Do You Like Romantic-Comedy Protagonists? - Chapter 16: Do You Like House Visits? 2

Chapter 16: Do You Like House Visits? 2

“Well… surely there’ll be a reply after I finish dinner!”

Muttering to herself as if to convince herself, Hachiya warmed up frozen food.

Her parents were executives at a major company, so dinner was always frozen meals, pre-made dishes, or takeout.

Hachiya quickly plated the heated food.

“Thanks for the food.”

She hurriedly ate and rushed back to her room.

First thing, she turned on her phone.

Ping.

“Ah!”

Reacting to the notification sound, she opened “Kaofu,” only to find the usual message from her parents saying they’d be late.

“Sigh…”

No reply from Akaishi had come.

※

Tick, tick.

The sound of the clock in her room felt unusually loud.

Three hours had passed since Hachiya sent her barrage of resentful messages to Akaishi.

It was 9 p.m., and since Hachiya usually went to bed at 11, bedtime was approaching.

“It’s gotta be a mistake, a mistake! He hasn’t seen my messages yet!”

Desperately convincing herself, Hachiya opened “Kaofu.”

“…”

As expected, no reply. The “read” mark was still there, undeniable.

“Sigh…”

Hachiya was utterly dejected.

“What do I do…”

She regretted what she’d done.

“What do I do, what do I do.”

Repeating the same words like a broken doll.

“What did I do wrong?”

With no reply forthcoming, Hachiya grew anxious.

“Maybe something happened while he was writing a reply…!”

A sudden thought struck her.

“That’s it! That must be it! I need to call him now!”

Imagining Akaishi collapsed alone in his room, Hachiya immediately called him.

Ring-ring-ring, click.

“Hello, Akaishi!”

Beep, beep, beep.

“…”

The call connected.

Akaishi wasn’t in an accident or dead.

“…”

He hung up.

He picked up and hung up right away, before she could say anything.

“…Why?”

No one had ever treated her like this, and tears welled in Hachiya’s eyes.

Why wouldn’t Akaishi listen to her? Why no reply? Why, why, why?

Tears overflowed, blurring her vision.

“W-Well, whatever! I like Sousuke, and he’s just a tool to help my love life!”

Wiping her tears, Hachiya muttered rapidly, convincing herself.

“…”

But she couldn’t brush it off.

Hachiya loved Sakurai. But that didn’t mean she could shrug off others’ hostility.

She didn’t like Akaishi romantically.

But she found comfort in their dynamic, where his rational rebuttals met her unfiltered words.

Even if she couldn’t understand his rationality, she liked it.

She didn’t want to think he’d given up on her.

“Hic… Sob…”

Before she knew it, tears she’d held back streamed down her cheeks.

Hachiya was a fragile girl.

Despite her sharp tongue, her heart was as delicate as glass.

She felt sad, not angry, that her call was cut off.

To protect her heart, she used violence.

To protect her heart, she spoke harshly.

To protect her heart, she convinced herself.

To protect her heart, to protect her heart, to protect her heart.

To keep her fragile heart from breaking, Hachiya had always interpreted things in her favor.

Thanks to her beauty, others rarely criticized or insulted her.

Everyone considered her feelings. But she couldn’t interpret a hung-up call positively.

Distrust had piled up, and she couldn’t imagine Akaishi was kidnapped or something.

“Ugh… Sob…”

Crying, Hachiya took a bath.

She no longer expected a reply from Akaishi tonight.

Shhh…

With lifeless eyes, Hachiya showered, replaying her actions.

She hated how Akaishi jabbed at others’ insecurities, yet she’d said he ate lunch alone in the bathroom, attacking his.

Why had she said that? She deeply reflected.

She’d blurted that she had no female friends, but recalling when Akaishi teased, “You don’t have friends?” she hadn’t denied it, just said, “That’s none of your business!”

Maybe Akaishi didn’t know she had no female friends, she realized.

Why had she gotten so angry? Guilt consumed her.

Maybe she’d lashed out to suppress her feelings. Why had she done that?

Emotions swirled in her chest.

She hadn’t said she had no friends, yet assumed Akaishi did, mocking him for eating alone.

Despite liking Sakurai, she’d burdened Akaishi.

She’d dismissed his rational identity as flawed, denying his social skills, agency, and humanity.

Despite asking for his help with Sakurai, she’d wrongly assumed he was jealous.

Guilt overwhelmed her.

Lost in thought, Hachiya showered.

Why had she said those things?

Why invite him to her house tomorrow?

If she could, she’d turn back time.

She desperately wished it.

Turn back time and undo it all.

That was her only wish.

Hachiya weakly turned off the shower, soaking wet, draped a towel over her shoulders, and returned to her room.

Water dripped from her, wetting the floor.

She glanced at her phone.

“…No reply… right…”

With a self-deprecating chuckle, she picked it up.

Unsure if she hoped or not, she turned it on.

It was 10:30 p.m.

Ping.

A sharp notification from “Kaofu” sounded.

Startled, Hachiya’s shoulders jumped.

“Don’t hope, don’t hope.”

Squinting, she cautiously opened “Kaofu.”

Three replies from Akaishi awaited.

“I did it!”

Her eyes sparkled, and she bounced on her bed, running around her room naked.

“I did it!”

In her empty house, she shouted to no one.

After calming down, she sat back on her bed.

Brushing back dripping hair, she read Akaishi’s replies.

“I leave class at lunch to eat with guys from other classes, so I do have friends.”

“You might be right, my bad. I’ll come tomorrow. Send me your address.”

“Also, sorry.”

Short and to the point, unlike her message.

She started typing a reply.

Thrilled by his response, her emotions surged.

“Hey, your reply’s so late! And why’s mine so long and yours just a few lines!? That’s not fair! Plus, you hung up when I called! Why’d you—”

She stopped mid-message.

“This is just like before…”

Stopping herself from repeating the mistake, she deleted it and wrote anew.

“I’ve got lots to say, but I’ll tell you tomorrow. I’ll call with my address, so leave at 9.”

Instead of venting curses, she kept it businesslike, like Akaishi.

“Got it.”

A curt, one-line reply came, so Hachiya handled chores and went to bed.

Relieved to have a reply, one thing nagged her.

“Sorry.”

Despite her guilt, Akaishi apologized. Thinking about why tightened her chest, but she pushed it aside.

She couldn’t oversleep with Akaishi coming, so she forced a reason and closed her eyes.

It took far longer than usual to fall asleep.