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 - Chapter 36

◆ “Shinonome Mio”

After leaving the shop, I called Honami right away.

I didn’t know where he was. Was he already done talking? I felt uneasy and kept calling him again and again. I waited about ten seconds each time, then called again. I repeated this over and over. After a few minutes, Honami finally called me back.

“Ah, Honami?”

“You… called way too many times. Are you done on your side?”

“Yeah.”

His voice sounded normal, just like always.

It didn’t feel like anything strange had happened.

“Then let’s go home. Let’s meet at the station.”

“Yeah…”

“See you later.”

The call ended.

…That’s it? I couldn’t help thinking that.

I was this worried, but Honami sounded so calm.

(…No, that’s not good.)

I held my chest and started walking toward the station.

Ever since senpai talked about my father’s company earlier, my uneasiness had grown stronger. I should have lost those memories, but just thinking about it made my chest feel restless for some reason.

(I shouldn’t push my feelings onto him.)

Stay calm.

If I meet Honami, this worry should fade away…

But it didn’t.

When I met Honami at the station, he seemed distant somehow.

“…Should we buy something on the way home? What do you want for dinner?”

“Um… anything is fine.”

“That’s the hardest answer.”

(…Why aren’t we talking about us?)

It felt strange.

Wouldn’t we normally talk about the girls’ gathering from earlier, or what happened on his side?

“Honami, what did you talk about with Momose-san?”

I decided to ask. If I were curious, it was better to ask directly.

Honami shifted his eyes slightly and answered.

“…I’ll tell you tomorrow night, after I’ve sorted everything out.”

(Tomorrow?)

Why not now?

Why won’t he tell me here?

(What did they talk about?)

My uneasiness only grew stronger.

◆

By the next morning, nothing had changed.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Momose-san. I wanted to ask, but Honami said he would talk at night. He must have had his reasons. If so, I should wait. Even so, things felt awkward between us. I had been quiet since yesterday, and that didn’t change.

We entered the classroom while still carrying that stiff feeling, and for some reason, Kirisaka-senpai was there and was surrounded by classmates.

“Ah. You finally came.”

When she saw us enter, she said, “I’m sorry,” to the other students and slipped out of the circle. She wore the same calm smile she always did.

Honami spoke up and looked puzzled.

“Senpai, what’s going on? Why are you in our class?”

“I wanted to borrow Honami-kun for a bit.”

“Me?”

Senpai continued without looking at me.

“I’m sorry, but could you come by during lunch break? Just for a moment, in the student council room.”

“Oh… a student council meeting? Understand.”

“I’m sorry about that. See you later, then.”

She waved lightly and walked away.

As she left, she glanced at me and loosened her smile just a little.

(…What was that smile?)

Our classmates noticed nothing as they let out excited whispers.

Honami turned to me and raised a hand, as if to apologize.

“I’m sorry. I’ll step out for a bit at lunch.”

“…Yeah.”

My uneasiness grew stronger.

◆

After listening to our homeroom teacher, the first period began.

Since the class was in a different room, my classmates started to move out one by one.

As Honami stood up to follow them, I called out to him.

“…I’m sorry, Honami. Go on ahead to the next classroom.”

“Eh… are you okay? Do you need to go to the nurse’s office or something?”

He leaned in and looked worried.

“No, I’m fine. I just need to use the restroom for a bit.”

I’m sorry. Thank you for worrying about me.

“…I’m sorry. I should have been more thoughtful.”

“It’s okay.”

After Honami left and the other students were gone too, I held my chest and rested my head on the desk.

I’ll rest a little longer, then go.

When I’m with Honami, I want to be my cheerful self.

Just then, two girls came up to me.

“…Eh… What’s wrong?”

I had memorized my classmates’ faces, so I knew right away who they were.

They were close friends of Momose-san. Did they come back on purpose?

For some reason, they spoke with sharp expressions.

“…Shinonome-san, aren’t you trying to shut Nanaka out?”

“…Huh?”

“I don’t think that’s right… We’re supporting Nanaka.”

Supporting?

Since I didn’t answer, the two of them kept going.

“You know Nanaka is interested in the class president, right?”

“Just because you’re childhood friends doesn’t mean you should get in the way.”

“You’re stopping Nanaka from getting close to him.”

“We want you to stop doing that.”

I see, I thought.

They wanted Momose-san and Honami to end up together.

I guess that makes sense. If I’m a friend, I might think that way.

“…We’re on Nanaka’s side. And there are quite a few people who feel the same.”

“I don’t really want to say this, but if you’re doing it without realizing, then please stop now.”

I had no words to say to the two girls as they walked away.

I couldn’t even apologize. They were asking me to stop certain actions, but I couldn’t.

When Momose-san is close to Honami, my chest hurts so much. My anxiety keeps growing. I don’t want her near him. That’s why I move without thinking.

What should I do?

Not long ago, I thought that just coming to school would make everything turn out fine.

(That wasn’t true at all.)

Because I spend so much time next to Honami, the short moments when I’m not with him bother me more than they should.

The relationships I thought I could handle aren’t going well at all.

Momose-san and Kirisaka-senpai already have their own place at school. 

From somewhere I can’t reach, they keep pressing in on me.

In the first place, I’ve never been good with school.

I try my best, but I’m bad at remembering people’s faces. Even in just the past few days, I almost mixed up names several times. I’m bad at talking, too. I don’t really understand what’s supposed to be funny about what other girls say. The topics I bring up don’t fit the flow. People laugh, but it feels like they’re laughing at someone who says strange things.

“…Was I wrong?”

The bell had rung a long time ago, but I didn’t feel like moving.

“…I see.”

My uneasiness kept growing.

I was starting to feel tired.