I Just Wanted a Girlfriend, But Now I Have Three Fiancées! …Even Though I Don’t Remember Proposing to Any of Them - Chapter 04: If It Happens Twice, It’ll Happen a Third Time

Chapter 04: If It Happens Twice, It’ll Happen a Third Time

Just as the lunch break was about to end, I slipped back into the classroom—

Only to get flagged down by Kyousuke.

“Haru! Where the heck were you? Kisaragi-san came by looking for you!”

“Mei did? Why?”

I blinked, totally thrown off by what he just said.

“No clue. She came asking for you, waited outside for a bit, but when you didn’t show, she stormed off looking seriously ticked.”

“…You’re kidding.”

Did I somehow make her mad without even realizing it…?

Also, why would she even come to my classroom?

“She actually seemed super cheerful at first, which totally freaked me out. I mean, Kisaragi-san usually looks like she’s in a constant state of mild rage, right?”

“Yeah, that checks out.”

Mei always had this vaguely annoyed aura about her.

And yet, somehow, she was insanely popular.

Beautiful people really do live on easy mode.

“But when she left, she looked three times more pissed than usual.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Dude, you think I’d joke about this?”

“Wait… three times more angry than normal? Are you saying there’s an even worse version of her default rage mode?”

Emotions are terrifying, man…

“She kept mumbling something about a promise or whatever. I dunno, sounded like you were supposed to meet or something. Ditching her like that? Pretty messed up.”

“I didn’t make any kind of promise like that!”

This part? Totally true.

I definitely didn’t make any plans to meet Mei during lunch today.

…Or wait.

Did I make that promise—yesterday?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, a cold shiver ran down my spine.

N-No way…

But what if…?

I did lose my memory after drinking that cursed coffee yesterday…

What if, while still caffeine-drunk, I randomly promised Mei something without even realizing it?

The more I thought about it, the more likely it sounded and that was so terrifying, I just gave up thinking entirely.

Nope. Hard pass.

When reality gets rough, denial is always the safest option.

So there I was, half-panicking through all my afternoon classes, dreading the moment school ended…

And of course, the universe betrayed me.

Time, which usually crawls at a snail’s pace, decided to speed-run the day.

Before I knew it, the final bell rang.

And the moment class was over—BOOM.

Mei showed up at my classroom like a heat-seeking missile.

“…Why weren’t you in your classroom during lunch?”

Her voice was ice cold.

I swear, if you placed a banana near her right now, it would turn into a hammer.

That’s how cold her vibe was.

She’s really mad…

“I-I got pulled away by a junior, you know…?”

But with my memory of yesterday completely wiped thanks to Caffeinegeddon, there was no way I could keep lying.

So I decided to tell her the truth—or at least, as much of it as I could manage.

I explained everything that happened during lunch… carefully.

“A junior? From where?”

“From club…”

“Oh, right. You’re in a club, aren’t you? Which one?”

“Literature Club…”

“Hmm. Is it a girl?”

“Huh?”

“The junior.”

What kind of question is that?

“Is it a girl?”—seriously?

Who asks that so bluntly??

“Y-Yeah… she’s a girl.”

“Are you close with her?”

“…I wouldn’t say we’re not close…”

“I see.”

Mei gave a flat response, her expression totally unreadable, and stared straight at me.

“Well, fine then. What time does your club end today?”

“It’s actually off today.”

“Good. Then we’re walking home together.”

Ah. Got it.

So I don’t get a say in this, huh?

“Hurry up and pack your stuff.”

With absolutely no room to argue, I grabbed my bag and headed out with Mei—completely unaware that our entire class was watching this whole exchange unfold like a live soap opera.

“Oh, right. I still need to get you a birthday present.”

She dropped it casually as we passed through the school gate.

“You don’t have to. Seriously, no need to go out of your way.”

“Nope. It’s important to build these little moments. If you neglect them, things grow cold too fast…”

Huh.

Was that… advice?

Or a warning?

Her cheeks were faintly red as she said it, and all I could do was nod—still completely clueless when it came to romance.

“So, is there anything you want?”

“Something I want, huh…”

Nothing really came to mind.

Honestly, a bag of snacks or something would’ve been enough for me…

“If you don’t have anything in mind, I’ve got a great idea.”

“What is it?”

“Matching rings.”

“…Hah?”

That… sounded like a dangerously loaded suggestion.

“W-What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t know? Matching rings—like the ones couples wear!”

“…Our school doesn’t allow accessories like that, though.”

“W-Wait… were you seriously planning to wear it to school?!”

From her tone, she sounded totally exasperated.

But when I glanced at her face—

She looked genuinely touched.

Why!?

“I-I mean, it’s sweet that you’re being so forward and all… But showing off our relationship at school might be a bit much… I-I still need time to mentally prepare myself and stuff…”

Now she was fidgeting and blushing like crazy.

At first, I had no idea why Mei was acting like this…

But then a theory popped into my head.

Maybe her thought process went something like:

‘School bans accessories’ → ‘But Haru still wants to wear the matching ring anyway’ → ‘He’s trying to show everyone we’re a couple.’

Wait.

Is that really where her brain went?

Isn’t that… kind of a leap?

“B-But if you’re being that serious, Haru… t-then I’ll do my best too…!”

And just like that, the Mei Switch got flipped.

“I-I’ll ask my friends where to get a good one… So look forward to it, okay?”

“A-Ah… sure…”

And just like that… I nodded to Mei without even thinking.

But deep down, I knew there was something I had to say.

Something important.

Even if she got mad—

Even if it ruined everything—

I had to clear up this misunderstanding.

I needed to tell her that because of that cursed coffee,

I had no memory of what happened yesterday.

That I didn’t remember making any promises…

So could we maybe just… forget the whole thing?

I wanted to be honest with her.

Properly.

She’d probably be disappointed.

Maybe she’d never speak to me again.

Even so—

I had to say it.

That’s what I kept telling myself…

Right up until she softly whispered—barely loud enough for me to hear:

“…thank you, Haru. for accepting someone like me.”

And just like that… I couldn’t say a word.

Maybe now isn’t the right time.

That’s what I told myself.

So instead of coming clean, I just went quiet.

Then awkwardly tossed in a completely unrelated topic to dodge it all.

Call it running away.

Call it cowardice.

You’d be absolutely right.

Because in that moment…

I let my one chance to be honest with Mei slip away.

And the price for that?

Let’s just say—I had no idea how steep it was going to be.

But if I had to sum up what came next in one phrase, it would be this:

“If it happens twice, it’ll happen a third time.”

After walking Mei home, I started heading back to my place.

Halfway there, I got kinda thirsty, so I figured I’d grab a drink from a nearby vending machine.

But as I walked up, I noticed someone was already standing there.

A blonde girl—

And clearly not Japanese.

Whoa. Foreigners weren’t exactly common around here.

I stood there, kinda zoning out and staring at her back when—

She pulled a fizzy drink from the machine, turned around…

And our eyes met.

Wow.

Her eyes were… beautiful.

While I was still caught up in that thought, her eyes suddenly widened in shock.

“I-I finally found you!”

“…Huh?”

She spoke perfect Japanese. Like, native-level perfect.

“You’re Haru-san, right!?”

“Uh… yeah, that’s me.”

“It’s me! Luna! Luna Liliane!”

…Who?

“I knew it! We are bound together by fate!”

And just like that, she dropped the soda she’d just bought—

And gently took my hand in hers.