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!~
We ended up going to Hoshimiya’s house, and I followed her there.
Still, it was a first for me.
Going to a girl’s house like this.
I’d been to my male friends’ houses a few times. Playing video games, trading cards, or just hanging out lazily while munching on snacks. I had some experience with that sort of thing.
But going to a girl’s house was a whole different story.
And the person in question was Hoshimiya Rino.
The school’s top idol, a current celebrity, and a girl who calls herself my childhood friend while aggressively encroaching on my daily life—she’s heavy, a hassle, and sometimes hopelessly cute.
I could feel my heart beating at a slightly faster pace than usual.
Hoshimiya seemed somewhat happy.
Rather than walking beside me, she was walking slightly ahead, as if guiding me. Her steps were light, and every so often she’d glance back to make sure I was keeping up. Every time our eyes met, she gave a small smile.
I wish she’d stop.
When she looks at me like that, it makes it hard to run away.
Eventually, Hoshimiya stopped in front of a certain building.
I looked up.
There, towering above us, was a high-rise apartment building that looked every bit the part of a luxury residence.
A glass-walled entrance. Manicured flower beds. A needlessly spacious foyer. Just from the exterior, I could tell it was in a different class from the world I lived in.
“This is it.”
“…It really feels like the home of a top idol.”
“Hehe. It makes me blush when you say that, Seita.”
Hoshimiya scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
Her reaction was strangely ordinary, and I almost let a small smile escape.
Even though the building was like another world, the girl beside me was just the same as always.
We walked straight into the building.
The entrance was spacious, and even the air felt clean. The floor was polished stone, the lighting was soft, and there were even sofas and potted plants arranged throughout. It was the kind of space where you could easily mistake it for a hotel lobby.
I couldn’t help but gasp.
Hoshimiya unlocked the automatic door with practiced ease and guided me to the elevator.
We stepped into the elevator.
Once the doors closed, we were alone in the quiet cabin.
The floor indicator slowly climbed upward.
I felt strangely nervous.
It’s just playing cards.
If I thought of it that way, it seemed perfectly normal.
But the fact that I was going to a girl’s house kept pulling my thoughts in an unhealthy direction.
“Seita.”
“Yes.”
“You can’t run away, okay?”
Hoshimiya said this without looking at me.
“I won’t run away.”
“Really?”
“If I ran away after coming this far, I’d just look like a suspicious stranger, wouldn’t I?”
“Seita does run away sometimes.”
Hoshimiya’s voice softened just a little.
It sounded like she was teasing me, but there was a hint of sincerity in it.
I couldn’t say a word.
Silence fell inside the elevator.
Soon, the doors opened on a floor near the top.
The hallway was quiet, too. It was as neat as a hotel, and even my footsteps felt a little hesitant.
Hoshimiya stopped in front of a door and unlocked it.
“Please come in.”
“…I’m intruding.”
I stepped into the entryway.
Hoshimiya’s home was quieter than I had imagined.
I had pictured a room that was more glittering, more befitting a celebrity. I had assumed, without any basis, that there might be flashy furniture, large mirrors, and rows of designer accessories.
But the reality was different.
The entryway was tidy, with shoes neatly lined up. A faint scent lingered in the hallway, and small frames adorned the walls. It felt lived-in. But it wasn’t cluttered. It was a quiet, clean, and slightly lonely home.
Hoshimiya walked ahead of me and led me to a room in the back.
“This way.”
She opened the door.
It was Hoshimiya’s room.
I knew it the moment I walked in.
On the wall hung a tapestry that read, “School Romantic Comedies Don’t Need Youth!!” On the shelves, romantic comedy manga, romance manga, dark fantasy, and manga adaptations of popular anime were neatly arranged. Unlike my room, where manga had taken over the floor, everything here was properly organized.
On the desk were school supplies and a deck in a sky-blue sleeve I’d bought yesterday.
A small cushion was placed on the bed.
Even though the overall color scheme was subdued, it was a room where Hoshimiya’s favorite things truly came to life.
“…It’s amazing.”
“Is it?”
“It’s so tidy.”
“What about your room, Seita?”
“Please don’t ask.”
Hoshimiya chuckled softly.
Then, she picked up the deck that had been sitting on the desk.
“Alright, let’s have a match.”
The sky-blue sleeves were as pristine as new.
Hoshimiya held them as if they were truly precious. It might be natural since she’d just bought them yesterday, but the way she handled them seemed to convey a connection that went beyond mere possession.
We sat facing each other and began preparing for the match.
“By the way, Seita. Did you bring your deck to school?”
“Y-yeah. I was actually planning to stop by a card shop on my way home.”
“I see. Well, that works out perfectly then.”
Hoshimiya shuffled her deck with an unpracticed touch.
I, too, cut my deck meticulously, following the habit I’d developed from practicing alone.
And so, the match began.
“So, should I go first?”
“Go ahead.”
Hoshimiya’s opening hand wasn’t bad for a beginner.
But, naturally, there were many things she didn’t understand.
“Should I play this first?”
“You should save it for now. It’ll be strong if you combine it with this one next turn.”
“I see.”
“That effect goes after I’ve finished handling this one.”
“So, order is important.”
“It’s quite important.”
At first, we played while checking the rules as we went.
Hoshimiya furrowed her brow several times, struggling with the specific turn order and timing unique to card games. But once she understood something, she picked it up quickly. She’d use what I’d just explained as early as the next turn.
She really is smart.
Or maybe it’s the comprehension and concentration she’s honed through her work in the entertainment industry.
“Alright, I’ll go for a direct attack with this.”
The first match.
The winner: me.
“Muu… one more time.”
“You really hate losing, don’t you?”
“I want to beat Seita.”
“You’re a beginner, so you don’t need to rush it.”
“I want to win.”
Hoshimiya’s eyes were serious.
The second match.
Hoshimiya didn’t make the same mistake as before.
She had thoroughly memorized how to use the cards I’d taught her and built her board more skillfully than I’d expected.
“Do this with this, and attack the player!”
Second match.
Winner: Hoshimiya.
After freezing for a moment, her face suddenly lit up.
“I won!”
“You did win.”
“I beat Seita!”
“Well, I was explaining as I went along, but…”
“But I won!”
Holding her hands together in joy, Hoshimiya wasn’t the usual top idol—she was just a girl who had won her first card game.
Third match.
I finally decided to take it a little more seriously.
“I’ll use this card to destroy Hoshimiya-san’s shield, then attack right away.”
The third match.
The winner: me.
It was a best-of-three, and I came out on top.
That said, Hoshimiya’s rate of improvement was extraordinary. She used what she learned in the first match during the second, and corrected the mistakes she made in the second match during the third. Her ability to pick things up was incredible—you’d never guess she was a beginner at card games.
“Hoshimiya, you’re actually getting pretty good at this.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You pick things up fast.”
“Seita praised me.”
Hoshimiya smiled happily.
Seeing that smile made me feel a little happy too.
We kept playing a few more matches after that.
We won some, we lost some.
Sometimes Hoshimiya would play a card at a weird moment and we’d both laugh, or I’d get hit with an unexpected counter and be genuinely surprised. Before I knew it, my initial nervousness had faded quite a bit.
I was in Hoshimiya’s room.
I was playing cards in a girl’s room.
I had gradually grown accustomed to that surreal situation.
I glanced out the window and saw the sky was tinged with dusk.
A pale orange light was streaming into the room.
“Well, I guess I should head home soon.”
I said that, stood up, and started to put the cards away.
Just then, Hoshimiya’s hand grabbed my wrist.
I looked up reflexively.
Hoshimiya looked like she wanted to say something.
“Are you leaving already?”
“—Eh, no, well. It’s already evening.”
“……”
The light in Hoshimiya’s eyes suddenly dimmed.
I caught my breath.
Here we go again.
I thought I’d hurt her again.
I’d only said I was going home. Given the time, it was only natural. But to Hoshimiya, it might have carried a different meaning.
Being left behind.
Being abandoned.
Being separated.
She’s far too sensitive to things like that.
The next moment, Hoshimiya pulled on my wrist.
“—–!?”
Losing my balance, I found myself being pulled toward the bed.
A soft sensation.
Before I knew it, I had ended up pinning Hoshimiya down.
Me on top.
Hoshimiya on the bottom.
Her hair, spread out across the bed, shimmered in the evening light. Her eyes, now free of her fashion glasses, seemed to have lost their sparkle, yet deep within them, a faint flicker remained.
So close.
Too close.
I could feel Hoshimiya’s breath.
The hair brushing against her cheek. Her slightly rumpled uniform. Her lips. Her gaze.
All of it stopped my thoughts.
Hoshimiya looked as if she had made up her mind.
It was as if she were preparing to accept a kiss—or something more.
“Hoshimiya…?”
“You don’t have to run away.”
Her voice was low.
“Huh?”
“I know what I did. But you don’t have to run away.”
“But—”
“When we’re this close, you always try to run away, don’t you, Seita?”
Hoshimiya said this while looking up at me.
“At school, in the warehouse, and even during our match today. Whenever I get a little closer, you always pull back somewhere.”
“Well…”
“Why?”
I couldn’t answer.
I tried to speak, but the words caught in my throat.
I know the reason.
Because I already know what awaits me when I get too close to someone.
I get close, and I’m rejected.
I fall in love, and I’m avoided.
I get my hopes up, and I’m turned down.
That scares me.
I’m afraid to hear those words again.
“Please don’t get close to me anymore.”
That voice still lingers deep in my heart.
Hoshimiya’s hand grabbed my sleeve.
Her grip was weak.
But she didn’t let go.
“You told Kyosuke about middle school, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“The things the teacher said, and what the girl you liked back then said. Not everything, but I heard a little bit.”
“It has nothing to do with you—”
“It does.”
Her answer was immediate.
“That’s why you’re running away, Seita.”
I fell silent.
Hoshimiya continued.
“You’re afraid that if you get close to someone, you’ll get rejected again, aren’t you?”
She was right.
She was right—so right it almost made me angry.
Hoshimiya’s voice softened slightly.
“What the teacher said back then… it wasn’t your fault, Seita.”
“I can’t say that.”
“Yes, it is.”
“It’s my—”
“It’s not your fault.”
She cut me off.
I looked at Hoshimiya.
She was looking right back at me. Her gaze didn’t waver.
“The reason you were told not to get close to the girl you liked, and the reason the teacher got angry at you—it wasn’t because Seita was a hopeless person. It was just that you were surrounded by those kinds of people, and those were the words they hurled at you.”
“……”
“And Seita, who was hurt by that, was just genuinely suffering.”
I couldn’t speak.
It felt as though she had touched something I’d been pushing deep into my heart—not roughly, but with certainty.
“And yet, Seita thought it was all his fault, so he stopped getting close to people and started wearing a mask. Isn’t that right?”
I didn’t answer.
Even without an answer, I felt like she understood.
“That mask comes off when you’re here.”
Hoshimiya said this while still holding onto my sleeve.
“When we were talking about ‘I Don’t Need Youth!!’ in the warehouse, at the card shop, and even today. I can see Seita’s true face clearly.”
My heart skipped a beat.
Had anyone ever told me before that they could see my true face?
I’d told Kyosuke a little bit about my past.
But this was the first time anyone had told me they could see who I was in this very moment.
“So, you don’t have to run away.”
Hoshimiya said slowly.
“Not when you’re by my side.”
Those words were sweet.
And heavy.
Hoshimiya slowly closed her eyes, still holding onto my sleeve.
“…Are you scared?”
“I’m not scared…”
I started to say, but stopped.
It was a lie.
There was no way I wasn’t scared.
I was scared.
Of the distance between us right now.
Of her feelings.
Of what was beginning to grow inside me.
But deep in my heart, there was something else besides that fear.
The time Hoshimiya had spent by my side over the past month.
The hand that offered me rolled omelet.
The words written on a notepad.
Her face, shining with excitement at the card shop.
Her focused fingertips as she slipped cards into sleeves.
The way she nodded repeatedly today while listening to my explanation.
All of those moments are lined up here now, taking shape within me.
—Ah.
Maybe this is what it means.
I quietly moved away from Hoshimiya.
I sat back down at the edge of the bed.
Hoshimiya sat up as well, running her fingers through her tousled hair as she glanced my way. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. She looked as if she’d just realized, belatedly, that her earlier actions had been too bold, even for her.
“Seita.”
“…I understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“I won’t run away. As much as I can.”
Hoshimiya’s eyes widened slightly.
Then she smiled slowly.
There was no calculation or pretense.
It was simply the face of someone who was happy.
Seeing that smile, I could no longer completely deny how I was feeling right now.
This is the worst.
We’re not even childhood friends.
We’ve only known each other for a little over a month.
And yet, my heart beats like this.
Her smile makes me feel so at ease.
“I’m heading home.”
“Okay. Come visit again.”
“…I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t just ‘think about it’—come visit.”
As she walked me to the front door, Hoshimiya said that.
I put on my shoes and stopped in front of the door.
“Hoshimiya-san.”
“What?”
“Thank you for today.”
Hoshimiya narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Likewise. Thanks for coming.”
The door closed.
Left alone in the apartment building hallway, I stared at that door for a while.
I went to Hoshimiya Rino’s place.
We played cards in Hoshimiya’s room.
Hoshimiya told me I didn’t have to run away.
It didn’t feel real.
But the sensation of shuffling the cards still lingered on my fingertips.
When I opened my phone, Hoshimiya’s name was in my contacts.
I could no longer see it as just the name of a classmate.
My daily life had been encroached upon by her once again.
But strangely enough, I didn’t mind today’s encroachment.
Maigetsu