In a World of Reversed Chastity, I’m Surrounded by a Clingy Older Woman, a Walking Red Flag, and an Exhausted Office Lady - 6

Chapter 6: A Prince Appeared Before Me, Renka’s POV

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I stared intently at Aoi’s back as he walked toward his part-time job.

When did I fall in love with Aoi? It must have been that very first time we met. I think it was from the very moment he spoke to me.

I had lived a life of constant denial. The things I thought were cute were never really accepted by everyone else, and even less so by men. The things I believed were cute—my gestures, my makeup—people said it was all so obviously calculated that it was creepy. I genuinely thought I was cute, and I chose my clothes, my makeup, my gestures all on my own, yet everyone around me did nothing but deny it.

Back in high school. There was a handsome guy in my class. He was my type, so I thought maybe we could get a little closer. I gathered the courage to talk to him, studied makeup like crazy, and finally the day of our date arrived.

“You’re so obvious about trying to go after me, it’s gross. And you seem like you’d be clingy, so I don’t like that. I can’t handle being tied down, and I already have two girlfriends. If you’re okay with that, I could maybe make you number three?”

After he said that, I felt so miserable that I ran away from there. Later on, that guy spread all kinds of nasty rumors about me at school, and I became an outcast in the classroom.

What did he mean, I was “so obvious about going after him that it was gross”? What was wrong with being proactive toward someone I liked? Someone who was my type? What did he mean, I seemed “clingy”? What was wrong with loving someone wholeheartedly and wanting them to love only me? It’s normal to want the person you love to look only at you, right?

At some point, the existence of men who denied me stopped mattering. Time passed. I got accepted into a decent university, and I decided I’d forget about men and just focus on doing what I wanted in college. Then orientation day arrived.

That day, the guy I liked appeared. It happened suddenly.

“Excuse me. There’s something I don’t understand about course registration.”

The one who asked me that with a gentle expression was the guy sitting next to me. It was so sudden, and even though he was sitting beside me, I’d never imagined a guy would talk to me first. I think I ended up replying in a weird voice without meaning to.

“Ah, uh?”

I regretted it the moment I said it.

Ah… 

I thought he was going to say something mean again. But—

“Hm…? Are you okay?”

What came back was a voice that sounded genuinely worried about me.

Oh no, he’s worried about me. Wait, this is seriously bad. His face is so gentle—he’s way too cute.

…Phew. Calm down, me. I already failed once. I’m not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice, right? Respond calmly. Be composed.

“S-So, what’s wrong? What don’t you understand?”

“Um…”

I explained the parts he didn’t understand to the boy next to me. This was fine. I’d just explain it, and that would be the end. If I stepped in any further, I’d just end up getting hurt again.

After I finished explaining everything, the boy next to me nodded in understanding.

“Thank you very much. That really helped.”

Then he smiled. At me. Sweetly. With that smile.

The moment I realized that, my brain burned the image of his smile into itself. And even after everything I’d been through, my mouth moved before I could think.

“H-Hey… may I ask your name?”

I regretted it as soon as I said it. The bad memories from high school resurfaced. What if he thought I was obviously going after him again and said something hurtful?

“Oh, I’m sorry. You helped me, and I didn’t even say my name. My name is Aoi Shirasu. May I ask yours too?”

But this boy was different. He saved me from being consumed by my past, and he even asked for my name.  Before I knew it, my memories of the guy from before faded, and everything except the boy in front of me—Aoi-kun—started to feel unimportant.

“My name is Renka Koibuchi.”

“Renka Koibuchi-san, huh? It’s rare to have the character for ‘love’ twice in your name. And Renka has such a beautiful sound to it.”

“…Huh?”

It took me a moment to understand what he’d just said.

Beautiful? Did he just say I was beautiful?

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m being too familiar when we just met.”

“N-Not at all!! You can be more familiar with me. I like it when people are friendly!”

What am I even saying!? What does it mean to say I like it when someone’s being too familiar?

He called me beautiful and I ended up blurting out something weird.

I’d only just started to be interested in him, and now he probably thinks I’m strange. I really shouldn’t get involved with men after all—

“Really? That’s a relief. I was worried I might’ve made you uncomfortable by being so familiar when we just met.”

Aoi-kun gently pressed a hand to his chest and looked visibly relieved.

…What? Isn’t he just too precious? The Aoi-kun next to me is too precious. Isn’t he way too cute? Girls are simple. Even just being talked to can make us misunderstand things, and if you say stuff like that, then—!!

“Oh, right. If you like people being friendly, maybe calling you Renka would be better than Koibuchi-san? And instead of Shirasu-kun, just call me Aoi. It feels like we’d get closer that way.”

Ah, I’m done for. I can’t. He’s too cute. I love him. My head’s going crazy. I like him so much my head is starting to spin. I can’t look at him straight. What is this? You totally like me already, don’t you? You like me, right?

“C-Can I call you Aoi-kun?”

“Yeah. We’re sitting next to each other, after all. And I don’t have any friends at college yet, so I was hoping maybe Renka-san and I could become friends from here on out.”

“F-Friends?”

Aoi-kun wants to be friends with me. Me, and no one else. Me, the one who tried so hard in my own way to be cute, only to be rejected by men and told I could be number three at best. He wants to be friends with me. That means I’m number one to Aoi-kun.

“You don’t want to be friends?”

“N-No, I don’t mind. Please be my friend. No, let me become your friend. I don’t need any friends other than you, Aoi-kun.”

“No, you should definitely make other friends too, okay?”

Impossible. I don’t need anyone but Aoi-kun. I’ve already decided that.

“Oh, right. While we’re at it, why don’t we take the same classes? And after we’re done here, let’s go to the cafeteria together. I haven’t been to the cafeteria yet.”

With a bright, gentle smile, the guy I liked said that to me. Warmth flooded my brain, like happiness hormones were being released, and my face nearly melted into a grin. I didn’t think he was lying, but I tightened my sloppy, grinning face and, with what I believed was my cutest expression, confirmed it once more.

“Is it really okay if we take the same classes?”

“Yeah. We just started college, and I don’t want to accidentally go to the wrong classroom. Besides, being with you seems like it’d be fun, Renka.”

“…!? C-Can we really go to the cafeteria together too?”

“Of course. So let’s hurry up and finish the registration, okay?”

Aoi-kun smiled again, and it invaded my mind. Alarm bells rang loudly in my head. If I stepped any further into Aoi-kun’s world, I felt like my mind would be scrambled, and I’d never be able to think about anyone else again. We had only just met, and already everything else was becoming irrelevant.

This is bad. If I stay with Aoi-kun any longer, I’ll surely—

“O-Okay. Let’s finish it.”

“Oh? You’re enthusiastic. I’m looking forward to our trip to the cafeteria.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Let’s enjoy university life together!! I’m looking forward to being with you from now on.”

I looked at his smiling face.

It’s fine. Even if I can’t go back, that’s fine. Even if I’m broken and left in pieces, thrown away like trash, I don’t care what happens to me. As long as Aoi keeps smiling, that’s all that matters.

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