CH 32.1

Momiji’s POV.

I know it’s my fault that things are different now, but I’m not satisfied with just going back to the way we were. These feelings have been bubbling up inside for over a year, and by the time I got into high school, it was almost unbearable.

At the day of the entrance ceremony, I felt a strong desire to be in his class. However, if it didn’t happen, what should I do? I mulled over such worries back then. Playing tennis filled me with joy, but should I scrap that and go wherever he went?

With my jumbled mind, I checked the class list glued to the bulletin board near the gates. Fortunately for me, God decided to give me a blessing and, with a 20% chance of success, I managed to get into his class. It may have been a revelation for me to stop staggering and move forward.

Thus, I talked to Yuu more aggressively than I ever had in middle school. Then, as we walked around the school together, I wished we could have lunch together in the beautiful greeneries of the precincts. We were even able to walk to school together for the first time in what felt like decades. Moreover, since he and I were classmates, I decided I’d pick a different club since we would still be able to walk to and fro together. Outsiders might even think we’re dating or something. Oh my!

However, such “victories” were nothing more than a mere rehash of our middle school days, or even worse, a degradation.

Fortunately, though I wouldn’t call it complete isolation, Yuu didn’t try to get chummy with a lot of other people. Well, there were still some girls who were interested in him since, in my opinion, his face is the best in the world. Okay, I know I’m heavily biased, but he still has nice features regardless. That’s why I told these bugs in advance he was my man and managed to stave the bad crowd off.

I need to be careful, though. If I come off as too aggressive, he may come to really hate me. Still, I was happy I didn’t have to rush to some extent. It wouldn’t be strange for a freshman girl to hear about “our relationship,” and he didn’t try to get involved with others, so the seniors wouldn’t pose a threat.

The only thing I’m truly concerned about is the outdoorsy club with the haughty “Excursion Club” name. Well, I’ll gather more intel on that later, I decided at the time.

During Golden Week, I finally decided to drop by his house. Was I a bit too pushy? Nah, this much is safe, I’m sure.

Just the prospect of visiting his house was enough to send me to the clouds. However, as I went inside, I noticed our photos together were missing from his room. I almost cried then, but couldn’t wallow in sadness. If it’s a picture, another can be taken in its place. Regardless, I had something I wanted to ask him.

As far as I was concerned, there was one sophomore senior in the excursion club. She’s a shady girl, but as long as she wasn’t aggressive, it would probably be fine. They’d only hold a minimal amount of conversation anyways. The other thing, though, is whether any new members had joined the club. I wasn’t able to find that up until I visited his house, so I had to ask him directly.

Apparently, there was a new member from class D. Another woman. Two girls and one boy? I mulled. It seemed like his reasoning for joining the club was just an interest in the outdoors, so I shouldn’t be too worried. Still, I had to find out more about her. There was no point in getting cold feet now. I’ll ask one of the class D students about this “Sachi Yuki” next time.

By the way, I never knew Yuu was interested in the outdoors. That gave me an idea; as soon as he got used to it, I’d ask for him to teach me how to enjoy the hobby as well. Just imagining us, spending our time together amidst nature, was enough to send pink up my cheeks. I had to suppress it though.

Then, Yuu said he enjoyed his alone time in high school.

Huh, that’s why. After he told me so, I understood why he’d been going down the path of a loner, for the lack of a better term. Hearing those words from him gave me great relief.

By that point, I had heard most of what I wanted to ask, so I reached for my Coke on the desk to enjoy my time with him. However, I noticed something odd. Was it a manga? I asked myself. There were more than ten of them piled up on his desk. He wasn’t an unkempt person to leave stuff lying around, so I figured he must’ve been reading those just now.

I was wrong. According to him, they weren’t manga, but instead novels. Seems like he developed a new hobby, or was trying to.

Light novels… New hobby… That’s it! A lightbulb popped out of my head, and I realized I should have the same hobbies as him. Such a niche pastime was convenient in many ways.

With that in tow, he also mentioned he’d study for the rest of the day. I decided to just start reading in the meantime.