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 2: Asai doesn't match his appearance...

“Itsuki, you’ve been hanging out with Asai quite a lot lately.”

She’s Komori Yuuka.

We’ve been friends since middle school, one of the few close friends I have had.

She’s 158 cm tall, looks great with her short hair, and has that cute girl vibe coming.

“Yeah, he’s really funny.”

“Is that so? He’s got annoying hair, wears glasses, is pale, and is always messing with his smartphone though. Is he an otaku or something?”

I thought the same at first. Well, I’m still always on my phone, too.

“That’s true, he’s got his quirks… but when you talk to him, his responses are really funny, he’s a good listener, and he’s soothing to be with. He’s unexpectedly enjoyable to be with.”

“I see… Being a good listener is a big plus!”

“Yeah, that’s right. Yuuka, you’ll understand what I mean if you talk to him.”

“Well, maybe I’ll try talking to him sometime.”

“…Sure.”

Wait? What is this feeling? I’m the one who suggested it, but now I feel a bit uncomfortable.

“Anyway… it’s an unexpected combination.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s like, Itsuki stands out, right? But Asai is plain and unnoticeable… like two completely opposite people getting close.”

“Hmm, I don’t really think so.”

“Terasawa went crazy with jealousy, saying ‘Aren’t I a better guy than him?'”

“The way Terazawa tries to be assertive is a turn-off… He’s interesting to talk to, and I don’t hate him, but still.”

“Haha, he does try too hard… So, what’s the real story with Asai?”

“What do you mean?”

“There are rumors that you’re dating.”

“Umm…”

Somewhere along the line, Asai and I became the subject of rumors in the class.

Talking with Asai is so enjoyable that we’re together almost all the time while at school. Chatting with Yuuka like this is a rarity, too.

“I’m curious, but… I still don’t really understand.”

“Hmm… oh, could it be that you’re still hung up on Akira-sama?”

“No… I do understand reality, so it’s not like that.”

—Akira-sama is the guitarist and vocalist of “Inherit Sound,” a rock band that’s explosively popular among young people right now. He might be the only trendy artist I’m actually into.

“Well, Inherit Sound has become incredibly popular since then.”

In reality, both Yuuka and I had a small connection to Inherit Sound when they weren’t as popular as they are now. And with my lack of resistance to the opposite sex back then, I… sort of fell for Akira-sama at first sight.

“Hey, my phone’s missing.” While Yuuka and I were lost in reminiscence, Kakiimoto, someone I don’t get along with, and his entourage started causing a commotion.

“Didn’t you forget it since we were in a different classroom earlier?”

“Well, I put it in my bag because I thought I might forget it… so annoying.”

“Want me to call it for you?”

“Hey, can you?”

…The ringtone came from my seat. Kakiimoto’s seat is about four rows away from mine, two seats in front of Yuuka’s. If it’s in my bag, it should be ringing from my seat… Could this be…

“It’s ringing from here.”

Kakiimoto moved to my seat—

“Huh? Is it possible that your bag is making the sound? Imamura… Did you steal it?”

He loudly confronted me in front of the whole class.

“Huh, Imamura… did you steal Kakiimoto’s phone?”

“Are you serious…”

“Stealing… Isn’t that serious?”

“Come on, Itsuki wouldn’t do something like that.”

Half the class seemed to believe Kakiimoto’s words, while the other half was skeptical. Regardless…

“I didn’t steal it.”

It’s a false accusation, no doubt. There’s no benefit in me stealing it, and I didn’t even know that Kakiimoto put his phone in his bag.

“Then why did it ring from Imamura’s bag?”

“I have no idea about the whereabouts of Kakiimoto’s phone.”

As this exchange continued…

“How about we search Imamura’s bag?”

“Yeah, that seems like the quickest way.”

Kakiimoto’s group of girls intensified their suspicion towards me.

A fight… I’ll take it.

“Fine, go ahead and search.”

I didn’t steal it. I said that naturally… but I had a strong sense of unease.

Could this… possibly be a setup by Kakiimoto or someone else?

Could it be that Kakiimoto or some malicious third party placed the phone in my bag beforehand, with the purpose of framing me?

Just a while ago, my eraser was messed with… is this happening again?

— I felt like I had set a flag up myself.

“Imamura, I’ll check.”

“…Sure.”

There’s no way it will turn up.

…There’s no way it will turn up. There’s no way it will, because I didn’t steal it.

But what if it does turn up?

No way… I should have checked my bag beforehand.

“Wait, Kakiimoto-san.”

Just as Kakiimoto was about to take my bag, Asai intervened.

“Isn’t this Kakiimoto-san’s phone? It was under my bag.”

“Why do you have it, Asai?!”

“Why?… Because it was there.”

“That… that can’t be right, it was definitely in my bag…”

In my bag…⁉︎

“What’s in your bag?”

“Uh… it’s nothing… thanks.”

And then, as if nothing happened, Asai casually stopped Kakiimoto who was about to return to his seat.

“Wait, Kakiimoto-san.”

“W-What?”

“You should apologize to Imamura-san properly… It’s not good to just casually suspect someone.”

…He made Kakiimoto apologize to me.

“…Sorry, Imamura.”

“It’s fine, everyone makes mistakes.”

“That’s good, Kakiimoto-san… Imamura-san is kind… If it was me…”

And then, that quiet Asai—

“I think I would’ve beaten him until his face was almost unrecognizable.”

For me, he openly threatened Kakiimoto with anger.

“Just kidding, just kidding… Don’t take it seriously, Kakiimoto-san. As an apology, I’ll show you something interesting.”

When Asai showed his phone to Kakiimoto, Kakiimoto’s face turned pale, and Asai returned to his seat as if nothing happened.

***

During lunch break, I invited Asai to the rooftop and thanked him.

“Asai… Thank you for earlier.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Regarding what happened with Kakiimoto…”

“Oh, that… But Imamura-san didn’t do anything wrong anyway, so you don’t need to thank me.”

“That might be true, but…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Even if he tells me not to worry, there are various reasons for me to be concerned.

“Hey, what were you showing Kakiimoto?”

“Oh, this.”

Asai showed me a video on his phone. It captured Kakiimoto putting his phone into my bag.

“Evidence of Kakiimoto’s misdeed.”

“That guy… He was really trying to set me up, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah… Should I have condemned him more mercilessly?”

“No… I think that was enough.”

Kakiimoto… he was seriously scared.

“Kakiimoto-san… he was doing it so blatantly even though I was right next to him.”

“Huh… why?”

“He probably didn’t notice me… I feel a bit sad about my own lack of presence.”

Stealth level: High!

“Well, well, because of that, I’m safe now!”

“That’s true, I think things worked out well in that sense.”

However, Asai… he was surprisingly harsh with his threats.

“Oh! Imamura-san! I took the liberty to search your bag!”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Even though he showed an unexpected side of himself, that’s where his concern lies. As expected, Asai is still Asai. It’s still heartwarming.