Chapter 38 – Protecting His Brother
Chapter 6, Part 5
Novel Title: 融愛~Melt Down~ (Melted Love ~Melt Down~)
Author：風結子 沙野 (Fuyuko Sano)
Illustrator：雅良 水名瀬 (Masara Minase)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 葉越海理 (Yougoshi Kairi -MC), 葉越翼久 (Yougoshi Tasuku -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Remembering how he had scolded Tasuku, assuming he had started the fight again as usual, a bitter feeling spread through his chest.
“Hey, Tsubasa’s brother,… there’s something that’s been bugging me for a while. The other day, I gave Tsubasa something dangerous. You don’t know anything about it, do you? If the cops found it at his house, things could get seriously bad.”
“Something dangerous?”
As Kairi asked back, a pale green paper bag flashed in his mind. He lowered his voice.
“Are you talking about the paper bag? The one with various types of drugs inside?”
“Yes, that’s it! I just wanted to thank him for saving me, I never thought it would turn into something like this.”
“…I disposed of it before the detective barged in.”
Tasuku had told him that the paper bag had been ‘forced on him’ by an acquaintance.
――He was telling the truth… Tasuku didn’t do the drugs. He had kept the promise they made as kids.
Even though he had worked in shady businesses and sold his body to women, Tasuku had managed to hold on without losing himself completely.
That realisation made Kairi so happy that tears welled up in his eyes.
But now wasn’t the time to get sentimental.
“Hey, Youhei. I don’t believe my brother was involved with illegal drugs. If you know anything, could you tell me? There has to be something behind why drugs were found in his locker, right?”
“…”
Youhei’s face paled, his expression stiffening.
“Actually, I heard from a customer who had been here before that a host named Tatsuya had offered to sell them drugs. What do you think? Is it possible that this Tatsuya could have hidden the drugs in my brother’s locker?”
Just as Kairi spoke, the sound of rough footsteps echoed nearby.
Looking up, he saw a man dressed in black, walking toward him with a slouched posture. The man’s chin was jutted forward.
Even without an introduction, Kairi knew this was ‘Tatsuya’. His appearance matched perfectly with the image Aiko had described.
Feeling cautious, Kairi stood up instinctively. Tatsuya approached him aggressively, grabbing his shoulder. His stubby fingers dug into Kairi’s shoulder. As Kairi winced in pain, Tatsuya pushed him back onto the sofa, then sat down next to him.
When Kairi glanced at Youhei in front of him, he saw that Youhei was touching his right eye with a pained, frightened expression.
“Youhei told me that Tsubasa’s older brother was coming. So I thought I’d come to greet you. But, for the older brother of that flashy Tsubasa, you sure look pretty modest—Youhei, come on, get the man something to drink.”
“Y-yes.”
Youhei stood up, leaving Kairi alone with Tatsuya.
Tatsuya kept rhythmically tapping Kairi’s shoulder. It wasn’t friendly. It felt more like a threat. Kairi quietly pulled his shoulder away and turned his body to face Tatsuya. He fixed his gaze on Youhei’s swollen, double-lidded eyes.
“That bruise around Youhei’s eye—did you do that?”
Tatsuya sneered.
“Oh, yeah. He did something unnecessary, so I had to discipline him a bit.”
“What do you mean by ‘unnecessary’?”
Kairi stared into Tatsuya’s eyes, where the whites had a yellowish tinge.
…This man, who had apparently tried to sell ecstasy to Aiko, seemed to be a heavy drug addict himself.
“I mean, he called your brother and told him to run. That’s unnecessary. So I put him in his place. It’s tough training a dumb dog. You get it, right? Tsubasa, that idiot—he’s not a dog, though. More like a violent dumb cat—that’s your brother. Man, we both have it rough, huh?”
What a disgusting man.
When Tatsuya tried to pat Kairi’s shoulder again, Kairi brushed his hand away.
“Don’t insult my brother.”
“What the hell. He’s a real idiot, isn’t he? Hiding stuff in his own locker—what a moron.”
Tatsuya cackled, doubling over as he laughed. Watching him laugh like that, Kairi was sure of the truth. He asked in a cold, unwavering voice.
“When the police raided ‘Blossom’, you hid your drugs in Tsubasa’s locker, didn’t you?”
The laughter stopped abruptly. Still hunched forward, Tatsuya raised his eyes to look at Kairi.
His eyes glinted with a dangerous light.
As the tense atmosphere crackled, Youhei returned, carrying two tall glasses. They seemed to be filled with what looked like oolong tea.
Without breaking his glare at Kairi, Tatsuya spat out his words with a rolling tongue.
“Hey, dumb dog. Looks like this ‘brother of Tsubasa’ here fancies himself being a detective. He’s accusing me of selling drugs.”
Youhei flinched. He was obviously startled. To his surprise, he knocked over one of the tall glasses as he was about to place it on the table. The amber liquid spilled across the surface, forming a thin layer that spread over the black table. The moment the liquid dripped onto Tatsuya’s slacks, he kicked the table and stood up. He reached out and grabbed Youhei’s left upper arm, which was in a sling.
Even though his arm was encased in a cast, being violently shaken like that seemed to send waves of pain through him. Youhei’s body trembled.
“Ugh, ugh… Tatsuya-san, I’m sorry… It hurts! Please let go!”
“He’s injured! Stop it!”
Kairi stepped in between the two and forcibly pulled Tatsuya’s hand off Youhei’s arm. Tatsuya, using the back of his freed hand, slapped Kairi hard across the face.
“Don’t get in my way!”
Staggering from the blow, Kairi managed to stay on his feet, positioning himself as a shield for Youhei.
“Move aside. If you don’t, I’ll hit you again—this time with a fist.”
Tatsuya raised his fist threateningly.
Kairi stared back at him with his dark eyes.
“I’m used to getting hit.”
How many hundreds… No, how many thousands of times had he protected his brother from their mother’s hand like this? He lost count.
…Perhaps the reason he protected his brother so fiercely was because, deep down, he felt it was atonement for the times he had hated his existence. That realisation hit Kairi at this moment.
“You’re just like him.”
Tatsuya spat bitterly on the floor.
“Your face doesn’t look like his. But that weird calmness you’ve got pisses me off—just like Tsubasa’s.”
As soon as Tatsuya said that, he lunged at Kairi.
Unable to stop him, Kairi crashed down onto the hard floor. Tatsuya straddled him, placing his weight on Kairi’s solar plexus, then landed a punch to Kairi’s cheek. The impact made it feel like his brain was being crushed.
“You just said earlier that you knew I was trying to sell drugs to a customer, didn’t you? What was the name of that woman?”
He was trying to get her name to silence her with violence.
No matter what, Kairi wouldn’t reveal Aiko’s name.
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*Translator’s Note: Heh. This Tatsuya guy is the lowest of the lowest. -K
*GLOSSARY:
- Onii-san / Onii-chan / Nii-san / Nii-chan / Aniki = (Big/Elder) Brother
☝🏻I’ll be using these throughout my translation.
Next update: 2025.02.02
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