I became the boyfriend of the school's madonna, who had turned down numerous confessions, but somehow, without realizing it, I wasn't just playing a role anymore

Episode 12: A Gentle Smile

Suzumine-san came straight to the point with her question. This boldness and courage seem to be her strengths.

From the perspective of the person being questioned, it’s quite troublesome.

“Aren’t you asking the wrong person? If you want to ask that, you should ask Misaki, right?”

To avoid giving away too much information, I stared into Suzumine-san’s eyes with a bewildered expression. If she’s trying to corner me, I need to handle it skillfully.

“I don’t want to hear it from Misaki.”

“Why not?”

These two, one hiding something and the other not wanting to know—seriously, are they childhood friends?

That’s what I thought, but…

“Because, in this situation, if I ask Misaki, she’ll have no choice but to lie. So, to prevent her from lying, I won’t ask her. I don’t like lies.”

It seems she knows Misaki’s trauma, and that’s why she avoids asking her.

“Well, if you’re childhood friends, you’d normally talk honestly, right?”

I threw a similar question to Suzumine-san as the one I asked Misaki, just to see if it resonates with her or how she responds.

“I’d like to share my deduction first, if you don’t mind.”

But instead of answering immediately, she made a request.

“I don’t mind…”

“Thank you. Misaki has a reason for not getting a boyfriend. Yet, she’s dating a boy she hasn’t been close to until now. It seems strange if you think about it normally, right?”

She seems to be confident in her deduction.

“So?”

It seems like she still has something to say, so for now, I encourage her to continue.

“So, I think the answer lies in what Misaki said in the classroom today. During the summer festival, when Misaki was approached by someone, wasn’t it Shirai-kun who pretended to be her boyfriend to help her?”

Saying this, Suzumine-san stares back into my eyes with strong eyes of conviction.

That’s a lot of confidence.

“Maybe for a normal guy, that could be the case. But aren’t you aware of my bad reputation? Would I willingly get involved in such trouble?”

Knowing too much about Misaki could be troublesome, but I’ll play the role of the fake boyfriend properly and make my own appeal.

The school crowd probably thinks I’m antisocial, unfriendly and wouldn’t believe that I would come to someone’s rescue.

However…

“You would help normally, right?”

For some reason, Suzumine-san doesn’t seem to believe that.

“No, I wouldn’t help, right…?”

“Hmmm~?”

Oh, I can tell from her tone.

She doesn’t believe it at all.

“Well, let’s put that aside.”

“Don’t just put it aside!”

She brushed it off so easily that I couldn’t help but retort.

“Well, it might become a pointless back-and-forth, so whatever. You won’t give in, and I won’t either.”

Certainly, I have no intention of admitting it, but why won’t she give in…?

It seems like she has some strange trust in me, even though we have almost no interaction.

Even if we talk at school, it’s distant and indifferent, just like with other guys.

“Let’s get back to the point. Many students saw you guys playing the role of a fake couple. And Misaki, who received a lot of questions on the chat app, must have thought like this. If she continues to pretend to be in a fake relationship with Shirai-kun, she’ll be freed from the confession theater.”

Suzumine-san puts her hand on her chin and confidently shares her deduction.

It feels like she’s a detective. I feel like making a comment about it, but she’s relatively gentle right now, so it’s not the right time to say something that might provoke her.

“Suzumine-san, you’re also calling it a confession theater.”

“Well, it has become quite a spectacle.”

She replies nonchalantly.

Still, it feels like it’s someone else’s problem.

“Aren’t you angry? Your childhood friend is being turned into a spectacle.”

“It’s pointless to try to change the subject, you know?”

“No, I didn’t mean to do that, but…”

Oh, she got me.

“Well, I’ll answer the question. While there are people enjoying the spectacle, are all the boys serious about it? There’s no way to stop it.”

I see, that’s why she’s not trying to stop it.

It might be easily misunderstood, but the confession theater is just entertaining for those watching. All the guys confessing to Misaki are serious about it.

Even the basketball team captain, who is popular among the girls, confessed seriously.

So, it seems Suzumine-san chose to turn a blind eye.

It’s difficult to drive away onlookers when you don’t address the root of the issue.

“Surprisingly, you’re kind.”

“Oh my, it seems like your true feelings finally slipped out?”

She reacted sensitively to my unintentional comment and smiled with a sly expression.

And then…

“You better not be teasing me.”

She says, lowering her tone a few notches.

Yeah, that’s genuinely intimidating.

“I didn’t say it as a compliment…”

“I guess it just slipped out, right? In other words, you’re saying I don’t look like a kind person.”

She must be aware of being told that, though…

Well, I better not say anything more.

“So, was my deduction correct?”

I thought the conversation might deviate, but she remembered to bring it back.

Now, what should I do…

“If I say it’s wrong, will you believe me?”

“If you insist, I’ll believe you.”

…I see.

Certainly, it seems like she intends to believe me.

However, her eyes seemed to say, “If it’s a lie, you’d know what will happen, right?”

Well, if she’s figured this out, it’s probably okay to talk about it, but there’s a promise with Misaki.

I can’t break that.

“I’ll leave it to your imagination.”

“…That’s not fair.”

When I tried to evade the question, Suzumine-san looked displeased. She clearly wasn’t satisfied with my answer.

“This is a matter between Misaki and me. There’s no need or obligation for you to know.”

“……”

Suzumine-san squinted her eyes, appearing unhappy, but she fell silent. Since my argument was more logical, she probably couldn’t come up with a counter.

If she’s already decided that Misaki’s choice of a boyfriend is Misaki’s business, then trying to confirm whether it’s a lie or not is strange.

“Sigh… It was a waste of time.”

Seems like she’s given up. Thankfully, it didn’t turn into a strange conflict.

“Now, why won’t Misaki be honest with you?”

“You won’t confirm if my deduction is correct, but you’re asking that?”

“Because I’m curious.”

While I know Misaki’s side of the story, Suzumine-san might not have the same answer as Misaki.

“Sigh…”

She sighed in resignation.

“Misaki thinks that if I know she betrayed the feelings of boys confessing to her with lies, I’ll dislike her.”

“But if that’s the case, shouldn’t you just tell her not to worry? Actually, you’re not angry, right?”

Even though she realized Misaki was lying, there was no trace of anger in Suzumine-san. It seems to be just Misaki’s misconception.

“Misaki was troubled, so if she had been honest, I wouldn’t have been angry, naturally. I think it’s a relatively better solution. But I don’t have an obligation to say that to her just because we’re childhood friends, and I don’t intend to pamper her that much.”

Seems like she’s prepared to say, “If that’s the case, come and say it to my face.” She thinks like a parent or a teacher…

To her, Misaki might be like a younger sister even though they’re the same age.

“Thanks for answering my question. Also, sorry for making you come all the way here.”

“Fufu, it’s strange for you to apologize.”

Even though I apologized for getting the answer, Suzumine-san covered her mouth with her hand and laughed as if finding it amusing.

It’s the first time I’ve seen her laugh like that at a guy…

“I came here on my own, so there’s no need to apologize. Besides, I have another matter to discuss.”

“Geez, there’s still something…?”

“Well, there’s no need to look so unhappy about it.”

Seemingly dissatisfied with my reaction, she squinted her eyes in a sulking manner.

“I don’t want your mother to misunderstand.”

“Don’t worry, she probably won’t come back yet.”