Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 16: Nakayama-kun Doesn’t Have a Girlfriend

Chapter 16: Nakayama-kun Doesn’t Have a Girlfriend

“Alright, that’s all of them. See ya!”

“Ah—!”

The black-haired boy who suddenly appeared in front of me picked up all the scattered papers… and disappeared just as quickly.

It happened so fast, I honestly thought I was dreaming.

But when I looked down—

All the papers that had been scattered everywhere were now neatly stacked in my hands.

Even though I hadn’t moved an inch.

Which meant…

That moment had definitely been real.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy.

(Y-Yeah! I need to thank him properly! That’s totally normal! It’s not weird at all to go look for him! Yup, totally normal…)

Muttering excuses to myself, I made up my mind—

I was going to find the boy who helped me.

“Excuse me…”

“Huh? What’s your business with our class? Tell me who you’re here for and I’ll call them over.”

“Ah, um… s-sorry! I think I got the wrong class! My bad!”

And just like that, I hit my first big problem.

Yup.

I never even asked for his name.

I had nothing to go on except his face.

Which meant… no interviews, no asking around.

All I could do was rely on the vague snapshot burned into my memory.

“Why’re you looking around so much, Ta-chan?”

“Fweh!? I-It’s nothing! Just thought it seemed crowded today, that’s all!”

“Ahh, yeah. Sounds like there’s some kinda drama blowing up in Class 1 next door. Everyone’s headed over to rubberneck.”

“I-I see… I had no idea.”

As I kept up my secret quest to find him, I had to be extra careful—

After all, if I looked too obsessed, people would definitely start giving me weird looks.

Which meant my search was slow.

Painfully slow.

Days turned into weeks.

Weeks slipped into months.

And before I knew it, two whole seasons had passed.

Now it was autumn—and time to start prepping for the school culture festival.

“We’re probably gonna run out of cardboard at this rate, so I’ll head over to the student council room and grab more.”

“Thanks, Ta-chan! I’m counting on you!”

“Yup, I’m on it!”

Our class had decided to build a cardboard maze, and I’d been put in charge of the materials team.

So off I went, heading to the student council room to grab extra boxes from their stash.

“Excuse me—”

Just as I raised my hand to knock on the door, it suddenly swung open from the other side.

Neatly cropped black hair.

A clean, athletic look.

Sharp but calm eyes. A well-balanced, handsome face.

Over ten centimeters taller than me, with a lean build that still somehow looked strong.

And he smelled faintly of soap—fresh, gentle… kind of nostalgic.

It was him.

The boy I’d been searching for all this time.

I froze. Completely.

Caught off guard by the sudden reunion, I couldn’t even get a word out.

But then… he noticed me.

“Ah, sorry. After you.”

Since I was standing right in front of the student council room, he quickly figured out why I was there and stepped aside to let me pass.

(W-Wait! Don’t just leave!)

If I let him walk away now, nothing would change.

I at least wanted to know his nam

I started to reach out on instinct when—

“Hey, Nakayama-kun! You forgot the permit!”

—came a sudden shout from the student council room.

A dazzlingly pretty girl came running out, waving something in her hand.

“Ah! Thanks a ton! You totally saved me.”

“Hehe, I get that you’re excited to tell everyone, but try not to rush too much, okay?”

“Roger that. Alright, I’ll be off then!”

“Yep, do your best!”

Looked like he’d forgotten a permit for one of the culture fest booths or something, and she’d rushed out to hand it over.

(…Nakayama-kun. So your name is Nakayama-kun…)

I didn’t get to stop him.

My hand just kind of swiped at the air, helpless.

But even so, I’d finally learned his name—

And that alone made me feel like I’d just hit the jackpot.

That one little fated moment had me riding high… until—

“Hmm? Sumika, what are you doing here?”

“Hyaaahhh!?”

That sudden voice belonged to none other than my big sister, who was helping out with the student council.

I practically screamed and curled in on myself like a startled kitten, completely consumed by secondhand embarrassment.

And just like that, any progress I’d hoped to make for the day came to a screeching halt.

But!

Thanks to learning his name, my search leveled up big time.

And before long, I found out that Nakayama-kun was in the class right next to mine.

Naturally, I decided I had to thank him properly.

So when lunchtime rolled around, I paid a little visit to his classroom—gift in hand, and heart pounding in my chest.

“Sorry, Nakayama-kun! I know you’re swamped with orders and festival paperwork and all, and now I’ve roped you into helping carry this stuff too…”

“It’s fine, seriously. What’s not fine is those guys making the girls do all the lifting. They should stop staring at Fuyusara’s chest and actually do some work.”

“Ahaha! Well, I mean, even as a girl, I gotta admit—that outfit’s way too see-through. Dangerously sexy, honestly.”

“Still not the point. Ugh, guess I’ll have to give ‘em a proper scolding later.”

And there he was—Nakayama-kun.

Helping carry supplies for the culture festival with a girl who wasn’t some spotlight-drenched heroine.

(…So… it’s not just me.)

That one small moment sent a strange wave of emotion washing over me.

On one hand, I felt happy.

Happy that Nakayama-kun was the kind of person who’d help even people like us—the background extras.

But at the same time… it hurt.

Because that kindness of his—

It wasn’t something special.

It wasn’t just for me.

(…Stop getting your hopes up, me. Just because he’s nice doesn’t mean he’d ever choose someone like you out of the dozens of extras around. Heck, for all you know, he might already have a girlfriend. Honestly, it’d be weirder if he didn’t…)

It felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over my heart.

Quietly, I turned away and started heading back to class.

But as luck would have it, our paths overlapped for a few seconds—

And I just so happened to catch a bit of their conversation.

“Hey, by the way—Nakayama, how come you’re not all over girls like Haruno or Fuyusara? Don’t tell me… you’ve got a girlfriend?”

“!?”

“Nope.”

“Eh!? Then… wait, are you into boys or something!?”

“Of course not! I’m just not into girls like Fuyusara, that’s all.”

“Huh… Really? That’s kinda rare.”

…So… he doesn’t have a girlfriend.

They were talking about the one thing I’d been dying to know.

And even though I’d just told myself not to get my hopes up—

The second I heard Nakayama-kun say he didn’t have a girlfriend…

My face lit up all on its own.

Completely helpless, I ended up squatting right there on the spot, burying my face into my knees to hide the hopelessly goofy grin spreading across it.