I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 37

Chapter 37   Shinohara’s SNS

A week has passed since the Valentine’s party.

February is nearly over, but the cold shows no signs of letting up, and I still couldn’t bring myself to leave my bed.

The clock was nearing ten.

I had some things to take care of at the university today, so I should get up soon. But after lazing around for another ten minutes or so, I felt my phone vibrating beside my pillow.

I rolled over and reached for my phone. When I opened LINE, I noticed an unread message thread at the top.

“…Everyone’s so lively.”

Seeing the high school friends’ group chat buzzing, I couldn’t help but mutter. Despite it still being morning, the notifications kept piling up.

As yet another notification dropped down from the top of the screen, it went dark.

The usual incoming call.

After hesitating for a moment, I picked up, only to be greeted with an impossibly energetic greeting for this time of day.

“Senpaiii!”

“You’re so loud!”

“What!? Why!?”

It was Shinohara Mayu. It’s been nearly two months since I met this new junior.

Who would have thought I’d end up talking on the phone with the cute girl I’d met while dressed as Santa?

But right now, I was more in the mood to laze around than to feel happy about it.

“Senpai, be a little kinder, will you? Come on, how about a proper morning greeting?”

“Morning. Bye now.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Please don’t hang up!”

A loud voice boomed through the phone. Instinctively, I pulled my phone away from my ear and grimaced.

“I bet you don’t have anything important to say.”

“I don’t. I didn’t call expecting to have a long conversation in the morning either. I just wanted to chat a bit before my part-time job.”

Shinohara’s slightly sulky tone filled me with a bit of guilt. I realized how immature it was of me to respond so coldly to a junior who just wanted to say good morning. With a sigh, I sat up.

“Ah, I see. No, my bad. It’s not like I don’t want to talk to you or anything.”

‘Well, now I’ve changed my mind. We’re talking for the next hour, Senpai.’

“What? Why!?”

“When someone pushes me away, I just feel the urge to chase them. It’s in my nature!”

I could picture Shinohara pouting. Even in my imagination, she looked cute, which only irritated me more.

“Fine, let’s compromise—five minutes.”

“Do you even know what a compromise is? That means you’re admitting I initially asked for ten minutes.”

“So… is ten minutes okay then?”

“…I guess I’ll let you off with that.”

Reluctantly, she agreed, and I couldn’t help but grin.

“So, this is what they call ‘door-in-the-face,’ huh?”

“Wait, what!? You tricked me!”

It was a negotiation technique where, after making a large request and being rejected, a smaller one becomes more likely to succeed. I had tried it out of curiosity, and it seemed to have worked.

“How sneaky…”

“Sneaky? I haven’t heard that word in forever. Anyway, nine minutes left.”

“You keep rushing me! I can’t even think of anything to say! What were you doing before I called, Senpai?”

“Not much. I was about to check out what everyone’s been up to on social media.”

Her response sounded like she hadn’t expected that.

“You check your timeline in the mornings, Senpai?”

“Well, sometimes. You never know if you’ll run into an old friend.”

In reality, social media could help rekindle connections that were starting to fade. I wasn’t particularly fond of it, but I had to admit there were some advantages. Shinohara seemed to agree, though she hesitated before saying, “Well, when you put it that way, I guess that makes sense.”

“Then let me follow you on social media, Senpai.”

The sudden request made me snap my mouth shut, right as I was about to yawn.

“Why would you want to do that? I barely post anything.”

“Because it’s weird, right? We talk on the phone, but I don’t follow you on social media. Normally, it’s the other way around.”

“That’s… true, but…”

When she said it, I realized she had a point.

It’s true that for two people who’ve known each other for almost two months, only being connected via LINE is unusual for today’s students. The reason we hadn’t exchanged social media sooner was probably just because we never got around to it.

“Are you posting stuff you don’t want people to see?”

“No, nothing like that. Alright, fine.”

With that, I copied my account ID. Like she said, there was nothing on my profile that I’d be embarrassed about, so I had no reason not to share it. Besides, my account wasn’t anything special or worth hiding.

After sending her the ID, Shinohara responded with an “Ooh” and then giggled.

“Hehe, thanks!”

“It’s really no big deal.”

Almost immediately, I got a notification that she’d followed me. I checked, and her icon was a picture of her from behind, illuminated by the sunset, showing only her silhouette.

“That’s a picture-perfect social media icon.”

“Of course! It’s an iconic shot. You have to make your profile image stylish at least.”

Hearing that, I looked at my own icon.

I made eye contact with a silly but cute local mascot. I’d changed it during a drinking party as a joke and had left it that way ever since.

“…You should probably change your icon, Senpai.”

“Nah, feels like I’d be losing if I changed it now.”

I had planned to change it eventually, but once she pointed it out, I felt stubborn about it. Shinohara sighed, saying, “Well, it’s your choice, Senpai.”

“Anyway, I sent a follow request, so go ahead and approve it.”

Her account was set to private, so I needed her approval to see her posts. I thought this was a pretty standard request, but her response surprised me.

“Ew, no.”

“Huh?”

“Nope. I want to see your posts, but I don’t want you seeing mine.”

“What? How is that fair? I gave you my account, so you should share yours too.”

It wasn’t that I was desperate to see her account, but it felt unfair, like I’d gotten the short end of the stick.

“Well, believe it or not, that’s how it is.”

“Fine, I’m going to sleep.”

“Okay, okay, fine! Why are you always trying to hang up on me so quickly?”

…Where does she get this need to keep talking on the phone?

Even though she has work soon, she’s still trying to chat until the last minute. If it were me, I’d be saving my energy and staying in bed before my shift.

“Promise you won’t make fun of me?”

“I won’t, I won’t. I’ll even swear it if you want.”

“No need. We’re out of time anyway.”

“Why are you suddenly all calm?”

I checked the clock, and sure enough, our promised time was quickly approaching. I hadn’t been keeping track, but it seemed like Shinohara had. She’s surprisingly punctual in odd ways.

“Alright, I’ll let you through!”

With a theatrical line, she accepted my follow request.

Her posts instantly filled the screen. The first thing that caught my eye was a close-up of Shinohara, exuding a melancholic vibe. Her hair, slightly permed at the front, gave her a much more mature look than usual. It was probably a picture from when she modeled at a salon.

“You look beautiful.”

The words slipped out unintentionally.

If I had to categorize her, she’d be more in the “cute” camp rather than “beautiful.” But in this photo, she was undeniably the latter.

“Well, yeah, I mean… I am beautiful.”

“What?”

“I just thought you’d tease me. You’re weirdly honest sometimes, Senpai. You don’t usually say these things, but when you do, it’s nice.”

Her response made me feel a little embarrassed. It wasn’t something I meant to say, but from an outsider’s perspective, it might have sounded like I was flirting. Trying to hide my embarrassment, I kept scrolling through her account and then noticed something.

“Uh… you don’t have many followers, do you?”

Shinohara only had eight followers. For a sparkly, fashionable university girl, that seemed surprisingly low.

“I only tell close friends about it. You’re the only guy I have as a follower.”

“Oh… I see.”

A private account, only for close friends.

The moment I heard that, I couldn’t help but feel drawn to her posts on the screen. It wasn’t because it was Shinohara. Anyone would feel flattered seeing affection visualized like that.

“Alright, ten minutes are up! I’ll go get ready for work now.”

With that, she abruptly hung up. Just like always, she was a whirlwind.

I checked the time. There were still three minutes left until the agreed time.

“…It’s only been seven minutes.”

I muttered and realized my lips had curled into a smile without me noticing. Pinching my cheeks, I pressed the “like” button on her post and tossed my phone aside.