Spending A Lovey-Dovey College Life With A Spoiled Childhood Friend - Chapter 20

TRANSLATOR: HAYME

EDITOR: AJ1703

Monday, May 20th. Today’s lecture is in the afternoon, so we just happened to visit the Byte editorial’s office… However, we found a person lying on the floor snoring.

“Shun-san, if you don’t move over, we can’t sit down…”

I shook the person who was sleeping and woke him up.

“Ah– sorry… Good morning…”

Shun-san, the manager of the department who was lying on the floor, got up quietly and stretched.

“Good morning, why are you on the floor here when you have a bed?”

“Oh, I was writing a research paper in the lab and got too sleepy. But, I ran out of energy before I could reach my bed in the club room.” [TLN: this happened to me one time when I was doing our research paper. I was too lazy to go to bed so I slept on the floor kekw.]

Shun-san said such an outrageous thing. Well, there’s always something unpredictable about this guy’s behavior.

“Are you guys taking a break?”

“Something like that.”

After that, we sat down on our usual seats.

“Nee~ nee~ why don’t we go on a date this weekend?” [TLN: supposed to be “Hey, hey” but “nee, nee,” sounds cuter to me.]

“You want to have a date? Sure, but I don’t know many date spots that much though.”

“We can just go out to Tokyo. It’s fun anywhere when I’m with you, Ryu.” 

“Maybe we can go to an amusement park?”

It’s a classic date destination, but I’ll just say it.

“That sounds good. Then, let’s look for an amusement park in Tokyo.”

As we were having such a harmonious conversation, I suddenly caught a glance from the side.

“You said you two weren’t together, but I guess you guys were.”

“Oh, that’s not the case. It’s more like yesterday and today…”

I was hesitant to give details, so when I was slurring my words, Shun-san suddenly said–

“I see. Well, congratulations! Then, how about we go eat outside for lunch? My treat of course.”

“E-Ehh!? I can’t ask you to do that…”

“Don’t be shy, it’s a small price to pay for a free meal.”

So, the three of us, including Shun-san, had to force ourselves to go out for a lunch.

In the car. Shun-san, who was driving, seemed to be in a very good mood.

“Did something good happen to you?”

“Oh, I’m just looking forward to buying a meal for the club members who have something to celebrate.”

Shun-san replied with a laugh. Like his behavior when I first met him, he was unpredictable in many ways. Miyu and I looked at each other at Shun-san’s reply.

After that, we arrived at an upscale conveyor belt sushi restaurant. The minimum price for a plate of fish was 300 yen, so it seemed to be quite expensive.

“Uhm… are you sure you want to do this? I have some money so we can split the price fee…”

“M-Me too…”

If I ate until I was full, the total cost could have been several thousand yen, so I was a little hesitant.

“Don’t be shy. I’m through with JSPS* so I have enough money to spend.” [TLN: 学振 – Gakushin – JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) you can find more information if you click here.]

The unfamiliar word “JSPS” caught my attention.

“What’s JSPS?”

“In short, it’s a system where graduate students are hired for a limited period of time and paid a salary in return.”

“You are in the first year of your doctorate, right? Is it possible to get the scholarship by applying for it?”

“That’s a hassle. It’s not a test of your research ability, but the ratio is extremely high.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Not really, I just got lucky and passed.”

Shun-san said with a bit of self-mockery.

“Anyways, I can afford it, so don’t hesitate to order what you guys want.”

“In that case…”

I ordered tuna onigiri, Miyu ordered sea urchin, and Shun-san ordered scallops.

“So, why the sudden interest in treating us to a meal?”

“I’d like to know that, too.”

Our image of Shun-san was, to put it bluntly, a weirdo. It was the same when he invited us out for the first time, and when we went out to eat at RanRan. He was also the one who came up with the bizarre idea of measuring the weight of a beef bowl. I thought he was someone who was not interested in other people, good or bad, like his simple reply when I asked him if he was dating someone.

“Where should I start…”

Shun-san seemed to be thinking about what to say.

“I’ve been here for seven years now, four years as an undergraduate and two years as a master. I guess you guys could say I stayed too long for nothing.”

He continued.

“And so, whenever I had something to celebrate, the old manager would buy me a meal. This was my way of returning the favor.”

I was surprised that he said it with a bit of embarrassment, which was unusual for him.

“So that’s what the old manager does huh.”

“She’s a great person. Even though she’s a woman, she’s a top-notch researcher.”

Shun-san said nostalgically.

“So where’s she right now?”

“I think she is teaching at Stanford University in the US. It’s really hard to compete with her…”

Stanford University is a top-notch university in the United States. Since she teaches there, she must be an amazing person.

“Uhm… I know this may sound rude but did you like that person, Shun-senpai?”

Miyu asked Shun-san.

“Actually, yes. As a matter of fact, I confessed my love to her before she left for her doctoral program, and you can already imagine what happened next…”

I didn’t know that Shun-san, who seemed to be just a strange guy, had such a past.

“I’m aware that I’m kinda weird… I guess I wasn’t that attractive to her as a man…”

“I don’t think so. At least, if you dress properly and set your hair right, even senpai will…”

Miyu, you’re kinda being rude to him…

“Oh well, don’t worry about me. The point is, I just want to congratulate my cute club members when they have something to celebrate.”

“Err… Thank you very much.”

“Shun-senpai…” [TLN: don’t worry shun I’m sure you’ll find your “the one” someday QAQ]

Even though he’s weird, I’m glad that this person wanted to celebrate for us.

“Err…not that I have any taste for prying on your past. But, how did it all start?”

“Well, you know. Miyu and I have known each other since we were in elementary school…”

So, while we ate sushi, I told Shun-san about our past.

“Well then, I’m going back to the lab. Be good to each other, okay?”

After the meal, we split up with Shun-san.

“I think my image of Shun-san has changed a little bit. He’s a very compassionate person, isn’t he?”

“I also think my image of Shun-senpai has changed a little too! I hope he finds someone good someday…”

‘Maybe because we heard about him getting rejected by the previous manager, he got troubled by it.’ That’s what Miyu said.

“Yeah, I guess so. Anyways, we still have to talk about our date.”

“There are so many amusement parks, so it’s hard to choose one…”

Then, we went back to discuss our date.

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