I Was Falsely Confessed to and Exposed in Front of Everyone, so I Jumped off the Roof - Chapter 3

We started chatting a bit on a messaging app. It mostly goes like this. I send a message, she replies with a sticker, and that’s it. It feels kind of one-sided, but maybe she doesn’t hate it? We talk about the story in the game I’m making, apps, and one more thing.

: Actually, I play the bass.

: Huh?! (ﾟДﾟ;) Show me!!

: I can’t really show the sound though…

: I mean like, a video or something!

: (sends video)

: So good!! ( ◍′༥‵*◍)ŧ

: Food? Also, you’re in class right now, right…?

She was watching my video during class. That made me really happy. These small and silly exchanges are piling up. I guess that’s what being in a relationship means. And as we talked more, I could feel the loneliness inside me slowly being filled.

♢ ♢ ♢

“Bass, lololol!”

Ririka burst out laughing as she looked at my chat with Amaha. I had to show it to her; it was part of a punishment game.

“At least make it a guitar or something! This is hilarious, lol!”

Watajima was laughing too. For some reason, that laughter made my chest feel heavy and a little irritated. The sound of Amaha’s bass in that video was actually really beautiful.

“What’s with this thwack thwack finger thing? So gross, lol.”

“That’s called slap bass. It’s normal.”

I ended up defending Amaha, even though I didn’t have to.

“Also, why do his eyes look weird in this video?”

In the video, his eyes were green. I’d told him not to wear his colored contacts, but at school, he still kept them in. But maybe I get it now. If people say his real eye color looks weird, then he’d want to hide it.

Everyone was laughing and treating Amaha like a joke, but for some reason, I couldn’t join in. This whole fake relationship was supposed to just be a way to kill boredom, and yet, it was everyone else’s laughter that felt boring to me right now.

♢ ♢ ♢

Shibuki-san said she wanted to see my house. I hesitated for a while, but figured it would be fine as long as I didn’t let her into the living room or anything. So I nodded.

♢ ♢ ♢

I was told to go to his house and turn him down if he tried anything. That was the dare. I didn’t really want to, but I agreed anyway. Still, part of me was curious too. He said he made games at home. That interested me. And I wanted to see him play the bass in person. So, I decided to visit.

Amaha’s house was big and new. For a place this large inside Tokyo, he must come from a pretty well-off family.

“Excuse me for coming in.”

“Come on in.”

Amaha even brought me a pair of slippers. I didn’t really care about that kind of thing, but the small gesture made me happy somehow.

“Is your mom home?”

“…She’s not here right now.”

So that meant it was just the two of us in the house. Was that what he was aiming for? I’d never felt any kind of lewd gaze from Amaha before. Even when I wore my uniform loose, with my shirt slightly open or my skirt short, he never looked anywhere but into my eyes. Even now, those green eyes were only looking at me. For some reason, that kind of annoyed me. I didn’t know why. I pushed the feeling aside and followed him upstairs.

“Whoa! This is amazing!”

His room was really big. It even had a loft. There was no bed. It’s just a futon rolled up neatly in the corner. My eyes went there before I could stop myself, and I realized how weird that was.

“This is where I make games.”

“So many screens?!”

A huge desk stood there, with three monitors on it. The computer tower itself was glowing with bright lights.

“Why is your computer shining like that?”

“I was looking for a computer for development, but I ended up getting a gaming PC with a really strong graphics card. It’s not like I’m into gaming or anything, though.”

I didn’t really understand what he meant, but it seemed like he hadn’t meant it in any special way.

“But it’s kind of cute. Like nail art or something.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

Amaha smiled gently. It was such a beautiful smile that I couldn’t help smiling back. But for some reason, my cheeks felt hot, and I had to stop myself from grinning too much.

“I develop using Unity. I considered UnrealEngine, too, but in Japan, there are more books and resources for Unity. I could look up English sites, but if I can study in Japanese, that’s easier.”

“Yunity? What’s that?”

“It’s an integrated development environment for making games. You can even make VR stuff with it.”

I still didn’t get what he meant. Maybe that’s why he showed me something on his monitor. A small, polygon-like slime character appeared on the screen.

“When I tweak it like this…”

He typed quickly on the keyboard, and the slime started changing. It was growing bigger, changing colors, and moving around lively on the screen.

“Whoa. That’s amazing.”

“Well, I worked hard on it.”

He didn’t say it out of modesty. He said it to show the effort he’d put in. It felt kind of different.

“I’m making an RPG right now. I’ve been studying a lot. I start by drawing the illustrations, then design the characters, make the models in Blender, and bring them into Unity to build the logic. I’ve always liked old-school JRPGs. I’m not really into online games or mobile games. So I wanted to create something that I personally love. When I posted it online, people from different places said it was fun, and that made me so happy that I decided to keep working on it.”

He looked kind of proud. It was a brag, but it didn’t feel like the kind of brag I’d heard from other guys before. I couldn’t explain what made it different, but something about it made my chest tighten a little.

“Did you make the music too?”

“A-ah, that… Come with me for a second.”

He closed his laptop and led me to another room. It was in the basement. The walls looked specially built to keep sound from escaping, and the door was thick. Inside, there were more computers with lots of monitors and about six bass guitars lined up in the corner.

“You’ve got a lot of basses. Isn’t one enough?”

“No way! Each one’s different! There’s the Precision Bass, Jazz Bass! The strings, too, chrome, steel, and nickel, all sound different! And I need multi-string basses too!”

He spoke quickly, like one of those passionate nerdy guys from class. I couldn’t help thinking, Ah, he’s a total bass geek.

“I see. That’s really cool.”

“Bass is deep. You can study it forever. Anyway, about the music.”

He sat down at the computer, pulled out a drawer, and took out a keyboard and a strange machine with lots of buttons and a round pad. He plugged it into the computer.

“Don’t tell anyone, okay? I use this to make music. I start by making a rough bass line, then recreate it with the keyboard, adjust it, and finish it in DTM.”

I didn’t really understand what he meant, but his eyes sparkled, like a kid who’d just found a rare beetle.

“I see. But why do you want to keep it a secret?”

“…I’m sorry. That’s… a secret.”

He looked a little down somehow. Like I had touched on something sensitive.

“Yeah, I get it. I won’t ask anymore. But can you let me hear something?”

“Alright. In that case.”

Then, from the computer, came a melody I’d never heard before. It was cold, heavy, and yet somehow sweet. I could feel it carving itself slowly into my mind, in a way that hurt, like I’d never be able to forget it. Before I realized it, I was humming along.

“Do you like singing?”

“I don’t really like it… But I’m good at it.”

I kept humming the melody. He was staring straight into my eyes, his expression serious. For a moment, I thought I saw something lonely deep inside his gaze. Maybe I was imagining it, but it felt like I had just touched his heart.

By the time the sky turned orange, he told me I should head home. He didn’t try anything weird or flirty. He just walked me to the nearest station.

“Today was fun. Thank you.”

“No, thank you. I’m really glad I came.”

I didn’t know why, but saying goodbye like this felt lonely. My hand swayed at my side, and he noticed. He gently took hold of my pinky finger. His cheeks turned red. Maybe mine did too.

“See you again.”

“Yeah. See you.”

That was enough to make me happy. I went through the ticket gate, and even as I climbed the stairs to the platform, I couldn’t stop looking back at him.

♢

“So?! How did you turn him down when he tried to do it?!”

“What do you mean? He didn’t even try anything.”

“Pfft! What a virgin, lol. So lame!”

When they started talking about sex, I felt myself getting irritated. So clearly that even I noticed it. My mind went back to that rolled-up futon in the corner of his room.

“But I bet he’ll start getting the wrong idea and try to hit on you sooner or later. When that happens, you have to tell me, alright?”

Watajima put his hand on my shoulder. Normally, I wouldn’t have cared. But this time, I compared it in my head. To the warmth of the pinky I held that day. Before I knew it, I shrugged his hand off. He looked a little confused, but I didn’t care. Right now, he’s not here beside me. Maybe he’s in that room again and is making music. That’s all I could think about as I stared off into space.