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

Chapter 98 Reina’s Proposal

A moment of silence.

The sound of sneakers squeaking against the floor and the steady rhythm of dribbling seemed unnaturally loud.

After asking me her question, Reina kept her gaze fixed on me, unwavering. Facing her earnest expression head-on, I finally opened my mouth to respond.

“I’m not really thinking about that kind of thing right now. For a while, I don’t think I’ll have the mindset to date anyone in particular.”

“Oh, so you’re planning to date multiple people at once?”

“Of course not!”

I quickly denied it, and Reina chuckled, her shoulders shaking in amusement.

“Haha, just kidding.”

“Geez, you’re going to give me a heart attack…”

I’d always thought I should be careful about joking like that, especially with Reina.

But if she’s the one bringing it up, it somehow feels different—less tense. Even so, I knew all too well that such comments should never come from me.

Still, my answer probably came across as evasive to Reina. I wasn’t lying, but I was painfully aware of how unconvincing it sounded.

The truth is, I couldn’t come up with a clear answer to her question on the spot, so it couldn’t be helped.

Reina tilted her head slightly, studying me for a moment, then flashed a playful smile.

“Before we started dating, Yuuta-kun, you’d only been in two relationships, right?”

“Ah, yeah, but that was a long time ago.”

Once in my third year of middle school and once in my first year of high school.

Both relationships lasted less than six months, but I figured that was about average for students in those stages.

“Do you still see either of them?”

“No way. I haven’t spoken to them in years.”

My high school ex and I are still connected on Instagram, but as for the girl from middle school, I don’t even know how to contact her anymore.

And I didn’t feel anything about it either—those relationships were shallow, influenced more by peer pressure than genuine feelings.

Some people form serious relationships even in middle school, but that wasn’t the case for me. The first time I truly fell for someone, to the point where my heart ached, was with the person sitting before me: Reina.

“You said those were both short relationships, right? So, I guess it’s like you don’t even have anyone to compare me to.”

Reina mumbled softly, and I, feeling puzzled, asked her to clarify.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well… I know it’s ethically wrong to think this way, but… I couldn’t help but wonder how it would be for you, not having anyone to compare me to.”

“Someone to compare to.” It’s true that my most vivid memories of relationships are with Reina, but I don’t feel any particular sadness about not having much memory of my previous exes.

Comparing ex-girlfriends doesn’t seem necessary at all, to be honest.

“I know I just said something kind of mean. I’m aware of it, but I couldn’t find any other words.”

“Don’t worry about it. I understand what you mean. It makes sense that having more comparisons might help make things clearer.”

While too many comparisons might have the opposite effect, having some kind of benchmark isn’t a bad thing either.

The ideal situation would be for the first person you date to be the one, but in my case, my first relationship ended back in middle school.

“But… you can’t really ‘test out’ relationships.”

When you enter a relationship, you have to take it seriously.

But the more serious you get, the more resources you need to dedicate, making it harder to gain experience.

That’s why relationship experience should be valuable and precious. But, strangely enough, accumulating experience in love isn’t always seen as a positive thing.

Some people even say they can’t trust anyone who has had a past relationship, calling them “damaged” or “corrupted.”

It’s a given that experience increases accuracy. It’s normal to struggle with something on your first attempt.

Of course, it’s best if both people can make it work the first time.

But for me, since this will be my fourth relationship, I can’t afford to talk about things in such an idealistic way. In that sense, maybe having an “experimental relationship” is a convenient way to establish a baseline for myself.

The condition is that both parties are aware that it’s just an “experimental” relationship. This should be a given—starting a relationship thinking only one person is testing the waters is the lowest thing you could do.

The downside is how terrible the public perception would be. Even if the two people involved are fine with the idea, very few people around them would accept it.

And the biggest problem is that I don’t know anyone who would accept that kind of ethical stance.

“Yeah, this really isn’t going to work.”

When I said that, Reina gave a disappointed yet simultaneously relieved expression.

“Right? I mean, I’d like to recommend you gaining that kind of experience, but… I guess I’m a little worried about it too.”

“Well, there’s no one around here who’d just casually suggest ‘let’s try dating’ like that.”

As soon as I said it, the scene from a few months ago flashed back in my mind.

I remember having a conversation like that, or maybe I didn’t, on Christmas Eve last year.

“Tell me more about that!”

“Huh?”

The voice that came from behind was familiar, and it made me think that maybe the idea of “words having power” might actually be true.

When I turned around, there she was.

“Ah!”