Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 28: Still… I Like Nakayama-kun

Chapter 28: Still… I Like Nakayama-kun

I like Nakayama-kun.

I’d been pretending not to notice all this time, but now that I’ve said it out loud… there’s no going back.

“…But someone like me—a total side character—there’s no way I’d ever be the one he picks.”

It’s true—Nakayama-kun looks at me.

He’s kind to me.

That much is real.

And yeah… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t secretly start to wonder, “Maybe…?”

But I know nothing will ever come of these feelings.

Because there are actual princess-level girls around him.

Beautiful. Confident. Magnetic.

If any of them ever realized just how amazing Nakayama-kun really is… I wouldn’t even make it past the starting line.

So I have to keep this feeling bottled up.

If I do, at least I won’t get hurt more than I already am.

Yeah, it hurts.

But it still sounds a whole lot better than confessing… and getting rejected.

Even so—this warmth that’s taken root in my chest… it won’t go away.

Inside me, there’s a constant tug-of-war.

The younger me shaking her head, shouting “No way, nooo way!”

While the slightly older, more “mature” me gently whispers, “It’s time to let go.”

That battle looped endlessly in my mind as I lay curled up on my bed, clutching my pillow tight, wondering what on earth I should do.

And right then—

Knock knock.

A soft knock echoed from the door.

“Sumika, dinner’s ready~ You awake~?”

Right as I turned my head toward the door, it creaked open—and in came Onee-chan.

“—!? Sumika, what happened!? Are you okay!?”

…Yeah.

My face must’ve looked pretty bad.

The moment she saw me, Onee-chan’s expression changed completely.

She rushed over like a whirlwind.

“…I’m okay, Onee-chan. Really. But… can I be alone for a little while?”

“No way! Like I’d just leave you like this!”

I tried to play it off. Forced a smile.

But yeah… after living together our whole lives, she could see right through me.

She ignored my request entirely, moved behind me, sat me up, and wrapped her arms around me in a big, warm hug.

“I-I’m in high school now, you know?”

“Shush. Just let me pat your head in peace.”

She started gently stroking my head.

I squirmed, trying to wriggle away—but she had me locked down with her whole body. No escape.

Still, I gave it my all… for about two minutes.

Then I gave up.

“…………”

“…Aren’t you gonna ask what happened?”

She kept patting my head in complete silence for a while.

Eventually, I couldn’t take the quiet anymore and asked,

“Don’t you even want to know what’s wrong?”

To which she calmly replied:

“I’m not gonna ask. But I’ll stay right here until you feel like talking.”

…Which was so ridiculous, my cheek twitched in disbelief.

No matter what I said, it was clear Onee-chan wasn’t going anywhere until I spilled everything.

“Ah…”

I gave in and tried to speak—

But nothing came out.

My throat didn’t hurt. I wasn’t sick.

And yet, when I opened my mouth, all that came out were these dry, scratchy little sounds.

(…Oh. I get it now. Even with family… I don’t want to lose him. Not to a princess like Onee-chan.)

After a few seconds of confusion, it finally clicked.

It was fear.

And something that felt a lot like possessiveness.

What if I told her about Nakayama-kun… and she got curious?

What if they met… and he ended up falling for her?

Even the smallest possibility of that happening was enough to lock the words in my throat.

“…ah.”

“Sumika?”

After a couple failed attempts to speak, Onee-chan finally noticed something was off.

“Take your time, okay? It’s alright. Just talk to me when you’re ready, Sumika.”

Her voice was gentle, like she was handling something fragile.

She kept patting my head softly—like she was trying to soothe a delicate glass ornament.

But even so, the awful, uneven pounding in my chest just wouldn’t go away.

“It’s okay. No matter what happens, I’ll always be on your side, Sumika. Promise.”

Hearing that finally reminded me—

Oh yeah. Onee-chan already has a boyfriend.

And somehow, just remembering that simple fact helped steady the trembling in my hands.

“…Actually, there’s someone I like.”

I hated that it took me getting cornered like this before I could even trust my own sister with that truth.

Still, after taking a deep breath, I managed to squeeze the words out in a small voice.

“I see. So… what kind of person is he?”

“He’s amazing. Like, so cool that I honestly feel like I’m not even in the same league. He’s smart, athletic, thoughtful… Everyone relies on him. He’s just really, really amazing.”

“That does sound amazing.”

“Right? He really is.”

“Hmm. You said he’s thoughtful—what kind of things make you say that?”

“A bunch of things. Like, when someone forgets their eraser, he says he has two and gives them one… Even though he only had one, and ends up using the tiny nub at the end of his pencil so they won’t notice. Or like, when a classmate wasn’t feeling well and wanted to go to the nurse’s office but didn’t want to interrupt the lesson—He pretended he got hurt and told the teacher instead, so they could come along without standing out. I’ve seen him do so many little things like that, and they all just… stuck with me.”

“Wow. Yeah, that’s some next-level thoughtfulness. And if he’s also smart… did you ever ask him to help you study?”

“I did. Just once. He explained everything super clearly and took his time with it. Even the classmates sitting nearby said he’s a great tutor.”

The more I told Onee-chan about Nakayama-kun, the more this strange, bitter feeling twisted in my chest.

But every time it started to get to me, I reminded myself—she already has a boyfriend.

That little mental shield was enough to keep me talking.

“I see. He really does sound amazing. And it makes sense that you’d admire him so much. But… why did you fall for him?”

After about fifteen minutes of going on and on about Nakayama-kun, Onee-chan suddenly hit me with that question.

“Because… he actually sees me.”

I answered right away—no hesitation, no second thoughts.

Nakayama-kun sees me.

Not as just another girl in the background.

Not as a side character next to the popular girls.

He looks at Sumika Tanaka—just as I am.

In his eyes, there’s no Onee-chan. No Reno-chan. No Haruno-san.

Just me.

It’s simple.

But that one simple truth is enough to make my heart skip every time.

And it makes me so, so happy.

“…”

“…But now, that’s exactly what scares me the most.”

Because right now, there’s no one else reflected in his eyes.

And that… that’s what terrifies me.

What if someone’s already there, buried deep inside?

What if, come tomorrow, someone else ends up in that place?

Just thinking about it—

That possibility alone…

Is enough to send a chill through me.

“Because he treats everyone the same. He’s kind to everyone—and that’s exactly why I can’t tell how he really feels. I don’t know what kind of emotions he has toward me. When he says I’m cute, it makes me really happy… But then I start wondering—does he actually mean it? What if he compliments girls who are way cuter than me in an even more amazing way? And just thinking about that makes me anxious. So I get scared to take a step forward. But if I don’t… I know I’ll regret it. …Everything’s just a big mess in my head right now. I don’t even know what to do anymore.”

Once I finally spilled everything, Onee-chan just said, “I see~” and pulled me into a warm, tight hug.

“…I went through something kinda like that too.”

“Huh?”

I blurted it out before I could stop myself.

Because… it’s Onee-chan.

She’s a total princess—beautiful, confident, popular, surrounded by guys who adore her.

I didn’t think she’d ever have trouble figuring out how someone felt.

Curious, I tried to twist around to see her face—

But I misjudged the angle.

Thunk!

Our foreheads collided, and in perfect unison, we both yelped, “Ow!!”

“S-Sorry, Onee-chan!”

“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to.”

I quickly apologized, but she just laughed it off with her usual cheerful tone.

…Then she tilted her head.

Apparently, the head bump had knocked the next thing she wanted to say clean out of her brain.

“Wait, what was I about to say again?”

“You said something earlier… about going through something similar?”

“Oh, right, right!”

As soon as I reminded her, she clapped her hands together and started talking.

“Well, before I started dating my boyfriend, I had the exact same kind of thoughts. Like, what does he even think of me? I mean, people were always saying stuff like, ‘You’re cute,’ or ‘You’re pretty,’ or ‘I like you.’ But when you hear that kind of thing over and over… the words start to lose their weight. Eventually, they just stop meaning anything at all. So when my boyfriend first confessed to me? Honestly… I didn’t feel a thing. I just thought, Oh. Here we go again. Another one. Super cold, right?”

She let out a sheepish chuckle.

“But I guess I couldn’t hide it. Maybe it showed on my face or something, because right after that—he snapped. He goes, ‘I’m seriously confessing my feelings here! That reaction is way too harsh!!’ And looking back, he was totally right. I was being really rude. So I apologized. And you know what he said? ‘Then get ready—because I’m gonna make you fall for me for real.’ After that, he went all in. He started asking my friends what kind of clothes I liked and changed up his whole style. He’d bring me my favorite snacks like they were bribes. Even roped my friends into helping him invite me out places. He put in so much effort, like it was his mission to win me over. Most people would’ve backed off after getting shut down like that. But not Nagare. He just kept showing up with everything he had. And before I knew it… it felt normal having him by my side. I didn’t fall for him right away. But little by little, I started to realize—he genuinely, wholeheartedly liked me. And slowly… I started to like him too.”

“…”

After that, Onee-chan went full storyteller mode—

Giving me the whole saga of how she and her boyfriend got together, complete with all the emotional highs and lows.

But somewhere along the way, she must’ve realized she’d veered off track.

“A-Anyway! The main point—when you can’t figure out how someone feels—is to watch how they act around you every day!”

She scrambled to reel the conversation back in, capping it off with a pretty forced-sounding conclusion.

“I get that. I really do. But the problem is… he acts the same with everyone. It’s impossible to tell.”

“Ugh—yeah, that is tough… Okay, how about this—try making him mad! From what you’ve said, he doesn’t seem like someone who gets angry easily, right? But when people do get mad, it usually comes from somewhere honest. So maybe that’s when his real feelings will come out!”

“Hmm… maybe. But I don’t think that would work. To make him mad, I’d probably have to do something mean to another girl, right? And if I did that… he’d totally hate me.”

I pointed out the flaw in her plan, and immediately—

“Ugghhh! You’re right! I completely forgot about that! I’m sorryyyy! I’m such a useless Onee-chan!”

She cried out dramatically and bowed like she’d just committed a serious offense.

“It’s okay. You’re not useless. Just talking it out with you helped a lot.” 

I still hadn’t fully sorted out my feelings…

But thanks to my overly dramatic, teary-eyed Onee-chan, I did feel just a little bit better.

(Thank you… for listening. For taking me seriously and thinking it through with me.)

Wanting to show her just a bit of that gratitude, I managed to wriggle one arm free—despite still being wrapped tight in her hug—

And gently reached up to pat her on the head.

Author’s Note:

Okay. For real this time—next chapter’s the last.

Seriously. Seriously.

Next chapter’s title will be:

“Nakayama-kun Likes Me (Probably)”

Scheduled to go up the day after tomorrow.

Hope you’ll check it out!