The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

We also went to a summer festival in addition to the pool. It was a big fireworks festival in a nearby town.

As I approached our meeting place, lo and behold, two people in Yukatas were waiting.

Yosaki was in a predominantly black yukata, which somehow gave her an air of allure.

On the other hand, Hinata wore a yukata based on white, adorned with yellow sunflower patterns, which suited her well.

“——We should come watch it together again.”

Someone said while we gazed at the fireworks lighting up the night sky.

Well, probably all three of us said it.

***

Summer vacation isn’t just fun.

Looking at the mountain of assignments given from school, I felt like dying.

Hinata seemed to feel the same way, and thanks to her initiative, the three of us got together to tackle the tasks.

By the way, Yosaki had already finished most of hers, so she assumed the role of making sure Hinata and I didn’t slack off.

Having spent such a summer, we returned to school like zombies, dreading the tedious and troublesome classes that awaited.

However, the fall at school was packed with events. Sports day, cultural festival.

Festivals everywhere!

We had a blast, and of course, we spent these events together.

Hinata shone on the sports day.

Even though it had been about a year since she retired from the track and field team, her past experience still seemed to be alive, as she snatched first place in various events.

The only exception was the scavenger hunt, where she came in last.

Maybe the subject was difficult, but the item Hinata had chosen in line with the theme was me.

As I was cheering from the class’s cheering section, Hinata came over without saying a word and just reached out her hand.

Realizing that I was the “item” she needed to retrieve, I took her hand, and we ran to the finish line together.

To this day, I haven’t been able to find out what that theme was.

During the cultural festival, it seemed like Yosaki stood out.

Since first-year classes were not allowed to sell food and drinks, our class decided to do a haunted house, which might sound cliche.

Yosaki, being a cultural committee member, claimed she didn’t know about haunted houses.

She said she wanted to do some research, so the three of us went to an amusement park to investigate a professional haunted house.

While Hinata, who is not good with horror, was screaming next to me, Yosaki quietly advanced through the route, taking notes.

I felt like I heard a bewildered voice from one of the ghosts, saying, “Huh…?”

Afterward, Yosaki devised the plan for the scariest haunted house possible at a school scale based on her notes.

We, the class, didn’t quite understand the content when she told us, but as we worked under her direction, we began to see the shape of it and were impressed.

By the way, her fellow committee member, Takahashi, was crying that he had “no work to do.”

On the eve of the cultural festival, with the stage set up, we decided to conduct a test run.

Naturally, Yosaki, the main person behind this, was unanimously chosen by the class to be on the guest side.

Since we generally anticipated pairs of guests, the question arose as to who would accompany her.

Logically, it would have been Takahashi, the other cultural committee member.

However,

“Seko-kun. Should we go together?”

Yosaki nominated me.

Knowing about our relationship, the classmates around us said things like, “Go for it, Seko!”, “Leave it to us!”, “We’ll make sure to scare you good!” And so, half in jest, they agreed for me to join the test as a guest.

Takahashi was crying again.

As we followed the predetermined route inside, my classmates would jump out to scare us from all directions.

But since I was also part of the production team, I knew what was coming, so I wasn’t surprised at all.

However,

“F-fufu, we’ve made something amazing…”

Yosaki was trembling tremendously as she walked next to me.

Why was the very person who planned it so frightened?

Besides, there was no sign of fear when we were doing the preliminary investigation.

It somehow seemed funny to me, that’s why I couldn’t help but chuckle.

When Yosaki saw my face, her eyebrows drooped, but her gaze sharpened, and she puffed out her cheeks.

“Why are you laughing, Seko-kun?”

“Sorry, it’s just… It’s kind of funny, it’s a ‘gap’, you know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? …Hey, Seko-kun. Can I move closer?”

“uh? …sure.”

With Yosaki moving closer, the space that was enough for one person was now filled.

A space that always felt like someone should be there…It was now occupied.

Yosaki’s shoulder touched my arm.

It wasn’t like at the pool; we were clothed now, so our skin didn’t touch. But still,

“I knew it…this feels comforting.”

Yosaki voiced such a sentiment. I felt the same way, but I was too shy to say it out loud.

After that, Yosaki didn’t tremble or make a sound.

We then exited the haunted house and stepped into the hallway.

Some of our classmates who weren’t acting as ghosts were waiting for us. Among them was Hinata.

“Aren’t you two standing a bit too close?”

The look in Hinata’s eyes when she asked us this was very cold.

It reminded me of the moment when she came down the water slide at the pool.

“The passage was a little narrow. It seems that two are the maximum number of people that can pass through at a time.”

Yosaki answered Hinata’s question like that.

From her response, I sensed she wanted to hide the fact that she had been scared, so I quickly agreed,

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Really? Alright then, we’ll need to think about how to guide groups of three!”

Not sure if we managed to deceive her, but Hinata didn’t probe any further.

Even though her smile was as bright as ever, her eyes seemed dark to me.