I’m a Loner, Gloomy Guy Who Accidentally Witnessed the Moment the Top Girl in the Class Got Dumped. I Didn’t Know What to Say to Comfort Her, So I Just Gave Her a Cola and Somehow We Started Having Lunch Together~ - 55-56

Chapter 55: I Was Just Trying to Help, But…

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“Are you okay?!”

“Y-Yeah…”

I somehow managed to return a strained smile to Runa-chan, who was looking up at my face with concern. To be honest, I was not okay at all but more importantly, there was something I needed to do right now.

“Listen, Runa-chan. Please hear me out. I am not cheating or juggling multiple girls. Mai just said that on her own. You absolutely must not believe it, okay?”

“I knew it! You’re right! There’s no way you’d be the kind of person who would do something like that, Onii-san!”

Runa-chan let out a relieved breath and showed a look of reassurance. The tense atmosphere gradually returned to normal. She was probably relieved to know that her best friend’s brother was not some unbelievable scumbag who would cheat on multiple girls at once. And the one who felt relieved was me as well.

I had almost been slapped with an outrageous false accusation, but I managed to clear up the misunderstanding safely. That was close… I almost got misunderstood in a really bad way. I definitely had to warn Mai about this later.

“Um, but still! Even if… I mean this hypothetically! But if what Mai-chan said were true, I would still think of you, Onii-san, as—ah!”

Runa-chan cut herself off mid-sentence, her cheeks suddenly turning bright red. 

“What am I saying?!” 

she muttered to herself, panicking and flailing in a complete fluster. I did not really understand what had happened, but it seemed Runa-chan had made some kind of mistake. It would probably be better to change the subject and reset the mood.

“Yo-You know! The food you made for us was really delicious, Runa-chan!”

As thanks for letting her stay over, Runa-chan had cooked dinner for us tonight. The quality was impressively high. Her skill was almost on par with Mai’s. Both Mai and I ate while showering her with praise.

“You’re cute, you’ve got a great personality, and you can even cook delicious food! The guy who ends up marrying you will be really lucky. I’m jealous.”

“A-A-A-Ah?!”

I had tried to help her smooth things over, but—uh oh. Runa-chan got even more flustered, and the redness in her cheeks deepened further. In other words, no matter how you looked at it, I had completely failed.

“I’m sorry! Excuse me!!”

She bowed deeply in one quick motion, turned her back to me, and ran out of the living room as if fleeing. Left alone, I stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. I had tried to honestly express what I was thinking, but my wording must have been bad. She had probably been completely put off by me. 

I regretted, far too late, that I should have thought more carefully before speaking.

“I really hope she doesn’t end up hating me over this…”

After finally getting closer, it would be sad if she started keeping her distance again like she did at the beginning. Praying that would not happen, I took a big gulp of my cola.

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Chapter 56: My Feelings (Runa’s POV)

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Runa hurried back to Mai’s room and hastily shut the door. She pressed both hands against her pounding chest and dove headfirst onto the bed.

“…You really shouldn’t be lazing around all the time, Onii-chan.”

Right beside her, Mai was cheerfully mumbling in her sleep. She was probably having a happy dream about Masaki. Meanwhile, Runa felt completely weighed down.

I messed up… He probably thought I was some weird girl…

If someone ran away like that in the middle of a conversation, anyone would think so. It was way too embarrassing. She wanted to just disappear like this. But at the same time, it couldn’t really be helped that things had turned out that way.

Cute, good personality, great at cooking.

Being told things like that by the man she secretly liked had completely thrown her into a panic. Yes. Runa was in love with Masaki. It all started about a year ago.

A few months after entering middle school. While her classmates were deepening their friendships, Runa couldn’t join their circle. Shy and painfully timid, Runa was terrible at socializing. Because of that, even months after enrollment, she still hadn’t blended into the class at all. But even she had one classmate who talked to her.

“Ruu-chan! Let’s walk home together!”

Right after homeroom ended, that girl came over to Runa’s desk and spoke in her usual bright tone. She was Mai Murase. A very cute girl with a charming, sunlike smile. And it wasn’t just her smile that was bright. Her personality was too.

She was kind to everyone and had exceptional communication skills. Mai was the most popular girl in the class. You could say she was Runa’s complete opposite. At first, Runa honestly wasn’t very fond of her. She even wondered if Mai was making fun of her for being alone. So even when spoken to, Runa couldn’t respond well. To the other person, she probably came across as quite cold.

But even so, Mai’s attitude never changed. Every day, she talked to her in the same cheerful way. Little by little, Runa began to open her heart, and before she knew it, they had become close enough to be called friends. Walking side by side with Mai on the way home from school, Runa suddenly asked something that had been on her mind for a long time.

“Mai-chan, why do you care about someone like me?”

She always gave off a gloomy air, was cowardly, and indecisive. She couldn’t even say a single interesting thing. Being with someone like that wouldn’t normally be fun. Mai had plenty of other friends besides Runa. So why was she so friendly with someone as gloomy as her? Runa already knew Mai wasn’t teasing her, but the question had stuck with her.

“Ruu-chan is similar to Mai’s Onii-chan. That’s why I wanted to be close friends with you, and just being together like this makes me feel really happy!”

At last, Runa got the answer she had been wondering about. And yet, she didn’t feel satisfied at all. Just when she thought she’d resolved it, a new question emerged.

I’m similar to him… What?

Mai adored her Onii-chan, who was two years older, and often bragged about him happily. A person that flawless Mai would boast about. Every time she listened, Runa imagined someone perfect at everything, basically a high-spec person.

But that person was apparently similar to Runa. Runa, someone as full of flaws as her. Someone with not a single good point. She found it impossible to believe what Mai was saying.

“Oh! Why don’t you come over to Mai’s house on the next day off? I’d love to introduce you to my Onii-chan!”

“Um… I’m happy you invited me, but you know, I’m really shy…”

“It’s fine! My Onii-chan isn’t scary at all! I’m sure you and Ruu-chan will get along right away!”

“…If you say so, Mai-chan… Then I guess I’ll come over.”

Runa forced a smile, but it looked stiff and unnatural. That was only natural. Because it was a fake smile. It was the first time Runa had ever gone over to a friend’s house. That part excited her greatly. But at the same time, meeting someone for the first time scared her. And on top of that, he was older and a man.

For Runa, who couldn’t even properly talk to the girls in her class, it was a very high hurdle to accomplish. But if she declined Mai’s invitation here, she might make her feel bad. If that led to Mai hating her, that would be the worst outcome.

Mai-chan is my very first friend… I absolutely don’t want her to hate me…!

So she suppressed her true feelings and put on an awkward smile. That was the only path available to Runa.

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“E-excuse me for intruding.”

“Welcome, Ruu-chan! Come on in!”

“…Okay.”

Nodding slightly, Runa stepped into Mai’s house, nervous. Only Mai greeted her. Her Onii-chan wasn’t there yet.

When is she going to introduce him…? If possible, I’d like it to be a little later…

Feeling jittery, she entered the living room with Mai. And then…

“Hih…!”

She froze with a small, scream-like sound. A man she didn’t know was waiting inside the room.

“You’re Runa-chan, right? I’m Masaki Murase. You might’ve already heard, but I’m Mai’s older brother. Nice to meet you.”

Masaki smiled gently and smoothly held out one hand. But Runa just…

“……”

She couldn’t move. He was asking for a handshake, and she knew this was the moment she should reach out. She understood that logically. But even knowing that, her body refused to move. Shaking hands with a man she had just met was extremely difficult for Runa.

Mai-chan, help me!

Unable to bear it, Runa slipped behind Mai’s back. She placed her trembling hands on Mai’s shoulders and bent slightly to hide herself.

What am I doing… This is so rude… He must be angry, right?

Peeking out slightly from behind Mai’s back, Runa cautiously looked at Masaki. But Masaki wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Mai.

“See? I told you. Introducing her so suddenly really wasn’t a good idea. Listen, Mai. Not everyone can talk boldly with strangers like you can. You need to think about people like that too.”

“Ugh… I’m sorry. I’ll reflect on it.”

“There, there. Good girl.”

Masaki reached out and gently patted Mai’s head. His gentle words and actions conveyed deep consideration and kindness.

“I’m sorry for scaring you. I’ll get out of the way, so please relax and take your time.”

He said that to Runa, who was barely peeking out, then turned his back and headed for the exit.

“U-um…”

Runa tried to apologize, but before she could, Masaki had already left the living room.

What a strange person…

Even though Runa had acted rudely, he hadn’t gotten angry at all. On the contrary, he had correctly understood the true feelings she had been hiding inside. This was the first time she had ever met someone who understood her like that.

When she said we’re similar… Is this what she meant?

The reason Masaki could understand Runa’s true feelings must have been because he felt the same way. In other words, they were alike. She finally felt like she understood what Mai had meant.

“Ruu-chan!”

Mai turned around sharply and bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t understand your feelings at all!”

“No, don’t apologize. I know you were thinking about me, Mai-chan. So please, lift your head.”

She gave Mai a gentle smile when she looked up. This time, it wasn’t a fake smile at all. It was a genuine smile filled with gratitude from the bottom of her heart. Mai probably invited her over partly to brag about her Onii-chan, but that wasn’t all. She wanted to help Runa—who was shy and bad at socializing—make connections.

She hadn’t asked directly, but Runa could tell from the atmosphere. Mai was that kind of girl. Runa was honestly happy about the feelings Mai had shown her.

“Hey, Mai-chan. I have a request. Could you let me meet your Onii-chan one more time?”

“Eh… But, is that really okay?”

“Yeah. I want to apologize for earlier… And I want to talk with him a little.”

Talking with an older man was still scary. But if it was him—Masaki, who understood her—she might be able to talk.

“Got it! If that’s the case, I’ll go get Onii-chan right away!”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

That became the catalyst for Runa to start talking with Masaki. At first she was too nervous to speak properly, but as they talked more and more, it gradually improved, and they grew closer.

I’m kind of jealous of Mai-chan.

Before she knew it, Runa had started thinking that way. Masaki was kind, and talking with him was really fun. And when she was with him, she felt warm and calm. He was truly the ideal older brother.

As an only child, Runa envied Mai for having Masaki as her brother. But without realizing it, those feelings slowly changed into something else. From an ideal older brother to an ideal man. She didn’t know when it started. But she had come to harbor romantic feelings for Masaki.

However, timid Runa didn’t have the courage to confess. If she failed, her relationship with Mai would probably end and worse, she wouldn’t be able to see Masaki anymore. Thinking about that made it impossible for her to take any action. All she could do was secretly let her feelings grow.

Thinking about Masaki, who was probably still downstairs drinking cola, Runa squeezed her eyes shut.

“But it’s fine. I’m already happy enough…”

Meeting Masaki she loved from time to time and chatting with him. Just that alone made her happy and filled her heart. So things were fine as they were. If she wished for any more happiness than this, surely she would be punished for it.

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