CM Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – Phone Call 

Chapter 2, Part 6.2

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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Ogiwara, who claims this place as his own, acts as if it’s his home without even pretending to look for anything when he uses the kitchen. This behavior is the same in the living-dining room and the bedroom at the back. From this, it’s easy to infer who the owner of this room is. It’s his girlfriend, the one with whom he lives with.

“……”

A former acquaintance of Ogiwara, a home tutor, was injured in front of him, and because he couldn’t return home, Ogiwara couldn’t just leave him alone. That’s probably why she agreed when asked to leave her home.

“Well, usually you wouldn’t be wary of a man, would you? …It’s not like it’s going to be a long time.”

Ogiwara’s nerve to bring Minato into his girlfriend’s home is questionable, and Minato himself feels strange being here knowing that. Even so, the reason he’s staying like this is because Ogiwara’s attitude toward him has drastically changed since that day. The sharp words and jabs have disappeared, and the gaze directed at him has become softer. He’s even started showing the same cheerful and mischievous expressions he had ten years ago more often.

Minato was confused by the sudden change, but he honestly felt happy about it. Because it was a relationship that wasn’t going to last long, he began to feel that it would be a shame to lose this peaceful time.

As Minato shook his head and began reading his documents, his phone rang. Seeing the name displayed on the LCD screen of the coffee table, Minato hurriedly pressed the answer button.

“Minato-kun? It’s been a while, how have you been?”

It was Yoshiharu. Since Minato moved here, they mainly communicated through emails and phone calls, which made their personal interactions even deeper than when they were in university. Now, he had become an important friend to Minato, in a different way than Nagashima.

“Well, I guess I’ve been okay. How about you, Yoshiharu-kun?”

“I’m doing alright, but I’ve been working like crazy. Actually, I’m on a business trip right now.”

“Really? Where are you now?”

Yoshiharu named a place that was somewhat closer to Minato’s town than his own home. However, it was still a distance that wouldn’t normally be considered ‘close’.

“If I were a little closer to your area, I’d extend my trip to visit you.”

“That would be nice, but it can’t be helped. I have work tomorrow too. —When do you finish your business trip, Yoshiharu-kun?”

“I finish tomorrow morning. But I’ll have to head back quickly because I have something to do there in the evening.”

The sound of a sigh from the other end of the call made it seem like Yoshiharu was tired.

“Sounds tough. Don’t push yourself too hard, you should rest if you can.”

“I’ll do that… So, how about you, Minato-kun? Something happened recently, right?”

“No, not really? Nothing’s going on.”

“That’s a lie. You’re still resisting uselessly, huh?” 

Yoshiharu’s words were said with certainty, and Minato lost his chance to respond immediately. For some reason, Yoshiharu could always see through Minato’s lies.

“People have been talking, and there’s something that feels off… So, what happened?”

Minato felt cornered by Yoshiharu’s calm voice, and even though it was spring, he could feel sweat forming on his back. At that moment, the sound of a door opening came from behind him.

“Minato-sensei? Sorry, just a moment—”

His heart leaped in his chest. Minato turned around abruptly and locked eyes with Ogiwara, and he literally stopped breathing. He could hear Yoshiharu’s voice asking, “Are you with someone?”

“…Sorry to interrupt, I’ll leave.” Ogiwara, looking away, disappeared behind the closed door.

Minato couldn’t move for several seconds. It seemed that, without thinking, he had ended the call, and the phone in his hand had returned to the home screen.

For now, he should call back.

Even with his frozen thoughts, he could make that decision. Minato dialed Yoshiharu’s number again. He apologized right away, and Yoshiharu, with his usual soft tone, just laughed and said, “Is it a signal issue?”

Minato didn’t have the energy for a long conversation and quickly ended the call, telling Yoshiharu he would call back. He then opened the living room door slightly and called out to Ogiwara, who was standing in the entrance space, looking thoughtful. Minato quickly apologized, and Ogiwara stared at him silently.

Minato waited to see if Ogiwara had something to say, but he didn’t make any move to speak. As Minato tilted his head and moved to the bedroom to prepare for bed, Ogiwara peered his face through the gap in the sliding door.

“Who was that on the phone earlier?”

“A friend. Someone you don’t know, Ogiwara-kun.”

After answering immediately, Minato remembered that he had given the same response when he met Koumoto back then. Now that he thought about it, Ogiwara and Koumoto had only met once.

“What’s his name? Where does he live? What kind of person is he, and how did you meet?”

The rapid-fire questions left Minato stunned. He never expected Ogiwara to pry into his friend like this.

“It doesn’t really matter if I answer. You don’t know either his name or his face, Ogiwara-kun.”

Even though Minato said that, Ogiwara kept his gaze fixed on him. It seemed as though Ogiwara wouldn’t move an inch, so Minato chose his words carefully.

“…He’s a friend from my university days. Though, at that time, he was already working in society.”

“Are you still close to him?”

“Well, we both have jobs, so we meet maybe once a year. Other than that, we just communicate through phone and email. –Goodnight, I’m going to bed now.”

Minato ended the conversation abruptly, not intending to share any information about his friend with someone whose intentions were unclear. Although he could feel Ogiwara’s intense gaze, he pretended not to notice and crawled into bed. He moved toward the wall, his usual spot, and turned his back to the open sliding door.

The dimly lit bedroom would plunge into darkness once the sliding door was closed. Minato waited for the wall in front of him to darken. When he carefully turned his face, he saw that Ogiwara had returned to the living room and was no longer there.

Shifting his position and looking up at the ceiling, Minato once again pondered the questions that had been troubling him over the past few days.

―――…What is Ogiwara thinking?

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*Translator’s Note: Ogiwara must have felt like Minato no longer has any feelings for him hahahaha. -K

Next update: 2026.09.02

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