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 12

On the day the calendar turned to July, I went to the university and saw Rinne. She had started coming regularly again a few days ago, but there was nothing left to talk about, and our connection was basically gone.

Still, I knew that Rinne was using her female friends like a funnel, spreading rumors about me behind my back. She twisted the truth, making it seem like I was the one at fault, calling me a cheater and all sorts of things. Because of that, my surroundings felt awkward and tense. It’s almost like back in middle school, though that might be a bit of an exaggeration.

The difference now was that I had more male friends on my side, my mental strength was tougher than it was back then, and the biggest difference of all was Machida-san. She went to a different university, so she wasn’t part of my campus life, but having her at home as a reliable roommate gave me a huge sense of support.

Of course, I didn’t want to drag Machida-san into this mess. She was just my own source of comfort.

I wasn’t just going to take it lying down, either. Through some of her female friends, I spread the truth that it was actually Rinne who had been cheating. I didn’t need the other girls to fully believe me. Just keeping them unsure and thinking, “So who really did it?” was enough. They’d eventually lose interest, and Rinne’s plan to ruin me would fall apart.

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“―Ah, welcome back, Shiraki.”

“Thank you, Machida-san.”

It was evening. When I got home to the apartment, Machida-san was already there. She didn’t have work today. She was standing in the kitchen and was apparently preparing dinner.

I peeked over her shoulder at the stove, wondering what she was making today.

Potatoes, onions, and pork belly were cooked in a pot.

“…Is this curry?”

“Nope. Nikujaga.”

“Ah, right, nikujaga.”

“Well, curry and nikujaga are pretty similar in how you start them, so it’s easy to mix them up. If you added curry roux to nikujaga, it’d basically be Japanese-style curry lol.”

“That’s true.”

“Anyway, it’ll take a while to finish, so just relax for now.”

I did as she said.

I set down my bag and sat at the dining table. I also took out my laptop and opened a word processor.

Recently, I found something I really wanted to do. I liked games, so I wanted to work in the game industry. But I was too much of a humanities type to become a programmer. Still, game jobs aren’t just about programming. I decided I wanted to be a game writer.

There are many ways to go about it, but even if I got hired at a game company as a new graduate, someone with no experience wouldn’t be put in charge of writing scripts. So, I thought I’d start by writing novels and trying to win awards, to show I could make good stories. It wouldn’t be easy, but it was better than doing nothing.

Even if I didn’t win any awards, I could still mention the experience during job hunting. That might help me get a job as a writer.

“What kind of story are you writing?”

Machida-san came and sat across from me while the nikujaga was starting to simmer. I shook my head.

“I haven’t written anything yet. I’m still making the plot.”

“Plot? Like… a blueprint?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, do you know what kind of story it’s going to be?”

“Hmm, maybe fantasy or a romantic comedy.”

I thought it might be good to use my own experiences… maybe a story about a protagonist who gets cheated on. That could work. I started jotting down ideas for a cheating story in my document.

Soon, the nikujaga was done, and Machida-san served it on the table with freshly cooked rice. All the ingredients were soaked in the rich sauce. It looked delicious.

I closed my laptop and started eating. Along with the nikujaga, there was teriyaki chicken and a vinegar-based salad. I tried the nikujaga first… and it was so good I didn’t even need to say anything. Machida-san’s cooking was amazing.

“Is the seasoning okay?”

“Yeah, it’s as delicious as always.”

“That’s good… Oh.”

While eating, Machida-san suddenly looked at her phone on the table, her expression changing to something a little serious. Maybe she got a weird message.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no… it’s not really a big deal… It was a message from that troublemaking female friend I mentioned before, so…”

“You mean the troublemaker friend from high school, the one who could have made a soccer team with all the guys you knew?”

“Yeah… she’s been messaging me a lot and wanted to meet up recently.”

…So Machida-san kept her distance from that girl.

“Does she still think you’re close?”

“Maybe… She could at least get the hint, but she keeps messaging me like this.”

“…Why not just ignore her and cut ties?”

“Wouldn’t that be… too harsh?”

Machida-san asked with a serious expression.

“I just, as a person… I feel like it wouldn’t be right.”

It might sound strange, but Machida-san was surprisingly sincere. Maybe being sincere isn’t exactly right. She was kindhearted and considerate. Even with annoying friends, she kept them around.

But in a way, that could be cruel. That friend didn’t realize she would never be given a chance again and would continue to hold onto false hope. Sometimes, cutting someone off quickly might actually be kinder.

“…If you don’t want to just ignore her, maybe you could say a few words and end it that way?”

“Yeah… maybe. But I think I’ll meet her one last time.”

“…You’re going to see her? On purpose?”

“Yeah. I don’t know where she went to school, but she’s definitely in this area, so it shouldn’t be hard. I just want to give her a little advice in person and end it properly. She won’t get far if she keeps acting the same way.”

“Yeah… that could work.”

She was ending the relationship with some final advice. A last act of kindness from someone who used to be a friend.

“Then, I’ll go see her this weekend.”

―To finally put it behind her.

With that, Machida-san went back to eating her dinner. She was taking the step to end things. All I could do was hope it would finish without any problems.