The Story of How I, a Guy Who Couldn’t Care Less About School Castes, Somehow Ended Up Making All the Five-Star Gals Fall for Me - Chapter 08: Did My Popular Phase Just Start?

Chapter 08: Did My Popular Phase Just Start?

The next morning.

I got to my seat in Class 2-D and, like always, started killing time by grabbing my login bonus in a mobile game.

That’s when I suddenly found myself surrounded by a circle of girls—fans of the Fives.

“Hey, hey, Kizuki-kun! Yesterday after school, you went to a family restaurant with the Fives, right? What were you talking about?”

Their eyes sparkled with curiosity as they hit me with a straight-ball question.

“…Who told you that?”

“Uh, word got around from people who saw you.”

Damn. The Starwatchers’ info network is terrifying!

Well, yeah… it was the closest family restaurant to school. Tons of students from our high school went there.

If I didn’t want to get spotted, I should’ve picked somewhere farther away.

“That’s private, so no comment.”

I’d promised not to blab, so I wasn’t about to break my word.

“Aw, come on, just tell us secretly!”

“It wasn’t anything worth mentioning.”

“Don’t dodge it! The Fives have never talked with a boy outside school before, so of course we’re curious. Please! Just tell us!”

They practically begged me.

“If you want to know that badly, ask them directly.”

“We can’t! That’s why we’re asking you, Kizuki-kun—you’re easier to talk to!”

One of the girls leaned in with a sweet, coaxing tone.
Honestly, even she was plenty cute by normal standards.
If the Four Fives didn’t exist, these girls would probably be the ones at the center of the class.

“I just told them I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Since they kept pressing, I tossed out a random answer to throw them off.

“Yeah, we kinda figured. You don’t really give off any ulterior motive vibes, Kizuki-kun.”

“Maybe I’m just really good at hiding it.”

“Huh?”

I deliberately left my words hanging, and for a second, she actually looked flustered in a not-so-bad way.

Her cheeks flushed pink, and her eyes shimmered.

“Don’t use me like some convenient tool, okay?”

Switching up the tempo of my words, I smoothly diverted the topic—then, before she realized her own misunderstanding, I slid in a new question.

“Actually, let me ask instead. Do those four really have boyfriends? Any of you ever seen them with someone?”

The girls exchanged glances and burst out laughing, giddy with excitement.

“They’re all cute, so of course they have boyfriends!”

“Never seen them, but they’re definitely super hot guys!”

“Bet they’re college students or older!”

“Yeah, no way they’d date someone our age—boys our age are all kids!”

Their expectations were sky-high.

No doubt the Fives’ good looks only fueled those wild fantasies.

But in the end, the fans couldn’t provide a single reliable sighting of any actual boyfriends.

Thinking back on the Fives’ words yesterday, there’d been way too many slip-ups and inconsistencies.

It only made sense to conclude they were lying.

Eventually, after getting all worked up on their own and satisfied with their daydreams, the girls finally drifted away from my desk.

“Ikoi, did your popularity phase finally show up?”

Suddenly, hands landed on both my shoulders.

When I turned, Hinawa Hiwatari was standing there.

Too close. Way too close.

She must’ve been waiting for the other girls to clear out before swooping in.

“If you’re gonna grab my shoulders, at least give me a proper massage.”

“I could… but my nails might stab you, y’know?”

Hinawa flashed a grin and showed off her polished nails.

Yeah, no thanks—that looked painful.

“By the way, some people saw me with you girls at the family restaurant yesterday.”

“Ah, well, it’s close to school. Can’t be helped.”

Hinawa rested her hands on her hips, totally unfazed.

“Is it always like this for you?”

“Pretty much. We stand out, after all.”

“Sounds rough being so popular.”

“You don’t like standing out, Ikoi?”

“Getting your privacy constantly peeked into isn’t exactly pleasant.”

“Guess most people just can’t picture it from the other side.”

Hinawa shrugged it off, like she’d already made peace with the whole thing.

“Don’t worry, I kept quiet about yesterday. Your secret’s safe.”

“Knew I could count on you, Ikoi! I’ll be relying on you from now on too☆”

She hugged me out of pure emotion.

Her chest pressed right up against me.

“Hey—quit it. You’re making me stand out even more.”

I quickly peeled her off, flustered.

Whenever Hinawa was around, my mornings were way louder than usual.

And just like that, our noisy back-and-forth got cut short when the homeroom teacher walked in.

“Hiwatari-san, back to your seat.”

With that single sharp command, Hinawa was sent back just as homeroom was about to start.

People usually assumed gals who lived purely on energy and vibes were terrible at studying.

But Hinawa was a little different. For some reason, she was insanely good at English—always acing pop quizzes, reading textbook passages fluently with near-native pronunciation, and scoring almost perfect marks on every big test.

Proof that you really can’t judge someone’s hidden talents by appearances.

☆☆☆☆☆

Lunch break.

I unwrapped the cheap meal I’d grabbed at the convenience store that morning and spread it out on my desk.

Prioritizing cost performance, I was just about to take a bite of my melon bread—when suddenly, someone plopped down in the seat in front of me.

“Hey, hey, Ikoi, do you have a girlfriend right now?”

Hinawa Hiwatari again.

No warning, no setup—just dropping the question straight on me.