I Got Dumped by My Childhood Friend Fiancée Who I Didn’t Even Like, I Thought I Could Finally Have a Peaceful School Life… But Then I Got Targeted by SS-Class Beautiful Young Ladies - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: [Polishing] Today’s Me Is Just a Little Cooler Than Yesterday

I caught my breath without thinking. The words… just wouldn’t come out.

The guy filling my whole field of vision was definitely supposed to be me. That dumb face with my mouth hanging open looked exactly like mine.

But… why? It was a face I knew really well, yet the guy in the mirror felt like a total stranger. We were staring at each other with these overly serious expressions, like we’d just met for the first time.

His hair was cut shorter overall. The front was styled up with some product, that thing they call an upbang.

And his eyes looked even clearer now that I’d switched from glasses to contacts. Both of those twin pupils were fully out in the open. I thought to myself that my gaze was pretty sharp after all, but weirdly, it didn’t bother me.

“…Who the hell is this?”

The mutter slipped out of my mouth before I even realized it.

The guy in the mirror looked totally confused, but his movements matched mine perfectly.

Even now that it felt real, it was still hard to believe this was my own appearance.

I hadn’t put on makeup or anything, and I definitely hadn’t gotten plastic surgery. All I’d done was take off my glasses, fix my hair, and straighten up my clothes. Just that… and I already looked completely different. The “plain gloomy guy” label I’d thought was stuck on me? Turns out I was the one who’d slapped it there myself.

I couldn’t call him a total stranger.

But he was definitely not the same as the old me.

“…Just a little.”

The hoarse voice came from deep in my throat.

Without meaning to, the corners of my mouth had lifted. I kept that faint smile as I spoke.

“…Yeah, I guess… I’ve changed just a little.”

But the moment those words left my lips—

“—A little?! That’s not even close!!”

Azusa’s sharp comeback suddenly flew in from behind me.

By the time I turned around, the three young ladies had already surrounded me.

“Wow, you really look like a different person, Yoichi. Honestly, way better than I expected…”

“Hey, Charlotte-chan, look!! His side profile is strong too!!”

“Wow! You’re right! His jawline is way too clean…!”

…What the heck is this situation?

I felt like I’d seen something similar on TV or online. The setup where pretty girls swarm around a cool actor. Of course I knew I wasn’t anywhere near that level, but still—for this one moment, it seemed like I was standing right in the center of that scene.

They were peering in from three directions at super close range, studying me like they were sizing me up… no, more like innocent kids just observing.

The distance between us was really tight—yeah, this might actually be a bit too close…

“Uh, um… you’re getting a little too close…”

“But good-looking guys are meant to be seen up close, right?”

“Yeah yeah! I wanna fill my whole view with Yoichi!”

“Exactly! Observation is important!!”

“…………Observation, huh.”

My voice stayed as calm as I could manage, but my face clearly wasn’t cooperating.

My cheeks felt hot. So hot I couldn’t do anything about it. They were definitely bright red by now.

But—strangely, I didn’t hate it.

In fact, the warmth slowly spreading through my chest even felt kind of nice.

I’d almost never been praised by other people in my whole life. Part of it was because I’d never really cared, but no one had ever complimented my looks before. Not once.

And yet here I was. Being seriously praised like this by Rei, Charlotte, and Azusa—three SS-class beauties that anyone would envy. If someone couldn’t feel happy about that, they must have already lost all their emotions.

“…Do I really look that different?”

The doubtful question slipped out in a thick, awkward voice. Even I was surprised how small it sounded.

But the three of them caught it clearly and nodded all at once without hesitation.

“It’s not just ‘different’…”

“Yeah, you’ve changed, but Yoichi already had good material to start with.”

“It feels like you’ve been polished even more! Exactly like polishing!”

All three of them agreed in their own ways, just with different wording.

When I glanced back at the mirror, sure enough, there I was with my face flushed bright red from embarrassment.

My eyes met the dumbstruck version of myself in the reflection. I was thinking how surprisingly simple I was… when Rei suddenly clapped her hands with a loud smack.

“Hey Yoichi! I just thought of a brilliant idea!!”

When I looked over at her, that bold grin she always wore when trouble was coming was plastered on her face.

“…What’s with that look?”

“Why don’t we go out right now?”

“…Huh?”

“So, the four of us—you and us—should head out together.”

Rei had carefully repeated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I hadn’t asked because I didn’t hear her. The words had just come out because I genuinely couldn’t understand what she meant.

“Um… what are you even saying…?”

“Come on! You’ve gotten this good-looking now!? It’d be such a waste to keep you locked up in the clubroom on day one!”

The other two, who’d been listening, nodded and chimed in one after another.

“Yeah, let’s release him into town.”

“Uh-huh! It’s the debut event for polished Yoichi-kun!”

“Wait, the way you put that…”

These people… their energy had completely veered off in a weird direction…

After giving a light reply, I quickly shook my head.

“No way! Seriously no way! Walking around outside with three conglomerate heiresses is a massive risk in every sense!”

I was genuinely scared of this suggestion. It was fine while we were still inside the clubroom, but outside was a whole different story. Way too different.

But then Charlotte stepped forward.

“That’s not a problem at all!”

“…What isn’t?”

“Our families’ guards are stationed densely across our entire activity area! If any clueless idiot who doesn’t know his place gets too close, they’ll be taken care of before we even notice♪”

…She just casually said something insanely scary, didn’t she…

Azusa followed up, shrugging her shoulders a little.

“Otherwise we couldn’t go out freely… We hardly ever stay in the clubroom, but normally it’s so strict it feels suffocating.”

And for the final push, Rei flashed a huge smile.

“Exactly! So Yoichi doesn’t have to worry about anything~! Just come hang out with us as much as you want!”

“…Uh, sure.”

If I only looked at the logic, it might actually make sense.

Their personal security was probably way stricter than I imagined.

Even so, normally I would’ve found some excuse to turn it down. Yeah, I definitely would’ve refused—but right now, those convenient words were stuck in my throat and wouldn’t come out.

There were plenty of reasons to say no, yet it felt like the guy in the mirror was telling me to go.

My back was just a little straighter today. This was the day I could think of myself as “cool” even if only a tiny bit. The happy buzz from being praised was still lingering in my chest.

Hiding away in the clubroom like this and ending the day felt… well, like Rei said, kind of a waste.

“…What about the next town over?”

Before I knew it, the words had slipped out, whether consciously or not.

All three of them turned their sparkling eyes toward me at once.

“Um… if it’s the next town over, that’s fine. Somewhere I probably won’t run into anyone I know or anyone from school…”

While I was saying it, my rational side asked, “Is this really okay…?” but the noisy explosion of excitement that followed instantly blew that thought away.

“Yay~! It’s decided!!”

“Wow~! If it’s decided, we can’t waste time!! One hour from now!! Meet at the station in the next town!!”

“Since it’s a special occasion, we’ll go change into casual clothes too!!”

“Wait, hey, hold on!! Isn’t this moving way too fast!?”

But my protest was pointless. The three of them dashed out of the clubroom like a storm.

Right before they completely disappeared from the room, Rei glanced back at me with a strangely chilling smile.

“No being late or running away, okay! If you run, I’ll hunt you down with my life on the line!!”

She left those words behind and vanished.

I let out a small sigh at her way of speaking.

“Don’t leave behind something that sounds so dangerous…”

Then the sound of the door closing echoed softly in the suddenly quiet space.

The room that had been so loud just moments ago was now left with only the mirror and me.

“…Today’s me is acting weird, huh.”

I slowly stepped in front of the mirror and muttered those words to the guy facing me.

I was… aware of it. That’s probably why the expression on the face reflected there looked so tense.

But those eyes—they looked happy. It even felt like a tiny spark of expectation was shining deep inside them.

“If I’m doing this… I’ll stick with it till the end.”

I whispered the pointless monologue to the very real person right in front of me. It was probably just my imagination, but I had the feeling the guy in the mirror gave a small nod.

“I guess… I’ll get ready too.”

Then, a little later than the three conglomerate heiresses, I put my hand on the clubroom door.

After making sure I’d locked it properly, I left this place that had polished me up.