The Story of Making a Popular Girl Dependent on Me - Chapter 27

After about three weeks since visiting Setsune, one day after school, I sat facing Setsune in a cafe, and an awkward silence filled the air.

“Sorry, Rokka. He confessed to me…”

In that atmosphere, Setsune was the first to start talking.

“Hmm… And?”

“But, but! I turned them down properly! I’m your girlfriend, Rokka, I’m not interested in anyone else!”

“I see.”

How did it come to this? It goes back about two weeks from now.

When Setsune caught a cold, we had a truly happy time for a week.

We found places where no one was around and always kissed and cuddled regardless of the location. Our plans were going really well, so I was thinking of moving on to the final fourth stage soon.

However, from about a week later, Setsune’s behavior towards me gradually worsened.

When at school, there were always people around, and after school, she would be taken away by friends, and we couldn’t go home together.

One day, on my way back, I realized I forgot something and hurried back to the classroom, where I heard voices from inside.

“The solution to this problem is like this…”

“Oh, I see. Then here too?”

“Yes, exactly!”

(This voice… )

One of the voices I heard from inside was a familiar voice, unmistakably the voice of my beloved person.

I opened the door slightly to not be noticed and peeked inside slowly.

“Senagawa-kun, you’re a quick learner!”

“No, no, it’s because of Asahina-san’s good teaching. Thanks to her, I think I’ll do better on the next test than usual.”

“That’s not true. Let’s both work hard for the test!”

(It’s definitely Setsune…)

In the classroom were Setsune and another person, a male friend who was always around her.

It seemed like the two of them were studying, with Setsune teaching the guy.

(Hmm. So that’s how it is.)

This wasn’t something new. Setsune is generally caring and has helped friends with studying before.

So, I thought it would be the same this time, and as usual, I decided to suppress my jealousy and not worry about it.

(It’s okay. It’s always like this. Besides, I’ve planned and worked to win Setsune over for times like this…)

I pretended not to see what I just saw and went home without retrieving the forgotten item that day.

A week passed. I started observing Setsune and the people around her.

I noticed that the guy was always near Setsune, actively talking to her, and although I didn’t know how, they were studying alone together after school.

“Hey, you two haven’t been together much lately, is something going on?”

“Not really. Setsune seems to have things to do with friends, so our schedules don’t match right now.”

“I see. I’ve been thinking, Rokka, don’t you get jealous?”

“I do. But if I get jealous every time, my mental state won’t hold up, so I try not to worry about it.”

Since middle school, Setsune has been popular with both boys and girls, so this kind of thing happened often.

At first, I used to get jealous every time, but no matter how much I told her, she wouldn’t listen, saying that friends are important to her.

So, I resigned myself to the fact that if I could date her, it was inevitable, and even if I felt jealous, I learned to endure it.

“And once the tests are over, things will go back to how they were before, right?”

While deceiving my own feelings and hiding them, one day, I witnessed something I couldn’t tolerate.

A few days later. I had a bad feeling all day. I had an intuition that something bad was going to happen, so I kept a closer eye on Setsune than usual.

However, nothing happened until after school, so I was relieved that it was just my imagination. But at that moment, I saw something I didn’t want to see.

“…Huh? What’s going on?”

“I can see it, so you don’t have to say anything.”

Until then, it was just studying, so I could somehow forgive it, but I couldn’t bring myself to forgive what I saw.

“Wait a minute.”

I was told that and led by Riho to a secluded place.

“Rokka, calm down. I understand being angry seeing your lover being embraced by someone else, but don’t show it too much on your face. Also, don’t grip your hand so tightly. You might make it bleed.”

Riho slowly unraveled my tightly held fingers while telling me to calm down.

I took a deep breath to calm my emotions and started organizing the situation I saw earlier.

(I couldn’t see Setsune’s face on the guy’s back, but at least Setsune didn’t seem to be hugging back. So, was the guy forcing it? Or did something happen accidentally?… No. I can’t judge at this point. But…)

“…I won’t forgive this.”

“That’s why I’m telling you to calm down. It’s showing on your face again.”

“…Phew. Sorry, thank you. Was it that obvious on my face?”

“Oh yeah. You looked like you were about to kill someone.”

“Haha. I won’t actually kill anyone.”

However, I won’t forgive easily. I need to make it clear to whom she touched, including that guy.

And that includes Setsune too. If it’s a girl, there might be room for physical contact, so I can endure it.

But for that girl who easily allowed someone else to touch her body, there needs to be consequences.

“If that’s settled, let’s go home, Riho.”

“Okay.”

And so, I let myself be guided by the flames of jealousy I had been holding back for so long.

(Haha. I told you, Setsune. When I get jealous, look at me. I’ve been watching you when I felt jealous. Don’t think you’ll get away with it…)

The above events that happened in the past three weeks led to the reason for our strained relationship.

And finally, that guy confessed to Setsune.

“Well, I understand now.”

“Th-then!”

“But, I saw it, you know. Setsune being embraced.”

“…Huh?”

Even now, when I recall that scene, the anger from that moment resurfaces.

“The other day after school. You were being embraced, right?”

“You saw that?”

“I saw it clearly.”

“That’s not true! Senagawa suddenly hugged me, and I was just surprised, and I asked him to stop right away!”

Setsune desperately tried to explain what happened at that time and clear up my misunderstanding. However–

“That’s right… But, Setsune, honestly, how it happened doesn’t matter to me. What I can’t forgive is that the guy touched what’s mine without permission and the fact that Setsune carelessly allowed herself to be embraced.”

As I said that, Setsune, who had been trying hard to explain, gradually turned to a look of despair.

“So. I’m sorry, but could you stay away from me for a while? I can’t easily forgive this time. So, I think it’s better for both of us to keep some distance.”

Seemingly shocked by being rejected by me, Setsune, with a face that seemed on the verge of tears, bowed her head and started to tremble slightly.

“I’ll pay this time, so when you calm down, you can go home.”

With that final remark, I left without paying attention to Setsune and settled the bill before leaving the shop and heading home.

At night, I decided to send a message to a certain person.

“Sorry for messaging at this hour. I need someone to gather information.”

“Leave it to me! Whose information do you need?”

“I’d like information on Hayato Senagawa, a classmate of mine.”

“Understood! It will take about a week, is that okay?”

“That’s fine. Thank you.”

With this, I might be able to obtain information on that guy, so I decided to deal with him first.