I Want a Girlfriend who Won’t Betray Me - Chapter 1

Prologue

I’m Kazuki Shinonome. I have a cute childhood friend, Wakana Kisaragi.

She was born at the same time and on the same day as me in the same hospital, but she always brags about coming out of her mother’s womb five minutes earlier than me, acting like she is my older sister.

We go to kindergarten, grade school and of course middle school together. Wakana is always by my side no matter what.

However, one day, I have to tell my precious childhood friend.

“Wakana, my dad is being transferred to the US.”

“……”

“So…I’ll be going to the US for two years.”

“……”

“That means, Wakana and I will…”

“I don’t want to hear it. Stay with me, Kazuki. Even if your parents go to the US, you can just stay at my place. I don’t want to be apart from Kazuki!”

“……”

However, no one will listen to the words of a kid who just entered middle school.

“Kazuki, I don’t want to be apart from you. Please don’t forget about me.”

“There’s no way I can forget you. It’s just two years.”

“Two years is a really long time!”

After crying so much that we thought we couldn’t shed another tear, I leave Narita Airport with my parents.

“He’s gone…”

We went to the same kindergarten, grade school and even middle school.

However, not long after entering middle school, my father told me—

“Kazuki, I’ve been assigned to a transfer in the US. It’ll be for two years. We’re leaving in August. It’s not too late for you to enroll in an English conversation school. There are some Japanese school over there, but this is a great opportunity. If you start now, you can make it in time for the September intake.”

“Eh? I thought that plan was cancelled?”

“It’s the company’s decision. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Do we really have to go?”

“Kazuki, please come with me to the US.”

“…alright.”

Before I even have the time to feel lonely, I move to Boston in the US with my parents.

I thought that my English skills from only four months in an English conversation school won’t be enough, but when I enroll to the middle school there, there are quite a few Japanese students, and they help me a lot, not just at school, but in daily life as well.

When I win an all-you-can-eat lobster contest, everyone celebrates with me, though I can’t eat another bite after that.

Then, just as the two years are coming to an end, my dad tells me—

“Kazuki, due to work circumstances, we have to stay here for another year.”

“Eh? Why? You promised we’d go back in two years.”

“I’m really sorry, Kazuki, but the decision has been made.”

“No way…”

When I tell Wakana that I’ll be staying here for another year, she calls me a liar. At first, she still talks to me over the phone, but eventually, she stops answering my calls. I’m devastated, but I convinced myself that it’s my fault, and I give up on trying to talk to Wakana.

In the end, I end up staying here for another year. Naturally, I make more friends here, not only Japanese students here, but also American boys and girls.

They say some crazy things to me like how I have such a beautiful face, tall, smart and kind-hearted. Honestly, I feel like it’s a bit over-the-top. I think maybe only about 30% of it is actually true.

I graduate from middle school at the end of June.

“Make sure to show us around if we ever visit Japan!”

My classmates said so to me.

Of course, I promise them that I will.

Nearly three years has passed since I first came here.

I have lost all contact with Wakana, but on the day my return to Japan is confirmed, I send her a message on a chat app.

‘I’ll be back in August.’

But she never replied to my message.

Then, in August, I return to Japan.

My dad has been talking to a Japanese real estate agent since July. We end up moving into an apartment in the suburbs, a little further away from the city center.

We could’ve just rented out our old house in Japan, but dad decided to sell it. That means I can’t go back to Wakana, but it can’t be helped. She might have already forgotten about me anyway.

I heard that there is this prestigious private high school near our new apartment, Sugawara Academy, so I took the transfer exam online and passed without any issues.

When I arrive at Narita Airport, I didn’t expect Japan to be this hot and humid.

I have no idea that the highest temperatures in the US are the lowest ones over here in Japan.

On the day we return to Japan, my family and I stay at a hotel in Tokyo. However, my dad contacts the real estate agent that same day to handle the key handover and check the condition of the apartment. Thanks to that, we are able to move into the apartment the next day.

Our belongings from Boston arrive at the apartment on the same day we move in. We have a lot of things to do in the following days, like unpacking, cleaning, exploring the neighbourhood, and figuring out the route to school.

It’s almost September now, the school has already sent me all of my textbooks and necessary documents. I thought there won’t be any uniforms since it’s a private school, but apparently there are. Back in the US, we didn’t have any uniforms.

On the day of my transfer, I go to the staff room with my mom to greet the teachers. The moment we enter the room, all the teachers widen their eyes in surprise.

A bald man comes over to us and says,

“So you’re Kazuki Shinonome? I’ve seen your photo, but you’re really handsome in person.”

“……”

After receiving such an off-topic greeting, my mom steps in.

“Vice Principal, please take care of Kazuki from today onwards.”

The bald man, who has just been called the vice principal, stares intently at my mom.

“Umm, you’re the actress Toko Kitagawa, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been out of the industry for a while, but yes, that’s me.”

Before we moved to the US, my mom was an actress here in Japan. Toko Kitagawa was her stage name, her real name is Keiko Shinonome.

“Ah, I see. You’re truly stunning.”

Amid this bizarre conversation,

“Vice Principal, introduce me.”

A beautiful woman wearing glasses. She seems like a very assertive teacher.

“Yes, let me introduce you. This is Mikoshiba Noriko, your homeroom teacher, Shinonome-kun.”

“I’m Mikoshiba. Nice to meet you, Shinonome-kun.”

After that, my mom leaves, and I wait while receiving a brief explanation. Soon, the bell rings.

Following Mikoshiba-sensei down the hallway, we stop in front of a classroom with a sign that reads 1-A.

“Shinonome-kun, please come in when I call you.”

“Understood.”

Mikoshiba-sensei enters the classroom and speaks for a bit. Then, she turns to me and say,

“Shinonome-kun, come in.”

The moment I step into the classroom—

“Whaaat!?”

“No way!”

“He’s gorgeous.”

“He’s really tall.”

“He has such a beautiful face.”

“I want to be friends with him.”

I can hear all kinds of whispers around me.

“Everyone, please be quiet. Shinonome-kun, please introduce yourself.”

“Yes. I’m Kazuki Shinonome. Due to my father’s job, I studied at a middle school in Boston for three years. I’m not familiar with how things work here, so I’d appreciate it if you could help me out about it.”

“Shinonome-kun, how tall are you?”

“182 cm.”

“Then you can sit in the back. There’s an empty seat behind Kisaragi-san. Please sit there.”

I start walking towards my seat, but the person sitting in front of my seat is—

If my memory is correct, that’s my childhood friend.

But she doesn’t say a single word to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wakana’s POV

When I see the boy who transfer into our school today, I’m at a loss for words.

There is no mistaking him, he is my childhood friend, Kazuki Shinonome.

He went to Boston in the US during the first semester of our first year in middle school. It was supposed to be just two years. I spent all that time waiting for him, holding onto the promise that he would return. Of course, we stayed in touch through a chat app.

But then, just before he was supposed to come back, he told me that his return was delayed by another year. That was the breaking point for my patience.

What if he never comes back?

Even if he does, what if it takes years?

What if I’ll never see him again?

What if he already has a girlfriend?

Those thoughts kept running through my mind. That’s why I gradually stopped keeping in touch with him.

Around June, Kazuki sent me a message on the chat app, telling me he was coming back to Japan. But by then, I had already convinced myself that we would never meet again, so I ignored it.

And yet, I never could have imagined that he would transfer into the same high school, in the same class as me.

I never told him I was going to this school. It’s just a complete coincidence.

You’re too late, Kazuki. Way too late.