The Beautiful Girl Who Asked Me to Pretend to Be Her Boyfriend Didn’t Want to Break up With Me for Some Reason - Chapter 30.1

“As you know, Shirafuji, my face is scary, right?”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘as you know.'”

“…Could you just nod so the conversation can move forward?”

“I really don’t think your face is scary, Hakuto.”

Despite her blunt denial, her soft, comforting tone eased some of the tension.

The fact that Shirafuji thought so was truly something to be grateful for.

“…Well, fine. Anyway, I’ve always been avoided because of my face. It started as early as kindergarten. Whenever someone saw me, they’d say things like ‘scary’ or ‘stay away,’ even though I didn’t do anything. Sometimes, I even made kids cry just by being there.”

“Children are pure and innocent, but they can also be cruel. They often speak from the heart, whether good or bad.”

“Exactly. But whenever something happened, I was always the one accused or scolded. Nobody, aside from my family, ever believed me. They wouldn’t even hear my side of the story and just told me to apologize. Eventually, I hated it so much that I started skipping kindergarten.”

Even though it happened years ago, the memories remained vividly clear.

Why is it that bitter, painful memories like these linger so strongly?

“As I grew up, my face became more mature-looking compared to my peers. To others, it still seemed scary. Whether in elementary school or middle school, I was always avoided. People didn’t complain to my face as much anymore, probably because my bigger physique added to their fear.”

“…I can’t understand why anyone would avoid you. Even if your face was scary, it’s just a face. It doesn’t affect your character or actions.”

“Not many people think that rationally. By that time, I’d already given up. I figured I’d spend my whole life being avoided like this.”

I still remember the cold stares of my classmates.

Those looks, as if watching something dangerous from afar, made it feel like they were constantly monitoring me to ensure I didn’t do anything suspicious.

It wasn’t the same as people admiring wild animals in a zoo. It felt more like they were watching a man-eating bear caught in the mountains, just before it was dealt with… not that I’ve ever experienced that.

In short, I was treated as someone people didn’t want to get involved with, but couldn’t look away from either.

Even though I just attended school, took classes, ate lunch, and commuted like any other student, people were always wary of me, as if I might lash out at any moment. I wanted to live a respectable life as a well-behaved student, but the majority’s opinion always distorted how I was perceived.

“But there was one person who treated me normally—a classmate who talked to me just like anyone else.”

I felt my throat tighten unnaturally as I muttered this.

“It was a girl I met when we moved up to second year. She was cheerful, bright, and treated everyone equally. She was like the sun itself—”

Before I could finish, Shirafuji turned her whole body to face me while still in my arms. She shifted to sit on my lap, looking at me directly with a sharp, dissatisfied gaze.

“Um, Shirafuji-san? What exactly are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I feel like it’s impossible not to worry.”

Her face was incredibly close, and, naturally, something soft was pressing against me. Let’s just say my lower half was… troubled.

…Even so, I had a pretty good idea why Shirafuji was acting like this.

“…Anyway, back to the story. That girl would talk to me normally, ignoring what others said. I think she just saw me as a classmate, but at the time, that made me incredibly happy.”

“…………”

“But one day, I saw her being harassed by some delinquents. It was in a deserted alley, and several guys had surrounded her. She looked terrified. Our eyes met through a gap, and it felt like she was silently pleading for help. Without thinking, I rushed in to save her.”

Looking back, it was a reckless and thoughtless thing to do.

There were several delinquents, and they could’ve had weapons. I should’ve called the police before jumping in.

But at that moment, I didn’t have the composure to think things through. I just threw myself into the situation.

“I’m not exactly a righteous hero or some do-gooder, am I?”

“Well, maybe not the first one, but I think you’re the second. Otherwise, you wouldn’t happily take care of me all the time.”

“I don’t take care of you happily. I just do it because I think leaving you alone would be problematic.”

“That’s proof enough of your kindness.”

Is that really true?

I don’t consider myself kind, but fine, I’ll admit to being a caretaker if I must.

…No, that’s not the point.

“I was just a middle school boy with a scary face and a big build. Someone like that jumping in wouldn’t change the fact that they had the numbers advantage, right?”

“That’s probably true. And people tend to act tougher in groups.”

“Exactly. They weren’t going to back off just because of my face. They glared at me, saying, ‘Don’t interfere, or we won’t hold back.’ But something was off about me at that moment. I stood my ground to protect her, and then… they all came at me.”

It was a small mercy that they weren’t armed.

Even so, humans always carry some sort of weapon — fists, legs, you name it.

“I got beaten up pretty badly by those thugs who were used to fighting. They punched me, kicked me… but I figured it would only make things worse later if I fought back, so I didn’t.”

“I think that was a wise choice, but… I can’t imagine they would’ve let you off so easily.”

“They decided to mess with me for a while. They laughed as they hurt me. But when I didn’t retaliate no matter what, they got bored and started going after the girl again. When a group of men gangs up on a girl, the outcome’s pretty obvious, don’t you think?”

“…It wouldn’t have ended well, that’s for sure.”

“That girl treated me like a normal person. I didn’t want her to go through that. So, I fought back to protect her. And guess what happened?”

I asked, figuring Shirafuji, sharp as she was, would already have a good idea.