The Beautiful Girl Who Asked Me to Pretend to Be Her Boyfriend Didn’t Want to Break up With Me for Some Reason - Chapter 3

“I’m glad I left my hairstyle up to you, Hakuto. I could never do it this well.”

Shirafuji Luna, looking as if she might start humming any second, though her expression remained calm as usual, walked hand in hand with me on our way to school. We held hands to show we were “dating.”

Every time we passed someone, they stared at us, but I had gotten used to it.

At Luna’s request, her long silver hair was done in a half-up style that day. I was the one who did it.

She had started asking me to do her hair around the beginning of the year. After I mentioned that I used to do my younger sister’s hair back home, she had asked me to give it a try. Since then, she had apparently come to like it and now often asked me to do her hair.

Hair was said to be a woman’s crown, so I got nervous. I had tried to teach Luna how to do it herself, but… she was so terrible at it that I gave up.

Luna understood her lack of skill too, which was why she always wore her hair straight until then.

“Well, your hair is beautiful. You’d look good in any hairstyle.”

“Hair only shines when it’s properly styled.”

“You look cute today too… happy now?”

“I’m slightly disappointed in the way you threw that compliment out there.”

“How about not complaining when you made me say it?”

Otherwise, I was the only one left feeling embarrassed there.

After six months of acting as a fake boyfriend and behaving in ways that weren’t like me, my sense of shame hadn’t fully disappeared. Holding hands, acting like a couple, and having conversations like this—I would have preferred not to do any of it in public. But since it was all part of our contract, I went along with it.

…Well, it was also true that I didn’t completely hate it.

Somehow, Luna always knew just how far to go, never pushing it to a point where I felt uncomfortable. That was why that strange but comfortable relationship had lasted for six months.

Before we knew it, we arrived at Seimei High School, where we both attended. Once we stepped through the school gate, everyone around us was in the same uniform, and the way people looked at us changed slightly.

Trying to ignore it as much as possible, I switched into my indoor shoes and headed toward the classroom when—

“…Oh. Again?”

Luna sighed deeply, looking at her shoe locker. In her hand was a letter, neatly addressed “To Shirafuji Luna.” Its meaning was all too obvious.

“Why would anyone think of confessing to me when I’m dating Hakuto?”

“Who knows? Maybe they think there’s a chance, maybe they’re just teasing, or maybe they think I’m threatening you and want to ‘rescue’ you… probably something like that.”

“I wish they’d at least realize the last one would only make me dislike them.”

Even though Luna and I openly said we were dating, the confessions Luna received hadn’t stopped completely. She seemed used to it by then, opening the letter and quickly reading it on the way to the second-floor classroom. She stuffed it into her bag with a bored expression.

It was honestly impressive how she handled it.

Our classmates had changed a bit as we moved up to the second year. Fortunately, I ended up in the same class as the few people I knew, including Luna, saving me from a lonely school life.

My seat was in the farthest corner by the window, the so-called “premium seat.” Luna sat right in front of me. Next to both of us were some of the few friends I could actually talk to.

“Good morning, Hakuto. Morning, Shirafuji. You two seem as close as ever.”

“Good morning, you two! Showing off your hand-in-hand walk to school this morning, huh?”

The first one to greet us was Rin Shinonome, a small, cute boy who sat beside Luna and was often described as “more cute than handsome.” His bright smile was charming enough to captivate any girl. Rin, who was active in the badminton club, was actually quite popular with the girls.

…Though I had also heard he had a different kind of popularity, but that was another story.

The second one was Itsuki Hanaba, who sat next to me. With her bright brown hair and slightly loose uniform style, she was a cheerful gal. Itsuki was one of the few girls who talked to me casually, always with a friendly smile.

“Morning, Rin, Itsuki. I admit Luna and I are close, but we’re not exactly ‘showing off’—”

“Good morning. As you both say, Hakuto and I are very close.”

Luna pulled me closer, our arms touching. With a slightly possessive stance, she greeted them back.

This drew the attention of not just Rin and Itsuki but the entire classroom.

The girls seemed to look on warmly, some even seeming relieved. The guys, on the other hand, looked with envy, some with outright hostility, as if thinking, “Why him?”

I could only ignore it; at least there was no physical harm involved.

“…Right. We’ve been ‘dating’ for six months already.”

“Neither of us has any intention of breaking up, after all.”

Luna said this aloud on purpose, as a way to discourage anyone from confessing to her.

Though considering the frequency of her confessions, it was unclear how effective this was—but it was better than nothing.

“Seriously, you two are intense. But hey, maybe girls with crushes find it helpful that you’re together. It saves them from worrying about someone else stealing their crush.”

“If they fall for me on their own, I can’t do anything about it.”

“True, not much you can do about that.”

Itsuki replied, smiling with a shrug. It was a level of confidence that only came with knowing one’s charm.

Rin then chimed in. “I think people are starting to realize you’re not so scary now that you’re with Shirafuji, Hakuto. That makes me happy too.”

“Even so, no one talks to me. If anything, I feel like I’m getting more sidelong glances… like I’m an animal in a zoo.”

“I know you’re really kind and considerate. It feels like a waste that they don’t see that side of you.”

“Rin, you’re the only one who ever comforts me…”

“I think the same thing,” Luna added.

“…Right, Luna too.”

“Me too!” said Itsuki.

With Luna and Itsuki joining in, I was grateful as we spent the time chatting before homeroom began.