I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 18

Chapter 18   A Call from an Ex-girlfriend

“Do you need something?”

A cold, sharp voice that feels out of place in this trendy café comes out of my mouth. There shouldn’t be any reason for us to be talking anymore. Even when we ran into each other while shopping with Ayaka, we barely said a word before parting ways.

Though I couldn’t shake the parting words she left—“See you again.”

“Sorry for calling you out of the blue.”
“Not really. It’s been a while since you called me.”
“Yeah, I thought you might’ve blocked me on Line.”
“Well…”

I did consider blocking her right after the breakup. But then I figured we wouldn’t contact each other anyway, and blocking her felt childish, so I held back. In hindsight, maybe I should’ve created more of a ‘clean break’ for a fresh start.

“Are you busy right now?” she asked, likely hearing the café’s background music.

“I’m meeting someone. If you have something to say, make it quick.”

There was a brief pause. I listened to the background music without really thinking, but today, the classical piece seemed to linger in my ears more than usual.

“Got it. Like I mentioned when we bumped into each other, I was wondering if we could meet up sometime.”

So it wasn’t just a polite formality after all.

I swallowed the retort that almost escaped my lips. I didn’t want to argue. I just wanted to wrap up this call as quickly and smoothly as possible.

“No, I’ll pass.”
“Why not?”

Why? How come?
I didn’t expect that question. I stared at my phone screen, wondering if she seriously didn’t understand.

“Yuuta?”

I briefly considered hanging up. Before I could respond, the door behind me opened, and the sound of a bell chimed. Shinohara poked her head in.

“Senpai… oh, sorry, are you on the phone?”
“No, it’s fine.”

“…Your girlfriend?”

That question made things clear to me. It seemed Reina had already come to terms with the fact that her cheating was a thing of the past. There was no hidden meaning behind her question, just simple curiosity.

As I stayed silent, she continued asking questions.

“Have you been busy lately?”
“I’ve got a club drinking party tomorrow. Other than that, not really.”
“I see. You’re still the same as always.”

Still the same.

It hit me that we’d been together long enough for her to say that. But I knew that unless I cut things off here, I wouldn’t be able to move forward. I didn’t have any lingering feelings, and getting back together wasn’t even a possibility in my mind.

Yet, talking to her now made my chest feel tight, just like before. I frowned without realizing it.

The fact that I was even thinking about Reina like this was already something I didn’t want.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Stop contacting me.”

I was surprised by how cold my voice sounded. It was as if all the emotions I had been holding back were reflected in the flat tone of my words. The background music in the café seemed to shift as if responding to the tension in my voice. I could hear Reina’s faint, surprised breath through the phone.

“…I see.”

Despite the long pause, her reply was short. That should be the end of it. I moved my finger to hover over the button to end the call. Just as I was about to hang up, I heard her voice again.

“I didn’t cheat on you.”

My eyes widened, but by the time I realized, the call had already ended.

What did she just say?

“I didn’t cheat on you,” or something like that. But I’d seen her holding hands with another guy in front of my house. If that wasn’t cheating, what was it supposed to be? Was she about to claim it was some kind of “pretend girlfriend” job?

“Senpai…?”

Shinohara spoke to me, her voice filled with hesitation.

“Senpai, that call just now—”

“Don’t ask.”

I pushed open the door of the café. Shinohara trailed behind me, hesitating. She must have picked up on the tension between me and whoever was on the other end of that call. She had no way of knowing it was my ex, but it was obvious to anyone listening that there had been some kind of conflict.

I knew my conversation had made her uncomfortable, and that realization made me even more frustrated. I bit my lip in irritation.

“…Senpai.”

“…What?”

“You were a little scary just now.”

Shinohara’s comment made me scratch my head. I thought I had grown enough to be able to control myself. I took a deep breath internally and paused for a moment.

“Sorry. I’m fine now.”

Shinohara stared at me for a moment before lightly poking my shoulder with her delicate finger.

“Senpai, you’ve got your own stuff going on, huh?”

“Not really. There’s nothing.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Everyone has their own issues, big or small. Reina was just one of many problems. What mattered more to me right now was not making my junior worry. A carefree smile suits her best.

After a moment of contemplation, Shinohara suggested, “I’ll make dessert for you today too.” Surprised, since she’d never offered to make dessert before, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why all of a sudden?”

“Because I want to eat it,” she said with a smile.

It was clear her offer was just a way to make sure I wouldn’t feel burdened.

“Thanks.”

“You got it!”

Somehow, my heart felt lighter thanks to Shinohara’s thoughtfulness.

◇◆

After Shinohara left, I was washing the dishes for both of us. The sweetness of the tiramisu still lingered on my lips. The dessert was incredibly delicious. I like tiramisu with a balanced bitterness, but a stronger sweetness, and it seemed like Shinohara had figured that out from the café menu I had ordered earlier. The tiramisu she made perfectly matched my taste. Combined with the strange sense of indulgence from eating it in a warm room, it was easily one of the best things I’ve eaten recently.

The time was now 8 p.m. Since Shinohara had left earlier than usual, my evening routine was progressing more smoothly. At this rate, I’d have plenty of free time left before bed.

Spending time with Shinohara wasn’t bad, but I also cherished my time alone. Especially after finishing exams, I wanted nothing more than to lie down after washing the dishes and surf video sites to my heart’s content. Jumping from one interesting video to the next via the recommendations was pure bliss for me.

But that small wish was interrupted by the glowing green screen of my smartphone. The caller ID displayed the name Ayaka.

“So, guess what the customer said?” she asked.

“…Hey, can we save this story for another time? Something just came up.”

“Oh, come on, you’re just going to surf the web, right? You can do that anytime.”

“And we can talk anytime too.”

A big sigh came through the speakerphone.

“Seriously, you’re the only one who acts so cold when I call.”

“Well, lucky me.”

I replied as I scrubbed the dirt off the pressure cooker with a sponge. Honestly, I was paying more attention to cleaning the cooker than to Ayaka’s call. I hadn’t used the pressure cooker my parents gave me much until Shinohara started coming over, but now it got regular use. I figured even the pressure cooker was probably happy about that.

“Hey, are you done with the dishes yet? Sometimes I can’t even hear you over the water,” Ayaka complained.

“Almost there.”

“Hmm. Isn’t this taking longer than usual?”

Her sharp observation made my hand freeze for a moment. Naturally, it was taking longer since I was washing dishes for two people, plus the utensils I’d used to make dessert, but I didn’t want to explain that to Ayaka.

“I, uh, let them pile up during exam week. You wouldn’t understand this struggle, living at home.”

“Don’t underestimate me. Even during exam week, I manage all the housework. I even have time to come help at your place if you need.”

It was a thoughtful offer, but I’d rather avoid the awkward possibility of her running into Shinohara. I’d rather do the chores myself than have to deal with that situation at home.

“No thanks.”

“Really? I was serious about coming over to help.”

Ayaka’s voice sounded bored.

If most guys heard that Ayaka was coming over to their place, they’d probably feel thrilled inside. But Ayaka didn’t get close to guys in the way they might hope. So it was only natural that I, someone who really was close to her, would turn down her offer.

—If we were truly close, though, I should probably know more about her.

That thought crossed my mind.

We had been together from our first year of high school until the winter of our second year of university. I believed we’d spent a lot of meaningful time together. But then her friend Akemi mentioned something: “Ayaka was the captain of the basketball team in middle school.” She also said that Ayaka used to be teammates with Shinohara.

There were plenty of chances for her to tell me that. With this much I didn’t know, it felt less like she simply never mentioned it and more like she deliberately kept it hidden.

Still, I had no reason to doubt our relationship. After all, I hadn’t mentioned receiving a phone call from Reina either. Even when you’re close with someone, you can’t expect to share everything—that much is clear.

Yet, I couldn’t deny the slight sadness I felt. It’s a bit arrogant, really, feeling sad when the other person doesn’t tell you something, even though you’re holding back things of your own.

If it were just a regular friend, I’d probably leave it alone, fully aware of this. But this was Ayaka. Because I trusted our bond, I decided to just go for it and ask.

“Hey, Ayaka.”

“Yeah?”

“I heard you played basketball in middle school.”

I turned off the tap. The unnecessary noise stopped, and silence returned to my one-room apartment. She didn’t respond immediately. It was hard to tell over the phone, but the pause had some sort of significance.

“…Who told you that?”

Her voice was one I hadn’t heard from her before. It wasn’t angry, nor was it suspicious. Was it… fear?

The sound of water droplets falling from the faucet echoed strangely in the quiet room.