me of my husband."
Keiko smiled knowingly and said, "You even tie them the same way my husband used to."
I forced a nervous laugh, scratching my cheek. "Oh? Hahaha… What a coincidence!"
Keiko narrowed her eyes slightly, still smiling but looking suspicious. "Yeah… A coincidence."
I quickly stood up and turned around. "A-Anyway! Let's get going before the steak place gets crowded!" I started walking ahead, trying to escape the tension.
Well, I love steak, and this restaurant was my favorite. But now, every time Keiko looked at me, I got a strange chill down my spine.
“What’s wrong, Ryuko? You don’t like steak?” she asked.
I jolted. She noticed. “Ah, no… I love it.”
“Good,” she said, then called for the waitress.
I was about to order, but suddenly, Keiko spoke at the same time as me—the exact same order, down to the smallest detail.
She still remembers my order.
I gasped. This was not the time to feel flustered. Did she—?!
I saw her smirk at me. My heart pounded.
“Ehm… sorry, I mean, I want BBQ sauce instead,” I quickly changed my order to throw her off.
Keiko simply looked at me for a moment, then placed her order.
I gulped. This entire moment was suffocating. I suddenly realized that for these past three days, she had been doing this on purpose—to test me. She was trying to confirm something.
Keiko took a bite of her steak and casually said, “This restaurant is really good.”
I knew this was a bait. I forced myself to act nonchalant. “Oh, really? It’s my first time here.”
Keiko set down her fork. “Yes, my husband really liked the steak here.”
I choked on my drink. She was playing mind games with me.
Then she continued, “Why did you change your order just then? The mushroom sauce is really delicious.”
I coughed and quickly replied, “Well, I just wanted BBQ today.”
Keiko sighed. “Well, my husband liked BBQ too.”
I choked again. Wait. Did I just—? But I like mushroom, though.
Why did you lie, Keiko?
She gazed at me with an intense look. “Sorry, did I say something wrong?”
My heart was beating so fast it felt like I would pass out.
She must have noticed something about me already. I was sure of it.