I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 11

Chapter 11   Santa’s Troubles

After enjoying the buffet with Ayaka, I was heading home.

On the way, I pulled out my now considerably lighter wallet. I thought about buying a coffee from a vending machine, but there wasn’t even enough left for that. Where did all my cash go, I wondered, thinking of the bills I once had.

“That was expensive… though it was good,” I muttered to myself, slipping my wallet back into my rear pocket.

I didn’t even want to calculate how much I’d spent today. For a student living alone, it was probably an amount I’d rather not imagine. And this wasn’t some special occasion like Christmas—it was just an ordinary weekday. The buffet we went to wasn’t filled with regular family-restaurant-style dishes but items that could have easily been expensive on their own.

I should accept that all this spending made sense, given how much I ate. But still…

“I can’t even buy a coffee…” I muttered sadly before finally heading home.

It looked like I’d have to put off buying the game console I had been eyeing this month.

◇◆

As I approached my apartment, I noticed that the lights were on in my room. Shinohara had mentioned earlier that she’d be celebrating her birthday with friends, so I figured she was done for the night.

I got a message from her this morning saying, “It looks like I’ll be back early today, so please leave the key in the mailbox.” Not being too worried about security, I had easily agreed and left the key in the mailbox for her.

It was now 11:30 p.m. I wasn’t sure what she’d been up to, but I had a feeling she was probably lazing around, reading manga in my apartment.

Climbing the creaky stairs, I stopped in front of my door. My apartment, while not quite rundown, was definitely on the older side, and I lived on the second floor.

When I opened the door and said, “I’m home,” the sound of the TV greeted me.

From down the hallway, Shinohara’s familiar face popped out. She had her loosely curled hair tied back in a ponytail.

“Oh, welcome back, senpai,” she said.

“I’m back. What have you been doing this late?”

“As you can see, watching TV,” she answered, as she changed the channel. The program that had been showing a woman being interviewed switched to a news broadcast.

“Oh, what were you watching?”

“That’s a secret. Don’t go prying into a girl’s business,” she teased.

“I’m not prying that much. Hand me the remote.”

“Ah!”

I grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels, eventually landing back on the program she had been watching. The caption in the top left read, ‘When do you feel like you want a boyfriend?’ It seemed like some kind of romance show.

“Wow, didn’t think you’d be into such girly shows,” I teased.

“Ugh! ‘Didn’t think?’ That’s so rude!” she huffed.

“So, why were you watching something like this?”

When I asked, Shinohara averted her gaze, as if hesitating for a moment.

“…Well, if you don’t want to say it, that’s fine. Anyway, today…”

“I’ve been thinking, maybe I’m a bit off.”

“—Oh, so you’re gonna say it? Wait, what brought this on all of a sudden?”

“Ugh, how cold! I mustered up the courage to say this!”

Shinohara shot me a sharp look, but it was just cute, and it didn’t have any effect on me.

“I mean, I used to date Motosaka-senpai, right? And now, I feel like I might have some sense of being out of touch with the world.”

“Uh-huh. A bit late to realize that, huh?”

“I told my friends about the breakup. I know it’s been a month already, but I wanted to tell them directly.”

“Oh? So, what did they say?”

“Well, they said things like, ‘It must’ve been tough dealing with the cheating,’ or, ‘I hope your next relationship will be better.'”

“Sounds like you’ve got good friends.”

“Yeah, they are.”

But Shinohara shook her head, as if to say that wasn’t what she was trying to get across.

“It felt kind of awkward getting those comments. I mean, I do regret causing trouble for you and your friends on Christmas, but in the end, I only dated him because I wanted to do couple-like things.”

She shrugged, as if to say she wasn’t really hurt by it.

“Still, I spent the whole day with people worrying about me and trying to comfort me. It wore me out.”

“So that’s why you guys wrapped things up early, even though it’s your birthday.”

“Yeah. I wanted to do couple-like stuff, dated Motosaka-senpai, got mad when he cheated, but I wasn’t really hurt by it. Am I out of touch?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Thought so,” Shinohara laughed lightly.

“I mean, there are plenty of people who date just because they want to do couple-like things. But usually, you’d have to like the person a little to date them. And if you get cheated on, it’s normal to feel hurt.”

Looking back, after Motosaka cheated, Shinohara only seemed angry but never appeared hurt by the betrayal itself.

“So, why were you mad when he cheated?”

“Because it pissed me off.”

“Why?”

“Because he disrespected me.”

“Wasn’t there a bit of jealousy, like being upset that he showed interest in another girl? Like, your feelings being betrayed or something?”

“No. He kept persistently confessing, so I accepted it, and then he cheated? How dare he. That’s it, no more, no less.”

Shinohara said this firmly, but then noticed my silence and furrowed her brow in uncertainty.

“…Do you think I’m shallow?”

She seemed to be wondering if her way of thinking was really that different from others.

“Everyone’s got their own way of thinking. Just wait for the right person to come along eventually.”

“I waited, met someone, and then got cheated on.”

“…Right.”

“What’s with that pitying tone?”

“Sorry, that does sound rough.”

“I just told you that kind of attitude is exhausting!”

Shinohara puffed out her cheeks.

Then, she bent her knees up into a triangle shape and buried her face in them.

“I envy everyone. Couples who are in love seem really nice.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

For a moment, Reina’s face, the girl I ran into earlier, flashed in my mind. I fumbled with the bag Ayaka gave me to distract myself.

“Here, this is for you. A wallet.”

“Whaaat?”

Shinohara quickly unfolded from her seated position and came closer. A sweet scent, different from the shampoo at home, tickled my nose.

“Happy birthday. Let’s keep getting along, alright?”

“…I’m touched.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“I mean, it’s exactly my style. I’ve been wanting a new wallet too. How did you know? Are you a genius?”

As expected of Ayaka, her choices always hit the mark.

“I just figured it out from our usual conversations,” I said, trying to sound cool.

…Please forgive me for trying to act all smooth.

Just then, the doorbell rang. In our small one-room apartment, the overly loud sound echoed unnervingly.

“Who could it be at this hour?”

With a small grunt, Shinohara stood up and walked to the front door. The way she held the wallet so carefully, it was clear she really liked it.

It wasn’t a cheap gift, but seeing her like that made me feel like it was worth it.

I heard the sound of Shinohara opening the door. Then, a familiar voice—one that didn’t belong to her—reached my ears.

“Huh? Shinohara, what are you doing here?”

“…Ayaka-senpai.”

I locked eyes with Ayaka, with Shinohara standing between us.