After Being Dumped With the Insult, “You’re So Clingy!” and Finding Her in Despair, I Kept Encouraging My Beautiful Classmate and as a Result, That Beautiful Girl Started Directing Her Heavy Emotions Toward Me Instead, but Since I Like Emotionally Heavy Girls, It’s No Problem - 12

Chapter 12: ~Another Side: Futaba~ 2

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“La~♪ La~♪”

Futaba Jujoji was in an exceptionally good mood. She hummed to herself as she walked lightly down the school hallway.

…Two days ago, she had been dumped by Reiji Senkawa, the boy she once had feelings for, and her heart had been torn to shreds. However, she happened to run into her classmate Ichika Kokonoe, who encouraged her. After she began taking care of him when he caught a cold, her heart had gradually started to recover.

More than that, even her physical condition had improved. When she had been dumped, her body had felt heavy, as if it were bound in chains, and she had even suffered from headaches. But now, she felt none of that. On the contrary, her body felt as light as if it had grown wings, and instead of headaches, her mind was filled with thoughts like, “What should I do next to take care of Ichika?”

“Hmmm… Kokonoe-kun’s cold is already better… What excuse should I use next to take care of him? Oh, I know! Kokonoe-kun lives alone, and he’s kind of sloppy, isn’t he? So…”

Cleaning time had ended, and it was after school. Futaba immediately set out to find Ichika to put her new idea into action.

“Huh? He’s not here… Did he already go home?”

However, Ichika himself wasn’t in the classroom. Had he already left for the day? That was what she thought, but when she checked his seat, his school bag was still on top of his desk. No student would leave without their school bag. Which meant… he was still somewhere in the school building.

“Where did he go?”

Futaba left the classroom to search for him. She found him quickly. Looking down the hallway, she saw him entering an unused classroom at the far end of the second floor. Wondering why Ichika would go into an empty classroom that wasn’t currently in use, Futaba turned her steps in that direction.

However, she nearly ran into someone unexpected. Senkawa Reiji, the boy she used to have feelings for. If she faced him, he might hurl abuse at her again. Thinking that, Futaba quickly ducked into a nearby classroom just before they could cross paths. She stayed hidden and watched his movements. To her surprise, Reiji also entered the same empty classroom that Ichika had gone into moments earlier.

Ichika and Reiji, the two men connected to her, had both entered an unused classroom. This probably wasn’t a coincidence. Futaba understood that instinctively. No student would visit an empty classroom without a purpose. If that was the case, the two of them must have had a clear reason for going in there.

Though she knew eavesdropping wasn’t right, she couldn’t help being curious about their conversation, and she slowly approached the empty classroom. She opened the door slightly and tried to listen in. However, the moment she opened it, she saw Reiji heading toward the door. Futaba quickly hid in the shadows of the hallway again.

“I’m leaving.”

“Come on, just wait a second.”

She heard their voices from inside. It seemed Ichika was persuading Reiji, who was trying to leave. Convinced by Ichika, Reiji reluctantly returned to the classroom. Fortunately, the door remained slightly open. Futaba peeked inside through the gap Reiji had left.

“Sorry. The truth is, I saw you and Jujoji arguing the day before yesterday.”

“The day before yesterday…? Oh, that time. So?”

“I owe Jujoji personally. If possible, I’d like to resolve the cause of your dispute. That’s why I stepped in.”

It seemed the two of them were talking about the incident where Futaba had been dumped the day before yesterday. From what she heard, Ichika was trying to mediate so that she and Reiji could return to being childhood friends. As their conversation progressed, an unexpected truth reached Futaba’s ears.

“Don’t make me laugh. I’ve hated her the whole time. Ever since we were kids! Our parents were close, so I just hung out with her because I had to!”

The boy she had loved all this time had apparently hated her all along.

(Huh…? Why is that? I don’t feel that sad…)

Yet even after hearing that shocking truth, Futaba didn’t feel much sadness despite being told that the boy she once loved had hated her for years. Just two days ago, she had cried so much. Her heart had hurt so badly. Instead, her chest was now filled with disgust toward Reiji.

Why had she ever loved such a cruel man?

Futaba reflected. Back in elementary school, Reiji had been kind. He had been somewhat carefree, and taking care of him had been her purpose in life. But after that… once they entered middle school and both reached adolescence, Reiji began treating her roughly.

Even so, in Futaba’s heart remained the Reiji from those kinder days. Wanting him to return to that version of himself, she had desperately continued to take care of him. Unfortunately, that had all backfired and only resulted in him disliking her. In short, Futaba had kept idealizing her elementary school memories and convincing herself that Reiji was a kind person.

But after being verbally abused and physically assaulted by him, even that illusion had finally shattered. A truly kind person would never insult others or resort to violence. As if a spell had been broken, Reiji now looked nothing but cruel in Futaba’s eyes. His speech was rough, and when he got angry, he immediately lashed out at objects. He seemed nothing more than a brutish man.

Reiji had already become someone who no longer mattered to her. Instead, her thoughts were filled with Ichika. Just thinking about him filled her mind completely. A warm emotion overflowed in her chest. After all, he had continued encouraging her, even catching a cold in the process. And even now, he was acting out of concern for her. Perhaps he was what a truly kind person looked like.

(Ah… I see. So that’s what this is…)

Futaba understood the true nature of the feelings she had been harboring in her heart. At the same time, she found her next purpose in life. Her next purpose was to devote herself to Ichika. But if she acted the same way she had with Reiji, she might end up being hated again.

Humans were creatures that learned from experience. This time, she would not fail. Futaba let her thoughts race.

“I’ve got it! I just need to make sure I’m the only one in Kokonoe-kun’s head. I’ll devote myself to him and devote myself and devote myself and devote myself and devote myself and devote myself and devote myself… If I make it so he can’t live without me, then he’ll never hate me, right? And he won’t go to another girl either, right? Ufufu♡ Ufufufu♡”

In order to make her new love bloom, Futaba came up with an idea that veered in an unexpected direction. She had certainly recovered from her heartbreak. However, it had affected her heart in a negative way. To put it plainly… She had become a little unwell, in the head, to be precise. Reiji had repeatedly called her “heavy” and it was true that she had always had that tendency. The heartbreak had worsened it… No, it had awakened it.

“Now that it’s decided…Tthe early bird catches the worm, right?”

With that, she began to act toward her goal.

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