The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

When I headed to the back garden, Koido was already sitting on a bench.

I offered her the strawberry milk I had bought in advance and started a conversation.

“Here you go.”

“Ah, isn’t it the famous Senpai of Legend ( Senpai oburejendo) who finally captured the love of his life, Yosaki Senpai?”

“What’s with that, sounds like a member of a rock band. The legend has even invaded my name now.”

“Yep, the legend of Senpai now is like a force that could bring down flying birds. It even reached the first-year classrooms by this morning. Ah, thanks for the strawberry milk!”

“Hmm, that definitely sounds like a legend.”

I comment as if it’s someone else’s story.

I mean, I try not to be too conscious about it because it can be quite taxing on my mental state.

After enjoying the strawberry milk I gave her, Koido took a deep breath and started talking.

“Now, how did this happen? Weren’t you on a date with Hinata Senpai yesterday and the day before?”

“It just turned out this way when I came to school this morning.”

“That’s just like me being confessed to because of a misunderstanding then. Don’t you have more details?”

“I always come to school at the last minute but… Yosaki apparently told the classmates in the classroom this morning. She said she started dating Seko Rento. I plan to hear the details after school today.”

“I see. I guess Yosaki Senpai got impatient and took a drastic measure.”

“…You think so too?”

“There’s no other explanation.”

I had some guesses, but could it really be like that?

“Is it my fault for making her wait too long?”

“Well, more like, Yosaki Senpai might have panicked seeing Hinata Senpai’s intense appeal.”

Panicked by Haru’s actions?

Does that mean Misa knew about our recent date?

No, I haven’t seen Misa nor anything that suggests her presence on our date, but I might have just overlooked her.

Actually, she might have been there.

I think it’s unlikely for such coincidences to happen, but then again, I’ve run into Koido outside two days in a row… Can’t completely dismiss that possibility.

“Both of them had an agreement to halt approaches until Senpai’s health improved, right? Maybe Yosaki Senpai took action out of anger because Hinata Senpai broke that agreement. That could be the reason for what happened today.”

“Hmm. But I think Hinata is good at keeping her promises.”

“Oh? Defending Hinata Senpai, I see.”

“It’s not like that… Ah, right. When I heard about that agreement, Hinata was angry at Yosaki for being sneaky because she called me first.”

“Oh, that’s probably it. Since Yosaki Senpai made the first move, Hinata Senpai must have thought it was okay for her to do whatever she wanted too.”

I nod in understanding. But,

“Well, it’s not like either of them is to blame. The bad one is——”

“Senpai, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Even so, it’s going to be tough for you now, Senpai. Until now, everyone just watched with curiosity as Yosaki Senpai kept rejecting you, but from now on, you’ll get looks of jealousy and even hatred from those who liked Yosaki Senpai.”

“That’s true. I already got the full course this morning.”

“Are you full already?”

“I’m stuffed to the brim.”

“Did it burst?”

Koido lets out a wry smile as I gesture rubbing my stomach.

“It’s difficult because it’s impossible to deny.”

“That’s true. Especially since it’s coming from someone who has been showering her with affection until now.”

“It would be ridiculous for Senpai to deny it. From an outsider’s perspective, it’s such an enviable situation. Even if Senpai denies it, it might just seem like Senpai is having a hard time accepting reality.”

“It’s something out of a dream, like it’s too unbelievable to be true.”

“Exactly. People around will definitely believe Yosaki Senpai’s words over yours. After all, people pay attention to who makes the statement, and even if you could deny it, Yosaki Senpai would then be viewed negatively. She’d either be seen as someone spreading delusions or, at worst, a wicked woman mocking a Senpai who showed her affection. Since she’s involved others, the scale of this issue is different.”

“…Right, that’s how it would be. So well, what can I say? There’s nothing I can do right now. Not until I hear her story.”

“True.”

With the conversation coming to a pause, I stand up from the bench.

“Huh? Senpai, are you leaving already?”

“I’m not comfortable leaving those two alone, and it’s not good to be seen hanging out with Koido too much, considering the public’s view now that I supposedly have a girlfriend.”

“That’s true. So, does this mean we’re taking a break from our oasis time?”

“I guess we’ll have to do that. And it’s not an oasis.”

“Oh, come on, don’t say that. You’re really going to miss meeting with me, aren’t you?”

“Well, yeah.”

I immediately respond to Koido’s teasing question.

“…what? Really? Wait, is Senpai in his ‘dere’ phase now?”

“You really want to make me out as a tsundere character huh… but honestly, fooling around with Koido like this has been a good break for me right now.”

“Wow, you’re really in your dere phase. This is making my heart race. All that ‘tsun’ until now has been saved up for this moment!”

“See you.”

“Hey, come on, can’t you stay a little longer? It’s lonely not knowing when we’ll meet again.”

“There seems to be no end to it.”

“Goodbye tsun, welcome dere!”

“This kind of banter with Koido is fun, so I could keep going forever. That’s why I have to consciously cut it off.”

“The ‘dere’ has arrived! We’re in a change phase! Now’s my chance to regain all the lost favorability!”

“Whose favorability are you talking about?”

“Yours, Senpai.”

“Don’t melt it away.” (TN: Don’t melt(ruin) the favorability that has been established.)

I see Koido’s mischievously laughing and can’t help but smile myself.

I’ve been worried about various things, but would anyone really think there’s something between me and Koido?

Well, I can’t keep causing trouble for Koido, so it’s time to say goodbye to this oasis for a while.

***

On my way back to the classroom from the back garden, my smartphone vibrated.

It was a message from Koido saying, ‘Feel free to message me if you need to talk about anything, okay?’

Smiling wryly at how our senior-junior roles seemed reversed, I replied, ‘Thank you, Master (shishō).’

She responded with ‘Still in the dere phase!?’ which I then chose to ignore.

When I returned to the classroom, surprisingly, or maybe not, Misa and Haru were chatting normally.

Misa noticed my return and greeted me with a smile.

Even in this situation, I wondered if their relationship was still good.

This remained unclear as the day ended and after-school hours arrived.

We were supposed to go home together as usual today, but Haru had cleaning duty, so we needed to wait until she was finished.

Every week the duty roster changes, and every few weeks there comes a week when the classrooms have to be cleaned after school.

“Sorry for making you wait.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s the usual thing, right?”

“That’s right, as Rento-kun said.”

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

Even if one of us has a duty and gets delayed, we always wait and go home together.

We’ve been doing this since last year.

Yet, Haru seemed more apologetic than usual.

Wondering why, I realized it was because of the surrounding gazes.

People probably wondered why we were waiting for Haru even though Misa and I were now a couple.

I could see in their eyes that they thought that Haru was in the way when we could just go home together.

Judging it best to leave immediately, I said, ‘Let’s go home,’ and started walking. The other two followed.

From there, it was a normal walk home as usual.

Upon reaching Hinata’s house, we said goodbye to Haru.

“See you tomorrow, Haru.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“…Yeah. Both of you, see you tomorrow.”

Haru always looked a bit sad when saying goodbye.

That tugged at my heart, but I always turned away with a slightly heavy feeling.

Normally, Misa and I would just walk home side by side from here, but today was different.

As soon as we turned our backs on Haru and started walking, Misa hugged my arm.

“Misa!?”

“Fufu, it’s okay, isn’t it? We’re lovers, after all.”

After being surprised by her sudden action, I quickly turned back to look at Haru.

Haru had a face like she was about to cry with tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

However, she turned her back to us and hurried into the house as if running away before they could fall.

For a moment, I wanted to chase after her. But Misa firmly grasped my arm and I couldn’t move.

“Come on, Rento-kun. Let’s go.”

“…Yeah, let’s go home.”

“No, not home. We’re going on a date now.”

“…you’re joking, right?”

“Don’t you want to hear my explanation?”

She said this with a giggle and a mischievous smile.

Even in my confusion, I was captivated by her smile.