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

Chapter 39 : The Tragic Heroine

“Even if you tell me to find Shino, where the hell am I supposed to look?”

Following Chiya’s instructions, I ran through the school searching for Shino. However, no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find her.

I mean, if she was in the girls’ restroom or the girls’ locker room, there was no way I’d be able to find her.

“Chiya, how exactly am I ‘the right person for the right job’…”

Well, realistically speaking, dealing with Yasuike might be more difficult for Chiya, so I continued my search diligently.

After running for a while, I stopped to catch my breath and took a deep breath while climbing the stairs. That was when I happened to notice something.

Something red… As I got closer, I found a small bloodstain.

It was hard to see, and the wound probably wasn’t serious, but it was definitely fresh.

As I considered possible paths from that point, my eyes landed on the stairs leading to the rooftop.

“No way… right?”

If someone wanted to hide where no one would find them, the best place would be somewhere no one ever goes. The rooftop, which was off-limits, would be the perfect hiding spot.

When I climbed the stairs, my suspicions were confirmed—the rooftop door was slightly ajar.

Forgetting to lock the door? That’s a serious security issue for the school. But since it was open, I had no choice but to go in.

Just as I reached for the door handle, I stopped. A notification popped up on my phone.

Checking it, I found a strange photo sent by Chiya.

The photo showed a distinct pink smartphone held in someone’s hand.

[What… is this?’

The important part was the screen of that phone. It displayed a photo — one that had been secretly taken — of Shino linking arms with Akito.

In other words, it was a photo of a phone screen showing another photo.

I had no idea how someone could even take such a picture, but I had a pretty good guess. The owner of that phone was most likely Iyo Yasuike, and this photo was the root of the whole incident.

I thought about replying to Chiya, but since I still hadn’t found Shino, I didn’t really have any results to report. So, I decided to just leave it on read.

I hope Chiya will understand.

I put my phone back in my pocket, pushed the door open, and squinted as the bright sky without a ceiling filled my vision. The sunlight was still strong, but the wind had calmed.

And there, in the shadow of the elevated water tank, I spotted Shino.

“Why… why is it you…?”

Shino sat hugging her scraped knees, visibly shaken.

As I approached, she turned to me with a look of disgust.

Just moments ago, she had been playing the role of a tragic heroine, but now her mask had completely fallen off in front of everyone. She must have reached her emotional limit.

“What a way to greet someone. Akito is not coming, you know.”

“I wasn’t waiting for anyone.”

“If you didn’t want anyone to see you, you should’ve cried in a bathroom stall or something.”

“…I’m not that pathetic.”

Shino muttered, almost spitting out the words.

She was prideful, so she could only verbally deny it — but deep down, she must have known how miserable she looked.

At least, to me, she seemed pathetic. Sitting there with scraped knees, unable to even ask for help… she was just a pitiful girl.

“Here, use this.”

Even I have a little bit of kindness. So, I handed Shino something.

It was a band-aid that Miumi had told me to carry around. I never expected it to come in handy here. Though, I suppose it was better than using it after a fight.

“I told you, I’m not that pathetic! Don’t think you can comfort me with kindness!”

“What are you even talking about…? If I had any intention of comforting you, I wouldn’t just hand it to you—I’d put it on myself. Save your expectations for Akito.”

I forcibly placed the band-aid into her hand. She glared at me before reluctantly covering her wound with it.

I knew she hated me, but even now, she was giving me that look. It was a little irritating.

So, I decided to hit her where it hurt.

“By the way, the rooftop is off-limits, you know. I get that you’re ‘not pathetic,’ but breaking school rules isn’t a good look either.”

“I don’t care about the rules… A senior from the soccer club gave me a spare key, so it’s fine.”

So, the door hadn’t been left open from the start. The school had done its job locking it properly.

The soccer club… That was Akito’s club, right? If Shino was close with one of the seniors there, did that mean Akito got along well with them, too?

Or rather, to be entrusted with such an important key… She must be really good at dealing with guys.

“Well, whatever. If you’re feeling better, let’s head back to class—”

“No. I’m not going back. If you want to, go ahead and leave.”

Shino rejected my suggestion.

But… her words felt weaker than usual. Normally, she would’ve tried to push me away with more forceful arguments.

Was she just borrowing my band-aid? Or maybe… she just wanted someone to listen.

I had no way of knowing what was in Shino’s heart, but…

“Acting like you’re the unluckiest person in the world over one failed attempt… That’s honestly kind of irritating.”

Humans are selfish from the moment they’re born. Whether people believe in inherent goodness or inherent evil, the truth is, from infancy, we cry out to satisfy our own needs without any thought for others.

Shino Kokaze has always been a strong-willed girl in my eyes. But for someone with such a childish personality to experience this kind of setback — it must be tough for her to recover.

I couldn’t let her give up just yet.

She had faced complete and utter rejection. Maybe I was being cruel by pushing her like this, but she still had the strength to get back up.

She had been serious about her feelings — so she could still keep going.

I had expectations for her. I wanted to see her courage shine again.

And… seeing her like this was just unbearable.

“What do you know about me…?!”

“I never said I understood how you feel. But if I had to say one thing… heartbreak sucks, doesn’t it? It feels like your heart is being torn apart.”

“You don’t understand at all!”

“Even if you want to act tough, you can’t. Everything starts to feel meaningless.”

“That’s not how I feel!!”

She raised her voice and glared at me.

But the fact that she was so emotional only proved I had hit the mark.

Having been rejected by Suisei countless times, I knew all too well what she was feeling.

She couldn’t hide that pained expression, because her feelings had been real.

And I had been quietly rooting for her. That wasn’t a lie.

“Don’t lie. Was your love for Akito really that shallow? That’s not how it seemed to me. Someone with weak feelings couldn’t have respected him the way you did.”

“No! You’re wrong! I was just toying with those easy-to-please guys! Akito was just another one of them! I never really cared about him! This heartbreak… it’s just my punishment, and I don’t even regret it—!”

Tears spilled from Shino’s eyes as she desperately denied it. Just watching her like that hurt me, too.

Before I knew it, my hands had grabbed her shoulders.

“S-Stop…!”

Her resistance was weak — her expression was one of pure despair.

I had seen that exact look before, in my own reflection.

I knew what it felt like to lose everything and reject reality just to keep moving forward.

We were alike. That’s why… I couldn’t let this slide.

“…Then your punishment isn’t over yet. You still haven’t paid back all the guys you toyed with.”

That’s why… I was going to make sure she never forgot this pain.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

If you enjoy reading this novel and want me to bring more of them, do rate the novel 5 stars on our site and NovelUpdates.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment your opinions below!