Love Advice from Dai-Senpai

After that incident, Tsukinaga-san avoided me, again. It seems like she has a habit of avoiding me whenever we get into trouble.

Every time I tried to engage her in a conversation, she would just ignore me. When I approached her, she immediately started chatting with people nearby. When we passed each other, she turned around and walked away.

Since we were in the same building, it was easier for me to find her whenever she tried to escape from me. But no matter how many times I tried to approach her, Tsukinaga-san didn't give me a chance at all.

Despite constantly pursuing her, I didn't pressure her at all. When she pretended to chat with someone, I just waited patiently. When she ran away from me, I just chased after her while calling her name without stopping her let alone pulling her hand by force. Since I realize that I'm the one at fault here, that's why I'm not forcing my way through her.

I finally hit a dead end when Tsukinaga-san walked into her room and slammed the door in my face. I stayed at the door for a while, unsure of what to do. I raised my hand to knock on the door, but in the end, it hung limply in the air.

After thinking about it for a long time, I finally opened my mouth.

"Tsukinaga-san, can you hear me?"

I waited for a moment but there was no reply.

I raised my voice in case Tsukinaga-san was far away from the door so that my voice could still be heard by her.

"Tsukinaga-san, I'm sorry. I am terribly sorry. I am fully aware that this time was purely my fault. Therefore, I apologize. My apology may sound cheesy to you, but I mean it. Hit me, slap me, do whatever you want to me, I'll take it all. Even if you told me to walk naked around the city, I would do it without asking twice. So please Tsukinaga-san, all I want is your forgiveness."

Even after I said all that, there was no reply from Tsukinaga-san. I racked my brain but nothing came out.

Feeling that Tsukinaga-san wouldn't come out of the room, I decided to leave. I expected to hear the sound of the door opening but it never happened.

With a lethargic, I went back to my room.

"Hm? What's up with that depressing look on your face? Did something happen?"

"Oh! Senpai."

I was too immersed in grief to notice the existence of the big-senior.

"There is nothing. Sorry to have shown you something unpleasant."

I walked to my bed and sat on it. Even though I told him that nothing had happened, perhaps senpai could sense it from the gloomy aura around me. He climbed down from his bed to mine. As I felt my bed shaking, I turned over.

"Even though I'm basically not your real senior, you can tell me what's bothering you right now. Sharing your problems will make you feel better."

I was hesitant to tell him, but if by telling him then I would find a way out of my impasse, then it would be much better than keeping it to myself.

I began to recount the chronology of events, from how it started to its current state. He continued to listen to my story quietly without interrupting until the end of my story.

After I finished my story, he spoke up.

"So that's how it is. That Chizuru, she even targets an innocent boy like him."

"Excuse me?"

I couldn't hear what senpai was muttering. When I asked him, he quickly changed his expression.

"So, Kenjiro-kun. Do you want to listen to my honest opinion?"

When he said that, I straightened my posture, ready to accept corrections no matter how harsh it is.

"Without the slightest intention of denigrating your problem, but you're still in high school, right? In society, as you mature, relationships with the opposite sex will become more and more inevitable. You can't constantly have feelings of complete control over your partner. But, jealousy is a beautiful thing in a relationship because it's proof that you love your partner. So, all you have to do is maintain reasonable boundaries with the opposite sex to preserve your partner's feelings."

Senpai gave a long explanation. But that was just a preamble to what he was about to discuss.

"However, the boundaries set for their partners can vary from person to person. Some people think that just having an intimate conversation is considered infidelity, while others think that it's okay to have sex as long as it's not accompanied by feelings. So you need to know how tolerant your girlfriend is of the way you interact with other women. And from what I've seen, you two are still the type that doesn't like it when your partner gets too close to other people, am I right?"

I nodded, agreeing with senpai.

"Actually, the guilty party here is Chizuru who is too attached to you even though she knows that you have a girlfriend. However, you are partly guilty of not pushing her enough. If it were me, I'd rather be hated by another woman than the woman I love. On the note that I wasn't looking for trouble with that woman and was just keeping my distance from her to protect my girlfriend's feelings."

Even though we are only a few years apart, during these few days I feel that college students are very mature. The advice they give is always of great value.

"What I admire about you is what you do after making a mistake. You're confused about what you should do is normal, because women's hearts are hard to understand. But, you don't give up because of that. You keep chasing after your girlfriend yet not forcing her too hard. This shows how careful you are in maintaining your relationship. I can feel how much you love her."

I blushed when he said that. I can say out loud that I love Tsukinaga-san. But it's embarrassing when someone else says it. It feels like they see me as a child playing with romance.

"What should I do then?"

I asked for his opinion on the steps I should take.

"I think you're doing fine. Keep showing her that you're sorry but still give her space because women don't like pushy men."

"Thank you very much for your advice. I'll do as you say."

"Don't think of my words too highly. It's not like I'm a romance expert either."

"Is that so? How long have you been dating, senpai?

"It's been almost two years."

"Wow. You're amazing."

"No, no. I'm not that great. Did you know that Jugo and Yuki were childhood friends? They've been dating since middle school and their relationship is still going strong today."

"They are?"

Senpai nodded proudly. After that, we kept chatting until I forgot about my sadness.

When it was time for us to leave the room, I went out with determined eyes. Thanks to senpai, I regained my confidence.

I love Tsukinaga-san and won't let her go. For that reason, I will do everything I can to maintain this relationship.

At the time of stargazing, Tsukinaga-san would have nowhere to run. That's when I'll end all these troubles.