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 - 28

Chapter 28: Driving Away the Persistent Pests

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“The next class is Chemistry, huh?”

“It’s a class change. Ichika-kun, let’s go together.”

“Yeah, of course.”

It was the second day of pretending to be Futaba’s boyfriend. Just like yesterday, I behaved as her fake lover.

“Did you bring your textbook and notebook? Then let’s head to the chemistry lab!”

Saying that, Futaba naturally slipped her arm around my left arm. Moving around the school like this had already become the norm.

“HYO—! You two are lovey-dovey again today!” 

“At this point, you’re this class’s officially recognized couple.” 

“Watching you two makes me want a boyfriend too.”

And once again, our classmates teased us. We would do something, and the classmates would tease us for it. It was practically becoming a template. After being teased relentlessly yesterday, maybe my mind had gotten used to it, because I no longer felt particularly embarrassed by it.

…Getting used to things was scary. That was fine. However, a new problem had surfaced.

“Fufu♪”

“Ugh…”

“What’s wrong, Ichika-kun?”

“N-no… it’s nothing.”

“Really? Then may I hold onto you even tighter?”

“Huh?”

“Like this—squeeze♪”

“U-umm…”

“…Fufu. That’s a good trend. …More, more. Please become more conscious of me.”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“No, nothing at all♪”

“Really? …By the way, is your sprained ankle from yesterday okay now?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, Ichika-kun, it’s completely better.”

“I see. That’s good.”

The problem was… That I had started to become overly conscious of Futaba as a member of the opposite sex.

…Yesterday, as thanks for carrying her home, she kissed me on the cheek. But normally, a “kiss” was a special act shared between lovers. Even if we were only acting, that was going too far. In foreign countries, maybe it might happen as casual physical affection. But this was Japan. That kind of culture didn’t exist here.

I couldn’t really understand why Futaba would do something so special with someone who was only her fake boyfriend. And I was a guy, after all. If something like that happened, I couldn’t help but become conscious of her…

Even linking arms with her, which I hadn’t thought much about yesterday… Well, to be precise, I had been at least a little aware of it. I thought those feelings would interfere with my role as her boyfriend, so I forcibly tried to push them out of my head. But today, no matter how hard I tried to shake off those distracting desires, they refused to leave my mind.

Unlike a man’s rough skin, a girl’s skin was soft. Her lovely voice delighted my ears. The sweet scent drifting from her hair… Her smile was like the smile of a celestial maiden… Her charming gestures… All of it unsettled my heart. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I was flustered by her every move.

…I accepted the role of a fake boyfriend to remove the men who kept hitting on her and troubling her. And yet, if I ended up like this, it’d completely defeat the purpose. However, if I rejected her physical affection, others might start doubting whether we were really a couple. That was why I was agonizing over it like this.

Ahh, how am I supposed to resolve this?

For now, the only thing I could do was chant in my head, 『I’m just her fake boyfriend』, and desperately endure without misunderstanding things.

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“Hey, wait a second!”

On the way to the chemistry lab, someone called out and stopped us. When we turned toward the voice, there stood the popular guy from the soccer club, the one Futaba had refused yesterday when he offered to carry her to the infirmary.

“What do you want? Uh…”

“It’s Hachioji! Hachioji!”

“Oh right, that’s it. Hachioji.”

“At least remember my name, you background character! I’m Shozo Hachioji of Class 2-4, the handsome prince!”

Apparently, the popular guy’s name was Hachioji. We’d never interacted much, so I hadn’t even known it. Maybe he was irritated that I didn’t know him, because he shouted his name loudly. His self-introduction was so loud that students from other classes poked their heads out of their classrooms like curious onlookers.

“So, Hachioji, what do you want with me?”

“It’s not you I want. It’s Jujoji-san!”

“Me…?” 

Futaba looked at Hachioji with a puzzled expression, as if she had no idea why he’d want something from her.

“That’s right! Jujoji-san, why are you dating such a background character? Break up with him and go out with me! A beautiful girl like you deserves a handsome guy like me.”

Unbelievably, even with me—her boyfriend (role)—standing right beside her, Hachioji began openly hitting on Futaba in broad daylight.

Are you serious…?

Normally, if the person you liked already had a partner, you’d give up gracefully. Hitting on someone who already had a lover wasn’t ethically acceptable. That alone made me recoil, but he was also absurdly confident—no, drunk on himself. A narcissist. I was doubly put off.

…No wonder Futaba was sick of dealing with guys like this. I actually sympathized with her. When I glanced at Futaba, she wore an expression of utter disgust, like she’d just seen a cockroach.

“Whoa, what’s this? A love triangle over Jujoji-san?” 

“Hey, Hachioji, didn’t you see how lovey-dovey they were yesterday? There’s no room for you.” 

“I’m rooting for Kokonoe! Knock that narcissist Hachioji down!”

Voices like that rose from the onlookers.

…My role was to drive away the men who hit on Futaba. Then this was where I had to step up. I moved to stand protectively in front of her and declared clearly to Hachioji.

“Futaba is my girlfriend. I won’t hand her over to anyone. Get lost.”

“Well said, Kokonoe! Don’t give Jujoji-san to that guy!” 

“Kyaa! Did you hear that? I want someone to say that to me!” 

“Go, Kokonoe!”

Cheers erupted from the surrounding students. Apparently, I’d chosen the right words.

“I love Ichika-kun as well. I have no intention of dating anyone else!”

Futaba clung tightly to my arm as she said that. The onlookers roared again. Yet even after hearing that, Hachioji didn’t seem ready to give up.

“Jujoji-san, what do you even see in this guy? He’s plain-looking, and he doesn’t particularly excel in sports or academics. Wouldn’t you rather date me? I’m handsome and the ace of the soccer team.”

“No. Ichika-kun has strengths that no one else can surpass.”

“And what’s that? Something trivial, I bet.”

“It’s that he’s incredibly kind. That’s what made me fall for him♡”

“I’m kind too, you know?”

“…Specifically?”

“Huh? Well… I don’t yell like Senkawa does, and I’m not violent. See? Kind, right?”

“Isn’t that just basic decency as a human being? And truly kind people don’t speak badly about someone else’s boyfriend.”

“Ugh…”

They continued back and forth for a while, but Futaba’s logical arguments made Hachioji falter.

“Have you ever acted for someone else’s sake, even if you had a cold yourself?”

“Huh?”

“Ichika-kun continued encouraging me when I was sad, even though he had a cold. That made me so happy. He’s different from someone like you who merely thinks he’s kind. You’re just a self-proclaimed kind person!”

“Ghk…”

She was probably using that episode as justification to show why we were in love. So it wasn’t that she truly fell for me because of that… I understood that logically. But she said she’d been happy because of what I did. That fact alone made my heart leap a little.

Hey, I can’t just stand here.

I had to fulfill my role as her boyfriend.

“Hachioji, you heard her. We’re deeply in love. There’s no space for you here. I’ll say it again, Futaba is my girlfriend!”

After hearing Futaba’s story, the surrounding students began heckling Hachioji as well.

“So they had that kind of story between them… how lovely♡” 

“Kokonoe’s a good guy. No wonder she fell for him.” 

“Hachioji, you lose.” 

“Go home, you self-proclaimed handsome prince!” 

“Yeah, go home!”

“Tch, damn it!”

Unable to endure the jeers, Hachioji finally retreated. It was safe to say I had successfully fulfilled my role as a fake boyfriend.

“Woooo! Ichika × Futaba forever!” 

“Just get married already!” 

“The power of love.”

“Thanks, everyone! Be sure to come to our wedding!”

The onlookers showered us with congratulatory cheers after we successfully drove Hachioji away. Futaba went around thanking those who had supported us. But even if this was to show how close we were… wasn’t this going a bit too far? It was starting to feel like we were already guaranteed to get married in the future…

“Ichika-kun, now that the nuisance is gone, shall we properly head to the chemistry lab? Fufu♪”

“Y-yeah.”

With a fearless smile, Futaba once again wrapped herself around my arm.

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