The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Recently, talk apps have become capable of making calls without extra charges.

It’s amazing, but when you call someone and they are already on a call, the app shows that they are ‘currently in a call.’

I was just on a call with Misa. Therefore, anyone who tried to call me during that time would see the message, ‘The recipient is currently on a call.’

『When I called Misa, it also said she was on a call.』

In other words, if it’s a common acquaintance, it’s possible to guess who the other person was talking to.

“Ah, yeah. I was just talking to Yosaki.”

『Who called whom?』

“Yosaki called me.”

『Really?』

“I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

『But I talked with Misa. We decided to leave Ren alone for a while.』

“Well, you’re calling me now too, aren’t you?”

『Uh… Hey, was it really Misa who called? You didn’t call her?』

“I swear I didn’t call her. Want me to send you the call log?”

『…No, you don’t have to go that far. Hehe. Yeah, I believe what Ren says.』

While I was puzzled why it mattered who initiated the call, the reason soon became clear.

『I thought Ren reached out to Misa instead of me. I felt like I was no longer needed.』

“No longer needed? Haru, you’re really important to me.”

『I mean, I called now because I felt like Ren was drifting away… Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help it.』

“I remember you said something similar before. That time too, I had a headache and was resting…”

『Yes. Both last time and this time, it’s because of me that Ren got sick. I started to think maybe you hate me now…』

“That’s not true at all. I wouldn’t hate Haru over something like this.”

『…Call my name again.』

“Yes? H-Haru.”

『More. Call it more.』

“Haru. Haru. Haru. Haru. Haru… Um, can you say something? This is embarrassing.”

As I expressed how embarrassing it was to repeatedly call a girl’s name, which felt like a sort of humiliation play, the one who had instructed me to do so sounded very pleased, giggling ‘Ehehehe.’

『 That’s right, Ren wouldn’t hate me. You saved me from Senpai, and we’ve even been on a date. A kiss… the kiss is…』

“H-Haru?”

『Hey, Ren. Had you ever kissed anyone before the other day?』

“…No, I hadn’t.”

『So, Misa was really your first kiss.』

“…Yeah. I guess so.”

『I see. Yeah, that makes sense. I knew it. I mean, even if it wasn’t the first time, it’s not like the first time matters anymore…』

A heavy silence began to settle.

I shouldn’t be feeling guilty, but my stomach was starting to twist.

“W-well, but the first person I went on a date with was Haru.”

『…Really?』

“Yeah! And the first girl’s room I ever went to was Haru’s, and the first girl to come to my place too.”

『…Ehehe.』

“The first time I held hands was also with Haru.”

『I-it was on Christmas Eve, right?』

“That’s right. And the first person I ever asked out on a date was…”

『…Me?』

“That’s right. Haru was the first.”

『Ehehehehe. I see-I see, I’m the first huh〜』

(TN: Chapter 41: Author’s note:
First Year of High School > Winter > Haru goes on a Christmas Eve date with Rento (not depicted))

I managed to cheer up Haru and let out a sigh of relief.

It was true the first person I held hands with on a date was Haru, but as a girl, Saki-chan did it first.

Well, Saki-chan doesn’t count, so there’s no need to mention it.

『D-doing ‘it’ with me, it’s your first time too, right?”

“T-that’s right.”

『I’m happy we were each other’s first…I’m happy I could give my first to Ren. Ren. Ren. Ren.』

Just the fact that it could greatly affect Haru’s mood shows how important a ‘first’ time is for her.

I’m well aware of that too. That’s exactly why I was most concerned about it when I started this twisted relationship with Haru.

『…Ren, you know, our patterns in bed were almost always the same, right?』

“….Was it?”

『Yes. You wouldn’t kiss me when I wanted to, you wouldn’t let me do it with my mouth, and the only time you changed positions was that last time. You were trying not to take my first time as much as possible, right?』

“…Maybe.”

That was what I was careful about.

This relationship was bound to collapse eventually. If it did, I wanted to minimize the damage to Haru.

Using her body while pretending to care was hypocritical, but I thought it was better than doing nothing.

I never thought she would realize it——

『You’re so obvious… From now on, don’t worry about that. I want to give my firsts to Ren many times.』

” ‘From now on’ huh… I thought this relationship was over.”

『Why? You’re not dating Misa yet, right?』

“Yes, but… Yosaki knows, so we can’t continue——”

『She doesn’t know.』

“What?”

『Misa thinks it’s just a kiss mark, that we haven’t gone that far. I found out when I met with Misa yesterday.』

…Is that possible?

For her to think that we hadn’t crossed that line despite having a kiss mark?

…But considering Misa’s pure nature, it’s not entirely impossible.

『So, you see. I’m going to help you relieve yourself a lot more in the future』

“U-umm. But still, I think we should stop doing this kind of thing——”

『I knew it, Ren doesn’t need me anymore…?』

“But not too much.”

『Ehehe. Okay!』

Hmm, I need to think about this matter more carefully later… My head is starting to hurt.

Let’s change the topic a bit.

“By the way, has Arahira done anything since then?”

『Uh, yeah, I’m fine. We haven’t exchanged contact info, so unless I go to school, I don’t have to deal with him.』

“That’s good, but be careful. His pride seems high, so he might try to do something. Maybe I should walk you home to your house from now on.”

『Eh! Ren is going to protect me? Every day?』

“That’s the plan. I might not be much help, though.”

『No, that’s not true at all. Thank you! I’m really happy… But I should also be careful about Ren’s health. Ah, sorry for talking so much. Maybe your mom will be mad at me.』

“I’ll keep it quiet from mom… And I was a little lonely too. I’m glad I got to talk to Haru.”

『Ren!』

Even though she doesn’t have one, I feel like Haru is wagging her tail right now.

I can just imagine her invisible tail wagging wildly.

Then we ended the call after talking for a bit more.

Looking at the call-ended screen, I realized I had forgotten to continue that conversation from before.

“…Well, next time is fine.”

After talking to both of them, I feel quite fulfilled.

However, my headache seems to have worsened compared to before the calls.

——Not a great feeling.

With that thought, I tossed my smartphone aside and crawled into bed.