I asked him to be my pretend-boyfriend but after a while I fell for him, but I can't seem to admit that fact! - Chapter 1: Asai-kun, the boy sitting next to me...

I’m not bragging, but I’m relatively popular.

“Imamura… Imamura… I like you… Can we go out?”

“Sorry… I can’t date you.”

Ever since I entered high school, I’ve been confessed to many times.

“…”

“Is there someone else you like?”

“No, it’s not that… I’m just not in the right mood.”

“…”

Sure, there is a person I do like—however, the person I like isn’t someone on the level of dating a celebrity or someone unreachable.

…We live in different worlds… That’s what they call an unattainable love.

“…”

“Thanks for giving me a clear answer.”

“No problem…”

Not every person who confessed like him turns out to be a gentleman though. Some might throw hurtful words or gossip. I’m always amazed at how people can say such mean things about someone they supposedly liked just because they got rejected.

At first, it was really tough mentally… but I’ve gotten used to it.

My friends often say, “Itsuki, you’re lucky to be popular,” but being popular isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

If anything, there are more downsides.

…

—First, the image.

Everyone thinks of me as a popular girl with a lot of romantic experience, but in reality, I’ve never had a boyfriend in my two years of high school.

My history of not having a boyfriend equals my age.

Naturally, I have zero experience in love.

Still, I receive frequent requests to give love advice. Honestly, I don’t know what advice to give, and if I tell them the truth, they treat me like a snobby jerk.

…I don’t really know the right answer anymore.

—Next, relationships.

This is the hardest part!

For instance, B-san likes A-kun. The three of us are very close. But the moment A-kun starts liking me, this relationship ends.

Romance instantly complicates relationships, even if I reject A-kun.

If I were to date A-kun, maybe our relationship would survive, but I don’t want that.

Some people may idolize me as a superhuman at the top of the school’s social hierarchy, but that’s a complete misunderstanding.

While not entirely isolated, contrary to my reputation, I only have a place in a limited community.

Out of jealousy, I sometimes face petty harassment or pranks—like today.

“…”

During afternoon class, an eraser disappeared from my pencil case.

“Hey, Asai, can you lend me an eraser?”

—Asai-kun, the boy next to me.

His hair is untamed, slightly wavy. His expression is hard to read with his bangs and glasses. He doesn’t seem too concerned about his appearance, yet he looks neat. He’s a bit of an enigmatic person.

“I have another one, so I’ll give you this.”

“Seriously? That’s a relief, thanks!”

Asai had two erasers and he gave me the new one. He was considerate. I could have said something like “I’m fine with the old one,” but I felt that might ruin his thoughtfulness, so I chose to accept the new one.

—The next day, as if to return the favor from yesterday, I gave Asai a character-designed eraser of “Zenjiro” from the trendy “Jujutsu no Yaibai.”

“Asai, I’m giving this to you. It’s a thank you for yesterday.”

Asai’s hairstyle was so similar to Zenjiro’s that it felt natural to give this one instead of returning the same eraser, which might have been the proper thing to do.

“Uh… what’s this?”

“It’s Zenjiro from the popular anime ‘Jujutsu no Yaibai,’ you know.”

“I see… So, why are you giving this to me?”

“Huh? It’s just a thank-you for yesterday… Uhm, do you not like it?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it… I just don’t watch much anime, so I don’t really know this character.”

“Really?! Didn’t you intentionally style your hair like Zenjiro?”

“…Maybe not.”

“Seriously?!”

…It wasn’t at all natural. I assumed everyone watched this trendy anime.

“Well, then, you probably don’t want it… I guess I made a mistake in choosing it.”

“No, I’m happy! Thanks, I suddenly really want it.”

“Really? That’s great! We’re matching now!”

For the time being, I covered it up with enthusiasm.

“Imamura-san, do you know a lot about this character?”

“Thank you for asking… I actually know a lot!”

“Since my hair is just like his, I got curious. Can you tell me?”

“Leave it to me!”

As a thank-you, it wasn’t the best choice, but well, this incident became the trigger for Asai and me to suddenly become closer.

As we talked, I realized that Asai was quite an interesting guy. He’s not a morning person and started taking morning baths to freshen up, but he ended up sleeping in the tub for 30 minutes anyway.

“Hey, then isn’t there no point in taking a morning bath?”

“Well, morning baths feel good, and it’s great for a second round of sleep… I just can’t stop.”

…The means have completely become the goal.

Actually, he’s not a morning person, so why add unnecessary steps?

…But it’s a heartwarming story that I don’t encounter often around me.

—And Asai and I also share the exact same taste in music. We both love rock music.

Asai’s growing his hair out because most of his favorite artists have similar hairstyles. Now that he mentioned it, his hair wasn’t entirely unkempt. Sorry about that.

“Oh, I checked out the band you told me about on a video site.”

“Wow, you watched it already. So, how was it?”

“It was amazing! I ended up buying their music.”

“That was quick!”

“I’ve listened to it so much I can practically sing along.”

“You’re really into it.”

“Going my way lifelong fighting♪ don’t stop let’s try myself hey guy♪ I got goosebumps from that part.”

“You can actually sing it! And, Asai, you’re… really good at singing.”

“Huh, really? It’s just humming, but I’m glad you said that.”

“Next time, let me hear you sing the whole thing.”

“Sure, I will.”

…Asai always listens to the music I recommend on the same day and tells me his thoughts the next day. That makes me quite happy.

I’m not super into underground music, but not following mainstream music much myself, Asai is the only one with whom I can discuss my favorite tunes.

He might be the most unassuming guy in class… but I was starting to become quite conscious of Asai, one way or another.