Chapter 24 – Winter (Part 9)
Winter, Part 9
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*
֍֍֍
Harune felt irritated with his own nonsensical thoughts. He needed to stop thinking about that horrible, detestable man.
But with the man’s girlfriend sitting right in front of him, not thinking about it at all was impossible.
Still, as they focused on the work, Harune found his distracting thoughts slowly fading away.
The first time he made a wreath was back in vocational school. They had a class on wreaths and swags in flower arrangement, and he remembered how fun it was. After graduating, a classmate who had taken over their family flower shop continued to teach him, and over time, Harune became proficient.
Handcrafts are really amazing, he thought. Getting absorbed in making things helps clear your mind and lets you forget unpleasant things. With this shop and his handwork, he could live a happy life without needing anything else.
Yes, even if it meant being alone forever…
For a brief moment, Harune began to feel sentimental. But he quickly kicked himself mentally and refocused, advising Hinako on where to place the pinecones while shifting his thoughts in a positive direction.
Being alone is actually easier; you can live however you want. And it’s not like he’s completely alone—his sister and niece live nearby. It’s not as if he’s isolated.
Actually, having family so close was more of a concern. Even if he never wanted to see Kouki again, their familial connection meant they’d inevitably cross paths in this small town.
The thought of remembering that awful incident every time he saw Kouki was unbearable.
Harune snapped out of his thoughts when he realised his fingers, stained with the sharp scent of the Himuro cedar, were tracing his lips, still haunted by the memory of that kiss.
No, no—he wasn’t going to let this get him down. It wasn’t his fault.
He had quit his job and returned here to take over the shop. If he was going to live here, he needed to develop an iron will.
Thanks to Hinako’s dexterity, their wreaths were finished in no time.
“They turned out even more beautiful than I imagined!” Hinako said, gazing at the wreath with happiness.
Harune, putting on his best smile, responded, “Are you going to give one to your boyfriend?”
Hinako gave a shy smile and fiddled with the ring on her left hand.
“Actually, we’re planning to get married next year.”
Harune had known this, but it still felt like being thrown into a bottomless pit.
“Congratulations!” he said, raising his voice cheerfully to drown out the sinking feeling inside.
He was about to keep up the light mood by saying, “Since Kouki is my relative, I guess that makes us family now,” but when he tried to say Kouki’s name, his throat tightened. The words wouldn’t come out.
Completely unaware of Harune’s inner turmoil, Hinako continued with an innocent smile.
“We’re planning a casual restaurant wedding, and if you’d like, we’d love to invite you, Harune-kun.”
“Me? Are you sure?”
“Of course! Kouki would be so happy if you came.”
Yeah, right. He’d hate it. That guy despises me enough to pull a stunt like that kiss just to mess with me.
“I’ll send you an invitation when they’re ready.”
Hinako, holding the large paper bag with the wreath inside, ran off toward her pale green car, buffeted by the cold north wind.
Harune let out a long sigh.
Kouki’s cruel actions from the other day and the confirmed wedding between him and Hinako—it was all too much for Harune’s mind and heart to process. He felt completely drained.
Harune decided to abandon his thoughts for the time being and, after closing the shop, immersed himself in knitting without a second thought. He had three pieces to work on for next summer’s knitting book, as requested by Yuuichi.
He considered stopping once he finished knitting the back of the sweater, but changed his mind and cast on for the sleeves. He knitted part of the ribbing on one sleeve before putting his needles down.
Harune had always had a habit, since childhood, of deliberately leaving tasks unfinished. If he stopped at a natural breaking point, his mind would also take a break, but if he left something unfinished, there was a sense of excitement in the morning when he could pick up right where he left off.
After becoming an adult, Harune learned that this was called the Zeigarnik effect in psychology—the principle that unfinished or interrupted tasks are more easily remembered than completed ones.
As he prepared for bed, he wondered if this principle also applied to how people tend to remember their first loves for a long time.
The reason Harune had been unable to forget Kouki since they stopped talking in their first year of middle school was likely because their relationship had remained unresolved.
If, by some chance, Harune’s feelings had been reciprocated and they had dated before mutually breaking up, the memory would have settled and gradually faded.
But because things had never been properly concluded, his lingering regrets remained.
However, now things were different. After Kouki’s harsh words the other day, the humiliating kiss as a form of mockery, and the fact that Kouki was about to get married, the Zeigarnik effect had been completely dispelled. From now on, Harune was determined to erase Kouki from his memory. Even if Natsuno or Naoki found it strange, he didn’t care. Kouki could make up whatever excuse he wanted.
Despite his efforts to calm down, Harune’s adrenaline kept surging, leaving him wide awake.
He threw on a chunky-knit cardigan over his pyjamas, turned on the lights, warmed some milk, and switched the kotatsu back on before resuming his knitting. He had only knitted a few rows when he heard a light tapping sound coming from the back door. At first, he ignored it, thinking it was just the wind, but the sound came again, steady and rhythmic. Someone was knocking on the door.
Who could it be at this hour? Maybe Yuuichi had come over to vent again?
Or perhaps…
Harune couldn’t continue ignoring the knocking, which came every few minutes. He padded down the cold hallway to the back door and turned on the light.
“Who is it?” he called out from inside.
After a brief silence, a low voice murmured,
“…It’s me.”
There was no mistaking it—it was Kouki’s voice.
Even though Harune had just sworn to erase him from his memory, the moment he heard that voice, a painful tightness spread through his chest, as if someone had squeezed lemon juice into an open wound.
Frustrated with himself for feeling this way, his adrenaline surged again.
He turned to go back to the living room, but then a loud sneeze echoed from the other side of the door.
֍֍֍
Next update: 2026.06.30
֍֍֍
Would appreciate some donation. Thanks!
