The Story of Making a Popular Girl Dependent on Me - Chapter 32

When we got back home, we headed to the room and set down our bags on the floor.

Riho seemed tired, so she sat on the bed, lay down, and closed her eyes.

“Don’t fall asleep. I think we’ll have dinner soon after this.”

“Mm. I got it.”

I wasn’t sure if she understood, but if she fell asleep, I could just wake her up. So, for now, I left her alone and started moving the bags I had placed on the floor towards the edge.

After a while, my mom said dinner was ready, so I called out to Riho.

“Riho, it’s time for dinner.”

However, there was no response from Riho, who seemed to have fallen asleep.

I approached the bed, shook her body, and called out to her again.

“Riho, wake up, it’s time for dinner.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

Finally awake, Riho got off the bed and started walking unsteadily towards the door.

Feeling uneasy about her condition, I reluctantly took her hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“If you’re that unsteady, you might trip on the stairs.”

“Thanks.”

As we descended to the first floor, the table was set with slightly fancier dishes than usual.

It seemed like my mom had put in extra effort because Riho was staying over.

“You’re finally here. Oh? Holding hands as usual, you two are still close.”

“I held Riho’s hand because she was unsteady from waking up.”

“Thank you for having us today.”

“Yes, welcome. It’s been a while since Riho-chan stayed over, so I got a bit excited. Shall we eat before it gets cold?”

As my mom mentioned, it had been a while since Riho stayed over at our place.

This was because, since I started dating Setsune, we had avoided having anyone stay over to prevent any misunderstandings.

“By the way, Riho-chan still has such a flashy hair color.”

“Is it weird?”

“No. It suits her and looks cute. By the way, Setsune-chan hasn’t visited recently. Did you two have a fight?”

Setsune had visited my house a few times when we first started high school, so my parents knew her.

“It’s not like that. She seems busy lately, so we haven’t been able to hang out.”

“I see. Since you don’t have many friends, you should cherish Riho-chan and Setsune-chan, right?”

“I know.”

After that, my mom and Riho chatted happily about school and recent events, and we finished dinner in a lively atmosphere.

After finishing dinner, I let Riho, who seemed sleepy, take a bath first, then I took a bath and returned to the room.

To my surprise, Riho, with a serious expression, turned towards me.

“You’re back. Alright, sit here.”

Even though it was my room, Riho instructed me to sit next to her.

“What’s wrong? You look serious.”

I had a feeling something was up when Riho suddenly said she was staying over, but her expression indicated it wasn’t a joke.

So, to listen seriously, I made eye contact with her and asked.

“Hey, Rokka. Are you having fun dating Setsune?”

“Why do you ask? Of course, I am. It’s fun.”

“Then why haven’t you been sleeping well lately?”

When asked why I couldn’t sleep, I involuntarily fell silent.

Riho probably knew the reason, which is why she had stopped by the aroma shop today as well.

“It’s been since you saw Setsune being embraced, right?”

“I see you noticed.”

“Of course. So, how is it really? Are you having fun dating her? Are you happy? Are you really happy suppressing what you like, stifling your emotions? Are you happy like that?”

Perhaps Riho was trying to draw out my true feelings. That’s why she had touched on what I liked today, making it easier for me to become emotional.

Out of gratitude for her kindness, I found myself gradually expressing my emotions in words.

“It’s hard. It’s really hard. Today, I wore a skirt for the first time in a while, touched a cat, and realized I still like those things.

Seeing Setsune getting jealous of me, getting emotional, made me wonder why I’m the only one holding back.”

Once I started expressing my emotions, I couldn’t stop, and my feelings came out in words on their own.

“But, more than that, I still really like Setsune. So, I want to protect her from everything, and I don’t want her to dislike me for knowing these ugly feelings.”

Setsune’s happy smile up close made me happy, so I thought it was okay to endure it.”

“Then why did you come up with a plan to make Setsune dependent on you? If enduring was enough, you could have just gone on as usual without such a plan.”

After listening to the story so far, Riho asked why I had come up with a plan to make Setsune dependent on me.

I stayed silent for a while, then spoke while organizing my feelings.

“I was anxious… Setsune is popular, and unlike me, she values her friends.

So, I was scared that someday Setsune might find someone else she likes and discard me.

Setsune means everything to me, and once I knew the joy of seeing her happy smile beside me, I never wanted to let go.

So, I thought if she depended on me, she would always stay by my side and never leave.”

As I finished speaking, Riho hugged me without saying anything.

Normally, I would tell her to stop, but her kindness made me happy, and tears welled up naturally.

“You’re doing your best. It might be the wrong way, and love can be heavy.

However, the weight of love and how people perceive it differ, so there’s no right answer.

So, you should do what you want. If you get rejected, I’ll comfort you. Are you prepared for that?”

While stroking my back, Riho gently reassured me to calm down.

I wiped away my tears after separating from Riho and answered while looking into her eyes to convey my determination.

“Of course. I’ll do my best so I have no regrets. Please watch over me until the end.”

“Got it. I’ll watch over you properly.”

If Riho watches over me, at least my efforts will be remembered by someone.

Moreover, in the worst-case scenario, Riho seems willing to comfort me, so I won’t have to cry alone.

So, all that’s left is to see through what I’ve decided until the end.

“Haha. Riho is really a good girl, isn’t she?”

“Too late for that? I’ve always been a good girl. Want to start dating now?”

“I’ll pass on that. It would be a waste for you. Besides, I have Setsune.”

“Just kidding. Well, you seem much calmer now. Shall we burn the aroma you bought and go to sleep?”

“Sounds good. Since Riho chose it, let’s do that.”

That night, I burned the neroli aroma Riho had chosen.

According to the explanation when I bought it, neroli is said to have a calming effect on the mind, and Riho had insisted I buy it.

The pleasant scent did help me relax, and since I hadn’t been sleeping well lately, my consciousness gradually drifted off.

And within a few minutes, I fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, I woke up without feeling the fatigue I had been experiencing recently.

My head felt very clear, and it seemed like I had slept well thanks to the aroma.

However, when I tried to move my body to get up, for some reason, my body wouldn’t move as I wanted.

I wondered why and looked down, only to see Riho hugging me.

“Why is Riho sleeping in the same bed?”

I distinctly remember that Riho had laid out her futon on the floor to sleep yesterday, so she should be sleeping there.

Even when I tried to recall, we had definitely slept separately before.

So, why was she sleeping here? To find out, I needed to wake her up and ask directly, so I shook Riho’s body.

“Riho, wake up.”

However, she seemed deeply asleep or didn’t show any signs of waking up.

Getting a bit irritated by her not waking up, I smacked my head hard.

Smack!

But just one smack didn’t wake her up, so I kept hitting her head several times.

“…Huh? What’s up? What happened?”

“It’s not ‘what’s up.’ Wake up and explain the current situation.”

“Huh?”

Riho still seemed sleepy as she sat up and gradually understood the situation by looking around.

“Oh, I see. I must have fallen asleep here. My head hurts… Did you hit me?”

“Why do you know that? Tell me quickly.”

“Do you really not remember? After you fell asleep last night, I went to the bathroom. When I tried to return to the futon, you grabbed my hand and dragged me in. Did you hit my head?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. And you hugged me tightly, so I couldn’t break free, and ended up falling asleep like that. Did you hit my head?”

It seemed the cause was my drowsiness.

Well, Riho is not the type to lie, and she’s a bit of a siscon, so I could understand her explanation.

“I’ll apologize just in case. I’m sorry.”

“Is that for dragging me in? Or for hitting my head?”

“Both.”

“Tch. So you did hit me. Ugh. I helped you with your problem yesterday, and this is how you repay me. Feels like returning kindness with ingratitude.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“Alright. I’ll sleep a bit more.”

Riho said that and returned to her futon, falling asleep quickly.

Since I wasn’t very sleepy, I thought about the days ahead while looking at my phone.

(Thanks to Riho, I feel refreshed and confident. So, all that’s left is to see through what I’ve decided without regrets.)

I don’t know what the future holds, but with renewed determination, I decided to start by clearing away any obstacles.