I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 2

Chapter 2: Am I the Only One Who Noticed?

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The next day.

The moment I opened the classroom door, the air was different. It wasn’t zawa-zawa murmuring—closer to kyaa-kyaa squealing. At the center of a circle of girls, Mizuki Kiritani was laughing.

“Eh, you cut your hair? The shoulder length is so cute!”

“The width of your bangs is god-tier~!”

“Let’s take a picture!”

“Can I put it on my Story?”

“What tag should I use? #MizukiIsSupreme?”

A chain of camera shutter sounds echoed, and her black hair swayed like it was brushed by light. The boys were buzzing from a distance too. Asuka Hino gave her a thumbs-up and said, “It suits you!” while Yua Miura waved her hand and said, “A literal angel~.” The circle swelled another layer. Beautiful girls gathered around, praising another beautiful girl. Yeah. Nothing wrong with that. The class’s attention was drawn in. The mood felt festive.

“Amazing, huh?”

Akira laughed at me as I put my bag on my seat.

“Do you think today is my chance to get the courage to talk to her?”

“…Don’t push yourself too hard. You’ll mess up.”

“Even if I mess up, it’s fine. Should I go with, ‘Your bangs are precious’?”

“Don’t. Well, do whatever you want.”

Morning light crossed above the blackboard, scattering chalk dust in white. When I shifted my gaze, I saw the corner by the window. In her usual seat, Hiroko Anno was there. Even in this festival-like chaos, she sat quietly reading a book alone. But there was something different today. Her heavy bangs were slightly parted. Her thick lenses were wiped clean, and her uniform ribbon was straight, tied neatly without a twist. Her black hair had only the ends trimmed neatly, and above her ear, a small black pin held her hair. The corner of her notebook—which had always been bent—was straightened perfectly.

No one looked at Anno-san. All the heat of the classroom had been sucked toward Kiritani-san.

“…Her hair looks put together.”

I muttered quietly.

“Right?! Kiritani-san is insanely cute today, isn’t she?!”

Spat out by Akira. It wasn’t worth correcting him, so I nodded vaguely.

“No, not that.”

“Not that? That clean short hair is a huge thing, dude. We could hold a class meeting about it.”

“And decide what, exactly?”

Laughing, I glanced once more toward the window. Anno-san gently turned a page. I felt like the rustle of paper reached all the way here. Yesterday, her bangs kept falling forward, and she kept pushing them up with her fingers. Today, she didn’t do that. Her gaze drifted toward me for a moment, then dropped again. Her uneven ends caught the light and bounced slightly.

…Was that just my imagination?

“Sora, what do you think? I think both styles suit her, you know? So should I compliment the longer style from yesterday? Or today’s shorter one?”

I thought Akira must be something else too for worrying about compliment strategies when he hadn’t even talked to her yet.

“No idea. Both probably suit her.”

“Don’t say ‘probably,’ say it confidently. Push my back.”

“I don’t want to watch you fail. Well, good luck.”

“Even if I fail, that’s youth—whoa! Mizuki-san just looked this way!”

“She looked at the entire class, not just you.”

Laughter burst around us, and Hino-san hugged Kiritani-san’s shoulder.

“In the afternoon’s P.E., let’s be on the same basketball team!”

“Eh, really?”

The interactions between beautiful girls were good eye candy. Kiritani-san blushed, and shutter sounds went off again. Opening my pencil case, I traced the window seat again with my eyes. Anno-san aligned the edge of her page with her thumb and took a slow breath. Between her hair, the pale nape of her neck peeked through. The black pin gave a tiny gleam.

“…Quiet is nice.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“The corner seat. It’s calming.”

“But I wanna blast myself into the center and become a riajuu!”

I turned forward. Behind me, the soft sound of paper rubbing. Outside the window, street trees swayed in the wind.The classroom was the same as always, and the only difference was probably someone’s bangs. Nothing more, nothing less. At least, for me right now.

♢

Right before the chime rang—cutting it close—Kai Okabe entered the classroom.He was the type who acted like the class mood-maker. Despite having an average mob-face like Akira, there was one major difference between Okabe and Akira. He boldly walked straight into the center of the commotion, joining the “Kiritani cut her hair” festival.

“Morning, Mizuki, Yua, Asuka.”

He called the three great beauties by name, without honorifics. His voice was unnecessarily loud.

“Huh? Mizuki, you cut your hair? Hmm… I personally liked the long hair better, but this still feels like Mizuki, so I guess it’s fine.”

At his first sentence, the temperature in the room dropped. Kiritani-san fixed her smile and replied, “Thanks.”

“See, we’ve known each other forever. At summer festivals, we used to line up for shaved ice every year. I’m saying this from the perspective of someone who’s known you a long time, so don’t expect any sugar-coating from me.”

“Yeah.”

By appealing to their childhood friendship, Okabe earned a few irritated clicks of tongues from the boys. He emphasized “since long ago” so casually. He probably meant his words kindly. Then he shifted his gaze to Miura-san.

“Yua, your lip tint’s a bit strong today, isn’t it? I think yesterday’s balance was better.”

“Really? It’s fine. Don’t worry~. I choose for myself.”

“I see, well, just tell me anytime. I’ll be sure to give you my honest impression.”

Yua Miura smiled, but angled her body half a step away. Okabe didn’t notice. Instead, he puffed his chest like she relied on him.

“Asuka, you’ve got basketball today, right? Don’t go too hard. You’ll end up all sweaty and smell.”

Even I thought telling a girl she’d “smell” was the worst. Asuka Hino didn’t respond.

“I hope my advice can help you. You see, this kind of distance between us takes time to build. That’s why I can say the things the other guys are too scared to.”

Finishing his round of comments to the three great beauties, he nodded in satisfaction. Okabe turned on his heel… Or so I thought. He looked back again.

“Also, about today’s bangs—yeah, they’re precious or whatever. I’ll say that too. It annoys me if someone else says it first.”

“To who?”

“To the world.”

“I see.”

Mizuki’s smile froze at the outline only. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes at all. Okabe left to talk to his close guy friends.

“See? You can’t do that kind of thing suddenly. Distance is an important resource.”

He seemed satisfied with stirring the air, while the rest of the class stood stunned. Akira nudged my elbow.

“…He’s acting all superior, but he’s a clown.”

“He doesn’t mean any harm, but wow. His mental strength is insane.”

We laughed and kept our distance from them.

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