My Cute, Quiet Girlfriend Since Childhood Is Walking Down a Love Hotel Street With a Guy Who Is Not Me - Part 1 - Hanayama Ruka

I saw it.
ㅤI saw the person that I love as much as my own family, if not more,
talking with another man on a street that is famous for its love hotel district. Despite being the shortest route from the school to the station,
few people use this route because of it. My girlfriend was with a guy on such a street.
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She always had a cheerful smile on her face when she was with me.
ㅤBut what about her smile now?
ㅤHad she ever shown me such a happy, such a debauched smile?
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The right thing to do would have been to question her right then and there.
ㅤHowever, I lacked the composure to do so.
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I wanted to turn away from that scene.
With that single thought in my mind, I ran away.
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I stopped dead in my tracks in front of my house’s door, drenched in sweat, breathing on my shoulders. As I looked sideways at the house next door, tears started pouring out of my eyes. Some time had passed since then, but I was still crying in front of the door. I was able to regain my composure because I realized that my parents and my girlfriend’s family next door would be worried if they saw me crying, so I stepped into the house and went straight to the shower.
I thought that if I took a shower, the scene I had just witnessed would just wash away with me, but it did not; rather, it was vividly etched into my mind instead.
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When I returned to my room helplessly, I looked at a number of picture frames hung on the wall beside my bed.
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ㅤThere were pictures of me and my girlfriend from elementary school up until recently. We were smiling there, looking very happy. The most recent photo was taken in front of the school gate at the highschool entrance ceremony.
ㅤI think her heart was still with me at that time. When did her heart give up on me, I wonder. ……
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―
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“I’m Hinagiku. Harumi Hinagiku. [1]
Can you tell me your name too?”
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I moved to this town when I was in the third grade of elementary school.
ㅤI met Hinagiku, who lived in the house next door, for the first time.
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“I’m Hanayama Ruka. [2]
I’d be happy if we could be friends from now on, Hinagiku-chan.”
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“Ruka-kun. Yeah! Let’s be friends!”
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Hinagiku smiles like an angel and extends her hand towards me. At the time, I was gazing at the palm of her outstretched hand, not understanding what this action meant. Then she said, “A handshake. It’s a handshake. We’re going to be friends forever, so we need to shake hands to up our friendship level,” Hinagiku said, and honestly, I remember just shaking her hand without really understanding what she was talking about.
When I shook hands with her, Hinagiku smiled saying, “Ehehe”
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“When did you fall in love with her?”
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If someone were to ask me that, I would say that it was this moment. That was how enchanting Hinagiku was. However, I was a child at the time, so I didn’t realize that what I was feeling was love.
Since we were in the same grade, from the next day, we went to and from school together as a matter of course. After school, we played together in the park or went to the library to read books, which became a normal routine for me.
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Hinagiku was quiet and not the kind of girl who would actively play with her friends.
ㅤSince I had been living in the countryside before I moved here, I was not used to playing with a large group of people, so my time with Hinagiku was very comfortable and relaxing.
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Of course, there were times when I would play with my classmates. Hinagiku taught me that if I did anything too extreme, I would be ostracized by my classmates, or worse, bullied. She had always been a good judge of her surroundings and made sure that not only she but also I would not be exposed to any malicious intent.
At this time, I didn’t think too deeply about it and only thought “Hinagiku-chan is so smart”, but when I think about it now, Hinagiku, who has been at this level since then, really is amazing.
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I think it looked like we were good friends, but thanks to Hinagiku’s world-class skills, few ridiculed our relationship.. It was the same after we entered junior high school.
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When I entered junior high school, I began to realize that my feelings for Hinagiku were different from just friendship. However, as an adolescent, I was embarrassed to have such feelings, so there was a time when I tried desperately to hide my feelings, and I ended up taking a cold attitude toward Hinagiku.
Hinagiku never changed her attitude toward me and stayed with me all the time. I think my attitude towards Hinagiku at that time was what is called “tsundere”. To be frank, a male tsundere is just a creepy, worthless guy who is just a bit obsessed.
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I continued with this attitude for about a year, but about a month after moving up to the second grade, I felt that my behavior was so childish that I was embarrassed to be tsundere with Hinagiku.
ㅤAt the time, I was so embarrassed to think back on my attitude towards her that I buried my face in my pillow and screamed, “Aahh! So embarassing!!! Kill me please!!!”. To be honest, even thinking back on the ‘screaming into a pillow’ incident is too embarrassing to think about.
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At that time I was very embarrassed of everything that I had done, but I managed to compose myself and press the intercom of Hinagiku’s house、
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“Coming~ Oh, Ruka-kun! Hinagiku is in her room right now, so I’ll tell her to come outside.”

“Yes, sir.”
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I was still feeling embarrassed, so I replied, “Yes, sir.” like a cadet. But I had never said “Yes, sir.” before, because I was a respectable member of the Going-Home club who did not belong to any club activities. It was probably inevitable that I realized this and almost passed out, alone in front of the entrance to Hinagiku’s house.
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“Ruka-kun, what’s wrong?”
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“Can I have a minute?” I spoke as calmly as I could so she wouldn’t notice my inner fainting.
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“Yeah, of course. Do you want to come up to my room?”
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“No, do you want to go to Octo Park? We haven’t been there in a while.”
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Octo Park is a park with a large octopus playground equipment.
ㅤThis park was a favorite of Hinagiku and I. We used to sit on the octopus head and talk about all sorts of things.
ㅤBut I’ve only been to the park a few times since I came to junior high.
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“Sounds nice! It’s been a long time so I’m looking forward to it.”
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Hinagiku had a really happy smile on her face, but said “Oh, but I’m in my house clothes now, so I’m going to go change a bit,” and went back to her room. About five minutes later she came back in a spring-like outfit, a one-piece dress with a small flower pattern and a cardigan over it. I had seen Hinagiku in her personal clothes many times, but now that the tsundere filter was gone, my eyes were cloudless
When I saw her, my heart almost stopped because of how goddamn cute she was.
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“Shall we go?”, I was aware that my voice had pitched up slightly, and I was inwardly depressed. “I’m so lame..”, I thought to myself, but Hinagiku smiled softly and said, “Yeah. I haven’t been to Octo Park with Ruka-kun in a long time so I’m glad”. Her smile was so cute that I accidentally muttered, “I like you….”

“Eh?”
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Hinagiku froze when she heard my muttering. I thought I might be in trouble, ”Oh, ah. No, yeah. It’s nothing. It’s nothing,” I tried to clear the air and said something quickly, which ended up not making any sense. But then, “Ruka-kun… you said you like something didn’t you? What did you say you like?” Hinagiku asked me. …
ㅤI said “I like you.”, “I’ve been embarrassed about it, so I’ve been cold to you. –I’m sorry.”
I was so afraid of how she would react that I shut my eyes after telling her how I felt, but something soft and warm enveloped me.
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“I’m so happy.. I also like Ruka-kun. I like you so much that I can’t stop liking you. I knew that Ruka-kun was a little shy, but I kept calling out to you so many times. I’m also sorry for that.”
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I was hearing her voice from near my chest, so I realised that the warmth that was enveloping me was Hinagiku. When I opened my eyes in surprise at being told that she liked me, Hinagiku looked up at me smiled, saying, “You finally looked at me.”
Her cuteness was so overwhelming that I just couldn’t resist hugging her.
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“It’s a little uncomfortable” she said with a bitter smile, but Hinagiku tightened her grip on me.
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But I had forgotten.
I had forgotten that we were in front of Hinagiku’s front door.
ㅤWhen I turned my head towards the door, I saw Hinagiku’s mother looking at us with a grin on her face.
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“Eek!” I was surprised and let go of Hinagiku, and her mother said, “My my~ you didn’t have to stop what you two were doing you know?”
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I was thinking, ‘Dammit! Did you really have to appear right now!?” and Hinagiku said, ‘Mom, what are you doing! Don’t interrupt our moment!”, she said exactly what I wanted to say. Mom said, “You’re so petty already. But I know. You’re going out now, aren’t you? Come home before it gets dark, okay?” She was trying to send us off pleasantly with an understanding expression, but her mouth was all smirked up, so it was ruined.
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We were a bit mad as we headed to Octo Park, but on the way, we found it pretty funny and we both burst into laughter. I had so many honest conversations with Hinagiku. Why had I wasted so much time? Why had I let such a fun time slip away from me all this time?
ㅤAfter reflecting on the situation from the bottom of my heart, I sat on the octopus head for the first time in a while and apologized to Hinagiku again.
ㅤHinagiku told me not to worry about it anymore and said, “More importantly, I’d like you to tell me exactly how you feel about me, Ruka-kun.” I felt embarrassed to say it again, but having graduated from being a tsundere, I told her exactly how I felt about her. Then, she shed a tear from her eye and said, “I’m so happy. I love you too, Ruka-kun. I’ve always loved you.”
ㅤAnd when she said, “So, Ruka-kun,” I told Hinagiku, “Let me tell you from here”, I looked her in the eyes and held her hand gently.
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“Hinagiku. I like you, Hinagiku –I love you… So will you go out with me?”
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“Yes, I like you too. I love you too, Ruka-kun. I love you. So, please make me your girlfriend, Ruka-kun.”
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As she said this, she put on the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. Then she gave me a mischievous look and whispered in my ear, “My heart belongs only to Ruka-kun, for the rest of my life.”
It seems, as I was sulking, Hinagiku had evolved into a little devil.
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Since then, we became closer than ever.
ㅤWe went on many dates and even kissed on Christmas Day in the second year of junior high school.
ㅤFrom the third year of junior high, we both studied for the entrance exam and encouraged each other so that we could go to the same high school.
ㅤMy grades were not as good as Hinagiku’s, but thanks to her good teaching, I was in third place in my grade at the end of junior high school, and passed the entrance examination without a hitch.
ㅤMy parents were very happy because they never expected me to enter one of the most prestigious schools in the prefecture. So we went to Hinagiku’s house on the same day to express our gratitude, and a joint acceptance party was held for both families.
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When we entered high school, we were still very close.
ㅤWe were able to be in the same class, and all of our classmates knew about our relationship.
ㅤEverything was smooth sailing until the end of the first semester of high school, and I felt as if our relationship would continue forever.
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-Until I saw her talking happily with that b*****d on the love hotel street.
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That guy is a celebrity in our class.
ㅤHe is tall, handsome, and good at sports, a high-spec human. His parents are executives of a big company, so they are filthy rich too.
Goutoku Hayate
Moreover, he also had an excellent personality, so not only his classmates but also all the girls in our grade were glued to him. I was relieved that Hinagiku didn’t show any such signs, but I began to wonder if they had been meeting each other in secret.
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My school allows students to be involved in student council activities from the first semester of their freshman year as support for the student council. I wanted to be a part of the student council, so I started helping the student council once a week from the first semester. We went to and from school together on weekdays, and we also spent weekends together unless one of us had plans. They probably met on the days I was helping the student council, which brought them closer together. ……
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The next day comes, and Hinagiku comes to pick me up as usual.
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“Good morning, Ruka-kun.”, she said with a smile on her face, as usual, as if nothing had happened.
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“Ah, good morning.”
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“Eh? Ruka-kun, you look a little down.. Are you not feeling well?”
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Hinagiku looks up at me with a worried expression.
I’m having a hard time looking at Hinagiku’s cute face as she gazes straight into my eyes.
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“No, I’m fine. More importantly, let’s hurry.”
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I pulled Hinagiku’s hand and headed to school, trying not to make her feel suspicious.
ㅤI didn’t notice anything strange about her attitude while we were heading to school. It’s hard to believe that she was with that guy not even a day ago.

Perhaps it was someone else. But, her expression was burned firmly into my mind.
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ㅤI then entered the classroom and took my seat at the very back by the window and started observing Hinagiku and Goutoku-san.
ㅤHinagiku was sitting in the second row from the podium, taking textbooks and other things out of her bag.
ㅤGoutoku-san, on the other hand, was talking with his high-class friends, but I could see him glancing at Hinagiku.
ㅤAs I thought, he keeps looking at Hinagiku.
ㅤI don’t know how long he has been watching her, but I guess he has been for a long time.
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I was listening to homeroom feeling depressed.
ㅤI will ask her about it after school today.
ㅤEven if we break up.
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★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
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[1] She says her name twice, using kanji (春見雛菊)
And hiragana (はるみひなぎく)
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[2] He says his name twice, using kanji (僕は花山瑠夏) and hiragana (はなやまるか)