The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Today is a holiday.

I have no plans to go out with Seko-kun or Haru, so I decided to relax at home. I pick up a fashion magazine that I had bought earlier and gaze at the stylish clothes worn by the featured women in it.

As I’m doing this, there’s a knock at the door to my room.

“Come in,” I reply, and the door swings open with enthusiasm.

It was Saki.

“Onee-chan, I came to visit!”

“Oh, welcome. You’ve been coming quite often lately.”

“I had something I wanted to observe~”

Saki says this and starts scrutinizing me.

Her gaze lands on the fashion magazine I’m holding, and a grin spreads across her face.

“Did you read these kinds of magazines before, Onee-chan?”

“…Yes, I have been reading them. I just didn’t happen to be reading it when Saki was around.”

“Hmm. Whenever I come to your room, I always check your bookshelf, and I don’t remember seeing any such magazines. Could it be a mistake?”

“No, what are you doing?”

My privacy is being violated by my cousin.

Come to think of it, I remember Seko-kun said something similar before

Although in his case, it was his mother who violated his privacy, not his cousin.

When I think of him, I find myself smiling without realizing it.

One person doesn’t miss that: Saki.

Saki looks at my expression and narrows her eyes while smiling.

“…What?”

“Onee-chan, you were thinking about Rento-san just now, weren’t you?”

” Ah!? No, why would I be thinking about Seko-kun right now?”

“Aww, you definitely were. Anyway, back to the topic, you used to say that you didn’t care much about fashion, right? You said that as long as you’re not dressed embarrassingly, that’s all that matters. You even said self-improvement means focusing on your studies.”

“Uhh…”

“So, why are you reading a fashion magazine now? Is it because you want Rento-san to compliment you? It is, isn’t it?”

The conversation didn’t really go back to the topic huh.

“Umm, this is…right, Haru recommended it to me. So I’m just reading it casually…”

“Really? But from what I’ve heard from you, Haru is more of a sporty girl right? This magazine seems to cater more to quiet people like you.”

“…Yes, I admit I bought it. Is there a problem?”

“I didn’t say there was a problem. It was Onee-chan who was hiding it!”

Getting angry with my sister like this makes me a failure as an older sister.

How pathetic.

“…Sigh. Recently, I’ve been enjoying fashion. Not because I want someone to praise me, but because I find it extremely fun to look at various things just to make myself shine.”

“…Onee-chan, you’ve grown to like yourself.”

“What are you talking about? There’s no one who loves themselves as much as I do.”

“No, you didn’t like yourself, Onee-chan. Maybe you even hated yourself. As Onee-chan’s sister, I can say that for sure.”

“…right, you see through everything, don’t you?”

“It’s because I love you, Onee-chan!”

Saying that, Saki hugs me.

I gently accept the hug and hold her dear body tightly in my arms.

Changes in my heart that I hadn’t even noticed myself were picked up by my sister, who’s always been by my side.

That makes me happier than anything else.

“By any chance, have you started dating Rento-san?”

“Wha—!? How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

“Ehh, so you’re not dating yet? Rento-san confesses to you almost every day, right?”

“How did you know that?”

“Rento-san told me. I was trying to find out more about the two of you, and something was bugging me, so I kept asking until he finally told me.”

“You really do some quite ruthless things, don’t you…”

For Seko-kun, that’s probably an information he wouldn’t want his crush’s sister to know.

I don’t like it either. Forcing it out like that, this girl is terrifying.

“Why do you reject Rento-san’s confessions, Onee-chan?”

“Because… I don’t have the right to be in love.”

“Why do you think that?”

“How can someone who can’t like themselves like someone else…”

“But now, Onee-chan, you’ve come to love yourself, haven’t you?”

“Ah…”

“All you have to do now is be honest with your feelings. Listen more closely to your heart. And then, just act as you wish.”

Listening to my own heart…?

I place my hand over my chest and close my eyes.

Then, what flows through my mind are the days I’ve spent with Seko-kun.

His smile, his troubled expression, his sleepy face, and his serious look when he confesses to me.

…I see. I like Seko-kun.

But is this ‘love’?

Or is it just an extension of friendship?

It’s natural to have many memories with a friend I’ve been with for so long.

Yet, I think of Seko-kun more than I think of Haru.

“How is it, Onee-chan? Were you able to understand your feelings?”

“…I suppose. I can’t say I’m completely sure yet, but I feel like I understand a little better.”

“Pout, I wanted you to understand that perfectly.”

“Fufu, sorry. I’m a complicated woman, it seems.”

“Indeed you are. Hehe.”

Saki and I look at each other and laugh. Thanks to Saki, I feel like I’m finally beginning to understand myself.

“Sigh, I never imagined I’d be advised by my junior-high-school-aged sister.”

“Well, I am Onee-chan’s sister after all.”

“Fufu, yes, you are…By the way, didn’t you like Seko-kun?”

“Of course, I like Rento-san. But it might be more as a big brother. So, if you and Rento-san get married, he’ll become my brother-in-law!”

“You can’t be serious, you’re trying to persuade me for that reason… Sigh.”

As I sigh at my sister’s audacity, she laughs, “Ahaha.”

“…But I do like him as a man as well. So don’t let your guard down, Onee-chan.”

“What!?”

I couldn’t help but let out an exclamation of surprise as Saki’s eyes glinted with a mysterious light.

My sister really is a bit cheeky…!

“By the way, does Rento-san really not have any siblings? He has such a strong Onii-chhan vibe.”

“What do you mean by ‘vibe’? According to him, he doesn’t have any biological siblings, and he doesn’t have cousins like us either. It seems there are no people of his age among his relatives.”

“Oh, so he’s a natural then. He’s a terrifying man!”

“That’s you…”

I thought that it was ironic coming from Saki, but my mind was too fatigued from all the thinking to point it out, so I swallowed my words back.

***

I’ve come to realize the change in my own feelings.

I want to tell my best friend Haru about this as soon as possible.

I’ve probably caused her all sorts of trouble, that’s why I want to let her know quickly.

I had a feeling that there was another reason, but they remained blurred, and I didn’t notice it.

I called her to a café near Haru’s closest station.

To prepare myself mentally, I arrived early and waited while sipping the coffee I’d ordered.

After a while, the café door opened, and a girl peered around as she entered.

I raised my hand subtly to get her attention, and Haru, noticing me, walked over with a relieved expression.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Have you been waiting for long?”

“No, I just got here. Sorry for calling you out so suddenly.”

“It’s fine-it’s fine! It’s rare for Misa to ask me for a favor. So, what did you want to talk about?”

Yes, I had called her under the pretense of needing advice.

I didn’t know how else to describe what I was about to do.

“…Well, it’s about Seko-kun.”

The moment his name left my lips, the atmosphere seemed to tense.

I wonder why——even though Haru in front of me was still smiling as always.

“Seko-kun always says he likes me, right?”

“Yeah, I do wonder how he keeps it up. And you’re really patient too, Misa.”

“Patient? I’m not particularly bothered by it. Actually, he always points out and says nice things about me, and it’s always something different every time.”

“Hmm? Ah, yeah, he does. I got the impression he only praises your looks.”

“About that, that’s because he recently found my looks attractive. In fact, he wasn’t actually attracted to my looks at first. Maybe he’s run out of things to say about my appearance, because lately, he’s been complimenting what’s inside of me too, Fufu.”

“Really? That’s interesting.”

Haru looked somewhat puzzled.

But regardless, my mouth couldn’t stop talking.

“I’ve never really understood love. I’ve never even liked anyone, not even myself…I thought that if I couldn’t like myself, there was no way I could like someone else. That’s why I didn’t mind Seko-kun’s confessions, but I still felt guilty for not being able to accept them. The thing is, Seko-kun taught me so many things about my own appeal that I’ve slowly started to like myself——”

My heart is pounding painfully; I’ve never experienced anything like this.

It feels like my heart could leap out of my mouth.

Yet the words flow effortlessly.

“So, you see…Next time, I think I might be able to fall in love with Seko-kun.”

——I said it.

“I don’t think it would be right to answer his feelings with half-hearted emotions. So, even though I know it’s unfair to him, I’m thinking of accepting his next ‘going out with me’ only when I can truly face my own feelings.”

“…I…see…”

“Yes. I wanted to let you, my best friend Haru, know about this decision. I’m sorry, it wasn’t really a consultation, more like a declaration of sorts.”

That’s right, this is a declaration.

To honestly accept my own feelings and express them as they are…I never knew it could feel this good.

I’m basking in the afterglow right now.

I guess the reason I can talk like this is because Haru is my best friend.

Fufu.

——I’m glad Haru is my best friend.