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 9: After-party...

“Cheers!”

Right now, I’m at the after-party of the nationwide tour’s final for the wildly popular rock band ‘Inherit Sound.’

And… I’m sitting right next to Akira-sama, the charismatic lead guitarist and vocalist of the band, acting as his girlfriend.

…I feel completely out of place. I feel like I’ve wandered into a completely different world.

“I’m sorry, Imamura-san. It feels a bit forced, doesn’t it?”

“No… It’s okay… probably.”

I heard it was an after-party for those involved, but the venue is obviously fully reserved considering it’s filled to the brim.

So many people are connected through Asai’s music… It’s not even worth comparing, but I can’t help but feel a slight distance between myself, a regular high school student, and all these people.

“Asai! Introduce your girlfriend already!”

As she said this, a beautiful woman came over to our table with a glass in hand. This was the same woman who was walking arm-in-arm with Asai during the day.

“Ah… Imamura-san, this is Onda Shizuka-san. And this is my girlfriend, Imamura-san.”

G-G-Girlfriend!?

“Nice… to meet you… I’m Imamura Itsuki.”

I stuttered… I stuttered pretty badly.

Even though it’s just a part of acting as a couple… being introduced as his girlfriend made me so flustered that I ended up stuttering during the greeting.

“Nice to meet you too, Itsuki-chan. Let’s get along.”

At the same time as her greeting, Shizuka-san extended her free hand for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you. Please take care of me.”

Nervously, I shook her hand with the best smile I could muster.

Shizuka-san was staring at me with a fixed gaze.

After a short silence, she suddenly said, “Hey, Itsuki-chan, how about entrusting yourself to me sometime?”

She said something odd out of the blue.

…Entrust myself to her? What does that mean? Is Shizuka-san… into that!?

“Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t mean it in that sense.”

…Did she read it from my expression? She immediately denied my ‘Is she into that!’ theory.

The meaning of ‘entrusting myself’ is…

“Would you like to model for me?”

It was even more surprising.

“Mo… del!?”

“I have a section in a magazine for makeup and coordination.”

Wait… Does that mean?

“Do you mean being featured in a magazine?”

“Yes, that’s right. I want you to be the model for my column.”

What… what is this? This unexpected turn of events.

Just finding out that Asai was Akira-sama was already incredible.

“Ah, no, no, no, it’s too much for someone like me to appear in a magazine.”

“Oh no, it’s not like that, Itsuki-chan. You’re really charming!”

“…Charming? Don’t say that.”

“Well, if you’re this cute, you’ll definitely become more popular! Akira thinks so too, right?”

“Huh… Yeah… Imamura-san is really cute.”

“…I was trying to ask if she could model for me, but don’t go off bragging about her right in front of my face, Asai.”

“Huh, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Cute… To think that Asai would think that of me… It’s making me blush.

“By the way, wouldn’t Akira be really proud if you appeared in a magazine?”

…Is that so?

“Well, um… Asai might find it a bit troublesome if you become popular because of the magazine… considering you’re indeed already popular.”

Huh… What’s that supposed to mean?

“Oh? Asai surprisingly seems to have quite the possessive side.”

Possessive… Asai about me!?

Could he be jealous?

“Well… that might be true.”

“…”

Uh-oh… I’m really happy.

I’m getting super nervous.

My face is making a grin.

“Well, let’s put the magazine aside for now. How about doing a makeup session next time? When I see you, I get inspired!”

“Well… if that’s the case.”

“It’s settled then! I’ll let Asai know about possible dates.”

“Sure, thank you!”

Just when I thought the conversation was ending, Shizuka started to grin while looking at both me and Asai alternately.

“So, when are you going to tell us the story of how you two met?”

…T-the story of how we met… You mean how we started dating, right?

But we’re not really dating…

When I looked at Asai, he was also looking at me. Seems like we were thinking the same thing, and we exchanged a slightly awkward smile.

“We’re in the same class! And we sit next to each other… Imamura-san forgot her eraser once, and I lent her mine.”

Asai started to explain to Shizuka how we became close. Although, I have to correct him on one point— I didn’t forget my eraser. It disappeared.

“Oh, come on, that sounds like a romantic comedy event! How wonderful, being in high school!”

When I think about it calmly, Shizuka is right; it does sound like a cheesy romantic comedy event. However, there’s no doubt that this was the starting point of my relationship with Asai.

“Huh? So that means, Itsuki-chan… you fell for Akira while he was in that state?”

That state… she means the usual Asai.

Wait… Could this be a chance?

If I were to say that I fell for him during that time… I could subtly convey my feelings, right!?

…

No, no, no… This is too embarrassing.

Even though this might be the perfect chance… What am I doing?

Come on, courage!

Courage!

But… looking at Asai’s gaze, my embarrassment reached its peak, and I…

“S-So uhm… that’s right. I only found out about ‘Inherit Sound’ a little while ago.”

…I couldn’t bring myself to say the word “like.”

Ugh… I’m disgusted with my own lack of resolve.

“Oh, really? So that means the students at your school don’t even know that Akira from ‘Inherit Sound’ exists?”

“I don’t think they do.”

“True… well, if his girlfriend didn’t know, it’s not surprising that the rest of the school doesn’t either. But why didn’t you even tell your own girlfriend about it, Asai?”

“Well… it was a bit of bad timing.”

“Then Akira, maybe it’s better not to style your hair so often.”

“I agree!”

…

If everyone found out, the school would go into a panic. And I wouldn’t be able to monopolize Asai anymore.

“Hmm?”

Shizuka stared at me, who reacted with some eagerness. Her expression slowly turned into a slight smile.

“What’s this? Itsuki-chan, you’re possessive of him too, huh? Birds of a feather flock together.”

Possessive… Is that how it is?

But… somehow, I’m happy.

Well, that was as far as I could enjoy my happy feelings.

“Hey, Akira~ Are you guys discussing something interesting?”

“Include us in the conversation too!”

After that, the other two members of ‘Inherit Sound’ barged in, and the atmosphere instantly turned chaotic, filled with unsuitable language that can’t be broadcasted. It was too stimulating for a high school girl like me.

Even Asai couldn’t quite keep up with their energy and was just standing there, bewildered.

I realized that Asai has his own struggles too… and I thought about that deeply.