I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine - Chapter 56

Episode 56: I Like You!

“She’s fast on her feet… I was planning to make her apologize properly. Hey, aren’t you glad she didn’t make you apologize? ”

Hikari asked, but I shook my head.

Even if I received such an apology, it wouldn’t change anything.

The past of being dumped won’t disappear, and everything can’t just be swept under the rug.

Until a moment ago, I was filled with anger towards Asuka… but with Hikari’s arrival, all of that disappeared completely. In fact, I felt a sense of calm.

So, this is fine.

For Asuka, this incident itself should be enough punishment.

At the very least, she won’t be able to come to the class reunion anymore, and she might even find it difficult to attend local gatherings.

But that’s no longer my concern.

With this incident, the connection has surely been severed for good this time.

“…Sorry, Nogami. We’ve been hearing a lot from Asuka for the past month, and we ended up believing her…”

The girls who were blaming me until a moment ago now lowered their heads, apologizing sincerely.

Sure, it was frustrating not being listened to, but fundamentally, they weren’t at fault.

I understand their feelings of wanting to believe Asuka, who was closer to them.

Besides, Asuka tends to rely on others.

They probably heard a lot of lies from her.

“It’s fine, really. Don’t worry too much about it. I just hope you guys understand.”

When I said this, one of my male friends said, “That’s just like you, isn’t it?”

“Aoba-san’s right. You’re too kind, seriously. If it were me, I wouldn’t forgive her. I’d give her a piece of my mind.”

“You’re too narrow-minded. But well, Nogamin is definitely like that. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be dating Umeno-san.”

“Seriously. If you were a woman, I would have made you my bride. Oh, now I’m free.”

“No, that’s creepy, dude.”

Laughter erupted at their banter, and with that, the commotion settled down somewhat.

Although the atmosphere was still awkward, everyone returned to their original seats.

Perhaps feeling awkward, some of the staff who had been hiding in the kitchen came out onto the floor, resuming food service.

“…Thanks, for coming all the way here. I didn’t expect you to come.”

Watching this scene, I thanked Hikari.

“To be honest, no amount of thanks is enough. If you hadn’t come, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“Heh, maybe I’ve paid back a little of what I owe you this time?”

“More than enough. If anything, I owe you more now.”

“…Okay then. Let’s use that!”

“What, money?”

“No, silly. Um, can you come with me for a moment?”

I had no idea what the reason was.

Even so, I nodded, and followed Hikari outside.

After hesitating for a moment, she led me to the parking lot behind the store.

Perhaps because it was reserved, there were no cars parked there.

Naturally, there were no people around, just a vast empty space.

As cars passed by on the nearby road, she walked up to the concrete wall and stopped there.

“Why did you bring me here?”

As I asked, Hikari turned around.

Her face was flushed, even in this shaded area.

“It’s not because I’m feeling embarrassed about the speech earlier, okay?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s something more important.”

I wondered what happened. As I pondered, Hikari prefaced.

Swaying her hips slightly.

“I like you, Keito-kun. I like you so much!”

And with that, the words were uttered.

With a radiant smile.

In a moment of surprise, I held my breath.

During that time, my thoughts completely froze.

It took plenty of time to understand what was said.

“Me…? Hikari, you like me?”

“Yeah, of course! Isn’t it obvious in this situation? I was actually planning to tell you tomorrow. But sorry, I couldn’t hold back. I just like you so much! I wanted to say it now!”

Something unbelievable had just happened.

I was being confessed to by Hikari Aoba, the unreachable, sun-like figure that everyone admired.