A Cheeky Junior Denied Me My Entire Life, so I Tested What Would Happen if I Jumped off a Rooftop to Vent My Anger
After the advisor, Yasaka, left and Rengo took Susumu out of the clubroom. There was a general stir in the art club room.
“What are we going to do about the competition?”
“I’d like to participate if I can get Yasaka-sensei to look at my work, but it’s probably going to be Higashiyama-senpai who gets selected anyway, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. Ah, but now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I last saw.. Aoi-senpai came, right? The whole thing about him jumping off was a hoax after all.”
“Well, I guess I’m wondering what he came here for now. It seems that the scholarship has been discontinued, so I guess that person’s special treatment has finally come to an end.”
“Toyama-senpai was making an amazing face when he took him out with him just now. I think he is going to fire him!”
“What are you talking about!”
Members laughing happily. Susumu doesn’t have a single ally in the art club. No matter how many achievements he has had in the past, the Susumu they know is nothing more than a pathetic man who is treated as special and doesn’t even draw.
“…… stupid.”
Meanwhile, Ririka rests her hand on her chin and lets out a small breath. You can see that she has no ambition, and she doesn’t even has her usual smile on her face. No one tries to talk to her because she has a dark atmosphere that is completely different from usual.
Except for Yana, who doesn’t read the air …… .
“Aoi-senpai and Toyama-senpai have gone, right? Is it okay if you don’t chase them?”
When Yana called out to her, Ririka twisted her mouth in displeasure.
“I doesn’t matter to me. I mean, Kamiya-san, your skin is rough, isn’t it? You’re not sleeping properly, are you?”
“…I don’t care about that right now. If you ask me that, Usa-senpai’s hair is rough, isn’t it?”
Yana sat down on a chair near Ririka and took a deep breath.
“Kamiya-san, are you planning to participate in the competition that Yasaka-sensei mentioned?”
“I don’t really…I don’t know if I have time, but I’m not good at it because I don’t listen to what other people say.”
“All artists are like that. If they don’t draw, they’re just weirdos.”
“It was the teacher, so I’d like to …… be a little more …… decent.”
Yana rests her weight on the desk as her legs sway.
“Usa-senpai, you’re participating, right? the competition. If things go well, either Usa-senpai or Toyama-senpai will win.”
“I’m not going to participate. I’m tired of this…… .”
“…… is that about Aoi-senpai? Or are you talking about Toyama-senpai?”
“Well, I wonder”
Ririka gives a deceptive smile. Yana scowls, displeased.
“Why don’t you make it clear enough? about Toyama-senpai and Aoi-senpai?
Or are you going to tell me again that a child like me doesn’t understand?”
Looking straight into Yana’s eyes, Ririka takes a deep breath.
“…..so annoying. I get it, I get it. I was dating Susumu-kun. Then when he fell out of favor, I switched to Rengo-kun. …Are you satisfied with this?”
“If that’s true, then Usa-senpai is the worst.”
“So? What do you think about yourself? Did you apologize properly to Susumu-kun? Susumu-kun, he wasn’t even looking at you, but is it okay to not chase him? Did you properly say thank you for his help?”
“That’s …….”
Then, Yana remembered something. About Susumu with monster-like eyes from the other night. she was able to apologize. she was able to get it forgiven. But that’s just because he didn’t have anyone to deal with.
…Somewhere, Yana thought that she was special. She believed that she was a special person to Susumu. That night, that was completely denied. When she thinks about it, she feels embarrassed and want to run away.
“……”
Yana grips the edge of her skirt tightly as if to endure the pain. Seeing Yana like that, Ririka let out a tired breath again.
“Susumu-kun has always been strong. He always had this unique atmosphere, like he was thinking about something completely different from us.”
“I can understand that …… somewhat, but ……”
“Rengo-kun, on the other hand, was a weakling. No, Rengo-kun is still a weakling. If he doesn’t do his best to make himself look bigger, he can’t help but feel insecure …even though In the past, he wasn’t always this angry.”
“The only time Toyama-senpai gets angry is when he’s talking about Aoi-senpai.”
“That’s right. We were driven crazy by this genius called Susumu kun”
Ririka intertwines her fingers with her bangs and narrows her eyes.
“So, when Susumu-kun couldn’t draw anymore, I…”
“You thought, [Suck it up] right? That is disgusting.”
“….. yes, I’m a disgusting woman. I hate everyone who is more talented than me.”
“…………”
After a moment of silence, Yana said.
“Usa-senpai, are you going to stay like this?”
“….. you mean Susumu-kun?”
“It’s about Toyama-senpai.”
“I don’t know. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me anymore.”
With that said, Ririka stood up. When she heard that Susumu had come to school today,…… she was also hoping that maybe, somewhere, he would come to her. She couldn’t give up such an expectation that Susumu would come to her and say something to her.
But in fact, he did not even look at Ririka. He had already been through with Ririka and with Yana.
“I’m sure Rengo-kun is probably telling Susumu that he’s going to beat him at drawing or something like that. ……”
Will that satisfy his self-esteem, winning against someone he can’t draw? What is he going to do if he loses ……?
[If I win a prize in the next contest, you’ll have to go out with me,……!]
Ririka remembered Rengo’s words. All men are fools. They think that if they prove their worth, that will make the other person fall in love with them.
“….I guess it’s the same for me, too.”
Somewhere along the way, she thought that if she denied Susumu’s talent, that would make her more valuable. ……It’s just as Asama Ion told her the other day. Somewhere along the way, Ririka had assumed that she was special to Susumu.
But after what happened the other night and seeing the look in his eyes earlier, she realized that wasn’t the case. Then she should just let it go and say it doesn’t matter anymore, but it still hurts her heart so much …….
“…… perhaps Usa-senpai just wanted to get Aoi-senpai’s attention, didn’t she? That’s why—.”
“That’s you, isn’t it, Kamiya-san? If you say bad things like a child and seriously reject him, you’re a fool. … Susumu-kun didn’t treat you either, right?”
“! I don’t want you to say that! It looks like you’re having fun, but you’re actually naive…that’s stupid. In fact, just saying that you’ve loved each other for a long time won’t erase the past of playing, right?”
“……That kind of language is offensive. I’m not playing in the first place.”
“Didn’t you say earlier that you had switched? Or is it that you don’t get into playing? ”
The two glared at each other. In the end, there was no point in having an argument here. Both of them knew that. Even though they knew, neither of them had the courage to just talk to Susumu now.
Ririka smiled dryly and said.
“I know you don’t know this, Kamiya-san, but …… Susumu kun really tried to jump off a rooftop. When I ran into him the other day, he said so himself.”
“……Eh?”
The moment she heard those words, Yana’s face turned blue. Ririka smiles dryly and says.
“I’ve got Susumu cornered. You also cornered Susumu-kun. …We all knew Susumu-kun when we were in middle school, so somewhere along the line we believed that he was a monster who could do anything.”
“Is it …… true that he jumped off the roof?”
“Neither I nor Susumu-kun would lie like that. …And the one who saved Susumu-kun was that woman… Asama Ion.”
That’s when Yana remembered. That night, those bright red eyes looked down at her from the rooftop.
“Because of those circumstances, Susumu-kun is in love with Asama Ion…. He’s just being deceived anyway, men are really idiots.”
“…What do you mean, he’s being deceived? Why did Asama Ion treat senpai…”
“The other day, I found Susumu-kun lying in a broken alley in the middle of the night. He said something I didn’t understand, like he was playing with a dog, but I guess that woman is forcing him to play with her in some strange way.”
“………”
Now that she thinks about it, Yana remembers. That day, Susumu looked like he had come out of an abandoned building late at night. A place like that is not a place you would go to for nothing.
Jealousy dulls your judgment. Regret reduces his ability to think. Guilt turns to frustration.
“Ahha!”
Ririka laughed. It was a very forced smile, but she didn’t realize it. Her voice was somehow exuberant.
“So, yes. If I were to call out to Susumu, it would be when he fell apart after being dumped by Asama Ion”
“…I guess Usa-senpai isn’t interested in a man who’s fallen down?”
“Well, I wonder”
After saying that, Ririka leaves the art room. Yana didn’t try to stop her, and let out a tired sigh.
“……I should go home too.”
After Ririka was out of sight, Yana also left the art room. ……She no longer had the time to participate in such things as intra-department competitions.
“…. Huh?”
After walking for a while, she saw Ririka standing near the entrance.
“Usa-senpai, in a place like this—“
Midway through the words, Yana also noticed. ……it’s raining. She thought the rainy season was over, she doesn’t like it. Yana paused, wondering if she had brought a folding umbrella.
“…… Ah.”
A girl with conspicuous white hair passed by next to Yana. She pulls a folded umbrella out of her bag, but then spots a boy standing at the entrance with an umbrella and hurriedly puts it away in her bag.
She smiled happily.
“Aoi kun, you’ve been waiting for me. Just in time. I forgot to bring an umbrella.”
“I wasn’t waiting for you.”
“Fufu. Are you embarrassed? Well, it doesn’t matter. I want some ice cream, shall we buy one on the way home? Onee san will treat you.”
“Asama-san, you sometimes act older than you are, but you’re the same age as me, aren’t you? Or are you actually …… years older than me?”
“Well, I wonder.”
Under the same umbrella, the two begin to walk together in friendly terms. …Suddenly, Ion turned her gaze behind her. she felt that both Ririka and Yana were watching, and they felt their body tense up.
──Ion laughed.
Seeing that smile caused a pain in both of their hearts. regret and jealousy. They suddenly felt embarrassed that they had been having such a boring argument when Susumu wasn’t around. ..However, the two were unable to put their feelings into words, and could only watch from afar as Susumu and Ion walked happily.