He’s Dumb

Café.

Shouko sat awkwardly by the window, with Yukino beside her.

Haruto sat inside, quietly playing on his phone.

Yukino and Yuigahama were talking with Shouko.

"I'm Yukinoshita Yukino. This is our first time meeting. Did I scare you?"

"Hello... I'm Yuigahama Yui. Shouko-chan, just call me Yui..."

Haruto quietly complained, "Yui, it's embarrassing to act cute."

"I'm not trying to be cute!"

Yuigahama puffed out her cheeks and reached out to poke him.

Haruto glanced at her and ignored it.

Seeing this, Yuigahama proudly continued to poke him. Due to the incident that day, she even took the chance to pinch him.

Forget the first time, she pinched him a second time.

It was clearly on purpose!

The more Yuigahama thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but poke him a few more times. After all, she also found that Haruto was really different from the rumors, and she wasn't afraid of him bullying her.

'I just allowed you to poke me twice, but you still went further?'

Haruto immediately reached out to grab Yuigahama's hand.

'I won't let myself be embarrassed if you keep poking me! Besides, a girl's hand is so small and soft, Yui's no exception. This hand can easily be held with one hand and feels very delicate.'

Maybe it's due to a lack of exercise?

Haruto glanced at Yuigahama and said, "Men and women shouldn't be intimate. Please don't touch me again."

Upon hearing this, the confused Yuigahama suddenly widened her eyes and looked at him in disbelief.

'Clearly, you're the one holding my hand and not letting go, yet you say something like that. But it feels so warm!'

Yuigahama's face turned red, and she quickly pulled her hand back. She glanced over at Yukino and Shouko with a guilty look. Seeing that they hadn't noticed, she quietly felt relieved.

"I'm Nishimiya Shouko. This is our first time meeting. Please take care of me."

"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused today."

Shouko used a notebook to write and communicate.

She was already wearing her hearing aid.

Although she suddenly heard a sound earlier, it quickly disappeared again.

As mentioned before, giving someone a buff has a time limit. Moreover, directly buffing Shouko wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Since Haruto didn't have the ability to directly heal Shouko, even if he could, it might require more intimate contact.

Shouko was just a stranger, and Haruto didn't want to be treated as a pervert and invited for tea.

Honestly, if it weren't for Hiratsuka, even if something like today happened on the street, Haruto might not have stepped in to help. Life is never easy. Since you don't have the ability to change your life, you have to adapt to it.

That's reality.

Therefore, instead of giving someone hope only to bring them despair, it's better not to promise things you can't deliver in the first place.

But now, Shouko was wearing her hearing aid, and it seemed she couldn't hear his voice at all.

What puzzled Haruto a bit was why this girl was only wearing one hearing aid?

Shouko's eyes were on Haruto, a slight smile on her face. She nodded slightly and stood with her notebook.

"The incident just now caused you trouble."

Haruto took a sip of coffee and said, "I'm Kuromori Haruto."

Shouko looked at him with a faint smile, then turned away and continued communicating with Yukino and Yuigahama.

Even though she was curious about how she could hear that sound without wearing her hearing aid, she didn't ask.

"Neither Shoya nor Ueno are bad people. It was because I made Ueno angry, so Ueno acted impulsively."

Shoya must be the boy with spiky hair.

And Ueno was the girl with long, straight black hair.

According to what Shouko said, everything was her fault, and neither of the two were to blame.

Some things can't be hidden, like anger. However, Haruto noticed that this girl actually thought that way. She didn't seem angry at all, only displaying calmness and gentleness.

'Even though you've been treated this way, you still forgive others. You must be an angel who fell from the sky!'

Haruto thought, realizing this issue couldn't be resolved quickly.

Unless those who bullied Shouko disappeared.

But clearly, that wouldn't work. It might even be counterproductive and hurt the girl.

Shouko was the kind of fool he guessed she was.

And fools like that would never speculate about others with malice, only thinking in a good way, just like that Ueno girl.

Even though she was bullied, Shouko wasn't angry or resentful toward her. She even understood Ueno very well. This could only be described as a fool who was too gentle. But it also felt sad.

Otherwise, when they were on the bridge, they wouldn't have seen that sad look in her eyes!

After finishing the coffee, the sun began to set.

It was getting late.

"Shouko-chan, see you tomorrow."

Yuigahama waved and made plans with Shouko to go shopping together tomorrow.

"Goodbye."

Shouko smiled calmly and gently, then made a scissor gesture.

It meant goodbye in sign language.

Shouko looked at Haruto and nodded slightly, which was considered a greeting.

"Goodbye."

Haruto thought for a moment and said, "If you ever have trouble in the future, just send me a message."

Even though reality isn't warm, someone as gentle as Shouko deserves a better future.

Besides, after having coffee together and exchanging contact information, they were no longer strangers. As friends, isn't it natural to help?

Shouko smiled, her smile calm and gentle.

"Goodbye."

The three of them said goodbye to Shouko and walked toward the bus stop together.

The clouds in the sky turned red.

Tired birds returned to their nests.

Shadows on the ground gradually lengthened.

"Nishimiya-san's problem will take time to solve. It's not just about helping her deal with those people."

Yukino rubbed her temples and said, "Fortunately, we exchanged contact information, and Nishinomiya-san is willing to come out and play."

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Hm?"

Hearing the voice, Yukino looked at Haruto in surprise, "Did you just say what I think you said?"

Haruto, speechless, replied, "Indeed, you and Yui did your best today. I won't deny that."

Yukino crossed her arms, a serious expression on her face: "Could this be a conspiracy, Kuromori-kun? Like pretending to be a good person, gaining our trust, and then waiting for the right time."

"Are you going to do something bad to another pure and beautiful girl?"

After saying that, Yukino cautiously pulled Yuigahama away from Haruto.

Yuigahama: "Well, it shouldn't be like that, right?"

What shouldn't happen certainly won't happen!

Haruto, with a dark face and said, "Goodbye!"