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!~
Lunchtime the next day.
As usual, I grabbed my lunchbox and headed for the space between the storage sheds.
The air behind the school building was just a little cooler than in the classrooms. People’s voices sounded distant, and even the cheers from the sports clubs on the field were muffled here, as if filtered through a thin veil.
My little home.
And, according to Hoshimiya, her vacation home.
The moment I stepped into that spot, Hoshimiya was already there.
She had her lunchbox on her lap and a paperback-sized manga in one hand. The cover featured the title of a spin-off: “School Romantic Comedies Don’t Need Youth!!”
“You’re early.”
“I was waiting for Seita.”
Hoshimiya looked up and smiled.
That smile was completely different from the professional photos she’d sent me yesterday. No costumes, no makeup. Just her school uniform and a slightly relaxed expression.
And yet, to me, this version of her seemed far more dazzling.
I sat down next to her.
Somehow, sitting there no longer felt strange. That fact scared me a little.
“How did yesterday’s interview go?”
“I said it just right. I said I want someone who sees me for who I really am.”
Hoshimiya said this as if it were nothing special, while opening the lid of her lunchbox.
But the tips of her ears were slightly red.
“Won’t that be a problem if it gets published?”
“It’s fine. They didn’t use my name.”
“It’s not just a matter of whether they used your name or not…”
“But Seita would know, right?”
Hoshimiya looked at me.
Deep within her eyes, there was a light a little stronger than yesterday’s.
Words she’d directed at someone as Rino Hoshimiya.
But in truth, they were words meant for me.
I knew that deep down.
“…Well, a little.”
“A little?”
“Quite a bit.”
When I finally admitted it, Hoshimiya narrowed her eyes happily.
The moment I saw her face, my heart started racing again.
I’ve been acting really strange lately.
Hoshimiya’s every expression makes my mood swing so easily.
As we started eating our lunches, Hoshimiya pushed the spin-off manga toward me.
“I read this on my way home from work yesterday, and it was really good.”
“A spin-off?”
“Yeah. It’s a story about how the heroine was saved by the protagonist without him even knowing it.”
“That sounds like something you’d like, Hoshimiya-san.”
“I do.”
Her answer was immediate.
She opened the book and pointed to a certain panel.
It depicted a scene where the protagonist unconsciously spoke to the heroine. To him, it was just a casual remark. But to her, it became a source of comfort she would never forget.
I looked at that panel and fell silent for a moment.
Hoshimiya looked at me.
“Seita, do you hate protagonists like this?”
“I don’t dislike them. It’s just that I think a protagonist who does things that leave a lasting impression on people without even realizing it should take responsibility for it.”
“You’re the one saying that, Seita?”
“…It’s heavy precisely because I’m the one saying it.”
Hoshimiya gave a small laugh.
But that smile quickly faded.
“You know, I understand how a heroine like this feels.”
Hoshimiya closed the manga.
“Even if the other person said it casually, it stays with me forever. I remember it over and over, adding my own meaning to those words, cherishing them. Before I know it, even when that person isn’t around, my mind is filled with thoughts of them.”
“……That’s a bit heavy, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. It is heavy.”
Hoshimiya didn’t deny it.
If anything, she quietly acknowledged it.
“But you’re the one who did that, Seita.”
At those words, I stopped eating.
The wind blew through the cracks in the warehouse.
Hoshimiya’s hair swayed slightly.
“I get complimented by all kinds of people at work. ‘You’re cute,’ ‘You’re beautiful,’ ‘That’s typical of Rino Hoshimiya.’ But Seita didn’t see me that way. He picked up the manga I liked, saw how scared I was, and stayed by my side without even asking my name.”
Hoshimiya’s voice was gentle.
But the emotions lying beneath were heavy.
“That’s why I want to stay inside Seita.”
She gently grabbed my sleeve.
“Not as Rino Hoshimiya, but as Rino.”
I couldn’t say a word.
Hoshimiya the celebrity.
Hoshimiya the school heartthrob.
Hoshimiya, who calls herself my childhood friend and has wormed her way into my daily life.
All of that connects to the single girl standing right in front of me.
And I found myself unable to look away from any of it.
“…You’re already here.”
Before I knew it, those words had slipped out.
Hoshimiya’s fingers froze.
“Huh?”
“Hoshimiya, you’re already pretty much stuck in my head. Actually, you’re stuck in there so much it’s a problem.”
The moment I said it, my face grew hot.
It’s over.
What am I saying?
Hoshimiya froze.
Still holding her lunchbox, she stared at me without blinking. Gradually, her cheeks turned red, the color spreading all the way to her ears.
“Seita…”
“Please forget what I just said.”
“I can’t.”
Her answer was immediate.
“I’ll never forget it. This moment today has become a special memory for me.”
“Please don’t create any more memories.”
“It’s already happened, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Hoshimiya tightened her grip on my sleeve just a little.
Her eyes were a mix of joy, anxiety, and a determination not to let me slip away.
“Seita.”
“Yes.”
“I think I can do my best at work today, too.”
“Do you have work today?”
“Yeah. A shoot this evening. So I can’t walk home with you after school.”
Hoshimiya’s expression clouded over just a little.
“But since you said those words to me during lunch break, I’ll be okay. Probably.”
“So it’s a ‘probably,’ huh?”
“If you take too long to reply, I might not be okay anymore.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Definitely.”
“…I’ll reply as soon as I notice.”
Hoshimiya finally smiled.
Seeing that smile, I let out a small sigh.
She really is a pain.
She’s clingy, she’s too close, and she turns everything I say into a memory right away.
But I no longer hated spending time with her, talking about the side story to I Don’t Need Youth!!.
In fact, I was looking forward to it a little.
If I came to this spot during lunch break, Hoshimiya would be here.
I found myself thinking that.
The pre-bell rang.
Hoshimiya closed her lunchbox, looking reluctant to leave.
“Shall we head back?”
“Sure.”
When I stood up, Hoshimiya lined up beside me.
Just before we stepped out of the gap in the storage shed, she whispered softly.
“Seita, please come here tomorrow too.”
“I come here all the time, don’t I?”
“Yeah. But I wanted you to say it.”
I thought for a moment before answering.
“I’ll come. Whether you’re here or not.”
Hoshimiya smiled happily.
“Well then, I’ll definitely be here.”
Those words carried a lot of weight.
But that weight made my heart feel a little warm.
I’ve already been pretty much consumed by the presence of Rino Hoshimiya.
To deny that would be impossible—I’d spent far too many lunch breaks with her
Maigetsu