The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

I can still feel the sensation on my lips.

I touch my own lips, there’s nothing there. Yet, the soft touch lingers in my mind.

Just a while ago, when parting with Misa, she kissed me. The impact of that moment is still resonating with me.

I keep walking to get it out of my head. Walking, walking, and more walking.

I reach the usual park, and turning left here would take me to the Seko residence.

However, I turn right, heading towards a certain destination.

I could have taken the train, but I didn’t want Misa to find out, and I needed to be alone and feel the fresh air.

I can’t arrive at my destination with this sensation still lingering.

After walking for nearly thirty minutes, I reached my destination. It’s a familiar house I just visited.

I pull out my smartphone and make a call; the other side answers halfway through the second ring.

『R-Ren? What’s up? It’s rare for Ren to call me, ehehe.』

“Can you come outside for a bit?”

『What…? C-could it be?』

A cute girl peeks out from a second-floor window of the house in front of me.

Seeing me, she breaks into a wide smile, then disappears only to reappear at the front door, still in her uniform.

“Ren! Ah… is Misa not with you?”

“I’ve already parted ways with Yosaki.”

“I-I see. But why is Ren here? I mean, I’m happy, but just wondering why.”

“I forgot something.”

“Forgot something? Did you leave something last time you were here? Sorry, I didn’t notice.”

“It’s not that.”

With a question mark above her head, Haru watches me as I present her with a small bag.

“I was going to give this to you.”

“For me? You’re giving it to me?”

“Yeah. I want you to open it.”

Haru carefully opens the small bag and takes out the contents.

When she sees it, her eyes light up and then she hugs me.

“Ren! This is!”

“I couldn’t find the exact same one, but I found a hair clip with the same sunflower design. It’s not exactly the same, but what do you think?”

“I’m happy… Thank you, Ren. I’ll treasure it.”

It was something I had bought during a brief outing over the Golden Week break.

I thought Haru might go back to the river to look for it someday if I didn’t do this.

Plus, by buying and presenting it myself, I was affirming our connection.

Haru reluctantly parted from me and attached the hair clip to her bangs. Then, with a shy smile, she asked,

“How does it look?”

“Yeah, it suits you. I was worried since I chose it based on my taste.”

“Ehehehe. I’m so happy. Thank you, Ren. Really, I’ll treasure it. I won’t lose it this time… Ah, how much was it?”

“No, it’s fine… That time, I could have reached Haru before Arahira attacked her. But because I hesitated, Haru ended up in that situation… So, this is an apology.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ren. It’s not your fault. It was all that Senpai’s fault! And, you know, I realized something.”

At that moment, the light in Haru’s eyes faded.

“Remember when I left a hickey on Ren’s body? I was really happy about it… but I want you to mark my body too; I want proof that I belong to Ren. And the things I wear should be chosen by Ren. When it gets cold, I’ll wear the gloves Ren gave me on Christmas Eve, but it’s just this hairpin for now. I want to wear more things chosen by Ren. That’s why I feel bad asking you to buy them because it makes it harder for me to ask you to choose. I’ll buy everything myself, so please don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll wear anything that Ren chooses for me——Ah!”

To support her as she became unstable, I hugged her tightly.

She was surprised for a moment but then hugged me back, her grip gradually getting stronger.

“That…Ren, I have a request.”

“I’ll at least listen.”

“What’s that, you’re being mean… Ehehe. Like I said before, I want you to leave a mark on me, proving that my body belongs to Ren. So, can you give me a ki——”

Before she could finish, I took her lips in mine.

They were soft yet firm. I felt an exhilarating desire to stay like this forever, but I pulled away after a few seconds.

Haru had a dazed look on her face.

“Does this mean Haru’s lips now belong to me?”

“Y-yes! They do! My lips are Ren’s… Ehehe. Hey, that was the first time Ren initiated a kiss to someone else, right?”

“That’s right. You’re the first, Haru.”

“I-I knew it! Yay, I got another first from Ren. Ren’s first… Ren’s first. Ehehe.”

Should I tell her now? It might be cruel, but maybe it’s the only time.

I steeled myself, placed my hands on her shoulders, and said,

“Haru, about what I said the other day——I like Haru Hinata.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

“… I’m happy. Then, from now on, we——”

“But we can’t date.”

“…Because of Misa?”

“Yeah. I still like Yosaki too. So, I want you to wait until I sort out my feelings. I’m really sorry.”

“… It’s okay. Because I’ve decided, and that won’t change now.”

Haru said this while gazing at me with eyes deepened into darkness.

“I’ll wait for you forever.”

***

After returning home that day, I received a barrage of messages from a certain person.

It was Koido.

Koido is very cheerful, or rather fearless in character. Despite being a Senpai and having just met me, she keeps sending a lot of messages about trivial things.

One thing I learned from these messages is that she commutes to our school from a town five towns away.

It’s unusual for someone to come from so far, and it seems she has no classmates from her junior high here.

Though I said I wouldn’t engage in small talk, considering our future interactions, getting to know her character wouldn’t be a bad idea, so I replied casually. And with her continuously bringing up new topics, our conversation never stopped.

***

The next day, during lunch break.

I told everyone I was going to the infirmary and dashed out of the classroom towards the backyard.

Someone was already sitting on the bench. It was Koido.

“You’re early.”

“Ah, thanks for your hard work, Senpai. Well, it’s closer to the classroom for first-years!”

“It doesn’t feel like we just met yesterday.”

“Well, I guess so after we talked so much. Even though Senpai said he wouldn’t chat, you replied to me a lot! Maybe you’re a tsundere?”

“No way. I just wanted to get to know you better… no, that might give the wrong impression.”

“What’s that-what’s that? Are you aiming for me, Senpai? Sorry! I’m not interested in romance!”

“You remind me of someone else I know. That girl is also a little devil-type… Koido, you’re like her lower-tier version of her. Don’t worry though, she’s just too talented.”

“Hey, isn’t that kind of harsh!? I don’t really get it, but I’m hurt!”

“If you don’t understand, you don’t need to be hurt.”

“That’s true. I won’t worry about it then.”

My conversations with Koido, even over chat, are always like this, frankly easygoing.

There’s flexibility in how she responds to what’s thrown at her. Talking with her is very relaxing.

However, there is a reason why I can’t have a close Senpai-Kouhai relationship with her.

It’s because of Haru.

“No way. I believed Senpai would come, but I’m surprised you really did.”

“We’re going to talk about Hinata, right?”

“Of course. Mai Koido won’t lie to Senpai. …But that look, you don’t believe me, do you?”

“Well, it’s not that. Just that from the beginning, you seemed kind of suspicious.”

“That’s harsh, Senpai! …Anyway, about Hinata Senpai.”

Koido switches back to the topic despite her grumbling. This adaptability makes the conversation comfortable.

“Hinata Senpai likes you, right, Senpai?”

“…You’re coming at me so suddenly.”

“You’re the one who sped up the conversation, Senpai.”

“That’s true but… how did you come to think that?”

“Ah? You can tell just by looking into Hinata Senpai’s eyes.”

…Seriously?

I, the person in question, hadn’t noticed at all.

“Looks like Senpai was completely oblivious to it.”

“How did you see through that… Wait. Did you just say I ‘was oblivious?”

“I did. Because now, Senpai, you’re aware of Hinata Senpai’s feelings, right?”

“…scary.”

I can tell from her eyes that Koido isn’t guessing blindly.

She speaks with conviction.

“I even realized that Yosaki Senpai started liking you, Senpai.”

“Aren’t you uninterested in romance?”

“I’m uninterested in my own romance. I’m very interested in other people’s!”

“You’re so annoying.”

She’s similar to Saki-chan in that aspect. Even if she loses to her in terms of being a little devil, having such a girl close by is honestly makes me worried.

It feels like she might disrupt my daily life.

“Oh, but don’t worry. I won’t spread this around!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“…Do you believe me?”

“You said you wouldn’t lie to me, right? Plus, if you had the intention to spread it, it would have already gone around. I’m apparently famous at school, and Koido seems popular too, so the credibility as a source of information would be high. Yet so far, there’s no sign of such rumors spreading, so I guess I have no choice but to trust Koido.”

“…Thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

As I made that retort, Koido said with a laugh, ‘I just felt like it~.’

“So, why did you bring up this topic with me? You’re not planning to use it to blackmail me, are you?”

“Of course not! I wouldn’t do that to Senpai! Actually, I was worried. Why were you here at lunch yesterday? You’re usually with those two. Clearly, there’s a big problem among the three of you, and you, being at the center of it, found it uncomfortable and escaped here.”

“You’re so right, it’s scary.”

“Also, you helping me out yesterday was just you taking your anger out on someone, right? I was happy about it, but that kind of behavior is not really good, you know.”

“Scary, scary, scary, scary, scary. What, do you understand me that well?”

“He-he. Nothing can escape my sight!”

Koido makes a triumphant face, but her ability is so formidable that it’s no laughing matter.

“Alright, I’ve answered your question. Now it’s your turn to answer mine. What’s going on among you three?”

“…even if I don’t tell you here, it feels like you’re going to find out eventually,”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“The fact that you’re not denying it makes it seem likely. …Sigh.”

I resigned myself to the situation and decided to spill my troubles to Koido.