Do You Like Romantic-Comedy Protagonists? - Chapter 3: Do You Like Suijou Shio? 2

Chapter 3: Do You Like Suijou Shio? 2

“Why…”

“Huh?”

The words You like Sakurai, don’t you? nearly slipped out of Akaishi’s mouth.

But, perhaps afraid of hearing Suijou’s response, or realizing the dark, ugly desire swirling within him—hoping her affection might turn toward him—Akaishi closed his mouth.

“What’s wrong?”

Suijou, concerned about Akaishi’s state, asked if he was okay, but in contrast, Akaishi’s heart grew cold.

Was he villainizing Sakurai out of resentment that Suijou would never be his? The guilt of such dark desires crossed his mind, chilling his heart further.

Was he jealous of Sakurai?

“…”

Akaishi stopped thinking.

“No… It’s nothing.”

“Hey! You’re using polite speech again!”

Suijou raised a single finger to her lips.

Respecting Suijou’s upright character and pushing aside the fact that she was smitten with Sakurai, Akaishi regained his usual self.

“Right… My bad. I was asked to deliver a CD to Arai, so I’ll drop it off and head home.”

“Oh, really? Wanna go to the clubroom together then?”

Akaishi peeked down the hallway where Sakurai had been, but his figure was gone, likely having entered the clubroom.

“The clubroom’s right there, huh~”

Perhaps having noticed Sakurai’s voice was no longer audible, Suijou trotted to the clubroom door and placed her hand on the knob.

“Hello~”

“Hey, Shioricchi, yo!”

“My, you’re late.”

“Morning, Shiorin.”

“Suijou-chan, you’re a bit late!”

“H-Hi~”

Suijou greeted the members of the broadcasting club, and Akaishi quietly slipped in behind her.

Inside the clubroom, Sakurai was surrounded by four female students, idly chatting without doing much else.

Behind Sakurai, who was encircled by girls, a few other students were hunched over, tinkering with equipment.

“I’m totally not like that!”

“Whoa… Got it! Suijou’s here, so can we drop that topic already?”

One of the entourage verbally attacked Sakurai.

“No way, no way! I was thinking about Sakurai-kun, you know!”

“Hey, you said something stupid again, didn’t you!?”

Another entourage member scolded Sakurai, hitting him.

“Ow… That hurts! What’s with you, you violent girl!”

“W-Who’re you calling a violent girl!”

“Stop it, you two. It’s unsightly.”

Takanashi stepped in to calm them down.

“See, Takanashi’s saying so too…”

“You too, Sousuke-kun.”

“W-What, me too!?”

“Hahaha! Sousuke, you idiot, getting scolded~”

Arai, trying to lighten the mood, teased playfully.

“Shut up, Yuki!”

They weren’t practicing vocal exercises, working on broadcasting club materials, or holding meetings or discussions—just students chatting joyfully.

Akaishi felt a slight irritation at the sight of them chatting instead of engaging in club activities.

Perhaps part of it was because he wasn’t in a club himself and harbored some longing for such casual interactions with others.

“Oh… Akaishi…? You came with Suijou?”

Spotting Akaishi, who had quietly entered behind Suijou, Sakurai was the first to address him.

It wasn’t “What’re you doing here?” or “Finished with class duties?” but “You came with Suijou?”

Was it a wicked desire to monopolize Suijou, one of his entourage, or a malicious assumption born of jealousy over the many girls who liked Sakurai? Akaishi’s expression remained unchanged as he mentally weighed various possibilities.

“Hold on a sec…”

Mid-sentence, Suijou winked at Akaishi.

“Keep quiet about it,” that’s what she meant.

“I ran into Suijou from the broadcasting club out there, and it felt awkward coming in alone.”

“Huh, really?”

Sakurai nodded, satisfied with Akaishi’s explanation.

Suijou gave a small thumbs-up for Akaishi’s smooth cover, and Akaishi responded with a faint wry smile.

“Oh… and Kanna-sensei asked me to give this to Arai.”

“Oh, got it. Thanks, Akaishi.”

Sakurai took the CD from Akaishi.

“Yuki, Miho-nee sent a CD for you.”

“You didn’t say anything about that!”

He handed it to Arai.

The overly natural action cast a shadow over Akaishi.

Why didn’t Sakurai let Akaishi hand it directly to Arai?

It might not be strange, considering it saved Arai the trouble of moving, but despite clearly naming “Arai” as the recipient, Sakurai acted as the intermediary.

Was it an attempt to prevent Arai and Akaishi from interacting, or was it entirely Akaishi’s malicious speculation?

“Well, I’ve delivered it.”

“Yeah, thanks, Akaishi.”

Having handed over the CD, Akaishi turned and left the broadcasting clubroom.

※

Did Sakurai indeed have a desire to monopolize every single one of his entourage, or was he unconsciously acting that way…?

As he headed home, Akaishi kept thinking.

But he couldn’t ignore the possibility that his personal envy of Sakurai, surrounded by girls, was seeping into his thoughts, and Akaishi reprimanded himself.

Even setting aside personal feelings, the reason so many girls were drawn to Sakurai was incomprehensible.

It was still impossible to understand why.

While his mind burned intensely, Akaishi also acknowledged the possibility that personal jealousy or feelings of inferiority toward Sakurai had surfaced today.