What's Wrong With Interfering With My Childhood Friend's Love?

Chapter 37 : A Public Confession You Can’t Escape

People say encounters happen suddenly, but for students, there’s always a beginning to every encounter.

On the day of the entrance ceremony, amidst the crowd, the short-statured Kokaze was struggling to find her class. That was when Akito helped her by telling her which class she was in.

At first, she thought of him as just a kind upperclassman. Their classes were different, so she assumed they would never cross paths again.

And yet, at that moment, Akito had seemed like the ideal older brother, someone she couldn’t forget.

Kokaze had never particularly wished for an older brother, but for some reason, she was drawn to him.

That being said, since they were in different classes, Kokaze never really interacted with Akito after that.

During her first year, Kokaze quickly became friends with her classmates and was enjoying a smooth and fulfilling school life — until a certain boy in her class confessed to her.

Since she had no interest in having a boyfriend, Kokaze turned him down. She had tried to do it as gently as possible.

However, the very next day, she became the target of hostility from the other girls. She later found out that one of the girls had feelings for that boy, and in the end, it was all jealousy directed at her.

At the time, Kokaze wasn’t interested in romance at all. Just being able to chat with her friends every day was enough for her. But after becoming a target, the number of female friends who were willing to talk to her started to dwindle.

Feeling devastated, Kokaze just wanted a friend to talk to.

So, she began spending time with the group of boys that included the one she had rejected.

Since they liked Kokaze, they naturally became her conversation partners, showering her with compliments every day. But they weren’t just convenient admirers; they were actual friends. The balance in their relationship made it enjoyable for her.

Still, boys were boys. Over time, Kokaze began to recognize the way they looked at her for what it was. That was when she first realized that she was considered attractive.

Even though the girls hated her, Kokaze, who was treated like a princess among the boys, had gained enough influence to keep them in check.

And as she gradually understood that their hostility stemmed from jealousy, she started to feel pity for them.

It wasn’t that Kokaze wanted revenge. But she couldn’t deny that she felt a sense of superiority.

When she became a second-year student, her environment changed. The girls who had disliked her ended up in different classes, bringing an end to that phase of her life.

And that was when she reunited with Akito.

At the start of the new school term, Kokaze casually approached him, but he didn’t remember her at all. Strangely though, she didn’t feel that hurt. Perhaps it was because of Suisei-chan and Chiya-chan.

Just the fact that they were girls who willingly spoke with her made them precious to Kokaze.

Suisei-chan had been a bit wary at first, but Kokaze found it easy to talk to both of them.

As she spent more time with the two girls, she also started having more natural opportunities to talk with Akito.

And through those interactions, Kokaze learned that Akito’s kindness was simply a part of who he was — it wasn’t anything special directed at her.

Realizing that, Kokaze fell in love for the first time.

That’s why she never spoke openly about his kindness to anyone.

That memory was her secret alone.

No one else knew the real reason why she called him “Akito-nii.”

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Takuma Ichinose was in the same class as Kokaze last year.

She had always thought he was just some weird guy who kept to himself.

But when she actually talked to him, she realized he could be quite passionate about certain things. In a strange way, he felt similar to her.

She never understood a word he was saying, but just nodding along was enough to satisfy him.

Since he was so simple-minded, he was easy to interact with. That was the impression she had of him.

This morning, Akito seemed on edge again.

Kokaze wanted to ask him about it, but it felt awkward to bring it up directly. Even Chiya-chan told her to ask someone else.

So, after school, Kokaze decided to see if Ichinose knew anything.

“Hey, Ichinose-kun… I have something I want to ask you. Do you have a moment?”

“Huh? Yeah, sure… What is it?”

“Did something happen this morning? I was late, so I don’t know what’s going on—”

“Oh, I see. So Kokaze-chan doesn’t know.”

“Yeah! I really don’t know, so I was hoping you could tell me~”

“It’s not that… I mean, you didn’t even realize that I’m always late to school.”

His tone had a sharp edge to it, and Kokaze almost frowned.

Like she’d know something like that.

The way he twisted the conversation to pick at her words was irritating.

Sure, there were people like Chiya-chan who always arrived early, but most students had some flexibility in their arrival times.

Besides, why would she keep track of each classmate’s morning routine?

If he didn’t know something, he could just say so.

Kokaze was already feeling on edge because she couldn’t find anyone to give her answers. The last thing she needed was someone provoking her.

“Ahh, maybe I misunderstood~ Ichinose-kun, you’re so serious, so I just assumed!”

“You don’t have to lie. You just don’t care about me.”

“……”

The warmth drained from Kokaze’s heart.

Talking to Ichinose suddenly felt like a chore.

Why was he acting like some kind of emotional wreck?

She decided to humor him just enough to end the conversation quickly.

“Eh? What’s with you today—”

“Shut up, you bitch! You think you can get people to do whatever you want just by acting all flirty!?”

His voice rang out sharply, drawing the attention of the entire classroom.

For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.

But instead of feeling shocked, Kokaze felt her irritation spike.

‘What the hell is your problem…? Who do you think you are!? I’m doing my best too! You were fine with it before… you even looked happy, so why do I have to hear this now!?’

She kept a bright smile on her face.

Suppressing the urge to hurl insults at him, she started thinking about how to vent her anger.

“H-how could you…? I didn’t do anything wrong… Sniff.”

“Y-yeah! What did Kokaze-chan do to deserve that?”

“Ichinose, that was out of line! Apologize!”

The moment she exaggerated her hurt, the boys immediately turned against Ichinose.

Of course, they did.

Kokaze was the obvious victim here.

‘Hmph, knights should always come to the rescue of their princess, right?’

Ichinose’s sudden outburst made no sense, but did he really think she’d be hurt by his words?

He didn’t understand her at all.

Being hated by one person didn’t matter.