I don’t think I have the courage to prioritize my own feelings at the expense of hurting someone else.

That’s why, for reasons unrelated to morality or ethics, I’m certain I would never cheat.

I haven’t even experienced my first love yet, but I’ve started thinking about these things because of a situation that’s a little complicated—well, not exactly complicated, but certainly a bit troublesome.

“Hey, Yuki. Which way is the station again?”

“That way. I think we went there with Tsukasa just last week.”

In the middle of Shibuya, I, Yuki Haijima, pointed northeast in response to the voice that had called out to me. The reply I got was a lackluster “Oh, right,” and I sighed inwardly.

Ever since the girl walking beside me—Aomi Tsukasa—started staying at my place, I’ve found myself thinking about things I’d never considered before.

Because Aomi Tsukasa has a girlfriend.

I’ve never asked whether Tsukasa is only interested in women or not, but I do know for sure that her current partner is a woman. And since I’m also a woman, I can’t help but be conscious of it.

Because I’ve never clearly drawn the line between what falls within the bounds of friendship and what crosses into cheating, I’ve ended up overthinking these things.

Today, I went shopping for clothes with Tsukasa, had a meal, and now we’re on our way back.

Of course, Tsukasa’s girlfriend has no idea that we’re out together like this.
In this case—

“No, this doesn’t count!”

“…Huh?”

I accidentally blurted out loud, and Tsukasa looked at me with a puzzled expression.

Going shopping with a friend is perfectly normal. Today, we just went to buy clothes, and there’s nothing to feel guilty about.

“Oh, Yuki, wait.”

Just as I was about to speed up to head toward the station, Tsukasa stopped me.

Shibuya on a Sunday is crowded, and even a small gap between us could mean losing each other in the crowd.

That’s when I felt something warm press against my palm.

“Ah—”

Tsukasa took my hand. My left hand and her right hand intertwined, and we ended up holding hands.

After catching up to me, Tsukasa started walking while keeping our hands connected.

Walking through the city holding hands with a girl who has a girlfriend. This is—

“No, this doesn’t count either!”

“You startled me.”

If you look around, there are plenty of girls holding hands. Not all of them are couples, and I know well enough that this kind of closeness is common.

Besides, this is just a precaution so Tsukasa and I don’t get separated.

Just because Tsukasa has a girlfriend doesn’t mean I have anything to feel guilty about.

Something similar has happened before, and it wasn’t a big deal then either.

Up to this point, I can confidently say this isn’t cheating. Honestly, I’ve drawn the line for myself multiple times.

The problem is how to judge what to do when something unexpected happens.

As we were heading to the station, I felt a drop of water hit my cheek.

“Huh… rain?”

My bad feeling was immediately confirmed as the rain grew heavy enough to see clearly.

“Ah! The clothes we just bought are going to get wet!”

Looking around for some cover, I spotted a sign nearby.

“Oh…”

I stopped in my tracks. I could feel raindrops hitting the top of my head.

“Rest… starting at 6,000 yen. Overnight…”

Tsukasa, standing next to me, read the words on the sign aloud.

“Ah!”

I reflexively raised my voice, cutting her off.

In front of us was a love hotel. Now that I think about it, if you take a wrong turn around here, you’ll end up in the so-called hotel district.

“Should we wait out the rain here?”

Tsukasa asked with an unreadable expression.

“Do you know what kind of place this is?”

“Yeah, a love hotel.”

“Mmm!”

I could only let out a wordless protest at Tsukasa, who answered without even batting an eye. If she knows, why is she asking me?

Because the things people do in love hotels are… well…

“Ah, ah, ah, ah!”

Since I only know about it in theory, I can’t even picture it in my head, but the feeling of embarrassment grows stronger and stronger.

Meanwhile, the raindrops keep pelting the top of my head.

“I’ve never been in one, but if you want to try it, Yuki, I’m fine with it.”

I kept my eyes on the sign as I listened to Tsukasa speak.

I knew that Tsukasa’s “I’m fine with it” didn’t carry the same meaning as when couples say it in front of hotels. It was just words, nothing more.

Now, here’s the question for me:

It’s raining right now.

We’re two girls who are just classmates, but Tsukasa has a girlfriend.

Does going into a love hotel to wait out the rain count as cheating?

I’ve seen something online about “girls’ night plans,” but I’m pretty sure those aren’t for minors. Still, if we don’t do anything, it’s not much different from friends traveling together, right?

“No, that’s definitely not okay!”

Maybe it was the stress of getting soaked in the rain, but for a moment, my brain short-circuited. Without hesitation, I knew it was absolutely not okay.

When I said that, Tsukasa smiled and said, “Well then…”

“There’s a convenience store across the street. Should we buy an umbrella?”

“You should’ve said that sooner…”

“But, hehe, it was kind of funny.”

I muttered with a sigh as we turned toward the convenience store, still holding hands.

Ever since Tsukasa started living with me, I feel like these one-sided struggles have increased. I can’t tell what Tsukasa is thinking, and I’m the one constantly worrying about whether something counts as cheating or not.

But in the end, I know the most important thing is whether there are romantic feelings involved or not.

I’ve heard that there are people who continue to share a place with friends even when they have a partner. Even someone like me, who’s never been in a relationship, knows that dating and living together aren’t the same thing.

Tsukasa’s girlfriend is probably only concerned about whether Tsukasa or I have romantic feelings for each other.

On that point, I can confidently say there’s no issue at all.

Our living arrangement is purely based on mutual convenience.

There’s no room for romantic feelings to interfere.

“Ah…”

As I held the newly bought plastic umbrella, our hands brushed against each other, and I accidentally let out a sound.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should pull my hand away, but I decided against it.

Because if we’re just friends without any romantic feelings, there’s no reason to be conscious of something like this. That’s how it should be.

“…Yeah, it’s nothing.”

When I repeated myself, Tsukasa gave me a curious look.

As we walked under the umbrella, I remembered something.

This whole living arrangement started on a day like today, when the rain suddenly poured down—