I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 25

Chapter 25: Happiness Card

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《Hiroko Anno’s POV》

The midday bell rang, and the shadow of the camphor tree grew just a little shorter. While I was aligning the corners of my paperback cover as if pressing my palms together on the bench, Mukei-kun arrived.

“Did I make you wait?”

“N-no.”

The rabbit keychain seemed to make a tiny chiri sound.

“Then let’s exchange our books, shall we?”

“Yes!”

What he offered was a mystery light novel, with a small illustration of a castle from another world on the cover. Its thickness was about two days’ worth of commuting. The cover paper felt smooth and pleasant under my fingers. When I handed him my short story collection, Mukei-kun softened his eyes for just a moment, looking quietly happy.

“I’ll save my thoughts until after I finish reading.”

“R-right… Got it.”

After that, like always, he praised my posture, and he praised my lip color just a little, and the inside of my chest gave a tiny bounce. Being properly seen like that felt both happy and embarrassing. Even after we left the bench, the weight of the exchanged book lingered on my fingertips for a while.

I was sitting in the train after school. By luck, the seat at the end was empty, so I set my tote bag on my lap. The sense of people around me, the sound of the wheels, the scrape of the hanging strap’s metal fittings. My heartbeat was still fast. The moment I gently removed the cover and opened to the pages, a small white card was tucked into the spot of the bookmark.

『For your one-station commute. If it doesn’t suit you, I’ll try another story. —Sora』

…My breath stopped. My fingertips trembled on their own, and the corner of the card made the paper give a small kyu sound. One stop of my commute. He knew my rhythm. Even though it was such a short sentence, a warm light bloomed softly inside my chest. I read it over and over, again and again. It was like rolling a delicious candy on my tongue, savoring every letter.

Oh no, I’m grinning.

My cheeks were hot. The me reflected in the window looked completely over the moon. I took one deep breath. Every time I turned a page, excitement bubbled with fun. The train’s sway matched perfectly. As the announcement for the opening doors sounded, a small catharsis came with it. As if the author had synced their breathing so I could close the book right there.

…Amazing. I liked things like this. I stroked the card just once more. I touched the rabbit keychain gently and said “thank you” in my heart. Before I knew it, I had reached home.

“Welcome back—oh… That face means something good happened.”

“…!”

Before I could even line up my shoes in the entryway, my big sister hugged me. Her sweet shampoo scent loosened all the tension in my shoulders.

“Alright, alright, wash your hands first. Then the report.”

“O-okay.”

Two cups of steaming herbal tea sat on the table. I carefully took the light novel out of my bag. Just looking at the cover made my heartbeat speed up again.

“You’re grinning, you know.”

“Eh?!”

“So obvious. Is this the exchange you told me about yesterday?”

“Yeah. In the courtyard and then, look. He put this card in.”

When I held out the card, my sister raised one eyebrow and smirked.

“For one stop of your commute, huh. Nicely done, Mukei-kun! Cards like this are great, aren’t they?”

“Y-yeah…!”

“Really, Hiroko, you’re so cute.”

My sister hugged me again. But I was happy. I was really happy. Maybe her teasing was gentler than usual because she could see how soft my expression was.

“So, any progress?”

“P-progress?”

“You two went on a bookstore date, right?”

“A d-date…?!”

I covered my face with both hands. My sister’s laughter rolled out—playfully mean, but the happy kind.I opened my short story collection and wrote a tiny reply with a pencil on the sticky note.

『A seed sprouted in one stop. I’m looking forward to our discussion.』

Then, I hesitated over whether to add a tiny one-line note in the blank space of Mukei-kun’s card. I hesitated… Then stopped. I decided I would say it properly tomorrow. “I was happy about the card.”

“Onee-chan.”

“Yes?”

“…The words Mukei-kun said before—that he liked my vibe—they’ve been echoing in my chest the whole time.”

“Mm. That’s progress.”

Immediate answer. My sister took a sip of tea and smiled. We laughed together. After laughing, I pinched the rabbit keychain and spun it lightly. The metal fittings glimmered softly, making even my heart brighter.

“What should I say tomorrow?”

“Let’s practice. ‘I was happy about the card.’”

“…I was happy about the card.”

“Yup, yup. You’ve added another phrase to your vocabulary list now.”

I got embarrassed from the praise. But the warm light inside my chest definitely grew stronger.

Before going to bed, I read the card one more time, fixed the bookmark in place, and tucked it gently into the tote pocket. Like handing a baton to the me of tomorrow.

“…I’m happy.”

Saying it out loud felt like making a promise, and it strengthened me. My time with Mukei-kun changed me. Just before turning off the light, as if suddenly remembering, I said it inside my chest:

“…Thank you, Mukei-kun.”

The small voice melted into the darkness of the room. But the feeling of the words remained warmly at the back of my throat.

It was morning. I was standing in front of the mirror. I held my glasses in my hand. The voice of Mukei-kun saying “I think you look really beautiful” lingered in my ears. That was exactly why I was debating whether I should go without them today. The eyes of the girl reflected in the mirror were bigger than I’d thought, and my anxiety showed plainly in them.

What if he laughed? What if he thought I looked weird? But when I remembered his words from yesterday, a soft light flickered in my chest. I adjusted my hairpin and tried straightening my uniform collar with my glasses off. My spine straightened. But at the same time, my heart wouldn’t settle. Even just being seen by someone at the intersection on my way to school would probably make my face turn red. On the desk was my rabbit keychain. As I watched the little ribbon sway, I wanted to believe that Mukei-kun wouldn’t laugh.

Even so, at the last moment, my fingertips trembled, and in the end I put my glasses back on.

“…Not yet. I can’t do it today.”

I whispered softly. But I believed that someday, a day would come when I could gather the courage to take them off. And to the girl in the mirror, I said.

“I’m off.”

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