I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 56

Chapter 56: Her Actions

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《Sora Mukei’s POV》

After school. Through the entrance hall’s glass doors, the sunset stretched out in a long line, like someone drew it with an overextended pencil. I slung the strap of my dojo bag over my shoulder and retied my shoelaces.

After pulling lightly on the double knot loop and saying “Alright” to steady my breath, someone called out to me.

“Sora-kun!”

I turned around, and Hiroko-san came trotting over. Her backpack bounced, and the rabbit keychain hopped as if it truly leaped.

“Here, this is for you. Room temperature sports drink. Ice cold stuff shocks your stomach, so it’s no good.”

“Haha, thanks. I always end up choosing the cold ones though.”

“Please convert to the room temperature faction. This is evangelism.”

“There’s a whole faction for room temperature drinks…?”

The bottle I received was just a little cooler than my body temperature. Just imagining it going down my throat made me thirsty.

“And also, your wrist. Your tape is loose.”

“Huh?”

“I saw your hand when you were erasing the chalkboard during homeroom.”

When I looked at my wrist, it really was loose.

“Thanks. You saved me.”

She took white athletic tape out of her pencil case. When I held out my right hand, her fingers wrapped around it gently. They touched softly, as if checking the protruding bones, then she began to wrap.

“…Ah.”

“Did something happen? Am I doing it badly?”

She had only gone around once. There was no “bad” or “good.” But the fact that she was the one wrapping it for me made me happy.

“Thanks. I’m happy that you are doing it for me.”

We both ended up laughing without thinking.

“All done. Does it hurt?”

“It’s perfect. It feels more solid than before.”

“I did it!”

Her tiny triumphant fist pump was adorable. When I mimicked her pose, she laughed.

“Um, your collar is crooked. Can I fix it?”

“Yeah.”

Her fingers pinched my collar and straightened it. The distance between us was close. A faint scent of her shampoo reached me, and while I froze up trying to find words, she whispered softly.

“It looks neat now.”

“Thanks.”

Somehow, today Hiroko-san felt unusually forward. Her distance felt close! A breeze suddenly blew in, messing up her bangs. Reflexively, I reached out.

“Ah!”

With the intention of holding down her hairpin before it flew off, I touched her hair.

“Your pin looked like it was about to fly off.”

I adjusted the pin slightly, changing its angle. Her eyes widened behind her glasses.

“Thank you. It’s fixed.”

“We fixed each other, huh?”

“‘Fixing each other’… That’s kind of a nice phrase.”

Again, soft laughter overlapped between us. We pushed open the entrance door and started walking toward the schoolyard. The sunset had thinned a little, and the air had grown colder. The rattling of students’ bikes heading home from club activities. Voices shouting on the field.

“Um, would it be okay if we walk to the station together?”

“Yeah, let’s walk together.”

Outside, unlike the hallway, the wind was a bit strong. The message she sent me earlier and her invitation to walk home, both had come from Hiroko-san. She was trying to change, and she was moving ahead of me. At the same time, she kept making my heart race.

“Um..!”

“What is it?”

“I think you’re really busy right now, Sora-kun.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Why are you apologizing? Fufu~ You’re so weird, Sora-kun.”

She laughed naturally. The awkwardness she had before wasn’t there anymore, and I thought she looked as beautiful as any of the Three Great Beauties. It didn’t matter whether she wore glasses or not. To me, she looked more beautiful than anyone else.

“But… Why?”

“Um, I had fun eating lunch with you today. I want to eat together again tomorrow!”

Her invitation made me genuinely happy. I had felt so far away from her, yet she was trying to walk toward someone like me.

“Yeah. I want to eat with you too, Hiroko-san.”

“Yay! I’m so happy! Can I make lunch for us again tomorrow?”

“Ah! I’ll pay you! I’d feel bad otherwise!”

“No. It’s fine. I’m doing it because I want to. And I make my big sister’s portion at the same time, so I’m not the one paying for all the ingredients.”

“Your sister?”

I didn’t even know Hiroko-san had an older sister. No. Maybe she mentioned it before and I had forgotten.

“Yes! So please don’t worry about it. Two portions or three portions, it’s all the same.”

“Ah, thank you! I’m really happy.”

“Really? I’m glad!”

Hiroko-san smiled happily. The cloudy feeling inside me cleared away. She smiled at me, and I could honestly say that I was happy. She responded with “I’m glad.” Something so simple, yet just a small distance between us had made it feel so far.

How do I keep this distance just as it is?

“Is something wrong?”

“No. I’m just so happy my heart is feeling a bit moved.”

“You’re exaggerating too much!”

Her surprised face was adorable too. Ah, what was I supposed to do?

“Um, Sora-kun, is there any food that you dislike?”

“Nope, I don’t have any food dislikes. I can eat anything.”

“That’s amazing! I just can’t handle bell peppers!”

“Haha, I hated them when I was a kid too, but I can eat them now.”

A simple conversation about food preferences. Something so ordinary, but why hadn’t we been able to do this sooner? I wished the walk to the station would last longer.

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