Chapter 21 – Winter (Part 6)
Winter, Part 6
Novel Title: ツァイガルニクの恋の沼 (Zeigarnik’s Love Swamp)
Author：月村奎著 (Tsukimura Kei)
Illustrator：志水ゆき (Shimizu Yuki)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 市川春音 (Ichikawa Harune -MC) & 二ノ宮航輝 (Ninomiya Kouki -ML)
*Please read at novels.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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“But…”
Mafuyu was on the verge of tears, so Harune spun her around in his arms, and soon she was giggling happily, her mood instantly lifted.
“Here, I brought you a souvenir. You like this stuff, right?” Naoki handed over a package from the bakery in the next town. Peeking inside, Harune saw a Stollen wrapped in cellophane.
“Oh, yay! Thanks so much for going out of your way.”
“It was no trouble. Nacchan asked me to grab it. Oh, by the way, your winter interior display is getting great reviews. Could you do a spring version for us too?”
Harune’s emotional pendulum swung back to the positive side. Being praised for his work felt simply wonderful and fulfilling.
“Of course! How about the same theme—bed covers and curtains? I could throw in some doilies for the dresser, too.”
“That’d be great. We’ll discuss the details another time, at your leisure.”
“Understood.”
As Naoki reached to take Mafuyu back, she resisted, whining and throwing a mini tantrum.
“You’re whining so much, you must be getting sleepy, right?”
“I’m not sleepy!”
“Even if you’re not sleepy, daddy is. Let’s go home, take a bath together, and read a picture book in bed.”
Mafuyu shook her head so hard it looked like her neck might snap.
“No, I want to play more with Haru-nii!”
“Don’t be like that. If we go home now, I’ll let you blow bubbles in the bath as a special treat.”
At the mention of bubbles, Mafuyu’s eyes lit up.
“Really? Absolutely for sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Mafuyu eagerly leaped into Naoki’s arms.
“Wow, Mafuyu, you’re lucky to have such a nice dad,” Harune said.
Naoki, carrying Mafuyu, reached out his free hand toward Harune with a playful grin.
“Harune, why don’t you become one of my kids too? You can come and blow bubbles in the bath with us.”
He pulled Harune in along with Mafuyu for a joke hug, and Harune couldn’t help but laugh.
“If I were twenty years younger, I would’ve gladly taken you up on that offer.”
As he opened the door to see them off, Harune was startled. Standing just outside the glass door was Naoki’s younger brother, Kouki. The shop’s interior was brightly lit and visible from the outside, so Harune hadn’t noticed him standing there in the dark.
Naoki was also surprised, letting out a quick “Oh.”
“You’re here to see Harune too?”
“…Yeah.”
“Don’t get in the way of his cleaning, alright?” Naoki said with a brotherly remark and left with Mafuyu.
Kouki raised the paper bag in his hand.
“Beef shank stew. Want some?”
“Definitely.”
Relieved that Kouki was acting as usual, bringing food like always, Harune quickly matched his tone.
“Stay and eat with me, won’t you? Come on in.”
Harune lowered the shutters and gestured for Kouki to come inside, following him into the back after a hasty cleanup.
Harune had assumed Kouki would be warming up the stew in the kitchen, as usual, but instead, he found him standing silently in the living room doorway.
“What’s wrong?”
Peeking into the living room, Harune froze in panic. In his rush to get the shop ready that morning, he hadn’t had time to clean up. The futon was still spread out with the covers rumpled, and right in the middle of the room lay a pair of bright socks that were clearly not his. They must have belonged to Yuuichi, who had left hurriedly after his phone call with Maki.
“Sorry, I’ll clean up now.”
He quickly folded the futon in half with the blanket, grabbed the socks, and shoved them into his pocket. He started gathering empty cans from the kotatsu table.
Usually, Kouki would jump in to help with things like this, but today, he didn’t move. Sensing something off, Harune looked up, only to see Kouki staring at him with a cold expression.
“…Are you still in love with my brother?”
Harune froze in place.
Since coming back here, they had never spoken about it, so Harune had hoped Kouki had forgotten or at least decided to pretend it never happened. But that clearly wasn’t the case.
“Why are you bringing this up now, all of a sudden?”
“…Huh?” Kouki looked down at Harune with icy eyes. “You were grinning when my brother hugged you. What’s up with that?”
“…What?”
“Is it fun to seduce a man who’s married to your sister and even has kids?”
“What are you talking about…?”
“And then, to top it off, you brought another man into your house and did whatever you wanted?”
Harune was at a loss for words, staring back at Kouki in shock.
It’s been about a year since Harune made a U-turn and started working in this town again. He thought the cracks of the past had healed, and that he had built a peaceful and comfortable friendship. But maybe that had just been an illusion all along.
Or perhaps, Kouki had been pretending to be a good person, only to push Harune away the moment he let his guard down—a new kind of harassment.
Even if that were the case, his words were so cutting that Harune felt more than just shocked. He was getting seriously angry.
“…It’s none of your business, Kouki, who I let stay over or what I do,” Harune replied coolly, refusing to be defeated by Kouki’s harsh tone.
In reality, nothing had happened, but with Kouki talking to him like this, even trying to explain felt infuriating. If Kouki wanted to look down on him that badly, he could go ahead.
“And what’s wrong with getting along with my brother-in-law? Are you jealous or something?”
Harune lashed out, taking a combative stance, which made Kouki’s expression change. Harune had never thought of it like that before, but could Kouki really be that much of a brother-complex?
Even if that were the case, it didn’t give him the right to insult Harune.
Harune started to feel angry at himself for having liked someone like this for so long.
Isn’t he the worst?
Yeah, he was terrible ever since they were kids. Kouki used to chase Harune around with butterflies (which he hated), make fun of his hobbies, unravel his knitting and ruin it. And in the end, he even saw through Harune’s sexuality and looked down on him for it.
Still, Harune liked him. He was drawn to Kouki’s energy, his boldness, and the occasional kindness and protectiveness he showed. Even after they cut ties, even after meeting different people as an adult, Harune could never forget him.
One of the main reasons Harune came back was because he didn’t want to lose the shop that held memories of his grandparents. But the fact that Kouki lived in the same town was also a big reason.
After all, many of his memories at the shop included time spent with Kouki. You could say Harune came back mostly because he was still holding on to his first love.
And this is what it led to.
Harune was furious. Not just at Kouki, but at himself for still liking someone like him.
“If you hate me that much, stop pretending to be nice and showing your face around here. Or is this some elaborate form of harassment, where you act all friendly just to tear me down later?” Harune glared at Kouki, who seemed like he was about to say something.
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Next update: 2026.06.27
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