The School’s Top Idol Is Acting Like She’s My Childhood Friend for Some Reason and Just Keeps Closing the Distance on Her Own…?! ~Stop Getting All Gloomy on Me Just Because I Turned You Down!~
The afternoon classes were even more of a living hell than usual.
I know exactly why.
I held hands with Rino during lunch break.
And not just once—two days in a row.
Yesterday it was by the riverbank. Today, behind the warehouse. This “hand-holding event” keeps repeating itself in different locations. In a romantic comedy, this would be a clear sign that our relationship is moving forward.
But we’re not dating.
Even though we’re not dating, we call each other by our first names, hold hands during lunch break, and exchange notes about the temperature of each other’s hands.
I don’t get it.
Staring at the blackboard, I scribbled something small in the margin of my notebook.
This is still within the bounds of friendship.
The moment I wrote it, I felt Rino’s gaze pierce me from my right, so I hurriedly erased it.
Even I think it’s a stretch.
Do friends hold hands during lunch break? No, I don’t know much about high schoolers these days. Maybe that’s just normal nowadays. No, it’s not normal. Calm down. Don’t let your values be swayed by reality. Reality is being eroded too much by Rino Hoshimiya.
My “youth complex” was in turmoil.
The old me would have definitely screamed if I’d seen such a sickly sweet scene.
In romance comedy anime, the moment the protagonist and heroine held hands, I’d bury my face in my pillow and writhe in agony, screaming, “Guaaaaah! A lethal dose of youth!”
And now, that’s happening to me.
So, does that mean I should be screaming at myself?
Stop it, Seita Takahara.
What are you doing?
Don’t call a top active idol by her first name, hold hands with her, or pass notes to her during class.
For someone with a “youth complex,” you’re consuming way too much of it.
It’s an overdose.
Call a doctor.
But Rino, sitting to my right, looked happy.
Even though we’re in class, she keeps glancing at her right hand from time to time.
The hand I held during lunch break.
She must be remembering that.
When I caught a glimpse of her profile, the inner voice in me that usually points out the absurdity lost its momentum.
When she gives me a look like that, I can’t bring myself to regret it.
After school, Hara and Shinozaki came over to our desks as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Hey, hey, Takahara-kun,”
“Rino looked super happy at lunch today—what did you do?”
Hara asked, grinning.
As for Shinozaki, behind her sleepy eyes, there was a strangely delighted look.
“Nothing at all.”
“Rino, did something happen?”
Hara turned to Rino.
Rino looked at me for just a moment.
Then, her cheeks flushed, she said happily,
“I held hands with Seita.”
“Rino!?”
“Two days in a row.”
“Please don’t give us any more details!”
The classroom buzzed with excitement again.
A few boys looked over at us.
I felt like banging my head against the desk.
Please, stop it.
I’m already surrounded by rumors in class—like “He’s supposedly Rino Hoshimiya’s childhood friend,” “They’ve started calling each other by first names,” and “They disappear together during lunch break”—rumors that felt vaguely familiar yet not quite true.
Don’t drop the “holding hands” info right now.
Is this some kind of controversy-driven publicity stunt?
“Whoa, that’s just normal now, you know?”
Just as Hara was about to say something, Rino’s expression shifted ever so slightly.
Even though she was still smiling, the depths of her eyes suddenly darkened.
“Normal—what?”
Her voice was soft.
But the atmosphere grew a little colder.
Hara let out an “Ah” and clamped her mouth shut.
Shinozaki narrowed her eyes just a little, too.
I looked at Rino’s profile.
I realized it.
Rino is a little afraid of having a name put on this relationship.
Things like “Are we dating?”
Or “We’re already a couple, aren’t we?”
While she’s hoping people around her will say those things, she’s also afraid that I might deny it.
If Hara were to say right now, “We’re already dating, aren’t we?” and I were to deny it on reflex, Rino would surely be hurt.
The old me would have denied it immediately.
No.
It’s not like that.
It’s just the way things are.
I would have said that to put myself in a safe zone.
But now, it was different.
I didn’t want to hurt Rino.
I let out a small sigh.
“Hara-san.”
“Hm?”
“Well, we don’t have a name for it yet, but…”
Even I didn’t know what I was saying.
But the words kept coming.
“To me, Rino is truly someone important.”
The classroom fell silent.
Both Hara and Shinozaki froze.
Rino caught her breath.
Only after I’d said it did I realize what I’d blurted out.
It’s over.
It’s completely over.
If this were a romantic comedy, the background music would stop right here. Readers would flip back a page to double-check. It’s the kind of scene where the editor writes “This part is the best!” in red ink.
My teenage insecurities were already on their way to the crematorium.
“…Seita.”
Rino’s voice was trembling.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at her.
But running away now would be pointless.
Back in the day, I used to take my words back right away. I was afraid of what others might think, so after speaking my mind, I’d turn it into a joke.
But I didn’t want to take back what I’d just said.
“I said, it’s a problem if you tease me too much.”
I continued, keeping my gaze averted.
“Not so much for me, but because it might be a problem for Rino.”
I heard Rino take a small breath.
Hara was silent for a moment, but eventually raised both hands.
“Sorry. I teased you a little too much.”
Shinozaki, still looking sleepy, nodded seriously—which was unusual for her.
“Yeah. Takahara-kun, you looked kind of cool just now.”
“Please stop. I’ll die.”
“Don’t die—Rino would be in trouble.”
Rino didn’t say anything.
She just gently grabbed my sleeve from under the desk.
Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
I noticed it, but instead of pulling away, I let her hold on.
The buzz of chatter returned to the classroom.
Hara and Shinozaki said, “Well, we’re heading home first,” and walked away, seeming a little considerate.
A strange silence fell between Rino and me, who were left behind.
“Seita.”
“……Yes.”
“Was that just now… for real?”
“I said it on a whim, but it’s not a lie.”
“Someone important to you?”
Her voice was thin and sounded anxious.
I looked up.
Rino was smiling, but her face looked like she was about to cry.
Her expression was one of deep emotion—deeper than when she’d called my name, or even when we’d held hands.
“…Yes.”
I nodded.
“You’re someone important to me, Rino.”
Rino covered her face with both hands.
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
“Seita, you’re really unfair.”
“That’s all you’ve been saying lately, hasn’t it?”
“But it really is unfair.”
With her face still covered, Rino said in a tearful voice.
“I thought I was the only one taking this too seriously. But when I realized that you, Seita, really do care about me too… I can’t handle it.”
Hearing those words, my chest tightened a little.
Rino must have been anxious all along.
That she was the only one getting closer.
That only she was taking things too seriously.
That only she was creating more memories.
Maybe that’s what she’d been thinking.
But that’s not true.
Inside me, too, memories with Rino are definitely piling up.
The bento behind the warehouse.
The card shop.
Hoshimiya’s house.
Phone calls at night.
Calling each other by name.
Holding hands on the riverbank.
Every single one of those moments remains inside me.
I can’t pretend any of it never happened anymore.
“Rino.”
“…What?”
“Want to walk a little on the way home?”
Rino looks up.
Her eyes are red.
“Is that okay?”
“Yes. Today, I’m the one asking.”
The moment I said it, Rino’s expression crumbled again.
Her face looked like she was about to cry, yet happy, as if she might throw her arms around me at any moment.
“Seita.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll never forget today.”
“I’m sure you won’t.”
“The day Seita told me I was someone special to him.”
“Please don’t repeat that—it’s embarrassing.”
“And also, the day Seita asked me out.”
“We’re racking up more anniversaries.”
Rino smiled.
She smiled through a few tears, but she looked genuinely happy.
Looking at her face, I thought to myself.
Our relationship doesn’t have a name yet.
But we’ve taken a small step forward.
It’s not just about calling each other by name, or even holding hands.
Today, I told Rino she was someone special to me.
Those were words the old me would never have been able to say.
Those words truly reached Rino.
Just that alone made me feel like something deep inside my chest had loosened just a little.
We left the classroom.
The hallway in the evening was bustling with the voices of students heading to their club activities.
Walking beside me, Rino gently touched my sleeve.
We weren’t holding hands.
Just a touch.
But for now, that was enough.
“Seita.”
“What is it?”
“I care about you, too, Seita.”
“…Yes.”
“I care about you so much.”
“I understand.”
“Did that get through to you?”
“Pretty much.”
“Well, that’s good.”
Rino smiled contentedly.
As I watched her profile, a thought crossed my mind.
My “youth complex” still lingers inside me.
But these days, I can no longer just hate my youth.
Because Rino, right here beside me, is walking alongside me, bit by bit, to continue the story of my broken youth.
Maigetsu