After My Childhood Friend Rejected Me, I Cut My Bangs and Took off My Glasses in Shock, and I Became Popular With the Girls. And I Don’t Like It When She Wants to Be Friends With Me Again…..
I went downstairs from the third floor to the first floor and headed for the back door, where I found Saionji-san sitting on a bench in the shade of a tree.
Saionji-san was unusually hunched over with a rounded back and slumped shoulders, and her appearance lacked her usual dignified air.
“….. Saionji-san.”
I called out to her.
“Ara, Inoshita-kun. What’s wrong? Have they stopped the bad-mouthing contest?”
“Did you hear after all? Sorry, I wish I could have warned them. ……”
I sat down next to her, feeling sorry for myself.
“You are under no obligation to do so. In fact, you were in a weak position just a few days ago, and you know what would happen if you said something funny?”
“What will happen…..?”
“Don’t you see? You will be the target this time, you know? I’m such a pretty girl, and my face is just a facade.
As soon as they recognize that you’ve done something a little bit different and different that they don’t like, it’s obvious that you’re going to be a natural target.”
Saionji’s mouth was full of power.
It seems as if the feelings of unwillingness are overflowing as emotions.
I’ve known her for quite a while, but she didn’t look like a person who would have this kind of expression on her face. Rather, I thought she was a strong person who would mend things nicely, process everything perfectly in her mind, and then forget and digest everything.
Perhaps I was mistaken.
“…. Saionji-san, what do you think of that feeling now?”
“Yesterday it wasn’t like that, but today it suddenly became very caustic. I know the cause, though”
“It’s that blonde gal, right?”
“Yes,……really, you are not an elementary school student, so you should stop gossiping and putting other people down.”
“On the contrary, we are an adult, so they are going to resort to such measures. It’s the same as when a successful celebrity is debunked in a weekly magazine or something.
I hope we can somehow defuse it. ……”
“Haaaa…..I just can’t help it anymore. I’ve been through this many times, but never this insidious.”
I could sense the dismay, anger, and sadness in Saionji-san’s words as she let out a sigh.
The fists on her knees are also tightened.
Even though I know the source of the rumor, I have no means to put it to rest.
It is obvious that it is useless to say anything to the gal herself, and once the rumor is spread, it will not be easily stopped.
“…..”
I thought about it a little, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
I’m not a big speaker, I’m in a weak position, and I can only count on a few friends.
To be honest, I wanted to do something about it, but it was difficult to help Saionji-san.
“There is no need for you to be overwhelmed. The bad guys are the ones who spread the strange rumors. So …… don’t worry about it too much, okay? Leave me alone.”
Saionji-san smiled a fragile, weak smile instead of an imposing, strong smile.
She slowly got up and went back out the back door.
“…. nothing I can do, huh?”
-Maiban