I Got Cheated On, so I Thought I’d Cheat Back and Went to a Group Date, I Ran Into a Classmate Who Used to Boss Me Around and Now We’re Living Together - Chapter 10

“―This guy was cheating, can you believe it? What a jerk!”

The next day. When I showed up for class, Rinne was there for the first time in a while. I had a bad feeling, and sure enough, she pointed at me and shouted it loud enough for the whole room to hear.

What the… What is she even talking about?

Me? Cheating…?

“What’s with that innocent face? It’s true, isn’t it?”

Rinne marched toward me with heavy steps.

“No, I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“What do you mean you don’t know!? Don’t play dumb!”

“I’m serious, I don’t get it… Come with me.”

“Oh, so now you want to talk in the hallway? Fine.”

With everyone staring at us, I led her out into the hall.

“What the hell are you saying? What do you mean, I cheated?”

Once we got to the far end, where no one else was around, I asked her. She glared at me and snapped.

“You’ve been bringing some girl into your room, right?”

She pointed that out.

And that made me realize it.

“Wait… don’t tell me you used the spare key to get into my place…?”

“Exactly. The other day, I was actually going to apologize, but when I went in, I saw all this girl’s stuff. What was that? I cheated on you, so now you’re getting revenge by cheating back?”

“Hold on… That’s not what happened. She’s just crashing at my place.”

“Oh? So that’s your excuse?”

“It’s not an excuse!”

I was getting pissed. Why was I the one being accused here?

“She’s really just staying over. A friend of mine needed a place, so I let her stay. And the reason I agreed in the first place was honestly because you cheated on me. Don’t act like you’re the victim here.”

“…”

“You used my room like a hotel, remember? You have no right to accuse me of anything, Rinne.”

“Shut up…”

“Don’t shut me up.”

“I said shut up! I don’t care what ugly girl you’ve got living there. Do whatever you want! Drop dead, idiot!”

She spat out those cruel words and turned to storm off. If anyone should be saying do whatever you want, it’s me. Still,

“Give me back the spare key!”

“I threw it away!”

With that, Rinne stormed out of the building.

….She threw it away?

Well, it was just a copy, so it doesn’t matter. Actually, that’s better for me.

After that, I went back into the classroom,

“…I figured there was some reason why Io-san wasn’t coming around, so I didn’t bring it up. But man, you were cheating on her?”

My friend Ogata whispered that to me.

Good grief…

“It’s the other way around… She was the one cheating.”

“Well, that makes more sense with how things were… Eh, Then…? So that’s why you came to that mixer I invited you to like that?”

“Exactly.”

Ogata can understand. But the ones I wasn’t close to probably just made up their own bad image of me.

…Well, whatever.

Didn’t Machida-san say it herself? That in life, there’s no point worrying too much about what others think.

So I won’t. I’ll just keep moving at my own pace.

When all my classes finished that afternoon, I got on a train and headed somewhere.

That place was,

“Oh… you really came.”

The Italian restaurant “Maltvono”―Machida-san’s part-time job. I’d told her I’d stop by after class today. For a late lunch.

I sat at the counter where I could see into the kitchen. There she was, in a white chef’s coat. When our eyes met, she reacted with a shy smile.

Since she was working and busy cooking, I didn’t talk to her. There’s no need to get in the way.

I ordered a pasta called Cacio e Pepe. Just pepper and cheese for simple seasoning. A few cooks were working, but from what I could see, it looked like Machida-san was the one making mine. It’s probably just a coincidence, though.

“Thank you for waiting. Please enjoy.”

A waitress brought the dish. A mound of pasta in the center of a large plate, sprinkled with pepper and cheese. It was simple but beautiful. And it looked delicious.

I twirled some on my fork and took a bite. Yeah, it was good. It’s kind of like the original version of carbonara. If the richness of carbonara is too much for someone, this would probably suit them better.

Machida-san glanced my way, so I gave her a thumbs up. She smiled in relief.

I finished everything neatly, and since Machida-san’s shift ended right then, I waited so we could head home together. Not by chance. I had timed it that way.

“You know… It’s kind of embarrassing when someone I know comes to my workplace.”

As the train swayed, Machida-san suddenly said that.

“Really?”

“Yeah… before I left, the manager asked me, ‘Was that your boyfriend?’ …It was so embarrassing…”

What did she mean by that? If it was, I don’t want anyone to think that guy’s my boyfriend, then that would honestly hurt…

“Oh, just so you know… I didn’t mean that Shiraki’s embarrassing or anything.”

That’s what she added.

And of course, I felt relieved right away.