The Story of Making a Popular Girl Dependent on Me - Chapter 17

Three days had passed since I visited Setsune’s house. During that time, I hadn’t done anything special for her, and we continued as usual.

However, the way Setsune looked at me had changed. Previously, her gaze was pure, like a new lover’s, but since that day, I occasionally noticed a hint of desire in her eyes. She was probably longing for a continuation of that day.

(Hehe. I won’t give in that easily, though.)

To tease her a little, I smiled at her with a sidelong glance just when she was looking at me. Seeing this, Setsune quickly averted her gaze and blushed.

Noticing her unusual behavior, our friends around her asked if something was wrong, and she responded while blushing.

After school that day, as I was getting ready to leave, Riho called out to me.

“Rokka, are you free on Sunday?”

“I don’t have any plans, why?”

“I want to go to the all-you-can-eat sweets place we talked about before. How about Sunday?”

“I see. Sure, Sunday it is. Is your little sister coming too?”

“Of course, that’s the plan. She’s really looking forward to it. I’ll let you know the time later.”

“Got it. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

After relaying her message, Riho grabbed her bag and quickly left. I decided to head home as well, grabbing my bag and standing up.

On my way out, I glanced at Setsune. She was chatting with her usual friends and didn’t seem to notice me. So, without calling out to her, I decided to go home alone today.

“Um, Yukimura-san!”

“Yes? What is it?”

As I was changing my shoes at the entrance, planning to go home alone, an unfamiliar girl suddenly called out to me.

“My name is Mio Hasegawa! I know this is sudden, but would you walk home with me?”

Hasegawa-san, as she introduced herself, asked me this with a red face. I didn’t have any reason to refuse, so I accepted her offer.

“Sure. Are you ready to go now?”

“Thank you! I’ll just change my shoes quickly, please wait a moment!”

Hasegawa-san hurried to change her shoes and quickly returned to me.

“Sorry to keep you waiting! Let’s go!”

And so, I ended up walking home with Hasegawa-san.

“Hasegawa-san, you’re in class 3, right? Sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. I don’t know much about students from other classes either.”

“Hmm? But you knew about me?”

“Well, I, um, can’t say yet, but there are various reasons…”

“Hmm? Well, I’d be happy if you tell me someday.”

“Of course! I’ll definitely tell you someday!”

Hasegawa-san, who said she’d tell me someday, blushed again. After walking and talking for a while, we reached the nearest station.

From what I had gathered, Hasegawa-san’s house was in the opposite direction from mine, so we parted ways there.

As we were about to part, Hasegawa-san said:

“By the way, Yukimura-san, are you free on Saturday?”

“I am, but why?”

“Actually, I was hoping we could hang out. I know it’s sudden, but how about it?”

“…Alright, let’s hang out.”

“Really?! Thank you so much!”

This was my first time hanging out with someone other than Setsune or Riho, but from our short conversation, I could tell Hasegawa-san was a good person, so I decided to spend time with her. We exchanged contact information to discuss Saturday’s plans and then parted ways.

That night, after getting out of the bath, I wasn’t ready to sleep yet, so I was reading manga on my phone. Suddenly, I received a message from Setsune, so I checked it.

“Rokka, why did you leave first today? At least say something before you go. I would have left with you. Please, make sure to talk to me next time. Don’t leave me behind.”

“Haha, wow. Setsune is getting more and more intense.”

I was happy about the message from Setsune, so I took a screenshot to keep it. To tease her further, I deliberately left the message on read.

“Now, I wonder how Setsune will be tomorrow.”

Looking forward to seeing how Setsune would act the next day, I went to bed early.

The next morning, when I checked my phone by my pillow, I found numerous messages from Setsune. This made me happy, so I got ready for school in high spirits.

When I arrived at the classroom at the usual time, Setsune was already there and came rushing toward me as soon as she saw me.

“Come with me.”

Before I could respond, Setsune pulled me out of the classroom. Once we reached a secluded spot, she turned around and hugged me.

“Rokka. Rokka, Rokka, Rokka…”

Hearing Setsune desperately calling my name and hugging me tightly was adorable. I hugged her back and asked what was wrong.

“What’s wrong, Setsune? It’s rare for you to do this at school.”

Still hugging me, Setsune looked up and began to speak.

“Why did you go home alone yesterday? Why didn’t you reply to my message? I waited for hours after seeing it was read, but you never replied. I sent multiple messages after that, but you didn’t even read them. Why? Why didn’t you reply?”

When she finished speaking, Setsune lightly glared at me. But it wasn’t out of hate. She was angry and sad because I left without her and ignored her messages.

“I’m sorry. When I was leaving yesterday, you were talking with your friends, so I didn’t want to interrupt.

As for ignoring the message, I thought I had replied, but I must have forgotten to send it because I was studying. I’m sorry for making you anxious.”

After I explained, Setsune looked at me, trying to discern if I was telling the truth. I looked back at her without averting my eyes.

“…Alright. If Rokka says so, I believe you. Sorry for suddenly saying all that. Also, from now on, please talk to me before you leave. Even if I’m with my friends. Please.”

“I don’t mind, but are you okay with that? Before, you seemed to need time with your friends, so I didn’t want to intrude.”

“I’m okay. I prefer not to go home without saying anything, and they’ll understand if we talk.”

“Got it.”

I replied, holding her tightly one last time and gently kissed her forehead as a reward for how much she had changed. Setsune was a little surprised by the sudden gesture but quickly smiled happily.

After confirming her reaction, we let go of each other’s arms, walked back to the classroom, and went down the hallway.

“Oh, today, I’ll make sure to go home with Rokka after I’m ready.”

“Alright. I’ll wait.”

After promising to go home together after school, we returned to the classroom, where most of our classmates had already arrived by then. We headed to our seats, put our bags down, and sat down.

After a short wait, the homeroom teacher entered the classroom, and after the homeroom session, the day’s lessons began.

During lunch break, I was eating with Riho in the classroom today.

Then, I got a notification on my phone and checked it. It was a message from Hasegawa-san.

“I have something to discuss about tomorrow. Can I come to the classroom now?”

It seemed like she had something to discuss about tomorrow’s plans, so I replied confirming it.

After waiting for a while, I was called by a classmate, and when I looked over, Hasegawa-san was there.

“Sorry, Riho. I’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing.”

With Riho’s permission, I got up and headed to the classroom door.

“Sorry for the wait, Hasegawa-san.”

“It’s okay! I’m sorry for coming while you were eating!”

“That’s okay. So, what’s up?”

“Yes! It’s about the meeting time and place for tomorrow. How about 12 o’clock in front of the big clock at the station?”

It seemed to be about the meeting time and place for tomorrow.

“That works. But couldn’t we have just messaged about it?”

“No! Since I finally got a chance to talk to you, I wanted to hear your voice directly!”

Hasegawa-san blushed and smiled happily as she said that.

If she was so happy to talk to me, I didn’t mind at all, so I didn’t say anything in particular.

“I see. Well, feel free to message me anytime if there’s anything else.”

“Thank you so much! Well then, I’ll excuse myself now!”

After finishing her business, Hasegawa-san greeted me and went back to class.

As I turned to return to my seat to finish my lunch, I caught eyes with Setsune, who was glaring at me.

“She’s definitely jealous. She’ll probably ask me a lot on the way home. Now, how should I answer?”

While thinking about how to respond to Setsune’s inevitable questions after school, I returned to my seat.