After Distancing Myself From the Childhood Friend Couple Who Looked Down on Me, I Started Interacting With a Small Animal-Like Beautiful Girl

[Daiki’s Side]

–––It’s okay, it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong.

The words I told myself in front of the classroom door lost their meaning in a matter of seconds.

I’m sure I greeted them with my usual smile and tone of voice.

Why is no one talking to me?

My cheek twitched.

I somehow managed to keep a smile plastered on my face as I headed back to my seat.

On the way, I heard hushed whispers from around me.

“Oh, here he comes. The one who ruined yesterday’s after-party.”

“Hey, is it true that Ootomo-kun’s actually kind of violent?”

“I heard he was shouting all kinds of nasty stuff during the party yesterday.”

I bit my lip tightly and sat down.

It seems the news from yesterday is already circulating throughout the class.

For someone who’d always been on top of the class to mess up like that is perfect gossip.

And if I think about my own influence, this outcome was only natural.

“…Damn it.”

Clasping my slightly trembling hands together, I desperately try to suppress my anger.

If I yell again here, I’m sure to be looked at with even more disdain.

I was good at feigning expressions, and acting to be liked felt like I was an actor, even feeling good about it.

Lowering my head to avoid the gazes of those around me, I shift my gaze sideways.

Ahead, there were Yamaguchi, who had attended the launch yesterday, and Saitou Ino, who looked a little sulky.

And then, the childhood friend I hate more than anyone or anything was laughing while talking to those guys.

…Because of that guy.

I clenched my molars so hard I thought they might bleed, and glared at Yukito’s face.

I quickly averted my gaze as I remembered yesterday’s celebration.

During the party yesterday, the topic shifted to Yukito.

I couldn’t believe that just a little effort on his part was enough for everyone to praise him. It ticked me off, and honestly, the ones doing the praising annoyed me even more. Before I knew it, I snapped and shouted.

The moment I saw the looks on everyone’s faces, I realized I’d messed up. So I quickly put my popular mask back on.

I laughed it off while saying things to them that I’m actually glad that Yukito’s finally getting recognized. But since I’m his childhood friend, it’s complicated. Maybe I was just a little jealous. I also added an apology for ruining the atmosphere.

I was very unhappy about having to apologize for something so minor, but I couldn’t afford to let the image I’d built come crashing down.

But the reaction from the people there, especially those who were enthusiastically talking about Yukito, was unforgiving.

“Come on, no way. He blew up that hard, and you’re saying it was just jealousy? That’s messed up.”

“That’s too scary… I didn’t realize it was really like that.”

“It’s not even a gap, it’s so far off the mark it’s hilarious.”

Glances filled with disappointment and contempt pierce one after another.

Even Yamaguchi, the one who brought up Yukito, is looking at me with cold eyes.

Panic rising in my chest, I glanced at the person who would likely be my ally in this situation.

The woman in my field of vision swayed her smooth hair and stared at me with frightened eyes.

…Had I glared too hard in desperation?

I turned to my other option, Azuma, but he flinched and looked away instantly.

The same guy who’s always showering me with praise when things are easy, yet when I’m in trouble, he doesn’t even bother to cover for me. I never expected much from him anyway, but the fact that even Yuika, who was supposed to be crazy about me, didn’t step in to help.

It felt like the ground was crumbling beneath my feet.

I’m standing in a precarious place, where there’s a cliff right below me.

Clenching my fists, I told everyone I was leaving first and left the karaoke place.

The regret, shame, and anger I felt on the way back home are still coiled in my chest. There’s never been a morning when I have woken up feeling worse than today.

I opened my phone and looked at the LINE history, where my messages to Yuika and Azuma after getting home hadn’t even been read.

Azuma doesn’t matter at this point.

The problem is Yuika. There’s no way the girl who was always saying she loved me could just lose her feelings like this so quickly.

I have to talk to Yuika today. If we talk one-on-one, she will tell me why she didn’t say anything at karaoke and why she ignored my messages.

Even though it’s not over yet. And still, my heart thunders painfully loud in my chest.

It was just one mistake. One slip-up. I even swallowed my pride and apologized. That should’ve been enough.

But the reality is this.

There’s probably no one on my side, not even in my class, maybe not even in other classes. After all, the people at the after-party yesterday weren’t just my classmates.

The familiar voice, whether I liked it or not, reached my ears, and I couldn’t help but look.

Yukito was there, laughing happily between two girls. One tiny and doll-like, the other glamorous in a way completely different from Serika.

And there, I see the me from yesterday overlapping.

Surrounded by group members like Azuma and the popular guys in class, with Yuika right next to me.

That flawless setup made me feel like I was standing above everyone else.

In just one night, Yukito and I had switched places.

My insides feel like they are burning hot.

Those who easily turned their backs, Yamaguchi, who created this situation, and the anger toward Yukito, whom I can’t forgive more than anyone else, are burning me up.

Until the morning homeroom started, I kept staring intently at my desk.