What on earth happened? Why was Kasumigaoka suddenly throwing a little tantrum?
Watching the girl who kept insisting "I'm not, I'm definitely not mad" while stubbornly refusing to even glance at him, Miyahito was so stressed he wanted to pull his hair out.
Honestly, logically speaking, Miyahito shouldn't be this flustered.
Despite rarely interacting with girls, he rarely ever got the "Aragaki-kun is weird" label. That alone proved he wasn't some emotionally dense guy bad at communicating with women.
Besides, he'd practically raised Ayase himself. When she was little, she was the ultimate combination of "kid," "girl," and "little sister."
Even facing that fully-stacked, multi-attribute little Ayase, he'd managed to care for her so well that she became completely dependent on and adored him.
Given all that, there was no way he should be lumped in with those "low EQ, emotionally dense, overly accommodating protagonist" types from anime.
However, all of that came with one crucial premise: Miyahito had to be in a normal state of mind.
Clearly, this was not a normal situation.
Why? Because the person currently giving him the silent treatment was Utaha.
And to Miyahito, Utaha was special.
"Because I care too much, I lose my composure around you."
That single sentence perfectly explained his current abnormal behavior.
"Because I care too much, I lose my composure around you."
Then again, it made sense. If it were any other girl, he wouldn't have given them the chance to sulk at him in the first place.
Even if it were Ayase throwing a tantrum, he'd only be slightly impatient. After years of looking after his sister, he had plenty of tricks to coax her.
But facing Utaha, he couldn't even keep his cool. It should've been simple: think it through, analyze the cause and effect. Instead, he was scratching his head, completely at a loss.
"Sigh....."
However, just as Miyahito was racking his brain trying to figure out how to cheer her up...
In a corner he couldn't see.
The girl, who had turned her back and put on an "I'm ignoring you" act, couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth lift slightly.
Actually, she wasn't mad.
Well... to be precise, she wasn't completely mad over something as trivial as "I've never gotten to try Aragaki-kun's homemade snacks."
After all, Utaha knew full well that right now, they were just maintaining a normal, ordinary friendship.
Things like "tasting each other's cooking" or "getting upset because others had it and I didn't" weren't appropriate for their current relationship.
If they were currently close, confidant-level friends...
Or even in a more intimate relationship, then her unhappiness wouldn't be this kind of unreasonable pouting.
So why, knowing full well her current behavior was "unreasonable," did she insist on doing it anyway?
It all stemmed from a comment Machida Sonoko made last night while discussing Vol 4. After hearing Utaha's concept for a male-female lead interaction, Machida had paused and offered an evaluation.
'The plot itself is fine, but why do I get the feeling that when Naoto and Sayaka are together, there's an indescribable distance in his behavior?'
'Could it be that Sayaka is too perfect? So perfect that Naoto doesn't dare to get close?'
The moment Machida said those words, Utaha froze as if struck by lightning, stunned for several seconds.
The inspiration for that interaction scene was mostly drawn from her real daily interactions with Miyahito, mixed with a small portion of her own fantasies.
Sayaka was modeled after herself, and Naoto after Miyahito.
In that case, Machida's critique of the novel... was essentially a reflection of how Utaha felt during her real-life interactions with him.
Later, she thought about it for a long time.
Yeah, maybe Machida was right. Because Utaha was too perfect. So perfect that Miyahito didn't dare, or was unwilling, to get closer.
Even worse, as that distance grew over time, Miyahito would eventually fall into the illusion that "just being able to stay by Kasumigaoka's side is enough."
Utaha didn't want that, and she refused to just settle for the status quo.
She wanted to bring her relationship with him to the next level.
So, Utaha decided to stop being so "perfect."
At the very least, she needed to appear imperfect in his eyes.
Only, she thought her plan was flawless.
But reality always throws in some unexpected variables.
'I... I might have taken the joke too far.' Stealing a glance back at him, seeing his bewildered and slightly wounded expression, the confident smile on Utaha's face instantly crumbled.
It shouldn't be like this.
Why is he so conflicted? I was just pretending to pout for a bit.
Could it be he didn't catch the meaning behind my words?
No, no, that's impossible. Usually, she didn't even need to speak for him to smile and voice what was on her mind.
How could he possibly miss the subtext now?!
Originally, she just wanted to playfully pout and tease him. Her only goal was to make him realize she was just a normal girl, and that he didn't need to feel so pressured around her.
But as they say, plans are beautiful, but reality is cruel.
Now, trapped in a dilemma of her own making, Utaha was completely at a loss.
She couldn't possibly just pretend nothing happened and casually tell the guy trying to coax her, "I was just joking, don't take it seriously," could she?
Without even thinking, she could already picture the exact expression he'd make if she said that.
'He'd definitely hate me for it! He might even think I'm a terrible, manipulative girl...'
Gradually, Utaha found herself just as tangled in her thoughts as Miyahito.
For a moment, a bizarre, awkward silence settled between them, much like a conversation that had completely stalled.
However, both so deeply lost in their own internal struggles, neither noticed the strange atmosphere around them.
Just then, Miyahito felt his throat getting a bit dry.
Instinctively, he pulled out a bottle of half-finished waxberry iced tea from his bag.
Then, smoothly and naturally, he took out two cups.
Just as he was about to pour a cup for himself and Utaha, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
At the same time, he couldn't help but mutter internally:
'Could it be... because she hasn't tried my snacks? Or my bento?'
'Is that why she's pouting?'
At first, Miyahito dismissed the idea.
But after carefully thinking it over and piecing together clues from their recent interactions and conversation, he grew increasingly certain his guess was right.
'Seriously, just because of that?'
The corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily. He shook his head, a mix of helplessness and fondness in his expression.
Who would've thought Kasumigaoka had such a childish side?
But then again, that's part of her charm.
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