My Girlfriend Wanted an Open Relationship, So I Broke Up with Her and Found a Sweet Yandere - Chapter 3: Sensei!

“Haa!” I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs with the cool night air as I finally stepped out of the restaurant. The farther I got from that place, the lighter I felt, like a weight had been lifted off my chest. The breeze hit my face, and for the first time in what felt like hours, I could think clearly.

It felt nice. Peaceful, even.

Getting away from her—away from the situation—was the only thing keeping me sane. The twisted knot of emotions inside me started to unravel, little by little, with each step I took farther from that table, from her smile, from everything she had just put me through.

“Fuck her,” I muttered under my breath, slapping myself across the face hard enough to sting. I didn’t want to get sucked into that spiral of memories again—the ones where Haruka and I were happy, the ones that made me doubt everything. I needed to shake this off, to think about something else, anything else.

I wandered around for a bit, aimlessly walking through the city streets. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten much at the restaurant. Eventually, I stumbled across a local noodle joint. It looked small and unassuming, the kind of place you wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for it. Perfect.

I stepped inside, and the warm air hit me immediately. The place was nearly empty, save for a few people. At one table sat a guy with white-dyed hair, around my age, surrounded by a dozen empty noodle bowls and bottles of booze. He looked like he had his own problems to drown out. In the corner, a woman was scrolling through her phone, completely absorbed in her screen. I didn’t pay her much attention.

I sat at a table behind the guy with the white hair. The owner walked up to me, wiping his hands on his apron, and asked for my order.

“One bowl of ramen,” I said, barely looking up.

He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. I leaned back, trying to calm myself, but the anger and confusion still simmered just beneath the surface. I could still see her face in my mind, smiling, *happy*, after everything she’d just said. I clenched my fists under the table, trying to shake it off.

Before long, the owner returned with my order. The steaming bowl of noodles looked inviting, and for a moment, I forgot about everything else. I picked up my chopsticks and was about to dig in when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Takahashi-san?” called a soft, feminine voice.

Startled, I turned around to see who it was. The woman who had been sitting in the corner was now standing behind me. Her hair was a striking shade of auburn, long and slightly wavy, catching the dim light of the restaurant. She had deep brown eyes that sparkled with a playful glint, and her skin was smooth, her figure wrapped in a tight-fitting sweater and a short skirt that showed off her long legs. Her lips, hidden behind a face mask, moved gently as she spoke.

How the hell did she know my name?

“Yeah?” I asked, blinking in confusion. I couldn’t place her, not with that mask covering most of her face.

She must’ve noticed my confusion because she quickly removed the mask, and the second she did, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Sensei!” I gasped.

Standing in front of me was Hayami-sensei, my professor for *Modern Japanese Literature*. She was probably in her mid-twenties, one of the youngest teachers at the university, and definitely the most striking. It wasn’t just her youthful energy or her looks that made her memorable; she had a presence, the kind that made everyone in class hang on her every word.

“Now you remember!” she said with a playful smile, her eyes narrowing with amusement. “I thought you were pretending not to know me for a second there.”

I felt my face heat up. “No, no, I just wasn’t expecting to see you here, Sensei…”

Without asking, Hayami-sensei slid into the seat across from me, her movements smooth and casual, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I blinked, a little caught off guard, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you outside of class,” she said, her tone light, a small smile on her lips as she looked around the almost-empty restaurant. “This place is a bit of a hidden gem.”

I nodded, still processing the fact that my professor was sitting in front of me. “Yeah, it’s my first time here. I was just walking around when I found it.”

The conversation drifted between small topics—school, literature, how much she enjoyed teaching *Modern Japanese Literature*. She was surprisingly easy to talk to, the tension I’d been feeling slowly easing as the minutes passed.

“You want something to eat?” I asked when the silence between us lingered a little too long.

“Sure,” she said with a soft laugh, glancing at the menu briefly before handing it back to me. “Anything’s fine. Surprise me.”

I flagged down the owner and ordered her some noodles. He gave me a nod, disappearing into the kitchen, leaving us sitting in the quiet hum of the restaurant.

We both began eating in silence when the food came, the soft clinking of chopsticks and bowls filling the space. The man sitting at the table in front of us interrupted the stillness by yelling at the owner, demanding another bottle of alcohol. His voice was loud, slurred. The owner brought it over to him quickly, clearly used to dealing with the rowdy customer.

I tried to focus on my food, but then Hayami-sensei’s voice broke through the quiet once again.

“Everything is fine, right?” she asked, her tone softer than before.

I froze mid-bite, the noodles hanging from my chopsticks as her question caught me off guard. *Did she know?* I quickly swallowed, trying to hide my unease as I gave her a hesitant nod. “Yeah… Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?”

She tilted her head slightly, her auburn hair falling to one side. “You just seemed… I don’t know, a little off tonight. I can tell something’s bothering you.”

Her eyes were searching mine, and for a second, I felt exposed, like she could see right through the forced calm I was trying to maintain.

Hayami-sensei… one of the few teachers I actually liked since I started college. She’s gentle, kind-hearted, and listens to everyone without judgment. There’s something calming about her presence, the way she speaks softly but with intent, and how she seems to always be paying attention, even to the smallest things.

“You can tell me anything you want,” she said, her voice soft yet reassuring. I felt the warmth of her hand as it slowly rested on mine, her gaze fixed on me with genuine concern.

For a second, I faltered. Should I tell her? Should I spill everything, all the crap that had been weighing me down? The betrayal, the confusion, the feeling of being lost and alone despite everything I’d done for Haruka…

Her touch was gentle, inviting me to open up, to unload the mess that had taken over my thoughts. But as much as I wanted to, something held me back.

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I said, the words feeling hollow as I repeated them. My voice was steadier than I expected, but inside, it was like I was crumbling. I knew it didn’t matter in the end. It never did. Talking about it wouldn’t change anything, wouldn’t undo what had already happened.

Hayami-sensei didn’t move her hand, her eyes searching mine as if she didn’t quite believe me.

“Fucking bitch!” the white-haired guy in front of us yelled, slamming his phone down on the table before jumping to his feet. His voice echoed through the small restaurant, sending a jolt through my body. “You can go and die!!!!!!” he screamed into the phone before smashing it onto the floor, the pieces scattering.

I felt Hayami-sensei’s grip on my hand tighten, her fingers trembling slightly as she clutched me. She was scared.

What the fuck…

“All women are fucking pieces of trash!” he shouted, his voice raw with anger. His eyes were wild as he glared around the room, daring anyone to challenge him.

[A/N: Drop a comment ~]