A Beautiful Girl Confessed Her Love to Me as a Punishment Game, but After We Started Dating, She Started Getting More and More Obsessive - Chapter 2

I, the socially awkward loner, was confessed to by the most beautiful girl in class as part of a punishment game.

To be precise, I was chosen as the target for the punishment game, which was, “Date the guy you want to go out with the most in this class.”

If this were a romantic comedy, there would probably be some hidden backstory like, “Actually, Kiryu and I were childhood friends, and I was the only one who forgot our past, but for some reason, Kiryu has always liked me just as I am, unchanged from back then…” But no, nothing like that.

I’ve always been naturally shy, so even if I go back to the earliest memories I have, I never had any close friends. And I’ve never even had a conversation with Kiryu before, so there’s no way she could have any romantic feelings for me.

My guess is that Kiryu didn’t like how everyone was pushing her to go out with Fujisaki as part of the game, so she picked me randomly as a form of revenge.

If my seat wasn’t assigned here during the seating change, someone else would’ve been chosen. Whether I’m lucky or unlucky, I don’t know.

I’m not expecting, even one bit, to actually become romantically involved with Kiryu, but at least I’ll have the experience of “dating the class Madonna” to add to my life.

That memory will probably serve as a bright spot for me, since I’ll likely never have another chance to date anyone in the future.

Lost in a bit of a daze, the class ended before I knew it.

I packed my textbooks into my bag, which was hanging beside my desk, and took out my lunch box.

In light novels, it’s typical for loners to eat in the bathroom, but the toilets are surprisingly crowded during lunchtime, so it’s not really ideal for a quiet meal.

Besides, at our school, eating anywhere outside the classroom is against the rules.

The true way for a loner to live is to finish lunch as fast as possible after class ends and then rush to the library.

I’m not particularly fond of being alone, so I’d welcome invitations to eat or hang out anytime. But no one ever invites me.

Why don’t I invite someone, you ask? I don’t have that kind of initiative.

“Can I borrow this seat?”

“Oh, sure. Go ahead.”

As I spread out my furoshiki and opened my lunch box as usual, Kiryu came around and pulled the desk in front of me closer to face me. She nonchalantly took out a plastic container and placed it on the desk.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Oh, um, no…not at all.”

Lunch with the most beautiful girl in class. It’s supposed to be a pleasant situation, but my stomach suddenly started to hurt. I should be hungry, but I can feel my appetite fading. Maybe it’s the nerves making my stomach tense up.

Kiryu’s container had only salad in it. That’s all.

She didn’t seem to have anything else with her. Without even adding any dressing, she simply started picking at the salad with a fork and eating.

So healthy. No wonder she’s so beautiful.

“What?”

“Oh, I just thought…your meal looks like something a model would eat.”

“Is that so? Actually, I’m copying them.”

Kiryu looked a little pleased.

“Are you aiming to become a model or something?”

“Not really. This is mostly just a hobby of mine.”

“I see…”

I popped a piece of rolled omelet from my lunch into my mouth and ate some rice after that.

I could chew, but swallowing was difficult. The conversation died out, and I awkwardly averted my gaze.

It’s lunchtime, yet the classroom felt oddly quiet for the first time.

Everyone in class was looking at us.

It wasn’t just because Kiryu is beautiful.

The fact that I, a loner with no social standing, was chosen by Kiryu, the most popular girl, as “the guy she wants to date the most,” and now we were having lunch together.

If I were someone else, I’d probably be watching too.

I’m sure everyone in class could hear our conversation. So, I might as well ask her about it.

“Um, Kiryu…why didn’t you choose Fujisaki?”

“Are you asking why I chose you over Fujisaki?”

“Well, yeah, I’m curious about that too, but I’m more interested in why you didn’t pick Fujisaki in that situation.”

“That’s simple. I didn’t want to go out with Fujisaki.”

“Is it because you don’t like being teased like that?”

“Well, it was annoying, but that’s not the reason. We don’t get along, he’s indecisive and sneaky, and I don’t find him attractive as a guy.”

“I-I see…”

The already quiet classroom became even more tense.

Was it wrong of me to ask that?

I didn’t think Fujisaki was someone Kiryu disliked.

“Kirino, that was a bit harsh.”

“You’re the one who started this whole punishment game, right?”

“Huh? Toru said he wanted to do it!”

“Both of you, calm down. There’s no point fighting about this right now.”

Fujisaki and Dachi started arguing after Kiryu’s harsh words, and Saigo stepped in to mediate. …This argument somehow feels like it’s proving Kiryu’s assessment right, and it left me with an uneasy feeling.

“…By the way, why did you choose me?”

“Because when Ichika suggested that boring punishment game, the only ones who didn’t make weird faces were Saigo and you.”

“Weird faces…?”

“The ‘maybe I’ll be chosen’ face.”

“Ah…”

Yeah, there were plenty of guys making that face. Even I thought it looked creepy.

“So, you picked me by process of elimination?”

“To put it bluntly, yes.”

Since Saigo seems to be liked by Minami, I guess that left me as the only option.

It’s pretty much what I expected, but it’s clear now that Kiryu doesn’t like me for some mysterious reason.

Nothing’s going to happen between me and Kiryu, and this whole thing will naturally fade away soon.

The rest of the class probably understands that now too, so I’m glad we put an end to any strange rumors before they could start.

All I can say is that I feel sorry for Fujisaki, who got harshly rejected before anything even began.