The Beautiful Girl Who Asked Me to Pretend to Be Her Boyfriend Didn’t Want to Break up With Me for Some Reason - Chapter 21

“—Hello, Hakuto-kun. It feels a bit strange to meet on a holiday.”

“Thank you so much for today…! I’ll seriously try my best, I promise…!”

After having lunch with Shirafuji, Rin and Hanaba arrived at the room as scheduled in the afternoon.

Both Rin and Hanaba were dressed in light clothing to match the season.

“Hello. Let’s do our best today.”

“Thanks for coming all the way here in this heat. Come on in, please.”

I tried to let them into the room, but they both stared at us for a while and gave a wry smile.

“How should I put this… It’s so natural for Shirafuji-san to be next to you.”

“It’s basically like you two are married, right? Just to confirm, are you two living together or–“

“We’re not living together. We’re neighbors, so she pretty much stays in Hakuto’s room all the time.”

“Eh, Luna-chan’s house is next door!?”

When Shirafuji revealed this, Hanaba raised her voice in surprise.

Rin didn’t say anything, but from the look on his face, he probably felt the same way as Hanaba.

The reaction was as expected.

If a couple openly says they’re dating and they live next door to each other, it’s only natural to make assumptions.

However, neither of them seemed suspicious at all; they were just genuinely surprised.

“Heh… So, this is your love nest, then?”

“If that’s the case, I’m really unsure whether we should even come in.”

“There’s no such thing. It’s true that Shirafuji spends a lot of time here, but… there are various reasons for that.”

I glanced at Shirafuji out of the corner of my eye, and for some reason, her face turned red.

“A love nest? Not at all. We’re still… having a healthy relationship…”

“…Is it really a healthy relationship when you two are always acting so lovey-dovey at school? I’m starting to doubt that, honestly.”

“Come on… This isn’t something to be talking about at the front door.”

“Maybe Hakuto-kun is right. We came here to study after all.”

“Right. After we study, tell us more about it.”

Hanaba’s curious gaze was focused on Shirafuji, who didn’t seem entirely opposed to talking about it. I silently hoped she wouldn’t say anything unnecessary, as I led them into the room.

I had already cleaned the room in the morning.

There was nothing here that would be embarrassing to show, but I tidied up because I was expecting guests.

As soon as we entered the living room, Hanaba began looking around with interest, but there was nothing unusual in the room.

There were some manga and game consoles, which might seem like my hobbies, but they actually belonged to Shirafuji.

“There aren’t enough chairs, so please settle for sitting at the low table.”

“I don’t mind standing and studying.”

“…I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate if I did that.”

“It really depends on the person, I guess.”

Hanaba’s suggestion was probably a joke.

We all placed our things down and sat around the low table.

We were seated clockwise: me, Shirafuji, Hanaba, and Rin.

Shirafuji was sitting closest to me, but it was no big deal, so I tried not to think about it.

…No, actually, I couldn’t help but think about it. Sitting so close, with our arms occasionally brushing against each other, was distracting while trying to study.

“You two really are a lovey-dovey couple, huh? It’s almost embarrassing to watch. I don’t really understand love, but I might be a little jealous.”

“I didn’t think it would be like this. If the boys at school saw this, they’d probably be in a panic. But I don’t think anyone would be able to tear you two apart.”

“Heh, even if you praise us, there’s nothing in it for you.”

“…I’ll go get some tea. Please wait a bit.”

“I’ll help too.”

Trying to escape the embarrassment, I stood up to get the tea, and Shirafuji followed me.

…It should be fine since we’re just bringing it.

We stood in the kitchen, pouring iced barley tea into glasses for everyone.

“Looks like we really do look like a lovey-dovey couple.”

“…I guess so.”

“That sounded like a dissatisfied answer.”

Unlike Shirafuji, who seemed happy, I wasn’t sure how to respond.

If we looked like the kind of couple they were talking about, then that was proof that our fake relationship was serving its purpose.

So, I should be happy about it, but my actual feelings weren’t that simple.

“Hakuto, do you like me?”

“…I don’t dislike you, and I wouldn’t deny that I’m leaning more toward liking you.”

“Why not just say you like me? There are different levels of ‘like’—there’s ‘like’ and ‘love,’ right? More or less, you like me, and I like you too.”

“That’s true, but if I said I loved you, it might make things awkward for you, Shirafuji.”

“It would still be realistic for you to say it, though. If you did actually love me, I know you wouldn’t do anything rash.”

The fact that Shirafuji seemed to accept that I could eventually like her in a romantic way was probably because she trusted that I wouldn’t do anything to violate her boundaries.

Of course, I also made sure not to do anything she wouldn’t want, and I thought that it would be the worst thing to betray her trust.

But regardless of that, my reason was often pushed to dangerous levels.

Having never truly fallen in love before, I couldn’t predict what kind of behavior I might exhibit.

There’s a saying that love makes people blind.

It’s hard to believe that logic and common sense would apply in such a situation.

“I don’t recommend hiding your feelings. Eventually, you’ll stop resisting hiding them, and your emotions will become numb. Just like I was before I started a relationship with you.”

“I’m the same. If it weren’t for you, Shirafuji, I wouldn’t have been able to say I liked someone, even if it was a lie. I could only say it to my family.”

Once I said that, I realized I had let something slip.

Family was a sensitive topic for Shirafuji, and I shouldn’t have brought it up.

I paused, unsure of how to cover it up, but Shirafuji smiled in a resigned way.

“I’m not bothered by it. It’s a good thing to be able to say you like your family. I can’t wish for that, but that’s fine. As long as you’re here… If you can just accept all of my feelings for you, I’ll be content.”

I could tell she wasn’t lying.

I hadn’t yet asked her about what happened with her family.

Everyone has their own areas they don’t want others to pry into.

I was the same way.

We could listen to each other, but we wouldn’t be able to solve the root causes.

Shirafuji appeared strong mentally, but I suspected she was quite fragile on the inside.

That was probably why she was so dependent on me, a fake boyfriend.

I couldn’t just reject her now.

It was my responsibility for not taking precautions to avoid this kind of distorted relationship.

But the one person I didn’t want to lose was Shirafuji, who trusted me enough to love me, even though it was fake.

I was just as dependent on her as she was on me.

“So, I’d be really happy if you could like me too. If you could just be honest about it, I wouldn’t have to think about unnecessary things.”

“…I’ll try to be careful.”

“You can say ‘I love you’ if you want. Hug me passionately and whisper it in my ear. You might really fall in love with me.”

With a seductive smile, Shirafuji was clearly provoking me, probably thinking I wouldn’t go that far.

“Sigh… Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Eh?”

I turned back to Shirafuji with a sigh, and her expression froze.

Seeing her reaction made me feel a little mentally more at ease as I pulled her toward me.

The warmth of her body and its softness wrapped around me.

Even as my reason was shaken by the sweet scent in the air, I brought my face close to her perfectly shaped ear.

“…I love you, Shirafuji.”

“Ahh…”

I said the words with a tone I wasn’t used to, and Shirafuji let out a melted murmur.

Her face turned bright red, and her clear blue eyes narrowed in a dazed expression.

Her body relaxed, and she leaned completely into me. As I supported her, I couldn’t help but think.

…She’s definitely happy about this reaction, isn’t she?

It’s a bit… no, quite troubling that she’s pleased by this.

If she wasn’t conscious of what was happening, she wouldn’t be reacting this way.

“……Hakuto. Can I ask you to do it again? It was sudden, and I couldn’t handle it, and I lost control.”

“Stop saying ridiculous things. Let’s just bring the tea.”