The Beautiful Girl With a Kind Personality and Good Looks, Who Happens to Be My Childhood Friend, Seems to Have Eyes Only for Me
side Kamiya Yamato
“Man… this is rough.”
The club room felt unnaturally spacious now that everyone had left. No clanging of lockers, no laughter, no sound of shower water. All I could hear was the low hum of the ventilation fan.
I sat slumped in my chair, a towel draped over my head. My sweat-soaked bangs stuck to my forehead, disgusting. But I didn’t have the energy to wipe them away.
…Our high school is a powerhouse basketball program in the prefecture. I know the competition for starting spots is fierce, and practices are brutal. It’s not unusual for contact to get rougher as roster cuts approach.
But today was different.
It wasn’t the intensity of the play.
It was clearly targeting me.
Contact timed for the moment I passed the ball.
Pushing me off on rebounds.
Excessive body contact during defense.
It happened too many times to dismiss as coincidence.
…And then.
Kusunoki Yuya.
He was getting targeted too.
That serious sophomore. The guy who always gives his all. Yet today, he was getting hit unusually hard.
At first, I thought it was coincidence.
But it wasn’t.
His initials too—Y.K.
The bulletin board.
The rumors.
The culprit is Y.K.
…He got dragged into it.
Because of me. A sharp pain stung deep in my chest. But right beside that pain, another feeling surfaced.
…I was saved.
I think that’s despicable.
Kusunoki becoming the target dispersed the blows. Half the glances, half the malice, turned toward him. It wasn’t just me anymore.
And I… I found myself thinking it made things a little easier.
“…Shit.”
I mutter under my breath beneath the towel.
I hate myself.
But still. Part of me thinks it’s better than having it all directed at me.
Knock knock knock.
The sound of knocking echoes through the silent club room. Before I can answer, the door opens.
“Excuse me… Oh, you were here after all.”
It was Maho who entered.
I spoke without lifting my face.
“…What do you want?”
“That attitude? It’s proof you’re not feeling well.”
Footsteps drew nearer. I sensed her stop directly in front of me.
“Today’s practice was pretty rough, huh?”
My heart thumped.
“…It’s a powerhouse school.”
“That’s not the level we’re talking about.”
Her voice was gentle, yet there was no escape.
I gripped the edge of the towel tightly.
“Yamato.”
She called my name.
“This isn’t about the bulletin board, is it?”
My throat tightened. There was no way I could say it.
Not about the bulletin board.
Not about the accident.
Not about me being involved.
“…Not really.”
The voice I squeezed out was pitifully small. A brief silence fell.
“Kusunoki-kun was pitiful today too.”
My shoulders jerked.
“Both of you, because of the rumors on the bulletin board.”
I couldn’t say anything.
“…Hey.”
Maho-san’s voice dropped just a little.
“First of all, what’s written on the bulletin board isn’t necessarily true from the start, you know.”
Those words stabbed me in the chest. Her kindness hurt. I pulled the towel down over my eyes again, hiding my face. At the same time, the corners of my mouth lifted slightly.
“…I’m fine.”
I answered, trying not to let her see. Maho-san didn’t say anything for a while. Eventually, she spoke in a quiet voice.
“I see. Well, that’s fine for today then.”
Footsteps receded.
“But…”
She stopped in front of the door.
“Before it really becomes too much, okay? Yamato, I can help you.”
The door closed, and silence returned to the club room. I closed my eyes beneath the towel.
――That’s fine too.
Using Maho-san and Koharu, who have feelings for me, to delete the bulletin board post. They’re the only ones I can trust now.
side ???
My phone vibrated.
An unfamiliar icon. It belonged to the girl who, despite just starting school, was already rumored to be “cute” among both the girls and boys in class.
‘Sorry for adding you out of the blue. I have something I’d like to talk about.’
I was a little surprised she had my contact info, but I didn’t feel particularly wary. I figured she probably wanted to ask about someone in my class or something.
“Sure, no problem. What’s up?”
After a few seconds of ‘read’, the words that came back nearly stopped my heart.
“You’re dating Kawaguchi Yuto s,n right?”
Huh?
I didn’t understand. This person I’d never even spoken to knew my deepest secret.
Sweat beaded on my palms.
“I don’t mean to threaten you. I just need a little help with my plan.”
Scary. But it’s just text, so they can’t tell I’m shaken.
“If it’s weird, I’ll block you.”
I meant to sound tough, but my fingers trembled slightly.
Without pause, the next message arrived.
“Have you ever heard of a guy named Kamiya Yamato ?”
Then, a long message followed.
It was about this guy named Kamiya Yamato. How he had the worst personality, how he was persistent, how he caused an accident… The more I read, the more disgusting it became.
And at the end, it said this:
‘I want that person to develop feelings for you.’
“Huh? There’s no way I’d let someone like that get the wrong idea.”
My reply was immediate.
‘But according to my plan, there’s a chance Kawaguchi Yuto-san could get dragged into this.’
“Why the hell not! That doesn’t make it any reason for me to cooperate!”
‘No. You have no choice but to cooperate.’
A chill ran down my spine.
“Your family is pretty strict about romance, right?”
How did she know that?
Just the thing with Yuto was scary enough, but now my family too?
Creepy. Like I’m being watched.
“You can use my name as an excuse when meeting Kawaguchi-san.”
“…It’s true my family is strict, but I could just make friends without using you, right?”
“If possible, that is.”
I was at a loss for words.
Maybe because of my family situation, people have been saying it since middle school. That I’m too serious, scary, hard to approach.
Yuto was the one who just talked to me normally, even though he was a senior two years
“You won’t tell anyone about Yuto and me. In exchange, I can use your name as an excuse for dates?”
“Yes. That’s the condition.”
I stared at the screen for a while, unable to move.
But—I absolutely didn’t want to break up with Yuto.
“…Alright.”
The reply came immediately.
“Thank you. Now, for the first request.”
“Please run for the Sports Festival executive committee.”
“At that time, I’ll introduce you to Kamiya Yamato.”
Maiasa