For Some Reason The Girl Who's Too Popular Only Drinks with Me - Volume 1 Chapter 0.1

Prologue: A Story Like Mine

When Kirishima Asato was a primary school student, he was a gloomy child—saying it like that makes it sound as if things are different now, but they’re not. Even now, as a university student, he remains a gloomy child. From a dim light bulb to complete darkness, and somehow managing to regain a bit of brightness before returning to being a dim light bulb again.

Even someone like me, sitting at the bottom of the class caste system, had a girl I liked. She was kind to everyone, bright, but a bit on the plain side, I think. It’s painful even to remember.

Well, to put it bluntly, I think I forced myself to like her. Since the few friends and classmates I had liked someone, I thought it would be strange if I didn’t. So maybe I forced out the feeling of liking someone.

But now, none of that matters. After all, I was just swept away by my friend’s whims and got hurt for nothing.

The girl I liked in primary school—let’s just call her A-ko for now—was in the same class as me even after we entered middle school, and thanks to the common ground of coming from the same primary school, she talked to me fairly often even as a middle schooler. She wasn’t the flashy type, and if you were to divide the class into light and shadow, she would be on the same shadowy side as me.

Thanks to being of the same “element,” so to speak, I was able to talk to her—but then there was that day.

No, rather than “that day,” it was specifically during the cleaning time on February 25th in the third term of our first year.

I had finished cleaning up to a certain extent and was putting away the cleaning tools. Boys whom I thought were my friends, A-ko-san, and other classmates were talking about love.

Who liked whom, who was dating whom, all conversations that, frankly, were none of my business.

As I secretly listened to these fruitless conversations, a friend suddenly blurted out something unbelievable.

“Speaking of which, I heard Kirishima likes A-ko.”

I felt as if time had stopped. Or rather, I froze. The air in the classroom and my heart froze instantly due to his words.

While thinking it must be a joke, I turned around, and the gazes of the entire classroom were on me, and my friend who dropped the bombshell looked at me with a “what’s up with you?” expression.

Then, our eyes met with A-ko-san’s. She hurriedly looked away and muttered softly.

“…the worst.”

***

If I talk about it now, it seems like nothing much.

I believe there are many others besides me who have experienced something like this.

But at that time, I couldn’t bear it.

The discomfort and aversion she showed are still eating away at my heart.

It’s a curse. Probably a curse that will never be lifted for the rest of my life.

Since then——I decided to live without falling in love with anyone.

Since then——I decided to live in solitude, without making any friends.