Chapter 31 – Ogawa Keisotsu’s Hatred ②

From here on out, this scum slowly started making his move.

Rolling down the slope of life, Ogawa-kun was heading straight for rock bottom. Today, he was once again making his way to school in a heavy and depressing mood.

(Sigh… Another day of school life filled with people talking behind my back, huh.)

On the morning commute after the break, Ogawa walked to school feeling utterly depressed. Ever since his childhood friend, Ichizu, completely lost all affection for him, his daily life had become nothing but agony. The moment he stepped into the school, he was met with a parade of sneers, scornful glares, and backbiting from his classmates. He had even been forced to quit his club activities. Recently, perhaps because some time had passed, the immense discomfort had lessened compared to the beginning. It was still far removed from a fun high school life. If he were being honest, he wanted to fake an illness and take the day off. Locking himself in his house would just subject him to a different kind of suffocating pressure.

(That damn old hag. How long does she plan on nagging me…?)

While his bad reputation within the school was slowly fading, his treatment from his own family remained as cold as ever. After all, they had adored Ichizu-san since she was a little girl. His mother in particular made it a point to lecture him and tell him to reflect on his actions at least once a day. Having the exact same lecture hurled at him daily was enough to make him feel like he was losing his mind. As for his father, he had stopped saying anything to him altogether. There were no greetings, no nagging, no small talk, and no lectures. He said absolutely nothing in the truest sense of the word. The last thing his father had told him was to leave the house and get a job once he graduated high school.

(Where did my life go so incredibly wrong…?)

Without a doubt, it was his own fault for neglecting the childhood friend who had always supported him. Yet, even at this late stage, the word “self-reflection” had not been added to his dictionary.

As if to deal a finishing blow to his fragile state, a certain sight jumped into his field of vision.

“Wh… What the…”

Far ahead on the commuting path, the face he wanted to see least in the world came into view. Standing there was the very person who had orchestrated his downfall. It was the former delinquent and utter piece of trash, Kamiji Shinta. Right beside him was the loose woman who had so easily abandoned him, her childhood friend, to switch over to this guy. It was Arai Ichizu. The two of them were walking arm-in-arm and completely unconcerned about the other students around them.

“Guh, gah!?”

The visual information projected onto his eyeballs made him let out a bizarre noise. To see them acting like that, as if flaunting it right in front of him while he was suffering so much, made him sick. He felt so much rage he was nauseous. Without even realizing it, he punched a nearby utility pole and ignored the pain in his fist.

“What’s with him?”

“Oh, isn’t that that upperclassman? Just ignore him. Ignore him.”

Some younger female students walking nearby were whispering among themselves and were clearly creeped out. Ogawa was too consumed by hatred to care.

(You bastards. I’ll never forgive you. Someday… Someday I swear…!)

He hurled curses at them in his mind, but that didn’t mean he could actually do anything about it. Realizing he was entirely relegated to the position of a loser, he was crushed by an even more miserable feeling. Then, an even more shocking sight caught his eye. A new girl, one with an incredibly well-developed figure, joined them and clung to Shinta’s free arm. He remembered seeing that girl happily chatting with Shinta in the hallway before. Compared to back then, the distance between them had clearly vanished. And so, Ogawa was forced to vividly witness the two girls desperately vying for that man’s attention.

(This is ridiculous. How can you condemn my cheating and then act so completely unfazed by this?)

As her childhood friend, he had been condemned for cheating, and she had even cut ties with him. Despite that, as Shinta was being draped all over by a woman other than herself, not a single trace of disgust could be found on Ichizu’s face.

(So it’s wrong for me to have relationships with multiple women, but it’s okay for him? That’s completely absurd…)

His anger had already surpassed its limit, and he felt like he was going to lose his mind. He ground his teeth so hard that a sharp crack echoed in his mouth as a tooth chipped. He didn’t even care.

(Why… Why do you get to have every damn thing you want?)

Directing his bloodshot eyes at Shinta, Ogawa clenched his fists tightly. In his mind, he visualized smashing his fist into Shinta’s face until it was unrecognizable. He imagined bludgeoning him to death right then and there, desperately trying to maintain his composure through the fantasy. It was impossible. He stood frozen in the middle of the street, trembling violently as passing students stared at him in disgust. One of the female students whispered in a quiet voice as she walked by.

“Ugh, gross.”

It was a word he had grown used to hearing, but completely swallowed by his current rage, Ogawa overreacted.

“Hey, you bitch! What did you just say!?”

“Eh, w-wait!?”

Never expecting him to actually react, the girl panicked. Looking closely, she was a girl from his own class, but none of that mattered right now. Ogawa started screaming as he grabbed the hair of his flustered female classmate.

“Don’t just say whatever the hell you want when you don’t know a damn thing about how I feel!!”

“Ouch! S-Stop, let go of me!?”

Crying out in pain, the girl somehow managed to break free from Ogawa and ran toward the school screaming. The other students who witnessed the scene sensed the danger and hurriedly walked away. Left all alone, Ogawa bit his lip so hard it bled. He was unable to do anything but tremble with a rage that had nowhere to go.