The Story of Making a Popular Girl Dependent on Me - Chapter 15

Several days have passed since I began feeling jealous of Rokka and Katsushika-san. During this time, Rokka’s closeness with Katsushika-san continued, and each time, I couldn’t help but glare at them with jealousy.

Lately, I’ve been so preoccupied with Rokka’s every move that I find it hard to concentrate even when talking with my friends. I can only manage to give light responses that fit the situation.

This continued until Friday. Today, Rokka’s affection towards Katsushika-san shows no signs of stopping.

As I watch Rokka today, I see her talking to Katsushika-san about something. Katsushika-san leans in to listen, and Rokka also leans closer, covering her mouth as if sharing a secret.

(I’ve never done that with Katsushika-san before.)

Over these past few days, I’ve looked at Rokka with the most jealousy in my eyes. No, it would be an understatement to say I’ve just been glaring at her.

As their conversation seems to end, when Rokka tries to pull away, I suddenly hear a startled exclamation from Katsushika-san.

(What!? What did Rokka do this time!)

I feel like I’m going mad with jealousy towards her. This time, I must ask her directly about what happened. Feeling this way, I take out my phone, open the messaging app, and send a message.

“I’ll walk home together today.”

It might sound a bit commanding, but I can’t help it. Right now, I can’t afford to ask her politely and risk being turned down.

Anyway, after school, when we walk home together, I have to ask her about what just happened.

However, there’s still time until after school, so for now, I’ll focus on getting through the rest of the classes with determination.

Afternoon classes somehow pass, and it’s finally after school.

Rokka and I are walking hand in hand now. We didn’t used to do anything that would attract attention like this before, but recently, Rokka has been so affectionate with Katsushika-san that I want to show everyone that she’s mine.

And now, it’s time to ask her the question I’ve been most curious about today.

“Rokka, what were you doing near Katsushika-san’s ear during break?”

“I just blew air into her ear as a joke.”

“Oh, I see. You weren’t whispering secrets or anything?”

“I wouldn’t do that. By the way, Setsune, how about going on a date this Saturday or Sunday?”

It doesn’t seem like they were whispering secrets, but I’ve never had anyone play such a prank on me, like blowing air into my ear.

That almost made me jealous again, but for the first time in a while, Rokka invited me on a date.

Just that lifted my spirits from the jealousy I felt earlier, and I quickly replied.

“Let’s go!”

“I’m glad. Which day is better for you?”

“Then, Saturday would be good.”

“Alright. I’ve already thought of a place, so look forward to it.”

And so, it was decided that I would suddenly go on a date with Rokka. I don’t know where she’ll take me, but as long as I’m with her, I’m sure it’ll be fun wherever we go.

The next day. Today, I have a date with Rokka, so even though we’re meeting at 11 o’clock, I want to wake up at 8 o’clock to prepare properly.

I’ll have a hearty breakfast because it would be a disaster if my stomach growled during the date.

To ensure I looked cuter than usual, I spent more time on my hair, outfit, and makeup.

After finishing all the preparations, it was 10:15.

If I didn’t leave by 10:30, I would be late, so it was quite tight, but I managed to make it on time, feeling relieved.

At the planned time, I left the house with my bag for the outing.

Heading towards the meeting station, Rokka was already there.

I apologized for making her wait, but she said not to worry and complimented me on how cute I looked today.

(She said I looked cute. Waking up early and trying hard was worth it!)

Feeling happy about the compliment, I returned the favor by praising her too. She seemed happy and shyly replied, “Thank you.”

Both of us felt a bit embarrassed, so to change the subject, I asked about today’s destination.

Casually, I linked my arm with hers. I had seen her do this with Katsushika-san before and had been jealous, so I tried it myself. But Rokka’s face was closer than usual, making me blush with embarrassment.

“So, Rokka, where are we going today?”

“It’s a surprise when we get there. Also, we plan to have lunch there, but are you okay with eating a little late?”

“I’m fine. I had a good breakfast, so I don’t need to worry.”

“Got it. Shall we go then?”

Even though I still didn’t know where we were headed, I decided to savor the happiness of walking arm in arm with her.

After walking for a while, we arrived at a newly opened aquarium, which was the place I had wanted to visit most recently.

“Wow! Isn’t this a newly opened aquarium?”

“Yes, it is. Since you like aquariums, I wanted to come here with you.”

“Thank you, Rokka!”

“You’re welcome. Let’s buy tickets and go inside right away.”

Saying that, Rokka started walking again towards the ticket counter.

(I really like places like this. Being with Rokka is fun anywhere, but I love how she casually takes me to places I like.)

Thinking about that, I glanced at Rokka’s profile and felt my heart race.

“It’s so beautiful.”

As soon as we entered, I was amazed by the beauty of the interior. The arrangement of the tanks, the beautiful lights illuminating them, and the beauty of the fish swimming inside excited my heart.

“Rokka, let’s go!”

I said and pulled Rokka’s arm that I was holding, and we started exploring various things.

Jellyfish in pillar-shaped tanks and colorful small fish in spherical tanks. When we walked through the tunnel-shaped tank path, I got so excited that I ended up playing like a child.

In the deep-sea fish section, we saw fish with rare appearances and strange faces. In the touch pool, I put my hand in the tank of doctor fish and laughed at how ticklish it was.

After that, we went to a nearby shop to have lunch. Since it was past lunchtime, we were able to sit down right away.

I ordered hashed beef rice, and Rokka ordered udon in carbonara style.

While waiting for our ordered dishes to come, Rokka and I talked about our visit to the aquarium earlier.

“Setsune, how was today?”

“It was so much fun! Being newly opened, they have things mimicking popular items from other aquariums and things that are unique only to here, so it was really good!”

“I’m glad you had fun, Setsune. I had a great time too. Thanks for today.”

“No, thank you for bringing me here.”

I expressed my gratitude to Rokka for bringing me to this place. After that, we continued talking about our time at the aquarium for a while longer, and then our ordered dishes arrived.

After finishing our meal, we returned to the aquarium to look at the souvenir corner. There, I found a cute penguin keychain that I thought Rokka would like, so I suggested getting matching ones.

“Rokka, shall we get matching keychains?”

“It’s cute. Sure, let’s get matching ones.”

Saying that, Rokka picked up a penguin keychain just like mine and also grabbed an otter plushie before heading to the cashier.

“Rokka, you surprisingly like cute things, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah. Looking at cute things makes me forget about tiredness and such.”

Saying that, Rokka and I headed to the cashier together and paid. After that, we took another look around inside the aquarium and decided to head home.

After a while on the train, I arrived at my first stop.

It was lonely to part with Rokka, but I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I managed to smile and say, “See you later.”

As I was about to get off the train, Rokka grabbed my arm, so I turned around.

Her face was getting closer slowly, and suddenly her lips touched mine. I was surprised by the sudden kiss. Rokka pulled back and smiled, saying, “See you later.”

I was happy that Rokka kissed me again, waving with a genuine smile this time, not just a forced one, as I watched her go.

Afterward, I went home feeling happy, thinking about today’s date and the kiss at the farewell.

When I got home and settled in, I checked my phone when a notification popped up. It was a message from Rokka, thanking me for today’s date.

(She took me to a place I like, so I should be the one thanking her. I like how conscientious Rokka is like this…)

I replied, feeling again the things I like about her. I smiled to myself looking at the matching keychains we bought, and spent the time until dinner looking at the photos we took today.

Even after dinner, I sent occasional messages to Rokka, but there was no reply from her. Feeling a bit lonely about that, I distracted myself by watching videos and reading manga.

It was almost midnight when I glanced at the clock and started feeling sleepy. I got into bed and turned off the lights, slowly drifting off.

At that moment, a notification on my phone by the bedside caught my attention.

“Good night.”

It was from Rokka. Just that one word made me happy. I replied, “Good night,” and finally fell asleep.

But this time, there was no loneliness, just a feeling of happiness as I drifted into sleep.

(Ah, looks like I’m going to have sweet dreams tonight.)