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!

Irritated Imamura-san

Lately, I’ve been feeling quite irritated.

It’s because a lot of girls are getting too close to Asai for some reason.

Leading the pack is Otomura Kanona, Asai’s junior in the Solo Electric Guitar Club (Interest Group).

With her distinctive large eyes and a baby-faced appearance, she’s quite the charming girl. And despite her innocent look, she has a body that’s really appealing for guys.

I also can’t quite warm up to her calculated behavior.

She frequently comes to our classroom during breaks and approaches Asai.

“Senpai~ Could you help me for a moment?”

She uses such a sweet, cajoling voice while trying to close the gap between her and Asai.

“Sure… what is it?”

“Right here, this.”

She presses her ample chest against Asai.

“You’re so close… Kanona-san, you’re really close, I can’t see properly.”

She’s having him check her sheet music.

“Oh, I’m sorry… my eyesight isn’t great, so please forgive me.”

She says this while subtly making more physical contact. She’s very touchy.

And to top it off… she occasionally shoots provocative glances in my direction. Kanona must see me as Asai’s girlfriend and a rival.

This is clearly meant to provoke me.

“Itsuki~ You seem to be in a bad mood again today.”

“It’s not like that.”

“That girl, she’s really something… she definitely got her sights set on Asai.”

Yuuka seems to see it the same way.

“Are you okay? You don’t have to be confrontational…”

“It’s okay… Asai and I understand each other.”

“But Itsuki… deep down, you probably…”

…Yuuka knows. She knows that Asai and I aren’t really dating.

If it wasn’t a pretend relationship, I would’ve wanted to say something to the two of them to confront them about what they are currently doing.

If I was his real girlfriend, I might not even be feeling like this.

In the end, this pretend relationship is becoming a burden for me.

The girls approaching Asai aren’t limited to just Otomura Kanona.

“Asai-kun, you’re here again today.”

This time it’s Aki Mitsu, from another class and a member of the Light Music Club.

“No matter how many times you come, my answer won’t change.”

“Aww, don’t say that.”

Unlike Kanona, she isn’t pursuing Asai romantically, but she’s desperately trying to recruit him for the Light Music Club.

“I asked Otomura-san, the club meets three times a week, right? You don’t have to come every day, but could you at least visit the Light Music Club on those two free days?”

Asai’s club meets three times a week because he keeps two days free for me. So It’s not like he’s available for those 2 open days.

“Sorry, it’s impossible… I value my time with Imamura-san too.”

Huh…

“As rumors say, you two are really in love.”

“Haha… well, that’s the situation, so I’m sorry.”

“I won’t give up, though! I’ll come back!”

He’s so clear about it, saying it’s all for my sake… that’s how Asai is.

He’s really the one who’s able to stir my heart up..

“Yeah… you two really understand each other, huh.”

“Exactly.”

If you just saw this scene, you’d really think that.

But… recently, Asai…

“Hey, Asai, let’s go to karaoke today.”

“I’m really looking forward to hearing Asai’s singing.”

“It’s fine to leave me out on those sometimes, right? You can hang out with me without any problems, but just now always..”

He’s popular even among the girls.

“Well… anyway, today’s not a good day.”

“Aww, you always say that.”

“So boring.”

“When are you ever going to come?”

The reason for this is that when Kanona went to the Light Music Club to borrow a guitar amp they had, there was a disagreement with the club president. And of all things, Asai ended up performing a song from ‘Inherit Sound’ in front of the Light Music Club members.

Apparently, someone recorded it on video, and Asai’s reputation spread like wildfire.

“He looks just like ‘Inherit Sound’!”

“His imitation of Akira is incredibly accurate!”

“Not just his singing, but his guitar skills too!”

Well, it’s natural since he is the real deal… but his reputation has suddenly skyrocketed from being a quiet character to a campus sensation in such a short time. I feel bad for Asai, and I’m also not amused by it.

This is the reason why he got invited to the Light Music Club and why the girls are inviting him to karaoke.

Well, if you straighten things out, it’s all thanks to Otomura Kanona.

Personally, I feel like I need to settle things with her someday… that’s what I’m thinking.

***

After school, perhaps in tune with my emotions, the weather forecast was proved wrong as the weather turned into a heavy storm.

“The rain is pretty intense.”

“Yeah…”

The impact of the typhoon had halted transportation, and I received a message from Mom saying that they were joining Dad and my older sister to stay at a hotel.

At the end of the message, she added, “If your boyfriend is with you, let him stay over.”

Huh… stay over — that means it would just be me and Asai tonight!

But with this rain, sending him home is risky, and besides, being alone at night is… scary!

For now, I decided to talk to Asai about it.

“My parents and sister are meeting up and staying at a hotel tonight.”

“I see… that’s probably better.”

“And they said you should stay over too.”

“I see… that’s probably better.”

He… he agreed to stay over so easily. I thought he’d say something like, “That’s not good, Imamura-san, it’s not appropriate for me to stay over.”

“Huh? Imamura-san, what did you say just now?”

Wait… did he miss what I said?

“You should stay over too, Asai.”