The Girl Everyone Admires Loves Me… and I Don’t Remember Why. - Chapter 7: The Slowly Changing Daily Life of Chitose Yuuki.

The Slowly Changing Daily Life of Chitose Yuuki.

Chitose Yuuki’s POV.

“Crap! If I don’t leave the house now, I’m definitely gonna be late!”

I finished my morning routine in a rush, bolted out the door, and headed toward school.

At this pace, I’d make it just before the bell—no need to sprint.

…Still, it really has been a while since I walked to school alone.

Usually, I meet up with Mitsuki partway along the route and we go the rest of the way together.

But starting today…

“Man, that was way too sudden, Mitsuki.”

The words slipped out, laced with irritation as I recalled what happened yesterday.

Last night, I’d gotten a message from her.

The gist of it was that from now on, we wouldn’t be walking to school together.

The moment I read it, I called her right away to ask why.

“Hey, Mitsuki. Why the hell are we suddenly not walking together anymore!?”

“It’s because… I want to start coming to school with a little more time to spare. We’ve always left things pretty late.”

She wasn’t wrong about that.

“But if that’s the problem, we can just meet earlier!”

“Even if we set an earlier time, you’ll still wake up at your usual hour, Yuuki. Nothing will change.”

“That’s not true. I can get up earlier if I have to.”

“Without me calling you?”

“W-Well…”

The truth was, I relied on Mitsuki’s morning calls to wake me up.

I did set an alarm, but it alone wasn’t enough to drag me out of bed.

“We’re high schoolers now. We need to start handling things on our own.”

I tried a few more counterarguments, but in the end, her decision didn’t budge.

And just like that, we were walking to school separately.

We’d always gone together until now. This felt a little harsh.

Because of it, I’d ended up cutting things close again today.

…But knowing Mitsuki, she’ll probably suggest going together again before long.

I was certain of it.

Lost in those thoughts as I walked, I spotted another student up ahead.

“Yo, Yuuki.”

“Hey, Tatsuya.”

It was Sakurai Tatsuya—my classmate and friend.

He noticed me and jogged over.

“Rare sight. You walking alone. Where’s Takanashi-san?”

“Mitsuki’s coming on her own today.”

“Huh? Really?”

Tatsuya looked surprised.

He knew we usually walked together, so it wasn’t unreasonable.

“What, did you two fight or something?”

“Nah, nothing like that.”

Fighting was kid stuff.

“It’s just one of Mitsuki’s whims. We’ll be back to normal soon enough.”

“But isn’t there a chance she started dating someone and that’s why she can’t walk with you anymore?”

“No way. Absolutely not.”

I shot it down without hesitation.

“But come on, Takanashi-san’s super popular with guys.”

True, Mitsuki was ridiculously popular.

Still, I’d never once heard anything about her liking someone, and I couldn’t even picture her dating anybody.

Besides, when it came to hanging out alone or walking home together, I—the childhood friend—was the only guy she’d ever done that with.

She probably just wasn’t all that interested in romance.

“Yeah, fair. But even so, there’s no chance. If Mitsuki liked someone or started dating, her childhood friend would notice, right?”

“That’s some confidence. It’d be pretty embarrassing if you’re wrong.”

“Hah, keep talking.”

As we bantered, the school came into view.

I’d managed to avoid being late after all.

When I stepped into the classroom, most of the students were already there.

I glanced toward Mitsuki’s seat, but she wasn’t in it.

She said she wanted to arrive with more time to spare—did that mean she still hadn’t shown up?

That wasn’t the case, though.

I spotted her near the very back of the window row.

“…Huh?”

A startled sound escaped my lips.

There she was, talking to Miyase.

The unusual pairing surprised me, but what shocked me even more was…

“…What?”

Why was Mitsuki looking so happy?

I barely ever saw her that openly enjoying a conversation with a guy.

Even with me—her childhood friend—she rarely showed that side of herself.

Yet with Miyase, someone she’d hardly ever interacted with until now…

In that instant, something struck me hard.

And for some reason, a hazy irritation began to build inside.

…What the heck were the two of them even talking about?

I didn’t know Miyase at all—we’d never really spoken—so I had no clue what their conversation could be about.

That only made me more curious.

“…”

I started toward them… then stopped.

…This is stupid.

If I barged in right now, it’d look exactly like I was jealous.

Jealousy was ugly. Pathetic. There’s no way I’d stoop to that.

Besides, Miyase was just some completely ordinary guy—nothing special about him.

In story terms, he’d be a background character. Totally unremarkable.

He and Mitsuki were on completely different levels.

There was no universe in which those two would ever start dating.

I could say that with absolute certainty.

For a brief moment, I thought our eyes met, but I brushed it off and headed straight to my own seat.

Whatever hazy feeling had been there earlier had already vanished completely.