Chapter 400: Why Can’t I Find Anything?
Chapter 400: Why Can’t I Find Anything?
“U-uh, Shiina, see! That shop ahead looks very interesting!”
To change the tense atmosphere and hurriedly try to change the subject, Himekoji pointed at the shop not far away as he said this.
Actually, it was just an ordinary shop on North Avenue, selling all sorts of glass items.
Afraid that Mashiro might ignore him entirely, without waiting for her reply, Himekoji took the lead and went inside alone.
Luckily, Mashiro did not ignore him; though displeased with him, she still followed closely behind, stepping in after him.
The shop was not wide, filled with many goods all made from glass—a dazzling array.
There were elegant wine glasses, plain glass water pots, and even all sorts of small trinkets and toys shaped like animals.
The surfaces of the glass items were colored—red, yellow, blue, green, cyan—each bright and vivid, sparkling under special lights that put a dreamy hue throughout the small shop.
“It’s so pretty…”
Himekoji heard a soft sigh of admiration escape from Mashiro’s lips.
The girl carefully picked up a red glass bead with a gradual color change, playing with and examining it in a trance, her eyes transparent and clear like the glass bead itself, shining with strong interest.
Great!
The guess was right!
Girls like Mashiro really have no resistance to such small glass trinkets.
He felt a sense of relief.
It was like finally escaping from the heavy atmosphere before.
“Welcome!”
While Mashiro busied herself with the trinkets on the shelf, a female clerk nearby stepped up with a smile.
“Interested in this? How about trying to make one yourself? It’s a rare experience! While crafting your own trinket, you might also create beautiful memories~~”
She smoothly pitched the shop’s fun activity, and with her smiling face and vague words, she seemed to think Himekoji and Mashiro were a couple on a date.
This made Himekoji feel troubled, because honestly, his relationship with Mashiro was quite complicated…
“Make it myself? Like blowing air into hot glass?”
He kind of remembered seeing it in textbooks.
Melt glass in a hot furnace, spin a hollow rod while blowing air into it to shape it gradually.
He really wanted to try it, but for a beginner, it seemed a bit too hard, right?
“Exactly—just blow like ‘whoosh~~’.”
Hearing the clerk’s reply made him want to refuse right away; he thought it was dangerous for amateurs and worried Mashiro might get burned.
Mashiro was not good at anything except drawing.
“Akito.”
Just as Himekoji was about to speak, he heard Mashiro call his name.
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“I want to do it.”
“Eh? What?”
He wasn’t quite sure and quickly tried to explain the risks.
“Hey, this isn’t easy, okay? If you got burned, that would be bad.”
“I want to do it.”
She paid no attention to Himekoji’s warnings.
Once Mashiro decided on something, she stuck with it stubbornly.
Himekoji felt instantly stuck.
Seeing this, the female clerk smiled slightly and chimed in just in time with a polite sales voice:
“If you’re worried about burns, no need to fret—you don’t need fire to make it.”
The clerk took a glass trinket shaped like a small cat from the display shelf.
“See, these blurry parts are made by spraying sand; it’s called sandblasting. With this method, you can even draw your sketches onto the pieces.”
“Hmm…”
Mashiro murmured softly, took the sample from the clerk, stared at it with wide eyes, clearly mesmerized.
After this, it seemed hard to find a reason to refuse.
“So, want to give it a try?”
The clerk asked again with a smile.
“I want to do it.”
Mashiro replied instantly.
…
The instructor was a man around twenty-eight or twenty-nine—not an old guy, more like a big brother.
After the instructions, Himekoji and Mashiro sat side by side at the work table.
The first step was to draw on the paper given.
So, the task suddenly returned to Mashiro’s familiar and expert area.
Mashiro wielded the brush smoothly and easily.
This contrasted sharply with Himekoji.
He held the title of mangaka but looked like a fraud compared to skilled Mashiro.
He drew a bit, erased it, drew a bit, erased it—repeating over and over.
It was truly tough work…
About ten minutes later, the instructor brother couldn’t hold back and came over to chat.
“By the way, your girlfriend is super cute!”
“Eh?”
Busy at work, Himekoji jumped at the sudden words.
“N-No, she’s not my girlfriend.”
He set the brush aside and waved his hands to deny it.
“Eh? Really?”
Upon hearing this, the instructor brother looked disappointed.
No one knew what he was hoping for…
“I like Akito.”
Right as she finished drawing, Mashiro suddenly spoke up, joining the conversation.
She looked sulky, upset because Himekoji had denied she was his girlfriend.
Even though Himekoji was just stating the truth.
The current situation between the two of them couldn’t possibly be called romantic, right?
“Eh—? Wh-What?!”
Not boyfriend and girlfriend, but still liking each other?
The shop clerk was naturally stunned.
He blinked several times in between.
“Akito-kun?”
Unable to make sense of the logic, he spoke up to ask Himekoji for an answer.
“Well…”
Himekoji didn’t know how to explain either, so he pretended not to understand and stayed quiet.
But when Himekoji didn’t speak, Mashiro suddenly spoke again.
“Nanami likes Akito too.”
Another bomb dropped!
“Eh? Eh?! Ehh—!!”
The shop clerk’s reaction became more exaggerated each time. Curiosity and gossip kicking in, he immediately pressed for more without holding back.
“And Nanami is?”
“A classmate.”
“Good… good heavens! A love triangle? It’s actually a love triangle! Amazing! That’s amazing! A love triangle right in front of me! Super rare in real life! Oh, and you really can’t judge a book by its cover! Never thought Akito-kun you’d be so popular.”
The shop clerk nudged Himekoji with his elbow, looking a little enviously.
Can’t judge a book by its cover? Never thought he’d be popular?
It kind of felt like he was saying Himekoji didn’t deserve Mashiro…
Though surely the shop clerk hadn’t meant it that way.
“Hah, hah…”
Himekoji couldn’t help but shake his head, a bitter smile on his face.
Then, right at that moment, Mashiro suddenly stood up.
“Shiina, what’s wrong?”
“Hmm…”
Mashiro kept her head down, cheeks flushed red, pressing down on her skirt hem while fidgeting a bit.
“Shiina?”
Completely confused, Himekoji urged Mashiro for an answer.
“If you need the restroom, it’s on the left.”
In the end, it was the shop clerk who stood up to save the situation.
Learning the exact location of the restroom, Mashiro shot Himekoji a sideways glance, then walked off without a word.
Only then did Himekoji finally figure out what was going on.
He felt pretty speechless.
“If you needed the toilet, why not just say it…”
“Young man, you really don’t get it, do you!”
The clerk beside him laughed like someone with plenty of experience.
“This is what they call ‘a girl’s heart.’ If you want to be a good boyfriend, you still have a lot to learn!”
As if very pleased with his own explanation, the clerk nodded repeatedly as he spoke.
“I told you I’m not her boyfriend.”
Himekoji muttered a small objection.
A few minutes later, Mashiro returned. She seemed a little angry, a little sulky, and a little downcast, mixed with a hint of embarrassment.
Without even looking at Himekoji, she plopped back into her seat, breathing heavily like she was annoyed.
“Akito is a big idiot.”
She said it just loud enough for Himekoji to hear.
“Shiina, isn’t that a little unreasonable…”
He wanted her to take it back, but she ignored him completely.
“Haha…”
Seeing the awkward tension, the clerk jumped in to smooth things over.
“Is the girlfriend charm all done?”
“Mhm.”
She gave a small nod, but Mashiro seemed to have lost the enthusiasm she had when starting it.
“Oooh~~ The girlfriend charm drawing is so pretty!”
“So I keep telling you, it’s not girlfriend…”
As soon as Himekoji started to correct him, Mashiro shot him a glare full of annoyance.
The shop clerk, meanwhile, acted as if he hadn’t heard him at all.
“Mmm, in contrast, the boyfriend charm here isn’t looking so hot… Pfft! It’s really bad! I really want to laugh!”
Aren’t you already laughing?
“Dude, you shouldn’t say things like that to a customer, it’s too harsh…”
Himekoji was feeling pretty bummed.
“Sorry! Just kidding! Later though, please be sure to give my guidance service a five-star rating!”
That apology was quick!
Really thick-skinned!
Himekoji wasn’t actually that bothered, so he agreed.
“Okay, okay.”
It was clear that this shop clerk was actually a pretty nice guy.
He’d been trying to help Himekoji and Mashiro get together since earlier. It was just a shame that his relationship with Mashiro was way too complicated.
“Right, thanks, boyfriend-kun. Actually looking closer now, what boyfriend-kun drew isn’t too bad? Sure, a bit abstract, but this crab is kind of cute.”
“I drew a cat, thank you!”
“Okay then, let’s cut them out and make the final charms.”
Himekoji’s comment was simply ignored.
Putting on a face like nothing had happened, the shop clerk took two pairs of scissors from a drawer and handed them to Himekoji and Mashiro.
…
About half an hour later, each carrying the glass charm they had made themselves, Himekoji and Mashiro left the shop, one after the other.
They continued walking down North Avenue.
On the way, he listened to a music box, played goldfish scooping, and bought Baumkuchen from a famous sweets shop to eat.
It was past six in the afternoon when Himekoji finally brought Mashiro back to her hotel.
“Binjiang Park and North Avenue were fun, right?”
He asked casually.
It was just a routine question to wrap up their date, and Himekoji expected Mashiro to agree as usual.
However, Mashiro suddenly went silent without saying a word.
Not just that—she halted right in the middle of the hotel lobby without warning.
“Shiina?”
Feeling something was off, Himekoji turned around.
He saw Mashiro looking unusually serious, her small face tense.
“What’s wrong?”
Himekoji didn’t understand.
“…It was boring.”
For a second, he couldn’t believe Mashiro had said that—or that she was saying it to him.
“Wh-what?”
He froze as if petrified. His skin tingled from the icy feeling in the air, and his hair stood on end.
“Boring.”
He hadn’t misheard. Mashiro repeated it firmly.
She took off her large sun hat and clutched it against her chest. Her expression held sadness mixed with frustration, or maybe even regret.
Not knowing what to say or how to react, Himekoji’s gaze wavered wildly, lost and confused.
Had the receptionist noticed the tension? Her troubled eyes darted between Himekoji and Mashiro.
A flashy decorative plant filled the lobby, and an enormous chandelier hung overhead—all unseen by Himekoji, who stared in shock at Mashiro.
Boring…
She’d actually said it was boring…
Under the dazzling chandelier light, his eyes looked emptier and more defeated than ever.
Mashiro’s hands trembled as she gripped her hat.
That’s when Himekoji noticed something else—
The sketchbook she’d been holding earlier was gone.
“W-wait! Where’s your sketchbook?”
Mashiro crossed her arms, completely flattening the sun hat against her chest.
“It’s nowhere.”
Her voice was low as she answered.
“What? Did you forget it?!”
He shouted uncontrollably, his voice too loud.
Mashiro’s earlier words had shattered him—and now he was panicking.
“I’ll go find it!”
Himekoji spun around to rush off, but Mashiro’s voice stopped him.
“Enough.”
The word cut through the air.
“Huh?”
Startled, Himekoji paused and looked back.
“It’s enough.”
He saw Mashiro’s face hardened with resolve.
“Enough? What are you talking about? That’s your important manga material!”
“I don’t want it.”
“You…don’t want it? Why? What’s wrong with you?!”
“I told you, I don’t want it.”
“Don’t want it? How can you say that?! Why are you acting like this?!”
“Akito,” she said without hesitation, “you’ve always been the strange one!”
Her eyes burned into him—no, she was outright glaring.
“Strange? How am I strange?!”
“You’ve been avoiding me…this whole time.”
His body jolted violently. His lips turned cold and shuddered wildly.
“Why now?!”
The question roared out through gritted teeth, his anger blazing to hide the guilt. Part of him knew he felt irrational—but he couldn’t stop.
His emotions seized his mind.
“Why…are you mad?”
Of course, it was because she’d struck a nerve!
But what Himekoji said was different—
“I’m mad because you keep saying weird things, Shiina!”
Instantly, regret flooded his barely calm mind.
No! Not again!
He couldn’t lose his temper at Mashiro—not like last week!
“I’m not mad.”
He tried to soften his voice, denying it.
But it was too late. His earlier words still hung darkly between them.
“Liar. You are mad.”
Mashiro saw right through him, sharp and exact.
“No. I’m not mad!”
“You’re mad.”
“I’m not!”
“Akito is mad!”
He was angry at her.
The first time was a week ago, and this was the second time.
Both happened after that triangle incident.
Himekoji knew this argument was pointless.
He tried to calm himself down.
“Always in a bad mood today, constantly pouting — isn’t that you, Shiina?”
But right after settling his emotions, he lashed out with sharp words instead.
It was his self-defense instinct kicking in…
Because, really, what else could protect his fragile heart?
A heart that, stripped of its brave facade, was left shaking with fear and loneliness.
“It’s all Akito’s fault.”
“Huh?”
Normally, Himekoji would immediately take the blame, apologize softly, and comfort Mashiro.
Not today!
He just couldn’t.
Even though apologizing was habit, even though he never felt he was right.
Everyone has moments when they need to release their feelings.
Doesn’t matter if it’s the right time, the right place, or if they have the right.
Holding it in was suffocating.
Enough to make anyone want to disappear…
So, losing control, Himekoji shot back fiercely —
“Why is everything my fault?!”
“Because…”
Mashiro seemed to have been holding back too.
Her head snapped up, voice echoing through the hotel lobby —
“You didn’t compliment my clothes!”
Always so quiet and calm, Mashiro was shouting now, right at Himekoji.
“I put effort into my hair too!”
“My first time wearing makeup took hours!”
“And you walked so fast! My feet hurt in these sandals!”
“You didn’t say my name!”
“You promised… you’d call me Mashiro when we were alone…
“Mashiro, not Shiina…”
Her eyes glistened with tears she fought back.
But the tears kept coming, unstoppable.
Unable to hold back, unwilling to hold back.
Staring only at Himekoji, she declared every word clearly:
“You didn’t hold my hand!”
“Akito is a jerk!”
“A jerk!”
“A huge jerk!”
…Was that it?
He hadn’t expected that.
Like being hit unexpectedly by an arrow.
Her loud accusations felt like relentless blows.
Was that it?
Was that it?
Seriously?
Himekoji looked intently at Mashiro standing before him —
Her clothes were beautiful…
A wide-brimmed sun hat and a knee-length dress, pure white from head to toe. She must have chosen it carefully.
Probably spent all yesterday picking it out.
Her hair was lovely too…
Soft, wispy bangs curling slightly, framing her eyes softly. Fresh and natural. Anyone looking closely could see it was different from usual.
It looked perfect; how long had she spent fixing it?
Her makeup was amazing…
He couldn’t tell it was her first time. She must have put so much care into it.
So… that’s why Mashiro was late this afternoon?
Just to look her best for him on their date…
And what had he done?
Just complained that she didn’t leave earlier…
Himekoji lowered his eyes, guilt twisting inside him.
His gaze naturally fell to Mashiro’s feet.
The strappy sandals were pretty but looked uncomfortable.
Her delicate toes were curled slightly, red and blistered.
Seeing them, his heart skipped a beat, a suffocating weight pressing down on his chest.
Of course…
Of course Mashiro had lagged behind all day…
Not because she was pouting! Not because she was mad!
Just because her feet were hurting!
Even though she had blisters, even though every step hurt, Mashiro hadn’t complained once, right until the end.
She endured the pain, gritting her teeth to hide it. Walking fast each time she fell behind, trying not to worry him.
Seriously!
He was an idiot!
How…
How could he not notice a single thing the whole afternoon?!
…
…