Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 17: Nakayama-kun’s My Neighbor?!

Chapter 17: Nakayama-kun’s My Neighbor?!

It had been four months since I found out Nakayama-kun’s name.

Naturally, nothing had happened since then.

I just kept watching him from a distance, all on my own.

It wasn’t like I needed some grand reason to talk to him or anything.

But ever since I realized that whole incident probably didn’t mean much to him,

The idea of thanking him now just felt… awkward.

Like it’d come off as a nuisance.

And once that thought planted itself in my mind, even the simplest conversation starters disappeared.

Honestly, I was kind of shocked at myself.

But the more I thought about it, the more I understood—

In all the times I’d spoken to boys before, it was always them who approached me first.

And most of the time, they only talked to me because of my big sister… or Reno-chan.

That realization hit me like a truck.

It made me feel unbearably pathetic.

(…Wait. What do I even want from Nakayama-kun in the first place?)

What really held me back—besides not knowing how to even start a conversation—

Was the fear of what might happen after we talked.

I wanted to talk to Nakayama-kun.

I wanted to thank him for back then.

And if, by some miracle, he actually remembered me? That alone would’ve made me insanely happy.

But that was it.

That was the entire list of things I wished for.

Strangely, thoughts like “I want to date him” or “Let’s be friends” never even crossed my mind.

I couldn’t tell if that meant I should feel relieved—because I wasn’t totally lovestruck—

Or just disappointed in myself for quietly assuming from the start that it would never work out anyway.

Either way, I kept holding back.

Trying to talk to him without any real reason felt… kind of rude, somehow.

So even when I finally built up the courage to say something, my feet would freeze before I could act.

Still, somewhere in the back of my mind, this little voice kept shouting,

“You can’t keep going on like this!”

But no matter how loud that voice got, I just couldn’t move.

I hated how pathetic that made me feel.

And honestly? I’d already half given up.

I figured nothing would ever change. That the whole thing would quietly disappear without me doing anything at all.

Until—

A turning point came out of nowhere.

Class 2-1

Student Number 15: Sumika Tanaka

Student Number 21: Toru Nakayama

“No. Freaking. Way.”

When the new class rosters were announced,

Guess what?

Nakayama-kun ended up in the same class as me.

I seriously couldn’t believe my eyes.

Was this even allowed?!

I mean, was it really him? Could it just be some other guy with the same name?

Especially since my last name’s super common—

The idea of another Sumika Tanaka showing up wasn’t exactly out of the question.

So, of course, I double-checked the list.

Okay, triple-checked.

After combing through it three times, I was sure.

There was only one Sumika Tanaka among the second-years.

And just one Nakayama in the entire grade.

Which meant—it was real.

Me and Nakayama-kun were officially classmates.

“…Yes!!”

The words just burst out of my mouth.

For the first time, I might actually get the chance to talk to him.

Buzzing with excitement, I practically ran to the new classroom—

Only to be smacked with instant despair the moment I stepped inside.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding. That’s way too far.”

Our seats were miles apart.

Since we were arranged by attendance number, I ended up way in the back of the third row.

And Nakayama-kun?

He was all the way in the front of the fifth row.

With that kind of distance, even saying hi felt impossible.

“Yayyy! We’re in the same class again, Ta-chan! …Huh? You don’t look too happy.”

“Ahaha, no, it’s not that. More importantly—let’s make it a great year, okay, Mikoto-chan?”

“Yup! Let’s do our best, Ta-chan!”

And just like that, my shiny new life in the same class as Nakayama-kun…

Got off to a pretty terrible start.

“Oh, right. I made a lottery box yesterday—time for a seat shuffle!”

One week had passed.

A whole week of being in the same class as him—without saying a single word.

And then, one morning just after homeroom started, our teacher Makabe-sensei casually dropped a bomb: we were doing a seat change.

The classroom instantly exploded into chaos.

Especially the boys.

They were practically vibrating with excitement, praying for the miracle of ending up next to one of the so-called Shikihime—Haruno-san, or Reno-chan.

The princesses of the class.

(…What about Nakayama-kun?)

In the middle of all the noise, my eyes instinctively darted to him.

He was talking to the guy next to him, but his face…

He looked completely over it.

Like he couldn’t care less about the seat change madness.

For some reason, that made me feel weirdly relieved.

I mean, maybe deep down he actually did want to sit next to one of the princesses and just had a good poker face.

But even then, my hopelessly optimistic brain leapt to:

“Yup. Nakayama-kun really is different from the rest.”

And without meaning to, I smiled.

“Tanaka. You’re up.”

“Ah—yes! Thank you.”

Then came my turn.

I walked up as instructed and reached into the lottery box Makabe-sensei held out.

[30]

“…Back row again.”

The number written on my slip placed me in the back row, right by the window—

The kind of “lucky draw” most people would kill for.

(Ugh… but this just means I won’t get to talk to him again.)

From where I stood—desperate to be closer to Nakayama-kun—

That seat felt less like a prize and more like a losing ticket.

There were barely any desks nearby. Hardly anyone to chat with.

I couldn’t help but slump in disappointment.

A little while later, everyone finished drawing their numbers, and the great migration began.

I gathered my things without much hope and headed to my new seat.

In front of me and diagonally ahead sat two boys I’d never spoken to before.

And no, neither of them was Nakayama-kun.

(This is bad. If the person next to me isn’t someone I can talk to, I’m gonna be all alone! Please let it be someone nice! Mikoto-chan, save meee!)

I’d already let go of the dream of sitting near Nakayama-kun the moment I saw my number.

But what I hadn’t realized—

Was how much I still didn’t feel settled in this new class.

That realization hit me like a punch to the chest.

And in a panic, I mentally screamed at the universe for help from whoever would be sitting beside me.

And then—

I heard the sound of a bag being set down next to me.

I turned to look—

—and froze.

Not in a bad way.

In a very, very good way.

“Yo, Tomoda. Looks like we’re neighbors again this year. Let’s get along.”

“Too bad I didn’t end up near Haruno-san, but sitting next to Nakayama isn’t the worst.”

“‘Not the worst,’ huh? What kind of greeting is that, you jerk?”

“…Huh?”

So yeah.

Turns out, the person who ended up sitting next to me…

Was a boy.

But not just any boy.

It was Nakayama-kun.

A ridiculous little squeak escaped from my mouth.

“!?”

I immediately slapped a hand over my lips and bolted—

Fleeing to the window like it was some kind of emergency exit.

(Wait wait wait wait!! Nobody warned me this was gonna happen!! Aahh, my face is on fire!!)

Okay, yeah, I knew seat changes were random, but still—this?!

I was full-on panicking.

(…Okay. Deep breaths. Calm down. This is your once-in-a-lifetime golden opportunity. If you’re ever gonna talk to him—this is it. Pull yourself together, Sumika! You got this!)

Thirty seconds later—

I finally managed to settle down, just enough to stop spinning like a broken loading screen.

After months—half a year—of waiting, I gathered every ounce of courage I had.

Then, slowly, I turned to face Nakayama-kun.

“Um…”

“Hm?”

As soon as I spoke, Nakayama-kun looked over at me.

And for the first time ever, I saw myself reflected in those deep, calm, black eyes.

Cue panic level: MAX.

Still, no way was I letting this moment slip through my fingers—

So I held on tight to whatever was left of my composure and made myself speak.

“I’m Sumika Tanaka. Starting today… we’re seat neighbors. Nice to meet you.”

I wasn’t even sure if my smile looked normal.

But still—just the fact that I’d finally told Nakayama-kun my name filled me with this weird, fluttery sense of accomplishment.

My cheeks pulled into a soft grin, whether I wanted them to or not.

When he heard my introduction, Nakayama-kun’s eyes widened slightly.

Then… he froze.

(Wait—do I look weird or something!? Is my face doing something awful right now!?)

A jolt of panic shot through me.

What if I was making some horrifying face—so bad he couldn’t even respond?

But that fear was completely off-base.

Because a second later, Nakayama-kun finally spoke.

“Nice to meet you, Tanaka-san. I’m Toru Nakayama. Uh… I might be wrong, but this isn’t our first time meeting… right?”

“!?”

The moment I finished introducing myself, Nakayama-kun paused—

Then brought up that day.

And just like that, my heart practically exploded.

In the best way possible.

(Thank goodness… Nakayama-kun remembered too.)

“Yes! That’s right. About half a year ago, you helped me pick up the papers I dropped. I never got the chance to say it back then, but… thank you so much for your help.”

“No need to thank me. It was nothing, really.”

“That’s not true. Maybe it didn’t mean much to you, but it really made me happy.”

“O-oh, I see. Then… I’m glad. Ah—looks like class is about to start.”

“Right!”

I’d blurted out my thanks in a bit of a panic, but…

Nakayama-kun actually looked a little happy, even while trying to brush it off like it was no big deal.

And in that moment, I was really, genuinely glad I said something.

Just like that—

Our new life as seat neighbors began.

And from where I was sitting?

It already felt like the perfect start.