CH 24

Kohinata, a beloved character at school, gave me a shoulder tap in the morning classroom.

If there had been no one around, I would not have had to use the word “tsunted,” but since there were only a few witnesses besides Keiichi, I had no choice but to say so.

And you can’t put words in people’s mouths–in no time at all, word spread throughout the class that Kohinata and I were on relatively good terms with each other.

I was afraid that the class would find out about my relationship with Kohinata and resent me, but the reaction was far different from what I had expected.

[Are you guys dating?!]

[Come to think of it, you guys have been eating together at lunchtime lately. So, when is the wedding?]

[When are you going to have your wedding? Wow, I love that kind of thing.]

[You’re so good at it, Sugino, even though you’re not very good with women. Congratulations! Please invite me to the wedding!]

[I’m jealous …..having a girlfriend! I’m going to pick up a girl!]

And so on and so forth. I’ve been told a lot of ill-advised things, but not a single classmate has said anything negative about me.

I denied it, but I wonder how many of my grinning classmates believed me. …… I would be happy if at least half of them understood me.

By the way, Kohinata was trembling in her seat, surrounded by girls screaming yellow.

☆ ☆　☆　☆　☆

Lunch break.

The four of us were having lunch in the courtyard as usual.

If we suddenly stopped eating together, it would be as if we were conscious of each other, and there was nothing better than acting as usual.

“Hey? I told you Tomoki cares too much, didn’t I?”

Keiichi says this to me as we sit down on the leisure sheet that Saejima has spread out for us. He was right, I may have been a little too focused on Kohinata.

No matter how popular Kohinata is, there’s no fan club-like organization like in the manga. …… Maybe because I was the unlikable one, Kohinata shined even more brightly for me.

“Well, I didn’t have any problems, except for the fact that …… I was misunderstood in a weird way.”

As I said this, I turned my eyes toward where Kohinata was.

When she met my gaze, she looked away from me with a pout. For some reason, she has been looking away from me ever since the morning incident.

If I were to look at the gesture alone, I would say that Kohinata is in a bad mood, but her ears and cheeks have turned bright red, so it’s all ruined.

“Kohinata, I told you yesterday that It was fine. If you say ‘give up,’ I’ll take off the key chain.”

When I said that, Kohinata looked flustered and shook her head vigorously to the side. I guess she doesn’t want me to take it off after all. What was the meaning of her indifferent behavior until just now? Was it to hide her embarrassment?

Saejima folded her arms and watched as we exchanged pleasantries like that. Then she nodded her head, saying, “Yeah, yeah,” and put on a happy expression.

“Rumors and facts are two different things, so let’s not worry about what’s going on around us! There may be a chance that the rumors will turn out to be true, though.”

At her conclusion, she lets out a beautiful and unflattering laugh. It’s the kind of laugh that would make you feel like you could join in with the well-wishers at any minute.

“Hey, you know, even Saejima…”

While I was about to complain to Saejima in a tone of exasperation, I noticed that the phone in my breast pocket was vibrating. Notifications for chats and such only vibrate for a moment, but the vibration is currently continuing in my pocket.

“A phone call? Who is it?”

I interrupt the conversation and check the screen of my phone.

The name displayed was [Shizuka Kohinata]. It was Kohinata’s sister.

“For some reason, your sister is calling. I’ll try to answer it.”

She tilted her head with a puzzled look on her face when I said so to Kohinata. Keiichi and Saejima were also looking at me curiously. I was suspicious, but I didn’t want to make her wait too long, so I touched the “answer” button. What on earth could it be about?

“…. Hello?”

“Oh! Tomoki kun, it’s been a while. It’s your lunch break, right?　Are you okay to call?”

“It’s been a while. Is it urgent that you call me?”

Watch out. I almost cursed at her, forgetting that she was older than me.

“Tomoki kun, you don’t have a part-time job on weekdays, so you’re free, right?”

“?. Yes, that’s right.”

“Alright! Um, if you don’t mind, could you take Asuka to Tomoki-kun’s house like before? Actually, my boyfriend wants to come over to my house today, and I was wondering if you could take care of Asuka until about nine o’clock if possible?　Yeah?. Please!”

Ah, …… I see. That’s how it is.

The last time we played, we didn’t have a lot of time and could only play the maze of life. Considering the way we played before, it doesn’t seem like we’ll have too much time.

“Please wait a minute, Kohinata–I’ll check with Asuka-san.”

Saying this, I explained the situation to Kohinata. Then she nodded her head and said she had no problem with it. If she didn’t want to come to my house, I would have refused, but she didn’t seem to be worried about that.

“Okay. If there is going to be a time conflict, please let me know via chat.”

“thanks! About Asuka, it was agreeable, and pleas contra–“

I ended the call in a hurry. What in the world is this person going to say in the middle of the day …….

After catching my breath in secret, I turned my attention to Saejima and Keiichi.

Somehow, both of them looked awkwardly away from me.

“Saejima and Keiichi, why are you looking away from me?”

I tilted my head and asked them, wondering.

“Well,……, actually, I don’t generally work on weekdays, but for some reason, I just had to……..”

Keiichi scratches his head and says with a wry grin,

And Saejima?

“I don’t have any business in general either, but my relatives are coming to my house today and we’re going out for a meal. ……”

Ahahahaha, letting out a dry laugh.

…..Yeah This was my fault for not properly checking with both of them, no matter what I thought. It’s my fault that I selfishly assumed that since the two of them don’t always have things to do on weekdays, their schedules would be free.

But what in the world should I do in this situation ……?