The Beautiful Girl I Accidentally Helped Who Has Somehow Become Attached To Me. - Chapter 15: The Awkward Wink.

The Awkward Wink.

I arrived at the classroom just in time as usual, slipping quietly through the back door and taking my seat as discreetly as possible.

It’s fine. No one’s paying any attention to me—though saying it out loud stings a bit.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t fumbled my “high school debut.” Would I have joined a group, made close friends, or maybe still ended up keeping people at a distance with my introverted aura, not so different from now?

But, there’s one person—a single person who doesn’t leave me alone.

It’s a strange relationship to call friendship, yet… maybe I could just chalk it up to “coincidence,” like she does.

Thinking that way, it feels like this otherwise ordinary school life has gained a slight, almost imperceptible touch of color.

***

Lunchtime.

There’s no need for us to arrange anything anymore. As always, Mikami-san was occupying half of my “best spot.”

My gaze toward her must have looked slightly sharper than usual. It wasn’t that I was angry. Well, actually, maybe I was a little angry.

The sense of gratitude or appreciation I’d felt toward her this morning had started to fade, replaced by a less favorable sentiment. If I had to put it in game terms, her “affection level” might have taken a slight dip.

Maybe sensing my annoyed aura, Mikami-san, sitting on the bench and looking up at me, had a bit of a stiff expression. With the sun behind me, my shadow loomed over her, giving off a rather intimidating vibe.

“So, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“…N-not particularly.”

“I see. That’s fine. I’m sitting next to you, alright?”

“Uh, yes.”

I sat down beside her, closed my eyes, and let out a long sigh. Oddly enough, even though I was somewhat annoyed, I felt a strange sense of calm washing over me. This best spot I found to escape that suffocating feeling was now partly invaded by Mikami-san, yet the peaceful effect hadn’t diminished. In fact, it somehow felt even more relaxing.

The sun was warm, and it was hard to stay annoyed. Just as I was about to let it go, Mikami-san, looking down, murmured softly.

“Um… are you… angry about what happened during break?”

“I’m not angry.”

“You’re lying. You’re angry.”

“Fine, I’m angry. Why do you always have to do things that make us stand out?”

To explain, we need to rewind a few hours to our break earlier today.

It just so happened that Mikami-san’s class had a lesson in a different room, and she passed by my class. For some reason, she decided to smile, wave in my direction—no, wave directly at me—and even attempted a wink. Though she didn’t quite pull it off.

Naturally, my class erupted.

People were buzzing about how the Mikami-san waved at me, about how it was like an angel smiling down. The guys, dumb and simple-minded as ever, argued over whether that smile was meant for them, and even some of the girls seemed charmed, squealing and fawning until a passing teacher came by to reprimand everyone.

It was… pretty brutal.

I was once again hit by the sheer impact a beautiful girl could have.

But it was way too careless of her. Did she not understand just how popular she was?

“What are you going to do? My classmates, both the guys and the girls, are all pumped up, saying they’re going to confess to you.”

“Is that so? That’s troublesome. I only intended to wave at you, Kirishima-san.”

“Even if they misunderstood or imagined it, just you doing that gets the guys all excited.”

“Then, how can I manage to give a simple greeting to you,  Kirishima-san?”

To Mikami-san, it must feel like a casual “How’s it going? Let’s hang out sometime” wave in the hallway. I get it… Actually, no, I don’t. I don’t have any friends, after all.

“I thought calling out to you directly might embarrass you, so I went with that… It’s trickier than I expected.”

Thinking about it, she’d made a lot of compromises. She hadn’t called out my name or walked over to my desk. It was probably her way of being as considerate as possible.

“You don’t need to go out of your way to acknowledge me during breaks. We see each other in the morning, at lunch, and after school. Use your breaks to hang out with your friends.”

“…You’re not telling me not to greet you, though.”

“Then fine. Don’t greet me. Stop it. Banned forever.”

“No, I forbid banning it forever.”

Yeah, I knew it. I never expected Mikami-san to just listen obediently.

“Understood. I don’t want to create any more commotion either, so I’ll stay low-key for a while. But… I won’t hold back any other time.”

“Please do.”

“Not going to happen.”

Of course.

Fine, I guess if it doesn’t make us stand out, it’s okay… not really, but close enough.

“By the way, how did I do?”

“Huh? Do what?”

“My wink. Did I do it right?”

“Honestly… it was kind of awkward.”

“Oh.”

To be fair, her wink hadn’t been that smooth. But I bet a lot of people found her clumsy wink cute and couldn’t look away.

“Ah, well, I’ll practice in the mirror next time. Ehh—ehh!”

Saying that, Mikami-san winked at me again, in her slightly awkward way.

If a perfectly-executed wink makes a “ping!” sound effect, Mikami-san’s would be more like a “flop… flop…”

But I couldn’t take my eyes off that clumsy wink.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, maybe… I was one of those who was charmed by her awkward wink.