Who Has a Problem?

The setting sun was sinking among the buildings, colouring the sky pink and purple with its afterglow.

A few fiery clouds were scattered above, and the gentle evening breeze brushed by, making one squint in comfort.

"Mm~"

For someone who had been sweating profusely earlier, the gentle evening breeze felt like a lover's tender hand caressing their cheek.

The best part was, the person he liked was right beside him.

And with just a small step, he could hold her soft little hand.

Enjoying the evening breeze, and letting out a contented sigh,

Katase Shouya was about to pretend to unintentionally touch Akane's little hand and walk home hand in hand with her when the girl suddenly said:

"Shou-kun, did you... tell someone about us?"

"Eh?"

Nanao Akane's cold and sweet voice now sounded only cold in the boy's ears.

It felt like standing naked in a frozen landscape, teeth chattering cold.

The tingling on his scalp made Katase realize that Akane was waiting for his reply.

But he stood there, opening and closing his mouth a few times, unsure of how to respond.

Say 'no'?

Since Akane asked, she must have found out something.

Denying it now would only make her more disappointed.

Nod silently?

That would be admitting he broke his promise to Akane...

His thoughts wavered like water weeds in a stream, however, before Katase Shouya could decide how to answer, a familiar voice came from Akane's hand.

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"Hello, is this Sasaki?"

Tanabe?

The voice of his friend made Katase Shouya freeze completely.

A few minutes later...

"Yes, okay."

"..."

After listening to the recording played on Akane's phone, the boy's mind felt like a tangled ball of yarn, unable to find the thread.

The friend who had guided and helped him earlier turned out to be a despicable person who wanted to kick him out of the team.

And who was this Sasaki he was talking to?

How did he know about him and Akane...

And how did Akane get a recording of their conversation...

What was going on?

Questions after questions surged up to his throat, wanting to spill out, but they got stuck.

This left Katase Shouya opening his mouth helplessly, unable to make a sound.

Knowing her lover had many questions, Nanao Akane put away her phone and turned to meet his confused eyes.

"The Sasaki in the recording is the one from last Friday..."

The girl's unique cold and sweet voice echoed in the park, softly recounting everything that had happened over this time.

By the time the sunset disappeared and the streetlights and twinkling stars filled the sky and ground, the girl's voice had also faded away like the setting sun, leaving the park in silence.

"..."

The two of them, sitting on the park bench, lowered their heads in silence for a while.

Then Katase Shouya broke the slightly insect-buzzing silence first.

"Um, Akane, I'm sorry for misunderstanding you and Sasaki."

Hearing his first apology, a smile began to form on Nanao Akane's lips, but then she heard him continue:

"But what he said about Coach Tougou... is it true?"

Knowing there was no substantial evidence that Tougou was coveting her, just relying on empty words even if they reported it to the school, it would be futile.

But Nanao Akane wasn't telling the school; she was telling her lover.

Though it sounded unreasonable, they were the closest people to each other besides their parents.

He should unconditionally stand by her side and believe her.

The girl could accept if he, for the sake of the competition, asked her to endure under Coach Tougou and wait until after the competition to bring it up.

But she couldn't accept her lover not believing her.

The uncontrollable grievance in her heart showed on her face, making Katase Shouya, who had been watching her expressions, realize he had stepped on a landmine.

Yet he still tried to explain the possible misunderstanding between her and Coach Tougou.

"Akane~ I know Coach Tougou has a bad reputation outside. But have you had frequent interactions with him in the club?"

Suppressing her emotions, Nanao Akane replied expressionlessly:

"No."

"Has Coach Tougou ever had... um, physical contact with you?"

"No."

"Then why do you suspect Coach of having ill intentions towards you?"

"Because of his eyes?"

"..."

Now, it was Nanao Akane's turn to be at a loss for words.

She could clearly feel that Tougou's eyes were wrong; the way he looked at her with such covetousness, as if looking at a tasty piece of flesh, was frightening... but to others, this reason seemed like unreasonable behaviour.

Someone just looking at you, and you accuse them... Are you crazy?

But to let her guard down and stop being cautious of Tougou...

No, impossible.

Better safe than sorry.

Even if none of it turned out to be true, even if it was just her overthinking; Nanao Akane absolutely didn't want to fall prey to someone like Higashi.

"Ah~"

Letting out a breath, although her lover's distrust made her quite sorrowful, yet she couldn't find a reason to convince him.

The helpless sadness in her heart made Nanao Akane lower her head in disappointment, tightly pressing her pale lips.

As mentioned before, the biggest difference between men and women is their way of thinking.

Men think more rationally; simply put, they like to reason.

When encountering disputes and conflicts, if they can't use force, they break down the problem to find out who caused it and where the responsibility lies.

This is their instinctive reaction.

Women think more emotionally.

When they have a conflict, they don't care about who is right or wrong. They just want their close ones to stand by their side, support them, and speak up for them.

Simply put, if I say you are wrong, you are wrong.

So, to men, women's actions often seem illogical, commonly known as unreasonable.

Just like now, Nanao Akane wanted her lover to be on her side but couldn't find a way to persuade him.

All she could do was sit there sulking alone.

In fact, Katase Shouya's hesitation was understandable.

Leaving aside the backstabbing Tanabe.

This matter now involved him, his girlfriend Nanao Akane, Sasaki, and Coach Tougou.

Sasaki told Akane that Coach Tougou had ill intentions towards her and advised her to be cautious while continuously being nice to her and offering her solutions.

This seemed abnormal to Katase Shouya

Whether Coach Tougou had issues was just Sasaki's claim.

The only thing supporting it was the rumour about the Coach.

So Katase Shouya faced two choices.

One was Coach Tougou, who might have issues.

The other was Sasaki, who was clearly acting abnormal.

Most people would choose the second option.

Because the instigator was Sasaki telling Akane that he had been drugged by Coach Tougou.

But that day, he only felt a bit hot... which was normal for someone training every day.

And that day was the first day of increased training, so feeling a bit hotter than usual wasn't an issue.

On the contrary, Sasaki's behaviour was completely inexplicable.

Just based on a few words from the coach, he concluded that the coach had put something in the tea. How could he be more aware than Shouya himself?

What is he trying to do by helping Akane so actively?

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