The Story of Making a Popular Girl Dependent on Me - Chapter 31

Since the day Rokka rejected me, I’ve been thinking about the same thing.

How can I restore my relationship with Rokka, and what is most important to me?

However, no matter how much I think, I always stumble upon one point.

That is, which is more important, Rokka or my friends.

If it were just Hayato, who was the trigger this time, I would cut ties without hesitation.

But things aren’t that simple. Hayato gets along well with my other friends, so if I were to cut ties with him, I might end up being distanced by those around me.

For me, who values my friends, this was something I couldn’t bear.

As this cycle repeated, I could hardly sleep at night, and my complexion noticeably worsened.

While I tried to cover it up with makeup at school, my female friends, like Shizuku, noticed, and this started to worry the boys too.

Among them was Hayato, who was the root of the problem, but I didn’t want him involved.

However, the other kids seemed unaware that I had rejected him and always tried to be alone with me.

I couldn’t stand it, so I somehow managed to keep Shizuku by my side, and she made sure not to leave me alone.

Still, Hayato persisted in trying to get closer to me, and eventually, he even interfered when I tried to talk to Rokka.

I talked to Rokka and decided to take a final step to create an opportunity to mend our strained relationship.

After school on Friday, I waited at the school gate for the person I was looking for.

After a while, that person approached, swaying their bright blonde hair and looking slightly cheerful.

To seize this chance, I quickly ran over and called out.

“Katsushika.”

“Hmm? Oh, Setsune. What’s up?”

“Sorry to ask suddenly. Can you accompany me for a bit?”

“…Alright.”

Katsushika stared at me for a while, then agreed with a serious expression.

We moved away from the school gate and headed to a nearby burger shop.

“Want anything to eat?”

“I’m good. How about you, Katsushika?”

“I might have a chocolate pie.”

She ordered a chocolate pie and a drink, then headed to an empty table.

I followed her and sat across from her.

“So, what do you want from me?”

“To be straightforward, I want you to create an opportunity for me to talk to Rokka.”

“Why?”

“Rokka and I are currently in a bit of a fight, and I want to talk things out.”

“I see. What do you want to talk to Rokka about? What’s the point of talking?”

Katsushika’s question was something I had been struggling with for the past few days.

But no matter how much I thought, I couldn’t figure out what I wanted.

“I don’t know. But I need to talk and figure things out…”

“I see. …If you meet her in such a vague state, you might lose her next time.”

The moment I heard the words “lose her,” my thoughts came to a halt.

“Lose her? What do you mean?”

“Setsune, you helped me when I was in trouble during middle school.”

But for me, she is more important than you. Besides, you don’t really understand her, and you don’t even know what you want.

“If you meet Rokka in your current state, you’ll only upset her.”

The words that I didn’t understand. That pierced my heart mercilessly.

I’ve been Rokka’s girlfriend, dating for only about half a year, but back in middle school, we used to hang out as friends.

If someone were to say that I don’t understand her, it would definitely make me angry.

“So! You know more about Rokka than me!!”

“At least, I know more about her before you started dating her.

For example… did you know she used to like wearing skirts before she met you?”

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t immediately grasp what Katsushika was telling me.

Because whenever I was with Rokka, she always wore pants, and I had never seen her wear a skirt in casual settings.

“You probably didn’t know. Before becoming friends with you, she used to wear skirts a lot and even cut her hair short after starting to hang out with you.

Also, she loves cats and used to find stray cats to care for. She wasn’t as popular as you, but she had more friends back then.”

Everything Katsushika told me was filled with things I didn’t know.

However, when it came to her hair, I vaguely remembered when we first started in the same class, she did have beautiful long black hair.

“S-So, why is she now…”

“It’s all for you. I stopped wearing skirts so I could run to you quickly when you were bothered by weirdos.

I cut my hair to look a bit more masculine and deter others.

As for cats, I’ve been hiding the fact that I like them since I found out you’re allergic to cats.

Also, I don’t have many friends now to keep you from feeling insecure because we’re dating.

So, I completely cut off interactions with the opposite sex and distanced myself from same-sex friends who were too touchy. As a result, only a few of us, including me, remain friends with her.”

Learning one unknown fact after another about Rokka, my head was getting more and more confused.

“Indeed, these are things she decided on her own, and you’re not to blame.

But she truly loved you and prioritized you above everything else.

How would it feel to see someone you cherish being embraced by a stranger? …That’s the current situation.”

Listening until the end, I was left speechless.

Rokka’s love, heavy and distorted, weighed heavily on me. Knowing this, I began to reflect on myself.

Would I be able to do the same if the roles were reversed? …No, I probably couldn’t. That’s why I’m still struggling between being friends with Rokka.

“Her love for you is quite one-sided and intense. If you can’t bear it, it might be a good opportunity to part ways.

I think she’s prepared for that. The rest is up to you to decide.”

With those final words, Katsushika finished her chocolate pie and left.

Later, as I pondered the conversation at home, I realized that her actions were indeed one-sided and stemmed from a heavy, distorted love.

However, at its core, it was just the feeling of liking and loving me.

“Rokka has always, always loved only me…”

What I lack is probably determination. Generally, choosing between friends and a lover is wrong; both should be cherished equally.

In fact, the people around me value both their lover and friends. But my lover is different. They prioritize me over friends and preferences.

If I continue with such a person, half-hearted determination won’t cut it.

“If parting ways is a good opportunity…”

I still didn’t know what I wanted. But right now, I just wanted to see Rokka and think only about her.

“Should I go see her?”

Since I had been to her house a few times when we first entered high school, I knew the way.

“I’ll go tomorrow.”

With that decision, I prepared early for bed and fell asleep right away.

The next day, after breakfast and tidying up my room, I got ready to leave and was out of the house before 2 p.m.

It takes about 30 minutes to get to Rokka’s house, so I planned to buy a gift nearby. At a nearby cake shop, I chose cakes for Rokka and her family.

“Rokka likes sweet things, so maybe a strawberry shortcake. I don’t know what her parents like, but I’ll get a Mont Blanc and a chocolate cake for now, and maybe a mille-feuille as a backup.”

After buying four cakes, I checked the time on my phone and realized it was already 2:30 p.m. I hurried to the station without shaking the cakes too much.

When I finally reached near Rokka’s house as planned, I started thinking about how to meet her.

“If I go normally, maybe her mom will let me in. But I don’t know if she’ll talk to me even if we meet…”

As I approached where I could see Rokka’s house, I noticed a figure in front of the house.

“Is that… Rokka?”

I hurried towards her, intending to talk to her somehow.

However, just as I reached Rokka, another person emerged from the house behind her, causing me to stop in my tracks.

“Who’s that girl?”

It was the girl I had been most jealous of, the one I had given lunch to during lunch break before.

“Why is that girl coming out of Rokka’s house?”

I couldn’t understand what was happening, and all I could do was watch the scene unfold.

After Rokka and the girl chatted happily, Rokka leaned in towards her.

Although I couldn’t see clearly from my angle, it looked like she was kissing her cheek.

I took a step back, unable to accept what I had just witnessed, forgetting about the cakes, and ran off.

Arriving at a nearby park, I sat on a bench, recalling what I had just seen and what Katsushika had told me.

“Being abandoned?… By me, to Rokka? Losing Rokka to that girl?”

Just imagining that future filled me with a rage I had never felt before.

“I won’t accept it. I absolutely won’t accept it…”

Standing up from the bench, I threw away the squashed cakes in the trash, and started walking back home.

“Rokka is mine alone.”

At that moment, the scales that had been wavering between being friends and Rokka decisively tipped towards Rokka.

My determination was set. All that was left was to put it into action and show Rokka my resolve.

“Wait for me, Rokka. I’ll definitely go all the way.”