The Gal Next to Me Is Trying Too Hard to Make Me Fall in Love With Her
“Kyaaa~♡♡♡ Saeki, you’re so cool~♡♡♡ Look this way~~~♡♡♡”
At his part-time job, he apparently got a huge haul of fish, and now he’s frantically gutting them while referencing YouTube videos.
Wearing an apron over his butler uniform as he wrestles with the fish looks a bit silly, but it seems to be hitting the spot for Arisa-chan, who’s happily snapping away with her camera.
“Hey, um, I’m super focused right now, so could you please not talk to me!?”
“Sorryyy!”
Scolded, she turned on her heel and came over to me.
She eagerly climbed into the kotatsu, flashing her white teeth and saying, “Too cool♡” Her innocent expression made me smile naturally.
“It’s nice and lively. Are you two always like this?”
“Yeah, I guess. Well, mostly just me making all the noise.”
As she spoke, she flipped on the TV.
A New Year’s Eve special. Ignoring Arisa-chan, who was laughing “Wahaha!” at comedians getting pranked, I shifted my gaze to Mashiro.
I couldn’t see hisexpression. But the way he fumbled with the knife in one hand was undeniably cool, and I wished he’d look my way, even just a little.
Does Arisa-chan see this every day?
…I’m jealous.
“Subaru-chan… um…”
“…Hm? Ah, wh-what is it?”
“Well… actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask for a while…”
Arisa-chan, who had been looking at me without me noticing, whispered this.
The atmosphere felt unusually serious.
Ah… Probably about work.
She thinks about her future and takes action with a seriousness you’d never guess from her appearance. I like people like that, and I respect them.
So, as a senior in the industry, if she’s relying on me, I have to respond properly.
I straightened my back and cleared my throat.
I fixed my gaze on her and switched into work mode, saying, “You can ask me anything.”
“Subaru… do you actually like Saeki?”
“Buhh!? Guh, guh-guh-guh!! Guh-huh!!”
I choked harder than ever before in my life.
“Huh? Subaru, is something wrong?”
“N-n-n-no, nothing!! Nothing at all!!”
“But you’re clearly acting weird—”
“Forget that! Could you please put your headphones on!? The video’s so loud I can’t hear the TV at all!!”
“Oh, oh… right, sorry. I didn’t notice.”
After making sure Mashiro put on his headphones, I let out a huge sigh of relief.
Arisa-chan was looking at me with a puzzled expression.
“Hold on a second. Me liking Mashiro? What kind of twisted logic is that?”
“Hmm… Well, it just seems weird, doesn’t it?”
“What’s weird?”
“It’s rare for people who aren’t from the countryside to go to the same school from elementary through high school, right? Plus, someone as popular as Subaru-chan would probably choose a different high school, right? But the fact that she’s at the same place as Saeki means she’s doing it on purpose… Isn’t that a little weird?”
“Ah, ahh…”
“But you know, if Subaru-chan likes Saeki, then it makes sense. If it were me, I’d want to go to the same school as the person I like.”
“So what’s the real story?” Her crimson eyes flashed.
It was a perfectly logical point, I thought.
To put it bluntly, I was overwhelmed by a sharpness I never would have imagined from her appearance.
A look of anxiety flashed across her serious face.
Of course it would. This girl like Mashiro, loved him, and it was beyond her control.
For her, having someone like me—someone who’s known Mashiro for a long time—become a love rival couldn’t be welcome.
“…I don’t have romantic feelings. But like you pointed out, I did intentionally choose the same path as him.”
“That… wh-why?”
“I can tell you, but can you promise? Promise you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to say.”
“…Could it be… s-something serious?”
“Heavy, or rather, it involves my work. Please, for me and my fans.”
“O-okay. I promise…!”
Arisa-chan stiffened her face and straightened her back.
Confirming her serious expression, I slowly opened my lips.
“Did you hear from him how Mashiro and I became friends?”
“Hmm… I asked him once because I was curious, but he said he forgot.”
“He was being considerate of me, huh. Fine, I’ll tell you. When I was in second grade, I ran away from home. I hated my work and wanted to quit.”
“…Huh?”
“My mother was someone who absolutely wanted her daughter to be a star. She restricted everything about me and wouldn’t let me do anything besides work. Singing and dancing lessons instead of school, strictly controlled meals, never allowed to play outside or do PE because she said I’d get hurt. You’re in this industry too, so you know parents like that exist, right?”
She hesitated a little, then nodded timidly.
It’s a glamorous industry full of dreams.
If things go well, you get huge money, of course, plus fame and power. It changes the lives of entire families.
Sadly, that’s why it’s not an uncommon story.
“One time, I became the class newspaper editor. It’s the job where you write articles about class stuff and post them up. …Though, honestly, because of my work, I never actually did any reporting or anything.”
I still remember everyone saying Subaru-chan was cheating because she didn’t do anything.
I chuckled to myself, thinking that had quietly hurt me back then.
“The newspaper got finished without me, but there was this one spot they just couldn’t fill. Since Subaru-chan hadn’t done anything, the other kids demanded I draw a comic to fill it.”
“You drew one? Subaru-chan drew a comic?”
“Yeah. And it was a huge hit! Everyone said it was funny, amazing, asked me to draw more… I was really, really happy. It was the first time in my life I’d been praised for something I did on my own, not because Mom told me to.”
Honestly, I don’t really remember what the comic was about.
I think it was a childish, cheap little thing, probably making fun of the homeroom teacher.
Reading it now, it definitely wouldn’t be funny, but I still remember that excitement vividly.
“After that, I kept drawing comics and showing them to everyone… It gradually became more fun, and I thought I wanted to be a manga artist. When I told my mom… she threw away all my pens and sketchbooks.”
Seeing Arisa-chan look utterly devastated, as if it were her own loss, made me think she was such a good kid. Her face was so serious it was almost funny in a twisted way.
“So I got fed up with everything and ran away from home. But I didn’t have any friends I could rely on. I ended up crying behind a public toilet in the park, and it was getting dark… That’s when it happened. When Mashiro asked me, ‘What’s wrong?’”
“…And that’s how the two of you became friends, huh?”
“Yeah. And then, from here on out, it was like a miracle or something—most of the problems surrounding me just got solved.”
“Did Saeki do something?”
“Well, not him, his grandfather. He’s a famous retired cop around here. I got invited to Mashiro’s house, spilled everything there, and then he called my mom over and gave her an absolutely brutal lecture. That was satisfying.”
This incident changed my mom.
Whether she reflected or just got scared of official authority, I still don’t know, but she stopped trying to control me so tightly, and it’s stayed that way.
“As for why I stick with Masahiro… it’s simple self-defense. I figured if I’m with him, my mom might just keep quiet… it’s a shallow thought, I know. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about like you’re thinking. You can relax.”
“Oh… okay. Thanks for telling me. Sorry for asking such a weird question.”
“No, no, don’t worry about it. Actually, I’m sorry for making you feel unnecessary anxiety.”
She laughed, “Hahaha,” but inside, she sighed.
Putting the whole story into words again made me hate how pathetic I was.
Mashiro saved me, I borrowed the power of his family, yet I still kept doing the job I hated.
I put on this suave act for the fans, but behind the scenes, I’m still terrified of my mom, trapped in Mashiro’s shadow.
What kind of “Sei sama” is that? Ridiculous.
I bet Arisa-chan was disappointed. Finding out the handsome prince was just a coward…
“—But Subaru-chan, I’m really disappointed in you.”
Oh, come on, I shrugged.
Startled by her sudden bluntness, I quickly resigned myself—it was my fault anyway. What can you do? Betraying expectations is that heavy a burden.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner that you’re aiming to be a manga artist!?”
“…………Huh? That?”
“I looove manga! I have the complete works of Osamu Tezuka and Katsuhiro Otomo!”
“Seriously!? Isn’t it usually One Piece or something!?”
“If you’d told me you liked manga sooner, we could’ve talked about it together! I love discussing who’s the strongest in fighting manga!”
“Sorry, but the only fighting manga I know is Baki…”
I thought maybe she was just being considerate, but this is the real deal. It’s written all over her face—she wanted to talk manga with me, plain and simple.
“W-What about my prince-charming persona… Don’t you care at all that this ‘Prince Sei’ thing is just a hollow facade?”
“Hollow facade?”
“A prince character I am just playing because my parents told me to? That’s not cool at all! So, I didn’t think you were disappointed or anything…! I-I mean, there are all kinds of reasons, right!?”
“Even if someone told you to do it, pulling it off perfectly, gaining popularity, and making money from it… that’s not something just anyone can do. Personally, I think that kind of thing is way too professional—it’s actually pretty cool.”
“…………”
“Ah! But Subaru, you don’t like this job, right!? If that’s the case, getting praised just makes you feel bad? I’m… I’m sorry!”
“No, no, don’t apologize! It’s not like I… dislike it. And besides, getting praised makes me happy!”
“Oh, I see. That’s good…!”
She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled brightly.
It’s a cliché reaction, and it feels a bit late now… but I genuinely think she’s a good kid.
There’s no anxiety when I’m with her. I can relax my shoulders and breathe. I don’t have to put on airs, and she won’t be disappointed.
What is it? I don’t really know, but she makes me laugh too.
It feels like it’s been ages since I laughed wholeheartedly in front of anyone other than Mashiro.
“So, let me read your manga.”
“…Huh?”
“I mean, the manga you’re drawing, Subaru-chan! I wanna read it, please let me read it♡”
“No way! I mean, I’m not drawing anymore…!”
“No way! I heard you drew the sign for the fried bread stand at the cultural festival! It was super good!”
“That was just… the only thing I could help with, so I drew it quickly…! Besides, illustrations and manga are different! I-I really don’t draw anymore!”
“So you’re done being a manga artist?”
“…Not that I’m done, but my current job leaves no time for it, and even if I drew, it’d be pointless…”
The pen and sketchbook slammed into the trash can. That dull thud still clings to my eardrums.
What good would drawing do?
I feel like it’d just get thrown away again… I don’t know, but that feeling scares me.
If I’m just going to regret it, better not to start at all.
“It’s not useless!!”
She stood up abruptly and declared.
Bathed in the room’s light, her hair shone like sunflowers, her eyes glowing with the heat of summer itself.
“Because I want to read it!!”
I thought she was about to say something profound, but this utterly selfish statement made me chuckle softly.
Ah, right… Yeah, yeah, sure.
That’s just the kind of girl Arisa is. I knew it.
“Alright! I’ll draw too, and when we’re done, we can read each other’s!”
“Why does it have to be like that!?”
“It feels bad to just ask you to draw, and besides, reading each other’s isn’t a good idea? Eh, no good?”
“It’s not that it’s no good, but why do I have to draw my own stuff just to read yours!?”
“Like I said before, I love manga too. I’ve been wanting to draw one myself someday. This is a great chance!”
She’s not just saying it…
Those eyes… they’re eyes of someone who’s really going to do it. Eyes that will have finished a one-shot by the end of next month.
With her talent and vitality, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if she pulled it off.
“Once you draw it, let’s submit it together! Maybe even to Jump!? You might get an editor assigned to you!”
“Well… Jump might be a bit much, don’t you think…”
“You won’t know unless you try, right?! Oh! Selling it as a book could be fun too! Let’s try selling it at Comiket!”
“…Comiket is mainly for fan works. For originals, wouldn’t Comitia be better…?”
“Then let’s go there!! It’s decided!!”
“It’s decided!?”
With sparkling eyes, Arisa-chan kept running with the idea on her own.
The outcome was obvious. It’d be pointless anyway. No matter how much effort we put in, nothing would come of it.
I just earn extra hate from Mom and risk getting into trouble.
I know.
I know… but.
“We’ve got one more thing to look forward to next year♡ Let’s do our best♡”
Her smile was so radiant it somehow made me feel happy too, and I started thinking maybe I should just go for it.
I’m being swept along, aren’t I…
Even knowing that, confidence wells up inside me.
With this girl by my side, I feel like I could do anything.
“…Hey, Arisa-chan.”
“Hmm?”
“Thanks for listening to me…”
“What are you talking about? I’m the one who asked you to talk, right?”
“Yeah, I guess… But thanks.”
“You’re weird. But you’re welcome ♡”
She hugged me from the side, and my cheeks relaxed at the warmth and softness.
Maiban