The Pain of an Inferior: A Blistering Love Comedy That Begins After a Broken Heart - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – The Pain of an Inferior 5

Haruka came home with a swollen, tear stained face.

When he entered the living room, he found his older sister Yuzurika in the kotatsu eating a meal that he had left for her.

Yuzurika’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw Haruka’s terrible appearance.

“What’s wrong, Haru?”

“… I’m heartbroken.”

Haruka sat down at the entrance of the living room. His face looking dazed while his eyes were vacant, his pupils failed to reflect anything.

Yuzurika left her half-eaten meal and snuggled up next to Haruka.

“You’ve worked hard all this time.”

“… I didn’t work hard.”

Haruka didn’t think so.

For a long time, he could only watch as Shun and Miyako spent their time together from sidelines while twiddling on his thumbs.

He had failed to make a move since he couldn’t break through his inferiority complex.

He had no right to say that he done his best in such a situation.

Yuzurika hugged him gently as she patted his head lovingly.

Her warmth gently envelops his shattered heart. Haruka eyes welled up with heat, his tears start to flow uncontrollably.

“No, You did your best… good job, Haru.”

“Nee-san…”

From an outsider’s perspective, it must’ve looked quite comical.

A sixteen-year old boy clinging and crying like a baby to his sister because his one-sided love didn’t get reciprocated. It was so ridiculous and pitiful to witness such a sight.

“…. I want Nee-san to stay by my side forever.”

“I’ll always be here for you… We are family, as well as lovers… right?”

“… Nee-san.”

Haruka embraced her tightly and continued to cry, his voice stifling.

Miyako didn’t know that Haruka and Yuzurika were more than just brother and sister.

She had always disliked Yuzurika. Haruka couldn’t be honest with her because he thought that if she had found out about his relationship with his sister, he would lose his chances with her.

“I’m such a scumbag… I couldn’t choose between Nee-san and Miyako… maybe that’s why nothing went right…”

After a while, Haruka tired himself out from crying and fell asleep in Yuzurika’s arms.

She laid him down on the carpet besides the kotatsu, and covered him with a blanket.

With a gentle expression on her face, Yuzurika brushed Haruka’s bangs from his eyes and tucked them behind his ear.

“I’ll always be by your side, so don’t worry.”

After saying that, Yuzurika gently kissed Haruka, who was sleeping, on the lips.

“Fufu.. It’s a good thing that you got your heart broken by her… Haru.”

Yuzurika smiles wryly, and caressed Haruka’s cheek.

“That psychopath doesn’t deserve you, Haru.”

She said in a tone of voice as if doing a hypnotic suggestion on Haruka in his sleep.

Yuzurika lied down next to Haruka and held his hand. She unfolded the blanket and covered herself with it.

“Ah, but what should I do? I don’t think my body can handle Haru alone…”

Yuzurika felt a sense of crisis. If she was Haruka’s only partner, it could have consequences on her daily life like being unable to function the next day, or possbily even the day after that.

Yuzurika thought that the next time she had a chance, she would introduce her beautiful but eccentric friend to comfort Haruka. That friend owed Yuzurika a favor. She was a quirky girl, so things might work out well.

“Good night, Haru.”

Yuzurika kissed Haruka’s cheek as she slept next to him.

Feeling Yuzurika’s warmth, Haruka’s expression softened slightly, showing a little sense of relief.

?

Haruka woke up at the usual time as always.

Though he had experienced a nightmarish event, he didn’t experience any nightmares and felt like he had a warm and pleasant sleep.

One of the reasons for that could be Yuzurika who was sleeping besides him.

He sensed that she had embraced him throughout the night, comforting him while he was consumed by sadness.

“Thank you, Nee-san.”

Just as Yuzurika did the night before, Haruka gently kissed her on the lips as she slept.

Haruka placed some instant food that would be ready to eat with just hot water on the table. He didn’t want to wake his sister up from the noise so he refrained from cooking.

He heads for to the bathroom to freshen up and get ready.

He took a sweet bun from the table into his bag and left the house.

“Morning, Haru-kun”

“Morning, Miyako.”

Miyako greeted him with a smile as usual. He greet him back, though he was a bit nervous.

“Mornin’.”

Shun came to them with a sleepy look on his face.

It was a truly a calm morning, just like any other.

That was only natural. The one whose situation had changed was Haruka alone, and neither Shun nor Miyako had any way of knowing it.

If Haruka had to point out the difference, it’s that his heart doesn’t ache that much like before when he saw Shun and Miyako talking to each other side by side.

The only thing that welled inside him was an indescribable sense of loss, as if there was a gaping hole in his heart.

Clinging to the faint scent of his older sister’s scent that lingered in his mind, Haruka followed the two with weak steps.

Without fully waking up from his dazed state, Haruka arrived at school.

He entered the classroom and walked over to his seat. Ria noticed Haruka, and greeted him cheerfully.

“Morning, Haruka.”

“Morning, Ria.”

Ria’s face became expressionless as he gazed at Haruka’s face intently. Haruka, however, paid no attention to Ria’s scrutinizing gaze as he hid his vacant expression by bowing his head down on his desk.

Ria gently strokes Haruka’s head as if patting him. Seeing Haruka not responding, a small smile curled on his lips.

Ria turned towards the teacher’s desk and began preparing for the first period.

Haruka’s consciousness finally woke up fully during lunch break.

His memories of the class and his conversations with Ria earlier were still there, but they were very vague and seemed like a dream.

“Haruka, are you okay??”

“No, I’m not all right.”

Ria seemed to have already guessed a lot of things just from seeing Haruka’s face. He titled his head to the side and giggled.

“Are you going to cancel our date?”

“No, I won’t. We will go ahead even if it rains.”

Upon hearing Haruka’s strong reply, Ria’s face broke into a smile as he said, “I’m glad.” Even in the midst of an unrequited love, having no schedules during day-offs was difficult for Haruka. In his heartbroken state, spending the day off doing nothing might drive him crazy.

Ria clasped his hands together and smiled at the grim faced Haruka as he made a proposal.

“On our date the day after tomorrow, can I pick where to go?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll try my best to dress up for Haruka, okay?”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Ria often dressed up for Haruka on their dates. He would always show up with a different hairstyle and various different outfits.

Every time Haruka bought Ria clothes that would look good on him, he would always wore them on the their next date.

“I’ll definitely make you feel better, okay?”

“Thanks, Ria.”

Ria giggled, as he placed a small and cute lunch box on Haruka’s desk. Haruka also took out the sweet bun from his bag and started eating it.

Seeing that Haruka’s lunch was much smaller than usual, Ria widened his eyes in surprise.

“Haruka, is that all you’re eating for lunch?”

“Nee-san was sleeping in the living room. It would be bad if I wake her up to the noise of me cooking.”

Upon hearing that, Ria let out a small, light-hearted laugh.

He took a piece of fried chicken from his own lunch box with his chopsticks and offered it to Haruka.

“Say ahh?”

“Aah-“

Haruka opened his mouth to receive Ria’s offerings. The friend chicken was definitely delicious.

“Is it homemade?”

“Of course not. It’s frozen food?”

Haruka peered into Ria’s drowsy eyes and whispered.

“I can cook up food that tastes better than frozen food. If Ria comes to visit, I’ll have you taste my dishes.”

“I’ll take up your offer sometime.”

“Okay, come visit. Let’s play some board games too while we’re at it.”

After finishing his meal, Haruka leaned back on his chair and gazed out the window.

The sky was currently cloudless blue. It was a stark contrast to Haruka’s heart.

“I’m looking forward to our date the day after tomorrow.”

“Yeah…”

And with that, Ria smiled to himself.

Unaware of Ria’s smile that seemed to suggest he had some plans in mind, Haruka continued to stare blankly at the outside scenery.

Haruka simply wished that if possible, it would be nice if could forget everything and eagerly awaited his date with Ria.