Do You Like Romantic-Comedy Protagonists? - Chapter 1: Do You Like Yuki Arai?

Chapter 1: Do You Like Yuki Arai?

Having graduated from middle school and entered high school, he was swept by a new breeze.

Starting anew, relationships with those around him changed drastically, and the degree of freedom increased significantly with this advancement.

In such a time, there’s something commonly known as a “high school debut,” but without achieving any notable debut, he, like everyone else, entered high school thoughtlessly, living the same way as others to simply keep up.

During middle school, he wasn’t particularly noticeable, caused no trouble, hung out moderately with a moderate number of friends, and lived a moderate life.

When Akaishi advanced to his second year of high school, he witnessed something peculiar in the classroom.

A single boy, Sakurai, surrounded by five girls.

From that moment, Akaishi was constantly preoccupied with why this boy was so popular, yearning to know the reason.

It might stem from a deeply dark emotion. Perhaps envy—wanting to be as popular with girls as Sakurai—was what sparked such feelings. But understanding why Sakurai was popular was also a matter of pure curiosity.

As an ordinary male student, Akaishi naturally had his share of desires, but like many other boys, he lacked the boldness to casually chat with girls.

Ordinary adults living in society similarly go through life without questioning, without experiencing a “popular phase,” and without causing significant trouble.

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What exactly made Sakurai different from them?

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Ding-dong-dang-dong.

The familiar, cheerful bell rang through the school, unchanged as always.

Today, too, the usual, unchanging classes ended, and it was after school.

Most students busied themselves with club activities, while a few who weren’t in clubs, the “go-home club,” headed home.

Akaishi was part of the go-home club, but today he was on class duty, so he had to stay a bit longer to handle those responsibilities.

“Hey, Yuki. I took notes for you today. Seriously, don’t always make me do this…”

“Ah, Sousuke! Thanks, I love you!”

“Yeah, yeah, got it, got it.”

While Akaishi was doing class duty after school, nearby, Sakurai and one of his entourage, Arai, were chatting affectionately.

Her reddish-brown hair reached her shoulders, and her appearance exuded a lively and energetic spirit, a girl slightly smaller than average.

Her large eyes widened with interest, resembling a cat locking onto its prey, and she had the aura of an athletic girl, making her quite popular among the boys at school. In fact, she had achieved remarkable results at the school’s athletic festival.

Sakurai placed the notebook he’d taken during class on Arai’s head with a light tap, and Arai turned around, accepting it with a smile.

This feels like something straight out of a rom-com… Akaishi thought, indulging in a strange sense of nostalgia.

After putting the notebook in her bag, Arai trotted over to Akaishi.

“Seriously, so sorry! Akaishi, I left you with all the class duty. I’ll help out now, so let’s finish this quick, okay?”

“Sure.”

Today, Akaishi was on class duty. And Arai, whose attendance number came right after Akaishi’s, was also on duty.

After exchanging brief instructions, Akaishi and Arai worked efficiently on their tasks without further conversation.

They cleaned the blackboard, took out the trash, wrote details about today’s lessons, and handled other class duty chores.

While Akaishi and Arai were diligently working, Sakurai was talking with a more mature-looking girl.

Her beautiful golden hair flowed down to her waist, and her well-developed figure suggested refinement, giving her the air of a refined young lady. Her sharp, almond-shaped eyes matched her elegant demeanor, but her sharp tongue was her flaw.

Yet, perhaps as a silver lining, her harsh words, combined with her striking appearance and sharp-witted verbal precision, made her oddly popular among students who “wanted to be scolded.”

Her name was Takanashi Yayoi, and despite her mature, almost older-sister-like demeanor in every gesture, she was a classmate in the same year.

Akaishi had attended the same middle school as Takanashi, but they had no direct interaction.

However, Akaishi had indirectly been helped by Takanashi in the past, and he looked at her with eyes filled with deep respect.

“Oh, Sousuke-kun, what’s this?”

“What? Just some gum Yuki gave me.”

“You’ve got some nerve accepting things from girls other than me. I’ll have to teach you a lesson.”

“Why?!”

Akaishi didn’t notice himself smirking at the fact that Takanashi, too, was unmistakably one of Sakurai’s entourage.

Takanashi continued talking to Sakurai, paying no attention to Akaishi.

“I’m about to head to club activities… Sousuke-kun, what about you?”

“Oh, right. Guess I’d better get to the clubroom soon.”

With that, Takanashi and Sakurai slung their school bags over their shoulders and approached Akaishi and Arai.

“We’re heading to the clubroom. Want us to grab a couple of drinks for you guys?”

Sakurai offered to buy drinks for Akaishi and Arai. A couple of drinks… meaning Akaishi was included in the offer.

“Uh… um, we’re almost done, so just wait a sec! Please, I’m begging you!”

Arai clasped her hands together, pleading with Sakurai.

Akaishi, not wanting to inconvenience Sakurai and Takanashi by making them wait, stepped in to help. More than that, he didn’t want to see Takanashi like this any longer.

“No… I’m in the go-home club, so I’ll finish up. We don’t both need to report to the teacher.”

“Seriously?!”

Without the slightest hesitation, Arai jumped at the offer.

“Alright.”

“Sorry, Akaishi! I’ll leave the rest to you!”

Arai briefly clasped her hands toward Akaishi, and then Takanashi, Arai, and Sakurai left the classroom.

“Sousuke, you’re so cool today too! I love you!”

“There you go again, saying stuff like that in a place like this…”

“Hmm… You’ve got some nerve today, Arai-san. Do you realize I’m Sousuke-kun’s main wife?”

“No way, it’s not like that!”

The three walked down the hallway, chatting noisily.

Sakurai and all five of his entourage were in the same club.

Akaishi didn’t know the details, but they were apparently in something like the broadcasting club.

He didn’t know what the broadcasting club did, but it made sense that Sakurai and his entourage were close, given they were in the same club… or so it seemed.

Akaishi pondered these pointless thoughts.

He finished the class duties one by one, completing the final task.

But then, Akaishi noticed a subtle sense of unease.

When Arai was present, Sakurai had offered to buy drinks for both Akaishi and Arai, but the moment he knew Arai was going to the clubroom, he completely stopped considering buying anything for Akaishi.

Sure, Akaishi and Sakurai weren’t exactly close.

They’d never spoken before, and Sakurai had club activities to attend.

Offering drinks to both Arai and Akaishi but not to Akaishi alone might be perfectly reasonable.

However, when Arai, a girl, was there, Sakurai offered drinks for two, but when it was just Akaishi, a boy, he didn’t make the offer.

That fact alone left a deep, dark, murky residue in Akaishi’s mind.

Why was Sakurai’s behavior different when it was the two of them versus just Akaishi?

He fully understood that closeness played a role. It would be odd to buy drinks for someone you’re not close to.

But the fact of the matter was that this behavior fueled Akaishi’s distrust.

When Arai was around, did Sakurai offer drinks to prove he cared about her? To ensure Arai wouldn’t drift away from him? Did he think that by being kind to a girl, she’d pay more attention to him?

He speculated.

Akaishi indulged in dark, deep, murky, malicious assumptions.

In the end, wasn’t it just about wanting to look good to Arai?

Fearing that Arai might be taken by someone else, he offered drinks to monitor any changes in her relationship with Akaishi.

Even if Sakurai didn’t consciously think this, deep down, wasn’t there a dark, possessive desire swirling within him?

Akaishi couldn’t help but entertain such malicious speculations.