The Beautiful Girl Who Asked Me to Pretend to Be Her Boyfriend Didn’t Want to Break up With Me for Some Reason - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: I Worried For Nothing

“So, the second semester starts today. It doesn’t really feel real at all.”

The morning of the first day after summer break.

Since the new semester is beginning, my cohabitation with Shirafuji is coming to an end.

But… to be honest, there’s not much of a change.

“…That’s really true. It doesn’t feel like summer break ended, just like things are continuing as usual. Even though we had that conversation yesterday.”

Shirafuji mutters this with a dissatisfied expression while taking a break after finishing breakfast.

I can feel a subtle sense of blame in her gaze. I don’t think it’s just my imagination.

And I think I understand the reason for it.

“Sorry about that.”

“I don’t think it’s my fault for jumping to conclusions… so I won’t apologize. But I really didn’t expect you to bring up something like that before bed.”

“I didn’t mean for it to sound so serious.”

“No matter how you look at it, it was a serious conversation.”

“But we reached a conclusion, didn’t we?”

“…Yes. And, I do admit that I don’t dislike… or rather, I actually find these days quite pleasant.”

However, Shirafuji’s tone still carries a hint of dissatisfaction that she can’t completely hide.

“Anyway, let’s have a good second semester.”

“Yeah. Let’s do that, Shirafuji.”

■

—The story rewinds to yesterday.

‘I want some time to talk about our relationship going forward.’

That’s what I told her, and the next morning, Shirafuji was clearly sleep-deprived.

Her eyes were droopy, and she kept rubbing them like a cat, as if fully aware of her drowsiness. Yet, her gaze held a determination that said she wouldn’t let me escape.

She had been waiting beside me until I woke up, which truly shocked me first thing in the morning.

“…Hakuto. I’m going to talk about yesterday’s topic until I’m satisfied.”

Shirafuji looked incredibly serious, but honestly, I was thinking, “Is this really something we need to discuss at length?”

And that was fair.

I never had any intention of making my relationship with Shirafuji worse.

“How about we have breakfast first?”

“We can eat later—”

She was about to refuse, but her stomach betrayed her with a small “growl.”

Her pale cheeks flushed red, and she averted her gaze in embarrassment.

“Do you still want to wait?”

“…You’re mean.”

I didn’t mean to tease her, so I quickly started preparing breakfast.

Since she looked exhausted from lack of sleep, I told her to rest.

She said she wanted to help, but I insisted she sit it out. If she got hurt, it would be a problem.

So, after finishing breakfast—

“…Hakuto. Now we can have our conversation.”

Shirafuji brought the topic back, but her voice and gaze were somewhat loose.

Maybe the drowsiness she had been suppressing after breakfast was finally catching up to her.

“If you’re sleepy, we can talk after you take a nap.”

“No. We have to talk now. No matter how much time we have, it won’t be enough.”

“I don’t think this is going to be that long of a discussion…”

Maybe our perspectives on this are just different.

But that’s something we can only figure out after talking.

“Alright then, let’s get to it before you pass out. The topic is our relationship. But first, I should explain why I brought it up.”

“Please do.”

“It’s just… I was wondering if we should continue this fake relationship.”

“…Did you get tired of it, Hakuto?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just… how should I put this… Shirafuji, the reason you wanted this fake relationship was because you didn’t want unnecessary interference from others, right?”

“That’s right. Though, while it has reduced to some extent, it hasn’t completely stopped.”

Shirafuji sighs in frustration, but it’s understandable.

She has the kind of looks that naturally draw attention.

“If it’s decreased, then that means people at school have at least partially accepted that you and I are together.”

“Probably. Considering how close we act, someone would have to be completely oblivious not to notice.”

“That’s why I think your goal has already been achieved.”

“…I see where you’re going with this. You want to redefine just our relationship, don’t you, Hakuto?”

I nod at Shirafuji’s words.

She visibly relaxes, exhaling a relieved sigh.

“…You know, this was really misleading.”

“Yeah, I admit I didn’t explain it well.”

“I worried for nothing. For a second, I thought you had fallen for someone else.”

“How did you even get that idea?”

“Because we agreed that ending this relationship would require such a reason.”

…That’s right, we did.

And in reality, that’s exactly what I wanted to confirm.

“Do you have any idea what kind of night I had, unable to sleep because of this?”

“Ah… I’ll make it up to you by napping with you. Will that work?”

“That’s fine. But of course, you’ll have to sleep beside me.”

Well, this one’s on me.

I just hope taking a nap on the last day of summer break doesn’t mess up my sleep schedule.

If both of us end up oversleeping on the first day of the second semester, people might start getting the wrong idea.

“We got sidetracked again. So, what you’re saying is that you want to stop being my fake boyfriend, Hakuto?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘stop’ exactly. If the only thing necessary is the outward appearance of it, then I don’t see a reason to keep pretending between just the two of us.”

“I understand. And I accept that. But—despite that, I still want you to continue being my boyfriend. Both publicly and personally.”