The Girl Everyone Admires Loves Me… and I Don’t Remember Why.

A Flag, or Just My Imagination?

“Miyase-kun, thank you for walking me home. Be careful on your way back, okay? See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“……A dream?”

Rubbing my eyes, I slowly sat up in bed.

I vaguely remembered a dream from last night—spending lunch break with Takanashi, going shopping together at the bookstore after school, and walking home side by side.

Even for a dream, it felt a little too elaborate.

But the moment I glanced at my phone, I realized it hadn’t been some grand delusion on my part.

A message from Takanashi was waiting on the screen.

“Good morning, Miyase-kun. Don’t be late, okay?”

…Right. It wasn’t a dream.

The instant I read it, the fog of sleep lifted from my mind in a rush.

We’d exchanged contacts the night before, just as I was about to head home after walking her almost to her door.

“Miyase-kun… if it’s all right, I’d like to exchange numbers. It would make things easier in a lot of ways, I think.”

She’d suggested it so casually, and just like that, we’d traded contact info.

But it didn’t stop there—I’d not only gotten Takanashi’s number, we’d even messaged back and forth, and now she was sending me a morning wake-up call of sorts… If the guys at school found out, they’d be green with envy.

“…Guess I should get ready.”

But first—

“Good morning. You be careful not to be late either, Takanashi.”

“…All right.”

I hit send, then started toward the bathroom to wash my face.

That was when my phone vibrated again.

Another message from Takanashi.

“She’s quick to reply.”

***

“Ah—Miyase-kun!”

Not long after I’d arrived at school and taken my seat, a classmate called out to me.

Ichinose Yuki.

Bright, approachable, and popular with both boys and girls, she was one of the central figures in our class—and counted among the most beautiful girls in our year.

Incidentally, Ichinose and Takanashi were best friends and incredibly close.

“Good morning, Miyase-kun.”

“Morning, Ichinose. What’s up?”

I’d exchanged greetings with Ichinose a few times before, but this was the first time she’d come all the way to my desk just to talk.

“Um… there’s actually something I wanted to ask you.”

“Something you want to ask?”

I had no idea what it could be.

“Yeah.”

Ichinose nodded, then glanced around the room.

It seemed she didn’t want anyone else to overhear.

From the serious look on her face, whatever it was felt important.

Once she confirmed no one was nearby, she leaned in and whispered,

“…Are you, by any chance, dating Mitsuki?”

“…Huh?”

The question came completely out of left field.

Why would she suddenly ask something like that…?

“The truth is, I happened to see the two of you walking home together yesterday. So I wondered if maybe…”

Ah, so that’s what it was.

“Sorry. I really didn’t mean to pry, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

Since Ichinose was Takanashi’s best friend, it was only natural she’d be curious.

“No, we’re not dating.”

“Eh, really?”

Ichinose looked genuinely surprised.

It seemed she’d been convinced we actually were.

“Well, yesterday…”

I gave her a rough summary of how Takanashi and I had ended up walking home together.

“I see. Sorry for misunderstanding.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Anyone would be shocked to see two people who’d never really interacted before walking home together. Wondering what kind of relationship we had was perfectly reasonable.

“I’ve never seen Mitsuki walk home alone with a boy other than her childhood friend Chitose-kun, so I just assumed…”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Mitsuki keeps her guard up pretty high, you know.”

That made sense. I’d heard plenty of stories about guys confessing to her, and she’d turned every single one down.

“Plus, even from a distance, the two of you looked like you were having a lot of fun.”

“Well… yeah, it was fun.”

“I see.”

For some reason, Ichinose seemed quietly happy about that.

“Miyase-kun, I’m really sorry again for the misunderstanding. And… please keep getting along with Mitsuki from now on. Ah—and I’d be happy if you got along with me too, of course.”

I could see all over again why someone like Ichinose had so many friends and was so well-liked.

As I thought that, I accidentally knocked the eraser off my desk.

It rolled right to her feet.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

When I took it back, our fingers brushed for the briefest moment.

Whether she hadn’t noticed or simply didn’t mind, Ichinose acted completely natural.

“Good morning, Yuki.”

As we spoke, Takanashi walked over to us.

“Good morning, Mitsuki.”

“Yuki, aren’t you on classroom duty today? Is it okay to slack off?”

“Ah—right!”

She’d completely forgotten. Ichinose hurried off in a mild panic.

“Good morning, Miyase-kun.”

“Morning, Takanashi.”

“You and Yuki seemed to be getting along really well.”

“Ichinose gets along with pretty much everyone, doesn’t she?”

“That’s true. And Yuki tends to stand close to people no matter who they are.”

That was probably why she had friends of both genders.

“But still…” Takanashi smiled sweetly, yet for some reason I felt an inexplicable pressure, almost a chill. “Even with Yuki… you’re not allowed to let other girls touch you, okay?”

She was smiling, and yet… somehow it was terrifying.

For the record, that earlier contact hadn’t been on purpose… Wait, she saw that?

We chatted idly until class began. Then the classroom door burst open with force, and Chitose strode in.

Cutting it close to the bell again.

…Huh. He didn’t come to school with Takanashi today.

They usually arrived together.

…Wait.

For a split second, when our eyes met, it felt like Chitose glared at me.

But he immediately returned to his usual self, and nothing like that happened afterward.

So I decided it was probably just my imagination and let it go.