I Was Blackmailed Into Accepting Bullying Using My Childhood Friend as Leverage, But When I Found Out My Friend and Bully Were Together, I Abandoned All Compassion and Swore to Take Revenge with Everything I Had - Chapter 26: Scum File 2 - Shizuku Himeno - Kenichi's Letter

Chapter 26: Scum File 2 – Shizuku Himeno – Kenichi’s Letter

Around the time Kenichi was hospitalized, on the third day—Scum’s Perspective.

It’s been a few days since Ken-chan declared that he would take full revenge for all the mistreatment he had suffered.

Ryusei and his gang lived in constant fear of Ken-chan. Every day, they made sure to avoid crossing paths with him. As soon as class was about to end, they would complain about stomach pains and escape to the bathroom, staying there until the very last minute before the next class started. This routine became their new normal.

As for Ken-chan, he didn’t seem to care about them at all. He continued reading books or playing on his phone, just as before. Even though the power dynamics in the classroom had shifted, he remained as isolated as ever.

As for me, the story about Ryusei and I having sex in the classroom spread throughout the school. My image as a serious and honest class representative was completely ruined. On top of that, when it was revealed that I had secretly been in a relationship with the very person who was bullying my childhood friend, it only added fuel to the fire. Now, I’m labeled as a slut, a coward, and a piece of trash.

The friends I once had mostly distanced themselves from me.

The one or two who stayed? Whenever we were together in a group of three, they would constantly tease me and turn me into the butt of their jokes. 

Even though it is uncomfortable, I thought it was better than being completely alone, so I endured it, pretending to laugh along.

It’s only been about a week, but it’s been so hard that I feel like I’m on the verge of a breakdown. 

I can’t even focus on my studies anymore. The results of the small test we had last week were awful. 

By the way, when I was helping the teacher carry some materials, I saw the list of results—Ken-chan had gotten perfect scores on everything and ranked first.

Now, with the roles reversed, Ryusei and the others living in fear, and Ken-chan having cut ties with both me and the Komada family, he’d undergone a complete transformation.

His old, awkward hairstyle was replaced with a modern, clean-cut look, and people inside and outside the class were talking about him.

And it turns out that Ken-chan is actually Kenichi Fudo, the super popular author who had been rumored about for the past two years…

It’s true that Ken-chan liked novels and books, and I remember hearing that he wrote stories as a hobby. But I never imagined that he would actually debut as an author and become so successful. 

I guess that just shows how distant we had become. And now, it’s clear that there’s no chance our relationship will ever go back to the way it was, or get any better.

As for Ryusei, while we still greeted each other, things had been awkward between us since last week’s incident. After that, he completely stopped contacting me, and I didn’t try to reach out to him either. 

Knowing that Ryusei had used me to blackmail Ken-chan made it impossible for me to trust him.

To Ken-chan, I must seem like a filthy traitor. Even if I claim that I didn’t know what was happening, from the perspective of someone who was being bullied, “I didn’t know” isn’t an acceptable excuse. When I first started dating Ryusei, if I had at least told Ken-chan about it…

It’s too late for regrets. My current situation is the result of my own actions.

During homeroom, Ken-chan announced that he had officially changed his surname to Fudo and revealed that he was the novelist everyone had been talking about, causing a stir in the class. After that, he was called to the principal’s office and left.

A little later, Ryusei and his group were also called out by the head of our grade. But while Ryusei and the others came back, Ken-chan never returned to class that day.

Even if I wanted to check on Ken-chan, I couldn’t. My contact is blocked, and I don’t know where he’s living now. It seems that neither Kotone nor her mother can be reached either.

The next day during homeroom, our teacher—who seemed oddly happy about it—announced that Ken-chan had been admitted to the hospital for a short stay. 

Most of the class probably felt the same way I did… Honestly, I didn’t know how to deal with the new Ken-chan. The distance between us scared me. So, knowing that he wouldn’t be around for a while was a relief, and I couldn’t help but feel a little glad.

On the second day of Ken-chan’s hospitalization, after school, Ryusei suggested to everyone in the class that we should work together to get rid of Ken-chan from the school. But no one agreed with him. 

I noticed Ryusei’s former lackeys whispering to each other, but they didn’t seem eager to help either.

At home, things had changed as well. Since Ken-chan cut ties with me, I could sense that my parents’ attitude toward me had shifted. Even at home, I felt out of place.

Whenever I was alone in my room, overthinking everything made me feel like I was on the verge of a breakdown. So, I started venting on social media, making sure no one could identify me. It became my outlet, a secret account where I could express everything I couldn’t say out loud.

[I mean, it’s not like I was dating my childhood friend, so why should I be blamed for sleeping with my boyfriend? If he was being blackmailed by my boyfriend, he could have just told me. I asked him so many times if something was wrong, but he never said anything. That’s on him, right?]

[Exactly! Hime-chan, you’re not in the wrong~ That gloomy childhood friend of yours is just super jealous! You gotta watch out for guys like that!]

The person responding to me in the chat was Kurohitsuji-san. Hime-chan is the name of my secret account, and Kurohitsuji-san has been the only one replying to my rants. Ever since then, they’ve been a regular listener to all my complaints.

[Okay, I admit I feel a bit bad about what happened with his mother’s keepsake. But really, is a single notebook worth blaming me this much? It just seems ridiculous.]

[That gloomy childhood friend of yours must have the tiniest mind ever, smaller than a karaoke box! Haha!]

[LOL, so true! Like, he’s got a cat-sized mind? Kurohitsuji-chan, you’re so on point with the humor!]

[Exactly! So don’t let it get to you, Hime-chan! Stay strong and keep your spirits up!]

[Yeah, you’re right!]

Being able to spill all my darkest thoughts to someone who doesn’t know me, and just say whatever I want, is such a great stress reliever. After I finished chatting with Kurohitsuji-san, I heard my mom calling me from the living room.

“Shizuku, Kotone-chan is here to see you~”

Since the day Ken-chan cut ties with us, Kotone and I had only exchanged a few messages, and we hadn’t met face-to-face since that brief conversation in front of the Komada house.

“Okay! I’m coming!”

I quickly put on a pair of skinny jeans and headed to the living room.

When I arrived, Kotone-chan was sitting there, looking down, clearly not her usual self. She hadn’t even touched the juice that had been offered to her. Since I had just vented all my frustrations in the chat and was feeling a bit lighter, I tried my best to speak to her in a bright tone.

“Hey~, Kotone-chan! Long time no see! How’ve you been?” 

I sat down in front of her with a cheerful smile and reached out to hold her hand. I leaned in, trying to catch a glimpse of her downcast eyes.

“You don’t seem too well… I mean, with everything that’s happened, it’s understandable. It’s exhausting, isn’t it?”

I gently shook her hand up and down, trying to keep the conversation going.

“S-Shizuku-chan, you seem… like you’ve moved on or something…”

Her tone was hard to read, and I couldn’t quite grasp what she was feeling.

“Well, there’s no point in dwelling on things forever, right? We’re high school students, so we still have time to start over!”

“…”

Kotone-chan didn’t look at me. Instead, she handed me an envelope.

I examined the envelope, flipping it over in my hands. Kotone-chan, with a trembling voice, said, “I didn’t look inside…”

“What is this?” I asked, waving the envelope slightly, trying to get an explanation. She hesitated, then finally spoke.

“It’s… it’s a letter from my stepbrother… for Shizuku-san…”

“!? W-What? Ken-chan came to your house? Is he back? Is he still there!?”

I bombarded her with questions, but Kotone-chan, clearly overwhelmed, grabbed my hand to calm me down.

“Ah, no… My stepbrother didn’t come home, and he doesn’t plan on coming back… He left this letter with someone acting on his behalf.”

She continued, 

“The writing on the envelope addressed to ‘Shizuku-sama’ is definitely from my stepbrother.”

“Then why did he ask you to give it to me? Couldn’t this person have handed it to me directly?”

I asked, confused. Kotone-chan shook her head, looking pained.

“I don’t know what his true intentions are, but I thought it would be best to give it to you without looking inside… Well, I’ll be leaving now.”

Without drinking the juice that had been served to her, and without looking back at me, Kotone-chan left through the front door.

“Oh, Shizuku? Did Kotone-chan already leave?” 

My mother peeked out from the other room. I just nodded in response.

I went to my room, lay down on my bed, and held Ken-chan’s letter up to the ceiling, spinning it around in my hands as I examined it. All it said on the envelope was “To Shizuku-sama.” I quickly sat up and tore open the envelope, pulling out the folded letter inside.

Unfolding the A4-sized letter, I saw only one line written:

“Be careful of Iketsuki.”

(Be careful of Ryusei-kun?)

I recalled my earlier chat with Kurohitsuji-san: “That’s right, Hime-chan, you’re not in the wrong~ That gloomy childhood friend of yours is just super jealous! You better watch out, Hime-chan~”

Shouldn’t I be more worried about Ken-chan… or rather, Fudo-kun, trying to get revenge on me?

With that thought in mind, I ripped the letter and the envelope into pieces and threw them into the trash.

That night, I received a message from Ryusei for the first time in a while. Overjoyed, I got lost in our chat, and completely forgot about Fudo-kun’s letter.

Later, I would regret this decision more than anything.

And I would finally understand—that letter had been Ken-chan’s last act of kindness toward me…