I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 9

Chapter 9: Small Effort

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《Hiroko Anno’s POV》

There was a sharp thud as the leg of the desk hit something, and my pen and eraser bounced.

“Ah.”

Before I could make a sound—my throat froze—Mukei-kun immediately came over to me. He picked up each scattered item of stationery and put them back on my desk.

“All of them fell. You okay?”

“…Th-thank you.”

He even checked the cap on my water bottle. His hands didn’t rush, but there wasn’t a hint of hesitation. And the voice he directed toward Okabe-kun was firm.

“Shouldn’t you say ‘sorry’ first?”

It was the same calm voice he used earlier at lunch behind the school building, when he said, “You look pretty today.” Inside my chest, it felt like a little light turned on, warm and glowing. I wanted to say thank you so many times. I really wanted to be told I was pretty by Mukei-kun—the one who had chosen me. I wanted him to look at me more.

When I got home, my older sister was lying on the sofa on her stomach, looking at her phone.

“Welcome back, Hiroko. …Your face looks kind of bright today.”

“…Yeah.”

Wanting her to hear it, I started telling her about what happened today.

“Today at school… I was called pretty.”

My sister’s gaze snapped to me.

“That’s great. Who told you that?”

One breath. I melted a bit of courage under my tongue.

“…Sora Mukei-kun. A boy in my class.”

“Hmmm, I see, I see. Nicely done~”

My sister smiled and sat up.

“At lunch, we sat together on one of the benches outside for a bit. And… He said, ‘You look prettier than usual today,’ that I looked neat and well put together. He even praised my hairpin. He wasn’t teasing me—his voice was calm, like he was just stating a fact.”

“Heh, that’s nice.”

My sister always looked after me. She was kind and beautiful, and I wanted her to hear all the good things about Mukei-kun.

“Yeah. Then in class we had basketball, and Mukei-kun was amazing!”

The cool parts during basketball, and what happened after school…

“After school… Someone bumped into my desk, and I couldn’t say anything. And then Mukei-kun picked everything up, put my desk back, and told the person, ‘You should apologize first.’ …It was the second time he helped me.”

My chest warmed as the words left my mouth. My sister rested her elbows on her knees and put her hand under her chin.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s good. It’s better, even. Mukei-kun sounds great. So? What does Hiroko want to do?”

The question I’d been waiting for. I clenched my hands and looked straight ahead.

“I want to change. I want Mukei-kun to think I’m cute. I want to become someone he’ll choose properly.”

My sister’s eyes softened gently.

“That’s good. Then let’s start making your cute style for going to school today.”

She took me to the bathroom and stood me in front of the mirror. Her hands moved lightly.

“You still need courage to take off your glasses, right? We’ll keep them for now, but let’s practice so you can overcome that hurdle eventually.”

“Okay.”

She removed my glasses through the mirror. I still couldn’t feel confident without my glasses.

“Hiroko, you’re cute, so it’s fine! For your bangs, move the parting just a little. Keep the thin black pin as it is. By the way, today’s placement above the ear was perfect.”

“Thanks.”

My sister praised me. I was happy to hear her praise.

“For your uniform ribbon, make sure it’s centered. If it gets loose, fix it in the bathroom mirror. Once you start doing makeup, little habits like this will help. And to keep your skin fine without makeup, take care with your skincare at night. For your lips, put on vaseline before bed to make them soft.”

I gave a small nod to the girl in the mirror. My sister continued. I wasn’t doing makeup yet, but I practiced the basics.

“When you sit, don’t slouch your body too much. Think of it like ‘a string is pulling me up from above.’ That’s the phrase. If you do so, your posture will make you look pretty.”

“Yes!”

I always lacked confidence and curled into myself. But—I wanted him to look at me, even just a little.

“Hiroko, you’re not good at talking in front of people, right? So let’s start with greetings! Short words first. ‘Good morning,’ ‘bye-bye,’ ‘thank you,’ ‘I’m okay.’ Make sure you can say these four properly!”

“…Okay. Good morning, bye-bye, thank you, I’m okay!”

I wanted to say thank you to Mukei-kun so many times today. But the words just wouldn’t come out…

“Yeah, yeah, let’s work on it little by little.”

My sister smiled happily and took a small box from the dresser.

“This is your after-school charm. Colorless lip balm and clear mascara.You can use them the moment you leave the school gate, so start using them. Do the little 30 seconds routine in the bathroom mirror to fix your mood. You don’t have to show anyone. It’s your own little secret.”

The small items in the box looked like jewels.

“Hey, Onee-chan… Do you think I can really become cute?”

“You’re already cute. You just need to learn how to show it and keep at it. It’s fine even if you need to take your time. Just become the version of yourself you want Mukei-kun to see.”

Deep inside my chest, his voice from earlier echoed softly again.

You look pretty today

I wanted him to say those words many more times. I touched my bangs softly with my fingertips and adjusted the position of the black pin just half a step.

“…Okay. I’ll do my best.”

I gave a small nod to the tomorrow’s me.

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