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 4

◆ “Shinonome Mio”

I remember the first time I met Honami.

We were six years old.

It all started when my family, the Shinonomes, moved next door to the Mizumuras.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to say hello to our new neighbors.”

“I heard there’s a boy your age there.”

When my parents told me that… I was terrified.

Back then, I was very timid.

In fact, I was so timid that I could barely talk to anyone, even my parents.

They worried I might be sick, but the doctor said I wasn’t.

―It’s not an illness, but maybe your senses are just really sharp.

That’s what the doctor told me.

―Because of that, you notice things other kids don’t. Maybe that’s why you get scared when someone’s expression changes.

I really was a strange child. People often looked at me strangely.

Compared to other kids my age, I was clearly different. I loved playing on the computer or with games my parents bought me. But unlike other kids, I would analyze the games, write my own code, and even make my own apps.

But at the same time, I couldn’t do “normal.”

Going to kindergarten. Making friends there. Listening to teachers. Following my parents’ rules. Sleeping at night. Waking up in the morning. Eating meals. Cleaning up after myself. Doing what everyone else does.

I stood out from the start.

People looked at me with all kinds of emotions. Jealousy, confusion, fear, doubt, pity. Their eyes looked at me like I was something strange.

That scared me. I was always afraid of people’s eyes.

But Honami was different.

“Eh, what’s that game!?”

The first day we met, I was quietly playing a game I had made on my own. Honami ran over and stared at the screen with pure and shining eyes.

“―It looks so fun!”

And then he looked at me.

His eyes sparkled with excitement and curiosity. Not like the eyes of other people who didn’t understand me.

(He’s different from the others?)

…But then my parents said.

“That’s Mio’s creation.”

“There’s nothing like this game anywhere else.”

“Can you ask Honami to tell her to act more ‘normal’?”

The excitement I felt started to fade.

Ah, I’m still not “normal.”

(I knew that this kid would be the same as everyone else.)

I’m not “normal,” and no one can accept me because of that. My parents are always sighing. No one understands me. Only machines do. Only machines give the right response when I input something.

I’m different from everyone else. I hate it. There’s nowhere I belong.

But then he tilted his head.

“Huh? It’s amazing, why would you want to be normal?”

He said it so casually and looked at me.

Ignoring my parents, who were staring in shock, he reached out and took my hand, his eyes shining with a determined look.

“You made this?”

“Yeah…”

“This is even more amazing!”

My heart leapt.

Those were the words I had always wanted to hear.

It was the first time someone recognized me. The first time someone praised what I had made. Everything felt completely new.

“…Do.”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to try it?”

“Yeah!”

―And that’s how I became best friends with Honami.

Because of him, I started to feel a little more “normal.”

At first, my parents didn’t like him, but when they saw me improving just as we had hoped, they seemed to change their minds.

Everything I did was for Honami.

I stopped going to school for many reasons, and my parents weren’t around much, but it didn’t matter as long as Honami was there.

Honami had always been by my side. He is a kind and caring childhood friend.

Even when I quit school and lived a lazy, careless life, he stayed my childhood friend.

I thought he would always be with me.

But that was just what I believed.

◆

“―I got confessed to.”

“Huh?”

Hearing those words from Honami was unbelievable.

He had been acting strange all day after coming home, but I never thought someone would confess to him.

(Could it be? ―Honami is going to go far away?)

My mind went blank. I panicked while trying to calm myself and grabbed his arm. But Honami looked troubled. He wasn’t looking at me like he usually does. He was seeing me, but thinking about the person who confessed.

“Y-you… maybe you shouldn’t do it.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it. Having a girlfriend is a lot of work. No free time. You have to think about her all the time. You can’t just do whatever you want. If you don’t get along, things get bad, and it’s the worst if you fight. There’s nothing good at all, right?”

“Well… That’s right.”

Honami nodded, and a small flicker of hope lit up inside me.

“Right? So maybe you shouldn’t get a girlfriend,”

But then he doused me with cold reality.

“…But isn’t that what being a couple is all about?”

No. My words can’t shake him.

“Eh, t-then, what about Honami,”

After what happened this morning, I couldn’t stop imagining the worst. That Honami might leave me.

“―What are you going to do about it?”

He frowned and answered.

“I’ll answer, at least.”

“Huh.”

I wanted him to say he would refuse. But he didn’t. Then it’s over. Honami is going to leave.

Someone like me, someone not “normal,” can’t compare to her.

Even though nothing has been decided yet, only the worst thoughts filled my mind.

“H-how long do you have?”

“…If possible, by tomorrow.”

“T-tomorrow!?”

There’s barely any time. No way. Just like that, so easily?

“Mio?”

(W-wait. No, no, no, no…)

“Are you okay, Mio?”

(I have to do something… something…)

With my head clouded and sluggish, I muttered to myself like I was sleepwalking and locked myself in my room.

I shook my head, trying to chase away the thoughts, but the bad images only grew stronger.

The fear I thought I had outgrown as a child was rising again.

(Absolutely, absolutely not…)

A heavy feeling filled my chest, and that made it hard to breathe.

I, who am not “normal,” can’t live without Honami.

I can’t bear a world without him.

(…I have to do something.)

Should I beg him not to go?

But there’s no way I could do that.

I can’t give him what he wants. I have nothing to offer. Even if I gave him money or even let him do whatever he wanted with me, he wouldn’t be happy. I can’t give him anything. I’m not “normal.”

(I need something, something that can make him stay.)

People say I’m a genius, but my brain is useless in a situation like this.

If anything, the bad thoughts just keep spreading, making things worse.

While I held my head in despair, an ad appeared on my computer.

“—A hypnosis app…?”

It was just an obscene fantasy someone had dreamed up, a way to do whatever you wanted to someone you liked.

Something that could only exist in a world of convenience, and it was completely impossible in reality.

But what if it were me?

“Could… I make this?”

Right after that, I stayed up all night to make the hypnosis app.

I dug through thick books and tossed them aside, pulled out unused equipment, and poured all my energy into it. I looked through systems I had made in the past and reused anything I could. I even brought out a whole box of energy drinks and drank one whenever my mind started to feel fuzzy.

I had never focused this much before.

More than anything, it was my fear of Honami leaving that kept my hands moving.

Finally, I managed to create something that even vaguely resembled the app.

“―With this, I can keep Honami…”

With my mind hazy from no sleep, I called out to him.

I downed the last energy drink to stay awake for just one more task.