I'm in Love with the Gorilla Sitting Next to Me - Volume 1 Chapter 3.1

Choose Carefully Whom You Consult Your Worries With 1

“Hey, Kacchin, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“No, not now. It’s a critical moment. This page could save the world…!”

“Oh, okay. I don’t really get it, but I got it.”

I gave up pressing my friend, who was hunched over the long desk, pen racing across the page, and turned my gaze out the window instead.

A gentle breeze was coming through the open window, but it was a bit hot. It was already July, so it was to be expected, and the sound of the brass band practicing in the distance somehow felt like summer.

The final exams had ended today, and summer vacation was only two weeks away. There was a sense of liberation, and the energy of students diving back into club activities they couldn’t do during the exam period was incredible.

Amidst all this, I was in a classroom on the second floor of the old school building, which the New Creation Literary Club I belonged to was allowed to use.

There should be a total of thirteen members, but I’ve only seen eight so far. Only four are usually around. Today, it was just Kacchin, also a first-year from the class next to mine, whose real name is Onodera Katsumi, and me.

Well, it can’t be helped. The senpai are busy with manuscripts for Comiket, cramming in part-time jobs they couldn’t do during the test period, or are just ghost members.

I’m mainly reading manga, but Kacchin is seriously engaged in creative activities even today. I’m just a consumer who doesn’t do any creative work, but they were cool with that, so I joined. There were other otaku clubs, but it seemed like you had to do some kind of creation or critique, so when I tried them out, it didn’t feel right, and I decided against it.

——Now, the club I joined is similar to the Manga Research Club or the Game Club, where people deeply immersed in the 2D world gather, but there’s a tearful reason behind it.

Originally, I liked both playing and watching sports, and I was overwhelmingly more of an outdoor than an indoor type. I still love sports, and I get super excited during PE classes when we play ball games.

However, after I was struck by a ridiculous curse, a terrible problem arose——the arrival of puberty.

As I’ve mentioned before, the parts of people that look animalistic to me are the exposed areas of skin. If they’re clothed, those parts remain human-like in shape. So in a swimsuit, the animalistic feeling is much stronger than in clothes, and frankly, it doesn’t feel sexy at all. Naked, it’s just a plain animal.

The worst part is that this applies to videos and photos as well. This became horribly problematic as I began to take an interest in erotic content. What am I supposed to do with the overflowing emotions of adolescence?

What saved me, a troubled middle schooler, was manga. I hadn’t cared about it until then, but I started reading a new series because I liked the art and there was a sexy scene in it. aIt was like a revelation—the curse didn’t affect two-dimensional characters, and even if their skin was exposed, they weren’t hairy or rough and coarse.

Once I realized that, I actively started looking at cute girls in manga, anime, and games, and before I knew it, I had become a boy who loved 2D characters… and so on.

So, from high school, I chose a laid-back otaku club instead of a sports one, and I’ve been spending my time leisurely and happily. By the way, there are two other first-years, one of whom is already a ghost member. The other one is active, but doesn’t come all the time because of a part-time job.

Naturally, Kacchin and I started talking a lot, and today, just like that, the two of us were in the old school building’s classroom.

“Phew… I really wish we had air conditioning. My hands are so sweaty, the pages are getting damp.”

I waved my hand outside the window to dry it, but it didn’t seem to do much good. Of course, the air outside was hot and humid too. The senpai aren’t here because it’s too hot to work, so they’re probably at home or in a family restaurant.

“Phew… I’m gonna want to go to the beach once summer vacation starts. Wanna come with, Kacchin?”

“I’m good. I’d vanish surrounded by normies.”

“You have that system installed, huh… But you said you’re going to the seaside park, right?”

“It’s not for swimming. I’m going to the battlefield.”

Kacchin, like the senpai, sometimes says things I don’t understand. It’s difficult for someone with a short otaku history like me.

As I frowned, Kacchin took his face away from his tablet, let out a big sigh, and looked at me with a pretty nice smile.

“Look, the Comiket venue is over there. And there’s a cosplay event for something else.”

“Oh, I see… But cosplay? You into that, Kacchin?”

“I’m on the enjoying side. I’d really like to take pictures too, but without a camera, it doesn’t look good… Smartphones are out of the question, and you need a pretty high-class digital camera or you’ll be looked down upon.”

“I think smartphones are fine for taking nice pictures, especially if you’re not shooting landscapes or anything.”

“It’s about pride, or rather, a competition of pretenses. It feels like everyone just wants to one-up each other.”

Hmm… It’s a world I don’t quite understand. It’s tough for a novice to grasp.

But still, whether it’s drawing manga or cosplaying, otaku have a wide range of interests. I only recognized anime and manga fans and train otaku. I’ve started to be treated as an otaku by my sister too, so I need to learn more. Understanding is necessary to enjoy it.

As I was thinking this, Kacchin suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!”

“If it’s just normal cosplay, maybe, but I might want to try crossdressing cosplay… This is just between us, okay?”

“Huh? Oh, sure. But Kacchin, do you have that kind of hobby or something?”

Surprised by his unexpected statement, I asked, and Kacchin blushed. With his boyish face and small stature, he could be classified as a cute-looking ikemen. Crossdressing might suit him, but I never imagined he had such interests.

“Yeah. I haven’t mentioned it before, but actually, I…”

“Uh-huh.”

“I get incredibly excited when I think about being scolded by a girl while crossdressing…! I haven’t actually done it yet, but I think it would be the best if it were a younger girl!”

“Oh, okay…”

I couldn’t help but be taken aback. A friend from the same club turned out to be more of a pervert than expected.