The Day After I Told My Shut-In Genius Childhood Friend, Who’s Highly Dependent on Me, “I Got Confessed To,” She Showed Me a Hypnosis App

◆ “Shinonome Mio”

―What happened before I went outside and ran to Honami?

The reason I, a shut-in, could finally go outside was simple.

I had a hypnosis app. I could hypnotize myself.

(If I erase my trauma, maybe I can go outside?)

The thought had come to me the moment I made the hypnosis app.

But I had never tried it… because I was scared.

Hypnotizing myself wasn’t the scary part. The scary part was imagining myself walking outside after changing my memories. Someone might see me. I might get baseless insults. I couldn’t do it. My legs froze, and nausea rose in my throat.

But now, I had no choice after I was blocked by Honami.

(He might be taken away from me.)

The days after losing contact with him were like I was a lifeless corpse.

I couldn’t move at all, but my mind was spinning with panic.

It was my fault.

I couldn’t stand hearing that Honami had plans to go on a date with another girl.

So I tried a risky hypnosis on him.

I tried to erase his memory and make the date never happen.

But it failed. The date came back exactly as it was, and I was blocked by him.

Now wasn’t the time to be scared of going outside.

I turned on my voice recorder and spoke to myself.

“…To me. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Luckily or maybe not, I had already tried tricking my memory like this on Honami before.

“You have memories that are painful to remember. The summer when you were in ninth grade. Thinking about it makes you sick to your stomach. It still does now. But now, I will erase it.”

Technically, I didn’t need to say all this when using the app.

But speaking this way felt more effective, so I carefully chose my words.

“Countdown. Start from 10. Each number goes down by one until it reaches 0. Every time the number goes down, the painful memory fades. When it reaches 0, it disappears from your mind. You won’t be able to remember it anymore, and then you can walk outside freely.”

I spoke to the part of me that was hazy from hypnosis.

I hoped my painful memories could be wiped clean.

“10. Still the same. Maybe. But the next step will make it fade a little. 9. The memory’s a little lighter. 8. Fading more. 7. Slowly, a fog covers it, and it disappears from view.”

I sounded like a fake hypnotist. Was this right? Maybe there was a better way to speak. But it was all in my mind anyway. The app was mine, so it only had to work on me. I knew better than anyone how effective it was, so it would work.

“6. 5. 4… See. It’s almost gone now.”

I counted and hoped that it was true.

◆

When I came back to my senses, my head felt a little foggy.

(…Huh?)

I tried to remember what I had been doing.

First, I remembered being blocked by Honami and felt my mood sink. Then I remembered that I had been preparing to hypnotize myself, and my heart skipped a beat.

(…Did it work?)

I was supposed to be going outside to see Honami. So why wasn’t I out yet? Was it because I was a shut-in? Being a shut-in is a reason not to go outside…

…But what exactly was that reason again?

(What kind of hypnosis did I do to myself?)

That question was answered thanks to a note I had left for myself, just in case.

“Hypnosis on myself. Planning to erase the memory that made me a shut-in… If anyone else finds this first, I’ve written how to use the hypnosis app below, so please use it to wake me up.”

(Ah, I see. That’s what this is about.)

It was basically a note for what to do if the hypnosis didn’t work.

The second part wasn’t needed, though. Now that I’d regained my memory and couldn’t remember why I became a shut-in, the plan had completely worked.

(―Yeah.)

I tossed the note in the trash and stretched as much as I could.

As a test, I opened the curtains and windows I had kept closed for so long and stepped out onto the balcony.

The sun was already starting to set. The cold balcony floor touched my bare feet. The air outside brushed against my cheeks. It felt so fresh. A wave of freedom washed over me. Even just this small step outside… How long has it been since I last did this?

(Now ―I can go see Honami.)

My feet felt light. My heart was pounding, my mind racing.

The stuffed toy I had made for Honami was still at home, but I had shared my phone’s GPS just in case. Checking it, it looked like he was on his way back here. I’d meet him at the station and surprise him.

(…And maybe I could even meet the other girl too, if I get the chance.)

Not sure if she knows it, but I’ll be by Honami’s side. I’d rather she not get in the way. Something like that?

In my closet, I had secretly bought clothes for when I could hang out with Honami. Which one should I wear? What I was doing might make me look like a villain trying to ruin a date. So… maybe a black dress? No, I didn’t have anything like that.

“Maybe my uniform…?”

In the end, that felt like it would be the biggest surprise. It was cute, and wearing my uniform would be perfect.

I changed and twirled in front of the mirror.

Yeah. I looked cute.

(Alright, let’s go.)

◆

I was slower than I expected, so I didn’t make it to the station in time.

But somehow, I made it at the most important moment.

The park at night.

“Mio?”

They were sitting on a bench while staring at each other, but Honami noticed me.

“Momose-san, I’m sorry… ―Mio!”

Honami ran over to me. My chest swelled with emotion. He was looking at me.

“Why are you here…!? You’re not supposed to go outside!?”

“Yeah. That’s true. I guess… but maybe I’m okay now.”

I tried to say it casually so he’d accept it quickly, but Honami just froze for a moment.

“…No way. What did you do? Are you pushing yourself?”

“I’m not. I’m fine. I wanted to tell you, so I came to find you like this.”

“…You should’ve contacted me… Wait, you couldn’t?”

Right. Because he blocked me.

“I’ve learned my lesson. I’m sorry.”

“…Ah… um… we can talk about that later…”

Honami was confused. But he was right. That wasn’t what mattered now.

I needed to talk about the girl left alone on the bench.

“—Who is she?”

I met her eyes. She looked even more confused than Honami.

He explained everything she needed to know.

“She’s my friend from school… I told you about her before.”

“I see.”

“…She’s the one you bothered by sending messages without asking.”

“Ah.”

(I’m sorry about that.)

She was cute. Even from my point of view, she looked like she had dressed up. She probably had lots of friends, too. Honami liked her. She was really cute, just a “normal” girl.

(I was honestly jealous of her.)

I wanted to be a “normal” girl at school, too. Then I could have stayed by Honami’s side. I always wanted a place like that.

(Maybe from today, I can be there too.)

I walked up right next to her. What was her name again?

“Momose-san?”

She flinched. That was right.

But I didn’t want to scare her. First, I wanted to properly apologize for the last time.

“…I’m sorry about the other day. I acted thoughtlessly. I won’t do anything like that again.”

“…Eh.”

Her voice sounded unsure. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel sorry, I really did.

“I’ve decided to go to school too.”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Honami behind me looked surprised too.

“If I’m with Honami, we’ll probably be in the same class… It might be a little awkward, but please let me stay by your side.”

I tried to smile sweetly. I had practiced this expression before, so I was pretty good at making my face look the way I wanted.

◆

After that, Honami and I left the park together.

Their little date had ended in a vague way. It had been really close to not happening at all.

“…Are you really okay?”

He’d been worried about me ever since we met. And I can’t blame him. I was acting calm, but everything had changed suddenly for him. I felt sorry for making him worry, but also happy that he cared. Honestly, the second feeling was stronger.

“Honami.”

“…Yeah?”

“That girl, she was cute.”

Honami looked a little awkward and shut his mouth. That was enough for me.

“Honami, can you come out with me tomorrow morning?”

“…But we have school?”

“I want to get my hair cut before school.”

“You could do it yourself― …No, I’ll come with you.”

He sighed, but he nodded. Honami always humors my little whims. I wanted him to stay like that, just a little longer.

…But then.

Suddenly, Honami stopped walking.

“—Mio, can you wait for a bit?”