I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 59

Chapter 59   New Student Welcome Party 1 – Outdoor Club “Green”

Ayaka is part of several clubs, but she doesn’t focus all her energy on each of them.

With her seminar, part-time job, friends from her department, and other social relationships, there simply wouldn’t be enough time to fully commit to multiple clubs.

So, the one club Ayaka focuses on is the outdoor club “Green,” where she became vice president in her third year.

This was also the club that organized the post-test drinking party during the second semester of her second year.

There are some shady rumors about the club, like requiring a photo for the entry form as a form of appearance-based selection, but the members are generally friendly.

I can personally confirm this, as I attended the post-test party and had a great time with everyone actively engaging me in conversation—probably because they knew I was introduced by Ayaka.

“Yuuta, you’ve got it tough, huh?”

Natsuki said with a wry smile while spreading a blue tarp in the park.

“Not really, it’s just normal.”

“Is it though? Helping out at a new member event for a club you’re not even in? I’d never want to do that.”

“It’s not so bad. You get to talk to all kinds of people.”

After I said that, I realized I didn’t really believe it. Though not as much as Ayaka, I must have switched into my social mode.

“Yuuta, the only person you want to talk to is Ayaka.”

“That’s not true. There’s you too, isn’t there?”

“Oh, right. I’m here too.”

“What does that even mean?”

I placed my bag on the blue tarp to hold it in place.

There were several tarps spread across the park, enough for ten or more people to sit comfortably.

It’s not just “Green.”

During this season, all the clubs and even other universities hold their new member events. Since there are limited venues outside of restaurants, different groups inevitably end up gathering in places like this.

“This club is pretty great.”

I said, and Natsuki shrugged her shoulders.

“You never know.”

“Why not?”

“If it were such a great club, Reina would have stayed.”

──The hands I was working with paused for a moment.

When I looked toward Natsuki, her round eyes, framed by black-rimmed glasses, were peering at me.

“Sorry about the Valentine’s party. For inviting Reina and all.”

“…It’s fine. Friendships have their complications too.”

“Yeah. Um, can I ask what you and Reina talked about?”

Natsuki’s eyes wavered slightly.

It didn’t seem like she was just curious. Her expression suggested concern—whether for me or for Reina, I wasn’t sure.

But I had a feeling she knew the answer.

“Ah, so you’re Yuuta!”

An unfamiliar voice called out to me.

When I turned around, a guy with short, permed black hair was walking toward me. He was a bit shorter, with his head reaching about the level of my chin.

“I heard about you from Ayaka! Thanks for helping out today!”

“Oh, no problem. I’m just repaying you for letting me join that drinking party before.”

As I replied, Natsuki chimed in from the side.

“Yuuta, this guy is the president of this club. His name’s Tatsuki, he’s a year above us. Looks a bit old, though.”

“That last part was unnecessary!”

Tatsuki retorted with a snap, but Natsuki just smiled mischievously. They seemed to be pretty close.

For now, I decided to ignore the fact that she had hinted earlier this wasn’t a great club.

As for Tatsuki, though he wasn’t at the post-test drinking party, I remembered hearing his name tossed around a lot.

Ayaka had led the toast that time, and I recalled it was because the president, Tatsuki, hadn’t been there.

Now that I think about it, being one year ahead means he’s a fourth-year student.

“Is it okay to balance all this with job hunting?”

I asked, and Tatsuki froze for a moment, while Natsuki burst out laughing.

“You and Natsuki both, why do you want to ruin my first impression so badly… Yeah, I repeated a year, alright?!”

“Gah.”

The sound escaped my mouth as I instinctively stepped back.

It must be because he failed a year, which means he’s staying on for an extra year and can’t job hunt yet. That extra time is probably what he’s using to manage the club.

Tatsuki looked a little hurt by my reaction.

“If you’ve repeated a year, you’ve got to at least be president to keep up with everyone else, right? It’s not really my thing, but I’ve got no choice.”

Natsuki replied in a slightly exasperated tone to Tatsuki’s words.

“Saying something like that right after meeting him, you’re going to make Yuuta uncomfortable.”

“Be quiet, I’m talking to Yuuta right now!”

“And the person who invited Yuuta just arrived, so let’s leave them alone,” Natsuki said.

I turned around to see Ayaka standing there, smiling wryly.

“Sorry, Tatsuki, I wanted to introduce him myself.”

“It’s fine, he’s helping us out after all. Why don’t you let him join the welcome party as a thank-you? Don’t even worry about the fee.”

Tatsuki said this while looking at me.

I hadn’t done much, just helped spread out the blue tarps and run some errands for the party, but it didn’t feel bad to be thanked. So, I smiled and said, “Thanks, I’ll take you up on that!”

“No problem. It’s rare for Ayaka to bring someone along, you know.”

“Haha, I just wanted to help him make some more friends,” Ayaka replied with a laugh.

…She’d mentioned earlier that she just needed more hands to help, but since Ayaka was in her social mode, I decided not to point that out.

As Natsuki and Tatsuki walked away, I turned to Ayaka and spoke.

“…Who are you trying to help make friends?”

“No idea,” she replied with a grin and sat down on the blue tarp.

“I really like this spot,” she said.

“The tarp?”

“No, silly!” Ayaka shouted, then immediately let out an “Ah” and looked around.

Everyone else was busy spreading out new tarps, arranging items they had bought, or chatting among themselves, paying no attention to us.

“People wouldn’t care about a little conversation like that,” I said.

“Well, yeah, this much is fine. But if I seem too close to someone, I don’t want anyone to start saying things.”

“Like anyone’s going to say anything to you,” I replied.

The situation is different now from when we were in our second year of high school.

As university students, the people around us are more mentally mature, and it’s clear even to me that Ayaka, who has been part of this club for two years, is trusted by everyone.

Whether it was at the post-test drinking party or just walking around campus together, Ayaka was often approached by others.

“It’s not about me, it’s about them saying something about you that bothers me.”

“Me?”

I stared at her in confusion, and Ayaka let out a sigh.

“Yes, you. What’s with that look? Got a problem with it?”

“No, it’s not that. I just thought if that’s the case, then you could’ve avoided this by not bringing me here in the first place.”

Until now, I hadn’t been involved with Ayaka’s club. In fact, I always avoided spaces where it was more than just the two of us. I figured that Ayaka inviting me to mixers with people I didn’t know was her way of keeping our spaces separate.

But it seems that at least for now, Ayaka has changed from back then.

“I just thought it’d make me happy if you liked the places I like too.”

“…That’s kinda embarrassing.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” she said casually as she stood up.

“Break’s over. I’m going to run some more errands.”

“…O-okay, see you.”

As I watched Ayaka’s figure grow smaller in the distance, I couldn’t help but think:

──Even if she says there’s no deeper meaning, it’s still embarrassing.