My Childhood Friend Who is My Girlfriend was Stolen by My Best Friend. From Now on, I'll Flirt with My Ex-Best Friend's Little Sister! - Chapter 39

Decision

“Toshi-kun…why are you and Sakaki-kun…?”

My childhood friend in front of me looks completely stunned, it’s as if she can’t believe her own eyes.

Watching my childhood friend mutter to herself softly, Sasaki speaks up.

“Ah, well…I just happened to run into Naegi-kun earlier…it’s indeed just my own opinion, but I think this is the only chance. Tsuki-chan did say it’s better not to talk to Naegi-kun, but I don’t think we should just leave it like this. If you talk to him properly, I’m sure he’ll understand—”

“Don’t do anything unnecessary.”

“Eh?”

“…ah, well, if Sakaki-kun told you something, it’s…a misunderstanding…so…”

“Misunderstanding? What are you talking about? Tsuki-chan, we need to wake Naegi-kun up.”

My childhood friend is drenched in sweat. Her eyes are dating from side to side. Her voice is high-pitched, and she is rubbing her hands together restlessly.

Meanwhile, Sasaki seems unsatisfied with my childhood friend’s reaction, furrowing his brow.

I stand up from the bench and look down at my childhood friend.

“You…really are hopeless, aren’t you?”

Those words come from the bottom of my heart.

…in the end, it seems that people don’t change that easily. Once a person has fallen, it’s not easy for them to rise again.

I’m witnessing it right now.

“T-Thats not…!”

My childhood friend chokes on her words.

In her place, Sasaki speaks.

“Naegi-kun, you can’t talk to Tsuki-chan like that. Tsuki-chan is worried about you. It might be hard to believe, but…Naegi-kun’s girlfriend, Rinka-chan, is a malicious woman who switches between men and plays with their hearts! Naegi-kun is being used as nothing more than a wallet…”

“Sakaki, you’re just like the old me…”

“Eh?”

“You tend to believe what people tell you right away. That’s not good. You need to learn to doubt…well, I just learned that recently, too.”

I say so with a self-deprecating smile on my face.

Sasaki widens his eyes, then falls silent.

A heavy silence falls over us.

Then, I hear footsteps approaching.

“S-Senpai…this is…?”

Rinka, seeing the situation, can’t immediately grasp what’s going on.

She must have come to check on me.

“Perfect timing. I’m sorry, Rinka, but can you go home first? I have to talk about something with them.”

“B-But…if that’s the case, then I…”

“I want you to trust me. If you’re here, I’ll probably end up relying on you again. This is something I need to solve on my own.”

“…I understand. I’ll make your favourite dinner and wait for you.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

Rinka squeezes on my hand tightly and turn away, leaving the scene.

Up until this point, Rinka had been my emotional support. She had always been on my side, staying with me when things were though, and always getting angry on my behalf whenever I needed it.

Maybe that’s why…

I have unconsciously relied on her all this time.

When it comes to the important matters, I tend to leave them to her. I have given up thinking for myself, letting her take the lead.

I have thought many times that I need to change, and I tried to take action, but in the end, it was all half-hearted.

And this is the result.

My immature, dependent personality has only made my childhood friend cling onto me even more.

I hoped that she would reflect on things and change. That faint, fragile hope that I have harboured in my heart is shattered into pieces.

In the end, I think…I probably still like my childhood friend. I think I still have lingering feelings for her.

After all, she is my first love. She is not someone I can easily forget or cut off.

First and foremost, she is my childhood friend. I’ve known her since I can remember.

It’s not easy to completely cut off feelings for someone like that.

That’s why, somewhere deep within my heart, I thought that maybe…if she reflects on what she has done and change, we can start over.

Not in a romantic sense, but as childhood friends, that maybe we can start over.

But that just shows how naive I am.

If Rinka knows about this, she would probably be shocked by how naïve my way of thinking is…even after everything that’s happened, here I am, still trying to maintain a connection with my childhood friend. I think there’s something wrong with me for that.

But the time I’ve spent with her isn’t something that can be taken lightly.

I can’t deny that there’s a part of me that feels regretful.

But…I should really start changing, huh?

Suddenly, his words cross my mind.

‘—if you don’t change that soft personality of yours, you’ll be taken advantage of one day.’

It really seems like that’s the case.

“Let’s move somewhere else. A place we can talk quietly.”

I look directly into my childhood friend’s eyes and say so in a calm tone.