episode_0021

Suzuki Haruka.

Her life was extremely bleak.

From a young age, she felt that she was different from others. Naturally, she couldn’t fully understand her parents’ emotions, whether they were crying or laughing. This wasn’t simply because she was tactless. She had a mental condition. This condition made her different from other people. However, she didn’t particularly dislike or resent it.

“Haruka, let’s sleep with Mom!” “Darling, Haruka is all grown up now. You should let her sleep alone.” “Even so…” “I want to sleep together…” “Really?!”

At the very least, even if she didn’t fully understand other emotions, she distinctly felt her parents’ love for her. And she had her beloved computer. Because of this, she thought she was no different from anyone else. And that thought…

“You’re weird.”

…began to crack the moment she was thrown into the small society called school.

“Why?” “Everyone else is sad, but you don’t look sad at all!”

The initial trigger was a very small incident. It was a trivial matter, caused simply by her not sharing in the sadness when a classmate was grieving. Since it was so minor, there were naturally no problems for the first few years. The real problem arose as she—no, as the students—gradually grew older.

As she grew, Haruka couldn’t quite blend in with other children, developing into a unique child who seemed to have built a world of her own.

‘It would probably be good to get her checked out.’

Her third-grade elementary school teacher knew this very well. So, with good intentions, the teacher recommended she receive counseling.

“Hey everyone! They say Haruka is disabled, so we need to be considerate of her!”

That counseling completely changed her life. From wherever she got the information, a classmate spread a rumor at school that Haruka had a mental disability. She neither confirmed nor denied it. Fortunately, the elementary school she attended dealt very strongly with bullying, so she was never bullied. The real problem began when she entered middle school. At her mother’s strong recommendation, she attended an all-girls middle school, and there…

Tap… tap… tap…

She had to face malice she had never encountered in her life.

People often make one mistake. That if it’s just girls, there won’t be any bullying, and they’ll get along well. However, reality was quite the opposite.

Haruka suffered bullying that was even more persistent and vicious than in elementary school. There was no particular reason for her bullying. More precisely, there was no reason at all. Simply acting differently from typical students was the only reason she was bullied. Is that truly a reason? Young children were more cruel and ruthless than adults imagined.

Originally, Haruka’s father should have protested to the school or punished the students involved, but her patriarchal and rigid father merely reprimanded Haruka for her ‘weak mental fortitude’ or even beat her for touching things like computers, ‘as a girl’. Furthermore, the students who bullied her skillfully did so without leaving any external marks on Haruka, which played a part.

Thus, Haruka was neglected. Her mother wanted to somehow transfer her or protest, but failed due to her husband’s strong opposition. As a result, Haruka’s bullying continued throughout middle school, and it didn’t change when she went to high school.

No, rather, Haruka’s father, who had become half a wreck from successive business failures, began to beat Haruka more violently day by day, and the students at the all-girls high school also started bullying her even more severely upon seeing her condition.

Fortunately, she didn’t die then, thanks to her mother.

“Haruka… I’m sorry… It’s all Mom’s fault… Haruka, I’m sorry…” “…” “I’m sorry… For being such a bad mother… Truly…”

Haruka’s mother quickly processed her divorce and school withdrawal, then moved to a place in Miyagi Prefecture that was a mix of rural and urban. She heard it was a villa-like place where her grandparents used to live.

Having moved to Miyagi Prefecture, Haruka could now do whatever she liked. From minor hobbies like observing insects, leaves, and nature… to studying computer-related topics and assembling components, which she had been interested in since childhood.

And this freedom created the foundation for her talent to blossom… no, to fully bloom.

In less than a year of properly studying computers, she became proficient enough to assemble and set up standard PCs found on the market. By her second year, she had mastered various miscellaneous computer functions. By her fourth year, she was no longer interested in ordinary computers.

It was then that she stumbled upon a supercomputer. No longer satisfied with ordinary computers, Haruka began to study supercomputers obsessively, and even desired to work with them. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the money, so she went as far as to build one herself.

Of course, the supercomputer she built had terrible performance because she made it using broken computers salvaged from nearby wealthy neighborhoods or junkyards. The mere fact that she could build such a computer with just those parts was proof that she was a genius.

Just as she had finished improving and upgrading her supercomputer as usual, it was time for a short walk to get some sunlight.

“Hehe. You’re all working so hard, aren’t you? Fighting! Fighting!”

As she was happily observing ants as usual, a car rapidly approached beside her. Haruka, distracted, didn’t notice it and was about to get into serious trouble, but…

-They rolled-

…a man had luckily lunged into the farmland with Haruka, preventing a major disaster.

Haruka, whose mind was still reeling from tumbling on the ground for a moment, managed to collect herself and looked at the benefactor who had saved her. The benefactor was muttering something in an unknown language towards the car. It seemed he was angry at the car. After expressing his anger, he turned his head, smiled gently at Haruka, and approached her. Watching him, Haruka remembered a fairy tale her mother had once read to her.

It was the story of a prince who raged against injustice, was kind to the weak, and saved those in danger. For some reason, as she thought of the prince from that fairy tale, she felt her heart beating faster than usual. And this accelerated heartbeat gave her the courage to do things she would never normally do.

-Thump. Thump.

“Oh, Prince?”

Such words she wouldn’t normally say.

“Since you saved me, Prince.”

-Tap.

And such actions.

Haruka forcibly took her benefactor, no, Takuya, and headed for her home. They arrived home, she met her mother, and her mother and Takuya had a conversation… And then…

“Haruka’s talent should never be dismissed by others.”

He acknowledged Haruka’s hobby… no, her talent. A talent that even her own family hadn’t recognized.

-Thump! Thump! Thump!

For some reason, she felt her heart racing even faster, and being intelligent, she realized why her heart was pounding like this.

‘I’ve fallen for Takuya?’

She had fallen for Takuya. Someone might ask, ‘Is that all it takes to fall in love?’ but if someone not only risks their life to save you but also acknowledges a talent that no one has ever recognized your entire life, even a stone-hearted person would inevitably fall for them.

Being the intelligent Haruka she was, she quickly admitted that she had fallen for Takuya, and she also knew how to resolve this pounding in her heart.

‘Didn’t it say to bathe together?’

The only minor flaw was that she had learned this knowledge from the internet.

***

Naturally, Takuya, unaware of this situation, was simply bewildered by it.

Takuya subtly turned his head and saw Haruka soaking herself. Despite being in the same bath as a man, she was calmly soaking herself.

‘Why did she suddenly come in? Did she just want to bathe together? Or…’

As Takuya observed Haruka, various hypotheses came to mind, but he still couldn’t figure out why Haruka was acting this way.

And Haruka looked at Takuya with a worried expression.

…..

Haruka, who had been looking at Takuya worriedly, pondered for a moment, then looked at him and spoke.

“Takuya.” “Why?”

As she said that, she revealed her chest, which had been covered by a towel, and said,

“Want to touch my breasts?” “I do.”

Upon hearing his reply, Haruka thought. Indeed, men are as simple as she had read on the internet and in books.