Chastity Reversed: Part-Time Life by the All-Girls High School - Chapter 35: Don’t Call Me “Cute”

Don’t call me “cute”.

I was a playboy—a “slut”, if you will. 

I had brought countless girls back to this single-person apartment. If the me from my old life were to hear about that, I believed he’d recoil in shock.

“Hah…”

Still, this was the first time I had ever allowed a guy to stay over at my place. I found myself more nervous than I ever had been with a girl—probably.

As I wiped down my body with a towel, I exhaled quietly.

“…Man, that was close.”

I almost used the hairdryer on max power. Since I didn’t want to wake him, I dried my hair on the energy-saving setting that I never otherwise touched.

[I like ‘cool’ people,]  his words echoed faintly in my mind. [That’s the type I’m into]

“…Well, overthinking’s never a good idea, huh?”

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’d ask him outright. 

That would solve everything. If he shot me down without hesitation, then it would all be over. Even if he seemed reluctant to talk about it, I wouldn’t push further.

That’s all—no more, no less.

“…Hah—”

The sound of his steady breathing filled the room. Peaceful, unguarded. Even while asleep, he looked like he belonged in a polished magazine spread. A proper idol, through and through.

The complete opposite of me. He’d probably been called “cute” thousands of times by girls, whereas I… well, I was at the bottom of the barrel as a “man”.

Yet, despite that gap between us, we were friends now. 

Male friends. Sharing the same room. And between us—there was no place for something like “that”.

It had been so long since I felt like this. Allowing myself to relax into that sensation, I was unexpectedly overcome by sleep.

“Goodnight, Kanata.”

As my consciousness faded, I thought I heard a voice gently whispering in my dreams.

***

“…He’s asleep, right?”

The soft sound of his breathing confirmed it. Lying there in bed, he was sound asleep.

Earlier, when I stepped into the bathroom to wipe myself down with a sweat towel, I noticed something on the sink. 

Women’s hair wax and makeup products.

The kind of stuff you’d see in advertisements with images of strikingly “cool” women. Things guys didn’t usually touch.

“You’re really… the opposite of what I’d expect.”

Year two. From the moment I first laid eyes on Sora in our new classroom, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him.

A guy, yet always surrounded by girls. Talking to them, laughing with them. The topics of his conversations too—he spoke like he was one of them.

As if he were… a “girl”.

“Wow… Third year already, huh?”

Me? I wasn’t “normal”.

Back in middle school, I was scouted on the street. I turned them down at first, but they insisted, saying, “That’s okay! We want you anyway.” I thought it was impossible. Somehow though, here I was, still working as an idol.

It was a busy life. I had tons of work and plenty of fans. Every day, people called me “cute”.

—Girls did, that is.

“…”

Naturally, the guys in class didn’t take kindly to me. To them, I was the enemy. 

It made sense. If someone I liked called another guy “cute”, I’d hate him too. I understood that much.

But knowing that didn’t make things easier.

[Why does he even bother coming to school? Shouldn’t he just stick to being an idol? Isn’t his army of fans enough for him?]

As my popularity grew, so too did my enemies. By the time I entered high school, most of the guys in my grade had turned against me.

It was rough. I could avoid reading comments online, but classmates weren’t so easy to ignore. There were days I thought about quitting school entirely.

But everything changed in year two. Those harsh voices seemed to fade away.

[Sato, we’re playing basketball during break. You in?]

[Nice, count me in!]

[Sato, let’s hit the arcade after school!]

[Ah, sorry, I’ve got a shift today]

[Sato-kun, you’ll get sick if you eat so little. Here, have some of mine.]

[Thanks, class rep.]

It was all thanks to one boy.

Sora.

The way the girls spoke to him was strange—almost as if he were one of them. Naturally, the other guys ostracized him for it. But he didn’t seem to care. He’d go on chatting with the girls like nothing else mattered.

As if that was where he truly belonged.

“…Sora, you’re amazing.”

The cruel remarks that used to echo through the classroom stopped. It wasn’t that they disappeared entirely, though. Rather, they had shifted their focus—to him. 

Despite everything, he bore the brunt of it without flinching. Because of him, I could show up to school every day without dreading it. 

Of course, I was sure Sora didn’t even think about me at all. But still, I had him to thank for the fact that I was able to attend school. A selfish gratitude, but gratitude all the same.

“…”

So, I wanted to repay him in some way. Selfishly.

I never intended to make friends. Hanging out meant needing a disguise, and my schedule was packed, anyway. It’d only make the loneliness worse in the long run. So, I figured being alone in high school was fine.

But then Sora appeared.

“I get it, you know.”

You probably wanted friends. Real, male friends. Deep down, after being so hated by other guys, you must have craved that connection.

We were alike, you and I.

But unlike me, you didn’t push people away. You chose to stay close, to accept them. I thought if I just spent time with you, I could fill that role.

And it worked. Over time, we grew closer. Your smile came more easily.

But then… I started to enjoy our time together more than I expected.

Let’s go, partner. If you survive, it’s worth the risk!

You were more fun than I thought.

Looks like I win this time.

You were cooler than I expected.

You’re seriously adorable, you know?

And then, when you said things like that…

“…”

Your words twisted something inside me.

[I like ‘cool’ people] I had told you. [That’s the type I’m into.]

But being with you made me want things I shouldn’t—things that, as an idol, I wasn’t allowed to admit even to myself.

“Sora…”

Without meaning to, my voice came out thick and sweet. I leaned closer to quietly observe your sleeping face.

Your solid, muscular frame, so different from mine. That deep voice that carried authority. Those sharp, almost feminine eyes. And your large, calloused hands peeking out from beneath the blanket.

“…”

Before I knew it, my own hand reached out to hold yours. My heart pounded louder than ever before.

Thump. Thump. Heat pooled deep in my stomach, making it ache. A longing I didn’t know how to name. 

Anything more than this would be dangerous.

“…”

So please. I beg you.

Don’t throw words like “cute” around carelessly.

Because if you do, I won’t be able to stay just your “guy friend”.

“…Goodnight, Sora.”

I, who am “not normal”,— 

Can’t help falling for you, who are the same.