My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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"I wasn't in that mood at all! I was about to break up with my boyfriend!"

"Okay, it was my fault, I'm sorry... You're right, you're not someone I can just brush off. And let me make this clear, don't get angry, okay?"

"What's wrong?"

Facing the slightly tilted east side, I prepared myself for the worst.

"I had a girlfriend when I was in junior high school."

I have never mentioned this matter until now.

Now, I'm stating a fact that I've never brought up before.

Dongtou stopped writing.

She stiffly and rigidly raised her head.

"……What?"

The opening speed at the east end is so slow that it's comparable to the time difference in satellite broadcasting.

"Girlfriend...?"

"yes."

"Lover?"

"right."

"Mizuto-kun, is that you?"

"Exactly."

Dongtou looked like a fish, his mouth opening and closing for a long time—

"You—you lied to me—!"

She retreated backward on the bed with lightning speed, her back slamming against the wall.

"Someone like Mizuto, ah, an otaku! He actually had a girlfriend...! He had a girlfriend...!"

"The guy who confessed to me has no right to say that."

"...Ah, that's true..."

Dongtou immediately calmed down.

I initially thought she would be angry. Because Dongtou seemed to share a similar feeling towards me—she must have assumed I, like her, had spent a lonely and empty middle school period. You could also say I couldn't bear to betray her, which is why I hadn't told her before…

"I see... Mizuto-kun, you've had a girlfriend... You seem a bit affected by that..."

Fortunately, it's just "seems a little bit".

"I thought it must be some kind of disgusting memory, like a girl borrowed your eraser and you still can't forget it..."

"What kind of person do you think you've fallen for?"

To let the other person occupy a place in one's heart like that is just too crazy.

As Dongtou slowly began to write again, he said:

"You said 'we dated'...does that mean you've broken up?"

"Yeah, we broke up when we graduated... but actually, we had been broken up for about six months before that."

"Ugh... I really don't want to hear Mizuto-kun talk about such realistic topics..."

"If you really don't want to hear it, then I won't talk about it."

"Really. Please don't say it anymore."

In this situation, you should answer "No, not at all," right?

"Oh...I see—so you dumped me because of your ex-girlfriend?"

"You could say that."

"To put it simply, you still can't forget your ex-girlfriend, right?"

“Ugh!”

"It's really neither dry nor crisp~"

"...I...I didn't..."

"You're sincere..."

For a moment...

Dongtou's gaze seemed to droop with sorrow.

"...I used to like her."

There was a clear sense of envy in their gaze.

I envied that unfamiliar girl and hoped I would have the same opportunity.

"Given your personality, Teruyuu-kun, you must be very gentle and considerate towards your girlfriend... just like the male protagonist in a shoujo manga, able to understand all her feelings and lend a helping hand when needed—"

She stopped writing again...

Then he raised his gaze, as if imagining some kind of scene.

"…………Ahhh…………"

Then she sighed and said:

"...I feel so disgusted..."

"Hello."

In this situation, shouldn't we revisit the feelings of heartbreak?

"No, it's because it's really disgusting. That nice guy, Mizuto, is such a bad person. He doesn't agree with me."

"Yes, that might be the case now..."

"Show me your skills (laughs)."

"His tone of voice has become like that of a student bullying others!"

I'll show you! You better watch out, woman, or you'll fall in love with me again!

Although I'm working as a model, how could I remain silent after being provoked like this? I stood up from my seat and knelt on the edge of the bed at the east end where I was sitting motionless.

I gently reached out and softly brushed aside her bangs, my face turned eastward as I looked at the tablet screen.

"……Um……"

"Let me see it more clearly."

I recalled the past, put on a gentle tone, and turned my face toward the east.

"You're so cute... don't hide it."

Dongtou looked up, her gaze fixed on mine, her eyes flickering slightly.

Then──

"Pfft!"

She suddenly burst out laughing and covered her mouth.

"Aha! Ahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"What's with all the laughter?!"

I slapped Dongtou hard with my palm as he rolled around on the bed laughing heartily.

Yeah, looking back now, it's totally hilarious! But I was really serious at the time! I started thinking about suicide!

"Eek... Eek... Ah... That's so funny. Show me again! (laughs)"

"No way!"

"I still think Mizuto-kun should be a weirdo and an outsider. But for ASMR, it was pretty good. Next time you want to do something lewd, please use that feeling from before."

"No way!!"

"Hoo hoo." Dongtou, with a half-smile on his face, quickly sidled up to me.

She put her hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear:

"(...Mizuto-kun, you're the coolest.)"

"Hoo...!"

"Ah, is that right? I see, that's exactly how my girlfriend acted back then. What an idiotic conversation."

"Mind your own business! Are all couples in the world idiots?!"

"Hmm... Well then, what's next...?"

"Enough already! How disgusting!"

"Ugh—!"

I forcefully pushed Dongtou off me, grabbed her shoulders, and pressed her onto the bed.

After I pinned him down, Dongtou opened his eyes wide as if to say, "Ah!"

"Since you've had girlfriends before... does that mean you already have experience...?"

"...No, it hasn't progressed to that point."

"Oh, I see—no wonder you can't let go..."

"No, that's not it! I need to make this clear to you. I dumped you for other reasons, not because I still have feelings for that woman—"

"ah."

As if something had diverted his attention, Dongtou suddenly turned his face to the side.

My curiosity was piqued, and I kept my head pressed against the bed, looking in the same direction.

"........."

The door to the room was opened a crack.

Through the crack in the door, a pair of eyes were secretly peeking at us on the bed.

It's Aunt Nagi.

"...Well done, Isana. But you still need to wear your protective gear."

After saying that, Aunt Nagi dropped a small box into the room through the crack in the door.

That's—to put it more tactfully, well… let's just say it's a nighttime cleaning bag…

"Getting pregnant now is a bit too early. Okay, good luck to you guys."

Aunt Nagi left those words and closed the door.

They didn't even have time to defend themselves.

"Hmm...?"

Dongtou stared blankly at the small box that had been tossed into the room… Wait, could this guy…?

After Dongtou slipped under my body, he crawled across the floor on his hands and feet and picked up the small box.

"What is this—... Ah! This is!"

After tilting his head to examine the small box, Dongtou happily brought the item to show me.

"Mizuto-kun, look! This is it! The thing you're wearing there! I've never seen it before! Wow—so that's what it is. Wow—..."

"...Yes."

Dongtou seemed not to hear my awkward response and quietly opened the small box. Before I could stop her, she had already torn one off a row of square packages with a ripping sound, saying:

"Mizuto-kun, look!... I'm holding... the cover of a doujinshi—!"

"Stop it, you idiot!"

"it hurts!"

I slapped her on the head with all my might, and the small square bag fell out of her mouth.