Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 29: Nakayama-kun Is So Unfair

Chapter 29: Nakayama-kun Is So Unfair

“…Yeah. In the end, I guess I just have to figure it out by watching how he acts.”

On the way from home to the station, I muttered that to myself while looking up at the slightly overcast sky.

It’s not like people usually give you a straight answer when you just blurt out, “So, who do you like?”

And let’s be real—there’s no way I’m brave enough to ask someone I like that kind of question in the first place.

So, like Onee-chan said yesterday—keeping an eye on his usual behavior feels like the calmest (and safest) approach.

It suits me.

That said… there’s one tiny issue:

What if Nakayama-kun noticed I was watching him?

What if he thought it was creepy… or weird?

Even if the odds were low, the idea of him starting to avoid me because of it was honestly terrifying.

But if I kept letting fear stop me, nothing would ever change.

No matter how scary change is, if I didn’t at least take this small step forward, I’d regret it forever.

Lost in thought, I didn’t even notice how far I’d walked until the station came into view.

Just as I reached the stairs—

“HEY, TANAKA!”

A loud, sharp voice shouted my name—way more irritated than I’d ever heard it before.

“!?”

“—Matsuyama-kun?”

I turned around in surprise, and there he was.

Except… it wasn’t the usual cheerful, easygoing Matsuyama-kun.

His face was twisted with anger. The intensity of it made me instinctively take a step back.

Why was he looking at me like that first thing in the morning?

We hadn’t even said a word yet.

Completely stunned and frozen in place, I could only stand there—

As Matsuyama-kun marched straight toward me.

“It’s your fault I can’t get in touch with Haruno-san anymore! What are you gonna do about that!?”

He shouted as he kicked the railing behind me—hard.

“T-That’s…”

It’s true.

Maybe I did say something to Haruno-san that I shouldn’t have.

But even so, I honestly don’t think it was enough to cause this big of a fallout between her and Matsukaze-kun.

All I said was that there was a note tucked in with his contact info.

That’s it.

No matter what I’d told her, I really believe Haruno-san would’ve made the same decision—to stop talking to him.

“It’s not really my faul—”

“Shut up! Spare me the pathetic excuses, you background extra! That’s all you are, right? Just some nobody meant to stay in the background. So play your part and stay outta the way, you useless idiot!”

—“Then try making him mad.”

—“He doesn’t seem like the type to get angry easily, so when he does, it’ll probably come from the heart.”

“…!”

I tried to say something, to explain—

But Matsukaze-kun wouldn’t let me.

Whatever happened between him and Haruno-san must’ve hurt him badly.

He just kept lashing out, throwing his anger at me like a storm he couldn’t control.

And right then—

My sister’s words from yesterday echoed in my mind.

A dull ache bloomed deep in my chest, like something inside had quietly cracked.

(…So that’s how people really see me, huh.)

Matsukaze-kun probably meant every word he said.

To him, I was nothing more than a side character—

Just a convenient middleman for the princess types like Onee-chan, Reno-chan, and Haruno-san.

But honestly, that wasn’t anything new.

 But I have known this for a long, long time.

I’d always kind of known.

Some of the boys who were aware of the people I hung out with probably saw me that way too.

Still—

Hearing it out loud like that, right to my face…

It hurt.

Way more than I ever expected it to.

No matter how hard I tried to hold it back, tears started to gather in the corners of my eyes.

“What, you gonna cry now?! I’m the one who should be crying! Thanks to you—because I actually trusted you!—I can’t even talk to the girl I like anymore! You’ve gotta be kidding me! I’m a good-looking guy! There’s no way I should’ve gotten rejected!!”

“uh… ah… ahh…”

I was barely holding myself together under Matsukaze-kun’s shouting, doing everything I could not to break down—

When suddenly, a sharp voice cut through from the side.

“Well, with that rotten attitude, it’s no wonder you got rejected. You absolute trash.”

I turned toward the voice—

And there she was.

Reno-chan, hair fluttering in the breeze, glaring at Matsukaze-kun with eyes sharp enough to cut steel.

“Reno Fuyusara!? What are you doing here!?”

“…Haah. Seriously? Sumika and I go to the same high school. Why wouldn’t I be here? You could figure that out with, like, half a brain. Oh, wait—you don’t have one. Guess that’s why you can’t even grasp something this simple unless someone spells it out for you. You absolute idiot.”

“Ghh…!”

Reno-chan’s voice dripped with pure anger and disgust as she hurled insults at Matsukaze-kun.

And the force behind her words was enough to make even him—who’d been practically boiling with rage a second ago—visibly flinch.

Honestly?

I was standing right next to her, and I was stunned.

I’d never seen Reno-chan this furious before.

“Let me break it down so even your peanut-sized brain can keep up: There’s nothing wrong with asking someone for help when you want to get closer to the person you like. That part? Totally fine. But blaming them when things don’t go your way? Yeah, no. That’s on you. You’re the one who chose to rely on someone else. That was your decision. You couldn’t handle it on your own, so you leaned on someone else for help. So when it doesn’t work out? That’s your responsibility. Sumika didn’t do a single thing wrong.”

Unlike Matsukaze-kun, who’d been shouting purely out of frustration—

Reno-chan’s voice was cold as ice, each word sharp and deliberate.

“T-There’s no way she’s not at fault! If she hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have gotten that message out of nowhere!”

Maybe he thought staying quiet would make him look weak, because Matsukaze-kun suddenly tried to argue back.

But Reno-chan wasn’t having any of it.

“Hmph. Is that so? If you were really that confident, then why’d you rely on someone else in the first place? Why didn’t you go talk to her again yourself after she turned you down? If you’d just faced her properly, that goody-two-shoes might’ve actually given you a second chance, you know?”

“W-Well, I mean, that’s…”

There was no way he could win against Reno-chan—

The girl who’d verbally destroyed more boys than I could count.

“Of course you can’t answer. Because you’re nothing but a coward. A pathetic excuse for a guy who’s so afraid of failing that you’d rather throw the blame on someone else. You’re the kind of spineless trash who can’t take a single step forward unless you’ve got someone to shove the responsibility onto.”

“Guh!?”

“You think you can just stay in your comfy little bubble and still get what you want? Don’t kid yourself. If you’re not even ready to get hurt, you’ve got no business talking about love! You absolute fool!”

“I—I’m so sooorrrrryyyy!!”

Practically in tears, Matsukaze-kun turned and ran for it.

And honestly?

Watching him stumble away like that…

It was hard to believe he was the same guy who’d been yelling and looming over me just minutes ago.

“Haaah…”

Once he disappeared from sight, the tension that had been holding me together snapped.

And my knees gave out as I sank to the ground.

“I’m just glad I made it in time.”

“T-Thanks, Reno-chan. You were seriously, seriously cool back there.”

When I thanked Reno-chan for helping me up after I’d completely collapsed on the ground, she gave a short, blunt reply: “That much is obvious.”

But even as she turned away with that usual cool attitude—

Her ears were bright red, totally betraying her.

I couldn’t help it. A quiet laugh slipped out.

Immediately, Reno-chan snapped her head back and shot me a glare.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Sorry. I was just thinking… Reno-chan hasn’t changed a bit—still as cute as ever.”

Her glare wasn’t nearly as sharp as the one she’d used on Matsukaze-kun earlier.

So I just said it—exactly what I was thinking.

And then—

Whoosh!

Her entire face turned bright red in a flash.

“C-Cute!? No, I’m not! Not even close! You’re the cute one, Sumika! You’ve got that bright, bubbly charm, and you’re super friendly—way more adorable than me!”

“That’s not true. Reno-chan’s way more stylish and attractive. I mean, come on—you’re literally called a Shikihime at school. All the boys are obsessed with you.”

As I tried to gently calm her down, secretly thinking how ridiculously cute her flustered reactions were—

Her expression suddenly shifted.

“…!?”

In an instant, that blushing face turned… sad.

“…sorry.”

She didn’t need to apologize.

I was just telling the truth.

All she had to do was accept it.

But the fact that Reno-chan felt guilty and apologized anyway—

That just showed how kind she really is.

How genuinely lovely of a princess she is.

…Unlike me, just the extra standing off to the side.

“No, really. It’s okay.”

With the biggest smile I could manage, I gently wrapped my arms around her in a hug.

◇

After parting ways with Reno-chan, I headed to school.

I was running a little later than usual…

And when I stepped into the classroom, I saw that Nakayama-kun was already there.

The moment he noticed me, he smiled warmly and said,

“Good morning, Tanaka-san.”

“Good morning, Nakayama-kun.”

I made sure to reply just like always, then quietly took my seat.

As I pulled out my textbooks and slid them into my desk, I sneaked a quick glance at him from the corner of my eye.

He was gazing absentmindedly around the classroom.

…Probably checking to see if anyone looked like they needed help.

(…Yeah. I really am just another classmate to him, huh.)

His eyes didn’t stop on me—they looked at everyone.

That simple, quiet truth made my chest ache.

And then…

I got irritated at myself for overthinking it all over again.

So I let out a small sigh.

“Nn?”

All of a sudden, right in front of my lowered face…

A little Chiro○ Choco appeared out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

I blinked in confusion and looked up to see who’d given it to me—

And there was Nakayama-kun, casually unwrapping one from the pile of chocolates on his desk.

“You looked kinda down, so… here. Didn’t you say you love sweets? So eat that and cheer up, yeah?”

He said it so nonchalantly, like it was nothing at all,

Then popped the chocolate into his mouth without even glancing my way.

I just sat there frozen, staring as he chewed with a mouthful of chocolate—

“…Wait, do you not like that flavor? I’ve got other ones too, if you want.”

After finishing his, Nakayama-kun held out a big multipack bag like it was no big deal.

“Ah, no! This one’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

That’s when I realized—I’d been frozen stiff this whole time.

I quickly bowed my head and picked up the little Chiro○ Choco he’d left on my desk.

Strawberry flavor.

My absolute favorite.

And right then, in that moment…

All I could think was—

I’m happy.

I like him.

(Ahh… he’s really not fair.)

I know it was probably just a coincidence.

And yet—

The heavy cloud that had been weighing me down only moments ago suddenly lifted like magic.

I let out a quiet, self-deprecating chuckle at how ridiculously simple I was being…

Then slowly unwrapped the chocolate and popped it into my mouth.

It was just a mass-produced, everyday treat from a factory—

But because it came from Nakayama-kun, it tasted sweeter than any chocolate I’d ever had.

“It’s delicious.”

When I said that, Nakayama-kun turned toward me with a soft smile.

The kind that looked a little relieved… and a little happy.

Meanwhile—

My heart was pounding out of control.

And the taste of that chocolate I’d just eaten?

Yeah…

It was already gone.

Author’s Note:

Okay, so I said next time would be the final chapter—the actual, final-final one—but nope.

Didn’t work out.

It’s all Matsukaze’s fault.

I regret nothing!