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 12: If You Had to Date Someone in Class?

Chapter 12: If You Had to Date Someone in Class?

The midterms had finally ended.

With the classroom buzzing in that free, post-test atmosphere, students headed home one after another.

Meanwhile, I stuck around, chatting with three of the loud, rowdy guys from class.

The topic of our pointless small talk had drifted—now it was the ultimate teenage boy cliché: “If you had to pick a girlfriend from our class, who would it be?”

Just like Hinawa once said, maybe youth and romance really were the high school happy set.

Every time a girl’s name came up, the guys got hyped.

Eventually, they started locking in on their final picks.

“Gotta be Hiwatari-san! Gals are like vitamins for the soul! Her vibe’s the best—she just pumps you up!”

“Nah, it’s Chigira-san for me. She’s tiny, makes you wanna protect her, y’know?”

“I think Kongouji-san would actually be gorgeous if she really put effort into her makeup and all that.”

As the names of the Five-Star Gals were tossed around, there was just one exception—Hari Suitengu.

“What about Suitengu-san?”

I casually threw her name into the mix.

“Oh? That’s rare. I figured Kizuki wasn’t even interested in girls, let alone romance.”

“Wait—don’t tell me your type is Suitengu-san? Dude, that’s next-level! You’d need some serious guts for that one.”

“Or hold up—are you saying that whole time you made her cry was actually just, like, a twisted love move?”

Because of the infamous Hari Suitengu crying incident, the three of them tilted their heads, half-joking, half-suspicious.

“I just thought it was weird—Suitengu-san’s gorgeous, but none of you even mentioned her.”

The three of them exchanged glances, fumbling over their words.

“Well yeah, she’s insanely beautiful, but… like, she’s way too far above us normal guys, y’know?”

“More like she’s so pretty it makes us nervous. Honestly, we’ve got no clue how to even talk to her.”

“Her eyes are way too intense. Feels like she’s glaring at us all the time—it’s scary.”

All of them admitted Hari Suitengu was stunning, but at the same time, they shrank back, convinced she lived in another world.

I understood the feeling all too well.

It was like her existence didn’t feel real.

Like someone at my level would never even get noticed—better to give up before trying.

She was like a star: bright, clearly visible, yet impossibly out of reach.

And of course, when faced with someone like that, people couldn’t help but mix admiration with a touch of fear.

It wasn’t quite the same as simple “like.”

As I wrestled with those thoughts, the Hari Suitengu discussion kept going strong—until the very person herself suddenly appeared in the classroom.

Hari walked straight to her desk without a sound, probably to grab something she’d forgotten.

The other three boys, who’d been so noisy just a moment ago, panicked—snatching up their bags and bolting into the hallway.

And just like that, it was only me and Hari left behind.

“Kizuki, you’re not running away?”

“No reason to.”

“…I see.”

Hari’s expression didn’t change.

“We were just talking nonsense. If you overheard, then I’m sorry. I’m sure it made you uncomfortable.”

Left alone with her, I apologized.

It didn’t matter if it was a joke or serious—once the person in question heard it, it was never a good thing.

“…It’s fine. You’re not the one at fault.”

She didn’t even look my way, answering coldly.

“Were you waiting out in the hall for a pause in the conversation?”

Watching her reaction, that thought suddenly hit me.

“──!”

Her slender shoulders trembled as she pulled something out from her desk and tried to leave.

“Of course I know people are scared of me! But it can’t be helped! Like you said—I get nervous talking to people!”

She spun around and shouted, putting up a tough front, though it was obvious she was hurt.

Her voice echoed through the empty classroom where only the two of us remained.

That cool, queen-like image everyone in class believed about her—wasn’t true at all.

She only came off prickly because she got nervous around anyone outside her closest friends.

And because she was so beautiful, her silence got mistaken for anger.

But no one around her ever thought that far.

And since she never made the effort to bridge the gap either, everyone’s impression of her as the untouchable cool queen just stayed frozen in place.

“Do you get nervous around me too?”

“With you, it’s just taking out my frustration.”

She twisted her lips as she threw the words at me.

“Then that’s fine.”

“How is that fine?”

“If you’ve got complaints, it’s better to just spit them out and feel lighter, right?”

“…Not sure if you’re being considerate or just weird.”

Hari narrowed her eyes at me like I was some kind of puzzle.

“I don’t know if this counts as an apology, but—if it helps, you can vent at me all you want. Use me to blow off steam.”

That was the offer I made.