Utsukushii Kare/ My Beautiful Man [ENGLISH TRANSLATION]

Chapter-2; PART-1: Bitter Sweet Loop

                                     Translator: White Lotus

 

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Hira was putting on his shoes at the entrance when he heard his mother's voice coming from the kitchen.

"Kazu-kun, what do you want to have for dinner today?"

"I don't know what I want to have for dinner this early in the morning. I'll call you later then."

"You always say the same thing, but you never do it."

Hira's mother popped her head out of the kitchen. An angry look on her face. Twice last week, he made her prepare dinner for nothing.

"It's fine to hang out with your friends; just be sure to give me a call back."

After realizing his mistake, Hira immediately apologized and then left the house as though he were running away.

As he walked towards the station, Hira thought to himself that his mother had undergone a significant change. When he was in high school, his mother would forgive him for being late or not being home for dinner, as long as he said he was hanging out with his friends. However, it had been two months since he started attending university, and as the frequency of Hira's late arrivals to the home increased, his mother began to complain like a typical parent would. This was also evidence that Hira had started a pleasant academic life. Compared to high school, where everyone was crammed into a small box called a classroom, university was basically a place where you could hang out only with the people you deemed fit. If you didn't get along with someone or didn't like something, there were many ways to distance yourself from it. As a result, Hira was no longer surrounded by those taunts and scorn.

Additionally, he was quite fortunate to find a club that suited him. Hira, who had been alone for many years, had never considered joining a club; however, on the opening day, as he brought his camera with him to take pictures of the entrance ceremony, he was inundated with invites from photography clubs.

The cordial demeanor of the members of some clubs made Hira somewhat hesitant, but he eventually made the decision to join a club when a member of that club, a plain-looking man with glasses, offered him a brochure and asked him if he was interested in joining.

At the beginning of the self-introduction, because of his nervousness, Hira slightly stuttered. Everyone was amazed.

Oh no, it's going to happen again………….Just as Hira was feeling desperate—

"Do you have dysphemia?"

A first-year boy sitting diagonally across from him asked, and Hira was startled and nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Well, it must be tough. My older brother used to be the same as a kid."

After saying this, the boy then started explaining dysphemia to the others, who were unfamiliar with the term.

"......I see. I didn't even know that such a disease existed."

"We'll also try to understand. If there's anything we can do, please let us know."

It was a little embarrassing and uncomfortable for Hira to make the others bother, but the reassurance of being accepted by everyone was even stronger. Being able to think this way allowed him to acknowledge that he had indeed undergone a subtle change from when he was in high school.