The Handsome Girl Who Stole My Girlfriend Seems to Be After Me Now - Chapter 4: Two Misunderstandings

Chapter 4: Two Misunderstandings

“Sorry for calling you out suddenly.”

As soon as she brought me to an empty landing on the staircase, Mizushima said that.

“…What do you want, coming out of nowhere like this?”

Facing her, who is essentially my rival in love, I naturally adopted a brusque tone. I mean, what kind of nerve does she have, stealing someone’s girlfriend and then showing up in front of the ex the next day?

“It’s about Ena-chan, of course. I believe there are a couple of misunderstandings.”

At Mizushima’s answer, I twitched an eyebrow.

“Misunderstandings?”

“Yeah. You might think I forcibly took Ena-chan away, but that’s the first misunderstanding.”

Mizushima leaned against the wall of the landing, crossing her arms. 

Despite wearing a simple blouse and skirt like any other school uniform, her posture was undeniably that of a professional model. 

Even a simple gesture like that looked cool and stylish, frustratingly enough.

…What am I praising her for! She might be a popular model, but she’s still my love rival!

Shaking off the unwanted thoughts that suddenly popped into my head, I confronted Mizushima.

“What do you mean by misunderstandings?”

“Well, it’s a bit hard for me to say this to you… but it seems like Ena-chan’s feelings were already drifting away from you.” 

“What?”

“She thought you two would get along because you seemed compatible, but it turned out not to be the case. So, she broke up with you and came to me on her own.”

“What!? No, that’s a lie! I don’t believe it!”

But we were getting along just fine until the day before yesterday, right? We used to hang out almost every day after school, and of course, we went on dates during the weekends. We never even had a single argument. I never saw any signs of Ena-chan’s feelings waning…

“Well, I’m just telling you what she told me, and whether you believe it or not is up to you.”

Even as I desperately denied it, Mizushima continued in her usual husky voice, unfazed.

“Indeed, since we ended up in the same advanced class, we’ve had many chats and she has consulted me about various things. But for her to quickly switch from you, after three months of dating, to me, someone she’s known for just a month… maybe that means something, doesn’t it?”

Our school is an integrated junior and senior high school. Students from the junior section automatically progress to the senior section in an escalator fashion. In addition to that, every year, there are “external students” who come from different junior highs to take the exam and enter our senior high school. 

Mizushima is one of those students.

So, just like Mizushima said, she and Ena-chan had only met a month ago. And yet, Ena-chan chose her over me…

“No… Ena-chan would never…”

But, when I think about it, the fact that someone like me, a gloomy nerd, could date her for three months was a miracle in itself. I thought we were getting along well, but maybe, without me knowing, I had disappointed Ena-chan.

For the past three months, I thought we were having fun and were compatible… but maybe, as Mizushima said, Ena-chan had cooled off a long time ago.

This is bad, I feel like I’m really going to start crying. I mean, I can cry now, right!?

“Ahh, seeing you look so sad makes me feel really guilty.”

“S-shut up! I don’t want to hear that from you! Did you call me out here just to say that?”

I rubbed my eyes, which had started to well up, and glared at Mizushima.

“Ha! Kicking someone when they’re down, huh? Nice hobby you have there.”

It feels like the battle was lost a long time ago, but this is my way of putting up a fight. I have to say something back.

“Haha. Is that a line from a movie?”

But Mizushima didn’t seem to take offense to my sarcastic remark. Instead, she approached me with a grin, showing no sign of irritation.

“Come on, calm down. Didn’t I say there were two misunderstandings?” 

“Huh?”

Smiling, Mizushima kept bringing her face closer to mine. 

Startled by the sudden proximity of the school’s top beauty, I instinctively stepped back.

“Hey, what are you trying to do…!?”

I was backed into a corner with nowhere else to go. Mizushima then placed her hands on the walls on either side of me, essentially trapping me in front of her. (Kabedon)

“You might have thought my target was Ena-chan… but that’s a misunderstanding.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“The one I’m really after is─you, Souta.”

Before I knew it, Mizushima’s cheeks were slightly flushed, and she looked up at me with a somewhat ecstatic expression.

It was a different look from her usual cool, boyish face… more like a panther cornering its prey.

This was the first time I’d seen Shizuno Mizushima with such an expression. 

And, did she just call me by my first name without any honorifics?

“M-Mizushima…?”

As I was puzzled by her sudden change in demeanor, Mizushima blurted out something even more unbelievable.

“Hey, Souta.─Go out with me.”