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

~side: Rinne~

“―Ugh, so annoying!”

That night, after getting into an argument with Sousuke.

Rinne was sulking on a love hotel bed.

“What’s got you so mad?”

The man lying beside her asked. His name was Iijima Ikuo, a man in his late twenties. To put it simply, he was her affair partner. But it wasn’t love. He was just one of her money sources and nothing more.

“When I met Sousuke today, he had the nerve to lecture me! Saying stuff like how he’s letting some other girl live with him while ignoring his girlfriend. Who does he think he is!?”

“Sousuke, oh… that’s the boyfriend who saw us the other day, right?”

“Yeah! I’m not even sure if he’s still my boyfriend anymore!”

With that, Rinne sat up and started puffing on her e-cigarette.

The truth was, she didn’t really care about Sousuke anymore. She didn’t want to get back together, and she was sure he felt the same.

(More important than Sousuke…)

There was someone far more precious to Rinne than any boyfriend or affair partner.

That person was Machida Nene, the girl she met back in high school.

Nene wasn’t just a friend. She was someone Rinne looked up to and someone she admired.

While most girls their age were busy chasing trends and matching with the crowd, Nene stood out. She did what she wanted, in her own way. She never cared about being in sync with everyone else.

Back then, when everyone had iPhones, Nene stubbornly used Android. She’d brush off the iPhone crowd with blunt words like, “iPhones are just overpriced,” without a shred of hesitation.

For Rinne, who couldn’t afford an iPhone and had to use Android herself, Nene was like a ray of light. On top of that, Nene had helped her in many ways, and before long, Rinne found herself completely drawn to her.

But sometime around their last year of high school, Nene began to drift away. She never told Rinne which college she chose, and now the only connection left was through LINE.

Even then, Nene never reached out first. If Rinne didn’t message, there would be nothing.

Rinne didn’t know why Nene had started keeping her distance, and the thought weighed heavily on her every day.

(…Well, as long as she’s still doing fine, I guess that’s enough.)

Rinne had always admired Nene’s free, independent way of living. She liked that Nene didn’t bother with men or let anyone tie her down. More than anything, she wished Nene would stay true to that image. Because if it ever broke, that would be the hardest thing for Rinne to bear.

◇

~side: Sousuke~

“Hey, Shiraki… do I really have to wear this?”

“You do. It’s a punishment game, remember?”

That night, after dinner, I was playing a racing game on the console with Machida-san. The rule was simple. The loser had to wear a pair of cat ears. In the end, Machida-san lost, so I handed her the (black) cat-ear headband.

“…Why do you even have something like this?”

“I got it at a drinking party. Bingo game. It’s more like a consolation prize.”

I’d always wondered what to do with it, but now it finally had a use.

“Come on, Machida-san. No backing out.”

“I-I know, but… just for a second, okay?”

“That’s fine.”

Right after I said that, Machida-san reluctantly slid the cat ears onto her head.

“Whoa…”

I couldn’t help but let out a sound. Because she honestly looked ridiculously cute. The cat ears matched perfectly with her black wolf-cut hair. It almost made her look like a real cat person. Her naturally sharp eyes only added to it. And the way Machida-san blushed made it even better. These things only work if there’s a bit of embarrassment involved.

“Ugh… this is seriously embarrassing…”

“Hey, Machida-san, can I take a picture?”

“N-no way!”

“Just one, okay? Just one picture.”

“…Only one?”

“Yeah. Just one. Please.”

As I got my phone ready, Machida-san hesitated a little, but she then finally gave in.

“…Fine. But only one.”

She gave in more easily than I expected. I thanked her and quickly snapped a photo.

Machida-san was blushing with cat ears.

Yeah, she was adorable.

“See for yourself. You’re really cute like this.”