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 27

The next morning, Nene-san acted completely normal. Even though what happened last night was… it happened, she behaved as if nothing had.

“―Do you want bacon or sausage?”

She asked while preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

Honestly, I was grateful for her attitude.

Thinking back, I must have lost my mind last night. What I did was careless enough that she had every right to hate me. Even if she seemed willing, that was all the more reason I should’ve kept my cool. Nene-san isn’t my girlfriend, and I should treat her with respect.

“…Bacon.”

I answered, trying to reset my mind. Maybe because of what also happened with Umi, I’d been too carried away lately. I needed to return to basics, like when I was still a nervous virgin.

“Hey, Sousuke.”

Once breakfast was ready, we sat across from each other at the table like always. Then,

“Can I make you my boyfriend?”

“―Pfft!!”

I nearly spat out the soup I had in my mouth. I barely managed to avoid spraying it all over her, but instead, broth started running down from my nose. Disaster either way…

“Are you okay!? Here, tissues!”

“T-thank you…”

I wiped the soup off the table and floor, then blew my nose as hard as I could.

Once I was steady again…,

“…What did you just ask me?”

Be her boyfriend? What did that even mean…?

It couldn’t be a real confession… could it?

“Well, um, what I mean is…”

“…You mean?”

“I was asking if I could use you as camouflage.”

“…Camouflage?”

“In short… a fake boyfriend.”

“Ohhh…”

I let out a sigh of understanding.

“So that’s what you meant… Geez, you scared me with the way you asked.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll admit that was bad…”

“But still… Why a fake boyfriend?”

There had to be a reason she suddenly brought this up.

“That… You remember me telling you a little before? That flashy guy in my cooking club? He’s still annoying, so I thought it’d be easier if I just said I had a boyfriend.”

“I see.”

“Also, this one feels even creepier though…”

“?”

“Lately, there’s been this customer at my part-time job. He keeps coming just for me…”

“Eh, a customer for Nene-san?”

“Yeah…”

“…But you work at a normal restaurant and not some maid café or girls’ bar, right?”

“Exactly… He said he fell for me when he saw me working in the kitchen. And now he’s even waiting for me after my shifts…”

Ugh… That sounded bad.

“He doesn’t seem dangerous, just a regular office worker type, but he’s persistent. I just want to get rid of him quickly…”

“…That really is a problem.”

When Nene-san is cooking, she looks both cool and cute, so I could understand why someone would fall for her and why they’d want to get closer.

But if it bothers her, then that office guy should just back off already…

“Got it… If that’s the case, you can treat me like your boyfriend as much as you want.”

Of course, there was only one answer I could give.

“If we take a picture together and you show it to him, that should be good enough proof. Want to try it?”

“Ah, yeah… could you help me with that?”

“That’s a piece of cake.”

So, after breakfast, we got ready and sat side by side on the couch. Nene-san had a selfie stick, so we used that to take a picture together.

“Hmm, don’t we look too stiff…?”

“…Yeah, we’re way too stiff.”

We tried the first shot, but it looked like a passport photo. Our faces were harder than frozen ice cream. No couple looks like that.

“We need smiles, that’s for sure… And maybe Nene-san should lean on me a little. That would look more natural.”

“Then… how about this?”

She gently rested her head on my shoulder. My heart skipped a beat, but this was the right pose.

“…Now we just need smiles.”

“Okay.”

While we were having that exchange.

Click.

A photo was taken.

“…Oh, this one’s not bad at all.”

Nene-san checked the picture first, then showed me the screen.

We really did look like a nice couple.

Still, I felt it could be even better.

“Nene-san, let’s not settle for just good enough.”

I told her that straight.

“The kind of photo you show him will change how much he backs off. We should go all in and make it look as couple-like as possible.”

“You’re right… yeah, let’s take a better one.”

So we tried different poses and snapped dozens more shots.

At last, we got the perfect one.

It was a picture of us on the couch, our shoulders and cheeks pressed together, and we were smiling happily.

Anyone who saw it, ten out of ten people would think we were a real couple, no doubt.

“This picture’s kind of embarrassing… We look so much like a real couple…”

Nene-san blushed as she stared at our miracle shot.

I felt a little embarrassed, too, but that was a good sign. Even if we felt shy looking at it, it was realistic enough to convince anyone.

Nene-san must’ve thought so too, because she didn’t suggest taking more.

“Alright then, I’ll show this to him and see how he reacts… I’ll blur out Sousuke’s face though. Just in case he holds a grudge or something…”

“…Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”

“And also…”

“Hm?”

“…Thank you. For helping me.”

She looked up at me as she said it with her eyes soft. I slowly shook my head.

“Don’t mention it. Just make sure you show it to him in a public place, okay?”

If anything happened, it would be dangerous.

All I could do now was hope that this office guy would finally back off from Nene-san for good.