174: Watanabe Takashi? No, it's Aki Tomoya! (2)

Takashi stared at Aki Tomoya's current position with a sense of disorientation because it used to be his spot.

Just like how Utaha's position was replaced by Kotonoha, now his position has also been replaced.

No, "replaced" wasn't quite right. Takashi thought "returned to its rightful place" would be more accurate.

That spot was originally Aki Tomoya's, and he was the one who had taken the place of the other.

Takashi's emotions didn't fluctuate much. He quickly looked away and continued speaking to Maki, who was beside him.

…

Utaha sat in her signing chair, her expression either calm or completely expressionless. 

She seemed like a robot, shaking hands, signing, and signing her beautiful handwriting on each copy of "Love Metronome."

Machida Sonoko and Aki Tomoya stood on either side, maintaining order and preventing any overly enthusiastic fans from approaching.

Because of her beauty, Utaha had almost been kissed by a male fan at a signing event once.

Luckily, Takashi had quick reflexes and, just as the male fan leaned towards her, he swiftly gave him a punch in the nose.

Since then, Utaha had insisted on having Watanabe Takashi stay by her side at every signing event.

But now, things have changed.

"Takashi, I'm thirsty. Water."

The beautiful writer, exceptionally talented, selling fifty thousand copies right after debuting, had all sorts of buffs stacked on her, which led to an especially large crowd at today's signing event.

After signing for half an hour, Utaha's hand grew tired, and as she said "thank you," her throat became dry. 

She called out behind her without turning.

Machida Sonoko instinctively looked toward Aki Tomoya.

Aki Tomoya's face wasn't looking too good.

"Takashi, I said I'm thirsty."

Utaha turned to look at Aki Tomoya, but instead of calling his name, she called someone else's name.

Aki Tomoya's expression changed several times, but he still handed her a bottle of water.

"Senior, here."

Utaha looked down at the water bottle without taking it.

After a while, she tilted her head in confusion, as if there was a delay in her reaction, her black hair cascading down like a waterfall.

"Takashi, I'm on my period. Didn't you know?"

"Why are you giving me mineral water?"

"Have you been too busy lately? Forget it, I'll forgive you this time, but pay attention next time."

Aki Tomoya's face twitched, his expression changing rapidly. His hand gripped the bottle of water tightly. 

"Senior, I'm Aki Tomoya, not Watanabe Takashi."

He had repeated this line so many times this week already.

For some reason, Utaha always mistook him for Watanabe Takashi.

He had heard about Watanabe Takashi from Machida Sonoko.

Only now did he realize that, without even knowing, someone else had slowly started replacing him.

He was extremely angry, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Could he blame Utaha?

If he hadn't rejected her back then, Watanabe Takashi would never have had the opportunity to take his place.

Upon realizing that it was his own rejection that had given Watanabe Takashi this chance, Aki Tomoya felt deep regret.

During this time, he had even stopped playing games, wanting to stay by Utaha's side and help her move on.

He thought that, since the other person was just his replacement and it had been a short time, with him gone now, it would be easy for her to forget.

After all, he was the real one.

But he was wrong.

He found that he couldn't get rid of Watanabe Takashi at all.

It was like Takashi had taken root in Utaha's heart. 

Every time he tried to remove anything related to Watanabe Takashi, thinking that out of sight would be out of mind, Utaha would stare at him with her piercing, wine-colored eyes.

Tomoya had no doubt that if he really threw away or hid Watanabe Takashi's things, Utaha would immediately stop him.

"The patient's mental state is very unstable right now. They might do anything impulsive. It's best not to provoke the patient too much."

These were the words Utaha's parents had said after noticing something was off with their daughter and after the diagnosis.

Even Tomoya, at this moment, didn't dare to provoke Utaha too much.

Even though she mistook him for Watanabe Takashi, there was nothing he could do. 

He could only keep reminding her that he was Aki Tomoya, not Watanabe Takashi.

"Oh, Aki, huh?"

Utaha's wine-red eyes, which had been unfocused, regained some clarity, and her tone suddenly became very cold.

She glanced at the bottle of water in Tomoya's hand. 

"If it were Takashi, he would remember I'm on my period and would prepare brown sugar water for me, not just grab any bottle of water from the vending machine."

After saying that, she ignored Aki Tomoya's gloomy face and the anger he was trying to suppress. 

She gave him one last look and continued signing for fans.

If Takashi had been there, he would have found this familiar.

Because Utaha had said similar words to him before.

Though the exact words were different, it was something along the lines of: 

"If it were Tomoya, he wouldn't go out of his way to prepare things for me. He wouldn't even try to pretend. In the end, all you have is his face."

That was after Takashi and Utaha had just started dating, and Takashi had realized she was on her period. 

The next day, he had prepared something for her. These were the words she had said to him at that time.

If Takashi had heard that, he would have found it ironic.

The "white moonlight" who used to defend her flaws could now speak harshly to him?

And using words that had once hurt him?

Of course, none of this reached his ears.

Because he was still in line, far from Utaha.

Other than the brief moment when he had looked at her at the start, he hadn't looked at her again.

…

The signing event continued in an orderly manner.

Soon, it would be Watanabe Takashi and Maki's turn.

The two of them each bought a copy. Yes, Takashi also bought one.

Anyway, since the other party had invested so much into him, it was only right to buy one in support.

Although he already had two sets, they weren't bought by him—they were gifts from Utaha.

"Takashi, do you want to visit the Mori Art Center later?"

"I don't have any artistic talent."

"I can't appreciate those works either, but it's a good way to pass the time."

"To pass the time, I'd suggest going to the arcade."

"An arcade? Can we even go in there?"

"Of course. You've never been, right? Do you want to give it a try?"

"Alright then."

The two of them were bored and decided to chat.

Hearing their conversation, Utaha's pen, which had been signing, suddenly stopped. Her eyes seemed to light up as she looked up quickly.

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The tables have turned Tomoya, now you became the stand-in instead.

"If it was Tomoya.." turned to "If it was Takashi.." 

Kinda ironic and scary how MC uses that with Tomoya's face lmao, it feels like mc also stole Tomoya's face.

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