CM Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Learning of the Manipulation

Chapter 1, Part 7.2

Novel Title: ひとりじめ (Completely Mine)

Author：椎崎 夕 (Shiizaki You)

Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 細川 湊 (Hosokawa Minato -MC) & 荻原 浩志 (Ogiwara Koushi -ML)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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“That’s just the kind of person I am. …Ogiwara-kun just got caught up in it. That’s all.”

Minato’s feet wavered as he desperately tried to explain. He refused Masayuki’s outstretched hand, leaning against the wall and gathering strength in his legs.  

Masayuki looked down at him with a troubled expression and spoke.  

“All of us in the family know how unusually attached Koushi was to you, Hosokawa-sensei. While it may sound better to call him free-spirited, he’s selfish enough to give even his family trouble. Yet, you dealt with him patiently. Even so, you call it taking advantage and provoking him?”

“It’s true if I’m the one saying it. …Well then, please take me to the police right away. I coerced a minor into indecent acts, and I’ll turn myself in.”

“What are you talking about? Someone aspiring to be a teacher can’t do something like that.”

“This is what I deserve. I’ll take responsibility for my actions.”

Masayuki’s voice, calling out “Sensei,” sounded strained. Fully aware of this, Minato looked up straight at Masayuki, whose face resembled Ogiwara’s so much.  

***

In the end, he didn’t go to the police.  

Instead, Masayuki, insisting that he wouldn’t budge on this, took Minato to a small local clinic owned by an acquaintance of his.  

The elderly doctor, old enough to be a grandfather, treated Minato’s injuries without questioning the circumstances. He even allowed Minato to use the shower room. Whether Masayuki had told him something beforehand or not, the doctor only said once, as if confirming, “If you want to file a complaint, I can issue a medical certificate.” When Minato replied that it wasn’t necessary, the doctor said no more.  

“I’m sorry to trouble you. I know I’m being audacious, but I have a few requests.”

Seated in the passenger seat of Masayuki’s car, which he was told would take him back to his apartment, Minato bowed his head toward the driver’s seat. Masayuki, who had stopped the car at a red light, returned his gaze with a complicated expression.  

“I’d like to quit being his tutor as of today. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I’d also like to stop accompanying him to and from school. …It’s unpleasant for your family and for Ogiwara-kun himself.”  

Pushing through his last words, Minato bowed his head again.  

Having been caught, there was no way he could continue going in and out of that house. He couldn’t face Masayuki, let alone Ogiwara’s parents. Though he wanted to talk to Ogiwara again, there was little chance Ogiwara, who had left Minato in that state, would be willing to meet.  

“No one in my family, myself included, finds you unpleasant, Sensei. More importantly, what do you mean by accompanying him to and from school?”  

Masayuki’s voice dropped into a low growl, as if he were interpreting Minato’s words differently. Raising his gaze, Minato saw his furrowed brows and a forced expression.  

“From the second semester onward, Ogiwara-kun asked me. In the morning, I rode the same train with him, and after school, I drove him from school to the station near his house. His doctor said he needed to be cautious for about a month after the surgery since his knee wasn’t stable…”  

As Minato continued, Masayuki’s frown deepened. Feeling uneasy under his scrutinizing gaze, Minato noticed the traffic light turn green out of the corner of his eye. Masayuki smoothly drove off, letting out a distorted sigh as he kept his eyes on the road.  

“I’ve heard that extra caution is required for about a month post-surgery, but this is the first I’ve heard of the transport arrangement. Since neither of his parents were involved, that must have been Koushi’s decision, not the doctor’s instructions.”  

“What…?”  

“If transportation were truly necessary, my family would handle it. We might rely on your kindness, Sensei, in some cases, but entrusting everything to you is out of the question. You’ve already gone above and beyond by taking on tutoring during your senior year of college.”  

“…..”  

Now that it was pointed out, Minato realized for the first time. Before the surgery, Ogiwara only asked for rides on tutoring days. On other days, his parents had managed.  

But this time, not once had Ogiwara mentioned his parents or brother.  

In the silence that followed, Masayuki grimaced bitterly while steering. Meanwhile, Minato, unable to understand Ogiwara’s intentions, grew more confused.  

“Should I turn right at the next intersection?”  

“Yes. After turning right, my apartment is just a bit further.”  

As his words trailed off, the car turned right. On the shoulder ahead, a taxi with its hazard lights blinking was parked. Beyond it, Minato spotted a figure entering the apartment staircase. Holding his breath, he stared in disbelief.  

Why was he there? He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  

“…Koushi.”  

Hearing the name from the driver seat confirmed that what Minato had just seen was real. As he instinctively leaned forward, the car, which had slowed, instead sped past the apartment and drove into a side road.  

“Wait, that’s my apartment! Ogiwara-kun just went—”  

“We’re leaving. You shouldn’t go back tonight.”  

“Why not? Please stop the car. I need to ask him—”  

Minato had thought Ogiwara no longer cared, that he didn’t want to see him or talk. But if he had come all the way there, Minato had to know. Just once, just one word—why did he do what he did?  

“-What would you do with his answer?” Masayuki’s voice cut through, sharp as an invisible blade, sending chills down Minato’s spine.  

When he turned awkwardly to look, the tension from Masayuki in the driver’s seat doused his rising emotions in an instant. Realizing he couldn’t press further, Minato slumped back into the seat and gazed into the darkness beyond the windshield.  

The car drove to a town along a train line unfamiliar to Minato. Passing a station whose name he vaguely recognized, the car stopped at the parking lot of a nearby business hotel. After getting out first, Masayuki opened the passenger door, helping Minato out.  

In the empty, silent hotel entrance, Masayuki seated Minato on a sofa far from the reception desk and told him to wait. He walked over to the front desk.  

At this late hour, long past midnight, Minato doubted any room would be available, let alone that they’d allow a check-in. Watching, he saw Masayuki leave the desk shortly after. He stopped at a vending machine along the way, buying two drinks before returning to Minato’s side.  

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*Translator’s Note: I think Masayuki knew that his brother is obsessed with Minato to the point of it being dangerous and he knows that with Minato’s personality, he might just get carried away, so he needed to make Minato stay completely away from his brother, for the sake of the both of them. -K

Next update: 2026.08.19

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