Do You Like Romantic-Comedy Protagonists? - Chapter 11: Do You Like Rom-Coms? 1

Chapter 11: Do You Like Rom-Coms? 1

The next day, Akaishi took an earlier train to school and was idly looking at his phone on campus.

A new entry, “Kyouko Hachiya,” had been added to his contacts.

He’d been given her phone number for emergencies, but knowing that his first contact with a peer of the opposite sex was purely for her romantic pursuits felt a bit disheartening.

He didn’t have feelings for Hachiya, but as a teenage boy, he wasn’t entirely unmoved by it either.

At Akaishi’s high school, bringing cell phones or smartphones wasn’t prohibited, as long as they weren’t used during class.

However, many students used their phones during breaks or after school, leading to an unspoken rule that it was fine as long as teachers didn’t catch you.

※

A week had passed since advancing to the second year.

In early April, Sakurai, the quintessential rom-com protagonist, had solidified his status in the classroom, treated with awe, admiration, and hostility by students.

The fact that some of the school’s top beauties were in the same classroom, all orbiting Sakurai, gave him an intangible but immense influence.

Ding-dong-dang-dong.

The usual cheerful bell rang, signaling the start of classes.

“Hey, yo, homeroom’s starting, so everyone sit down~”

Their homeroom teacher, Kanna, entered the classroom with a listless voice.

“Alright, today’s announcements~”

With no particularly important news, Kanna read off the usual announcements.

Akaishi cast a suspicious glance at her, wondering if even their teacher had a thing for Sakurai, while listening to the announcements.

“That’s it for announcements. First period today is the student council speech, so head to the gymnasium now~ Alright, dismissed~”

It being early April, the student council president election was taking place.

Kanna announced the end of homeroom and left for the staff room.

“Student council candidate speeches for first period? Easy.”

“No studying, so it’s chill~”

Students chatted casually as they headed into the hallway.

Following suit, Akaishi stepped into the hallway, where most other classes were already heading to the gymnasium. Blending in with the crowd, he started walking.

But the moment he took his first step, someone grabbed his sleeve.

“Hey, Akaishi! I need to talk to you!”

“Now…?”

Turning around, Akaishi saw Hachiya.

Hachiya whispered in his ear.

“I forgot to submit this morning’s assignment. Any way I can use this to get closer to Sousuke?”

“That’s not something to bring up now…”

Akaishi sighed.

“Then go grab Sakurai and head to the staff room to submit it. The teachers are probably getting ready for the gymnasium, so it might be empty.”

“Even if it’s empty, I don’t have a reason to ask Sousuke to come! How are you planning to get him to join me?”

“Any reason will do. Sakurai will come.”

Akaishi was certain.

No matter how trivial the reason, a rom-com protagonist would follow the heroine. Based on Sakurai’s personality, he was sure to come along.

“Hurry up and get away from me, or people might misunderstand if they see us. Go.”

“Alright… Fine, I’ll try.”

Hachiya parted from Akaishi, turning to find Sakurai.

Akaishi headed straight to the gymnasium.

※

“Sousuke, Sousuke!”

“Hm? What’s up?”

On his way to the gymnasium, Hachiya spotted Sakurai and grabbed his sleeve.

“I forgot to submit this morning’s assignment, so I’m gonna go turn it in now…”

“Got it, good luck.”

Sakurai gave her a cheer, but that wasn’t what Hachiya wanted.

Hachiya hid her nose behind her notebook, looking down slightly.

“I want you to come with me, Sousuke…”

“W-What…!? Why me!?”

Sakurai’s face showed clear shock as he stepped back.

“Um… Well… If you’re there, it’ll help if something happens! Like, if someone’s around, we can say we had a question for the teacher!”

“Can we… do that? Well… Maybe you’re right. The teachers are probably gone now, so let’s submit it quick and get to the gymnasium!”

“Y-Yeah, let’s hurry!”

Hachiya led Sakurai to the staff room.

As expected, the staff room was empty, enveloped in a quiet stillness.

But—

“The door’s locked…”

“Why!?”

With all the teachers out, the door was locked.

“Hey, Kyouko, what now?”

“What do we do…”

Hachiya paced in a circle.

Having finally gotten alone with the guy she liked, she was reluctant to turn back now.

“Wait… Kyouko, isn’t that window up there open?”

“…Huh?”

Prompted by Sakurai, Hachiya looked at the window above the door.

“You’re right…”

The window was slightly open. Maybe a teacher forgot to close it, Hachiya guessed.

“Sousuke, then we’ll sneak in through that window!”

“For real!? But how?”

“Well… That’s…”

Hachiya pretended to think for a moment, then—

“P-Piggyback! You’ll give me a piggyback!”

“W-What…!? You…!”

Sakurai’s face turned red, and he leaned back.

“There’s no other way! It’s the only option, so deal with it!”

“I-Idiot… Me giving you a piggyback…!”

Sakurai weakly protested, but—

“Shut up! We’re doing it! Hurry up and give me a piggyback!”

“S-Seriously…?”

Hachiya closed in, bringing their faces close.

Overwhelmed, Sakurai’s cheeks flushed even more, and he nodded.

※

“Hey, Sousuke, if you look up, I’ll never forgive you!”

“Ugh… Shut up! I get it! You’re the one who suggested this anyway!”

“Quiet! Do something about your wobbly legs!”

Having successfully gotten on Sakurai’s shoulders, Hachiya and Sakurai were arguing in the empty hallway.

Whether due to Sakurai’s lack of strength or on purpose, he wobbled, not getting closer to the window.

Hachiya’s short skirt left her bare legs pressing against Sakurai’s head, the sensation of her skin directly on his cheeks.

“You… Your thighs are softer than they look…”

“W-What…!? Don’t feel my legs at a time like this!”

Hachiya, blushing up to her ears at Sakurai’s comment, lightly smacked his head.

“Hey… Stop hitting me! That’s dangerous!”

“It’s your fault for saying pervy stuff!”

Breathing heavily from excitement, Hachiya looked down at Sakurai with unfocused eyes.

“Alright… Here we go…”

“If you look up, I’ll kill you!”

Sakurai grabbed the door, and Hachiya opened the window, climbing into the staff room.

“You didn’t look, right!?”

“N-No… I didn’t…”

Hachiya had to trust Sakurai’s conscience, but part of her wished he had looked, and she felt steam rising from her head.

“Okay, I’ll open it from here.”

“Please.”

Inside the staff room, Hachiya unlocked the door, letting Sakurai in.

“There it is!”

The forgotten assignment was for English, and the English teacher was their homeroom teacher, Kanna.

Hachiya slipped her workbook into the stack of English assignments on Kanna’s desk, completing the mission.

“Phew… Thank god, we made it.”

“Good job, Kyouko.”

“Eek!”

Sakurai grabbed Hachiya’s shoulders, startling her out of her tense state, causing a short scream.

“H-Hey, don’t touch me out of nowhere! You scared me!”

“Haha, you’re such a scaredy-cat.”

Sakurai responded casually to Hachiya, who glared at him with flushed cheeks.

As they moved to leave, a strange sound, neither Sakurai’s nor Hachiya’s, echoed in the staff room.