When I Helped Out At My Classy Classmate's Family Home, They Started Going All Out To Close In On Me From Every Angle. - Chapter 55: Uncool Me And Cool Ayame —3

Uncool Me And Cool Ayame —3

This time, it was my turn to be dumbfounded by an unexpected answer.

“If you like her, then why not just go out with her? Why are you overthinking it?”

“Yeah, yeah. If you date Ayame, not only will her feelings come true, but you won’t be stressing out either! Everything will be solved and it’ll be a happy ending!”

“But… I also like someone else besides Ayame!”

“About that… you said you don’t understand what ‘love’ is, right? You’ve never really fallen in love, have you?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then the ‘liking’ you feel for people other than Ayame might not be ‘romantic liking.’ Maybe you’re mistaking ‘liking something attractive’ for ‘romantic liking’?”

I blinked in surprise at Shuuji’s suggestion.

Following him, Chika added her thoughts.

“You know, when you find someone attractive, like a handsome or cute person, it’s normal to feel some kind of liking for them. But if that ‘liking’ isn’t romantic, then it’s not cheating, right?”

I had never thought of it that way. They were right.

Since I’d never experienced love, I didn’t have a clear standard for understanding what kind of ‘liking’ I felt. So, the ‘liking’ I felt for Mikage might not be romantic, and it’s also possible that the ‘liking’ I felt for Ayame was the ‘romantic kind.’

“But, still… isn’t it kind of rude to date someone if you don’t even know if what you feel for them is really love?”

“That’s not true. Plenty of people develop feelings after they start dating.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty rare for two people to already be in love when they start dating, right?”

“Exactly! Chii and I didn’t start off as a couple because we were already in love.”

“Huh!?”

That was a huge revelation.

I had always thought that Shuuji and Chika were a couple because they were in love with each other.

I stared at them, wide-eyed, and asked.

“You didn’t date because you were already in love!? But you two are like the famous lovey-dovey couple at school!”

“Yeah. I just enjoyed being with Shuuji, so I thought it’d be even more fun if we were dating, so I confessed.”

“I liked being around Chii too. There was no reason to refuse, so I decided to give it a try.”

“We didn’t start as a couple, but now we’re really happy together. So, whether what you feel is ‘love’ or not doesn’t really matter. In the end, you won’t know until you try.”

It seemed I had misunderstood. I had assumed that since Shuuji and Chika were so lovey-dovey now, they must have been in love from the start.

While I was stunned, Chika tapped her chin and said.

“By the way, I think the ‘liking’ you feel for Ayame is probably the romantic kind.”

“Huh!? How do you figure that?”

“Well, look at you today. You’ve had a long face all day, right? And it’s because you rejected Ayame’s confession, right? That’s why you’re so down.”

“Yeah… that’s true.”

“If you just rejected a confession, you wouldn’t normally feel this bad, would you? But since it was Ayame, that’s why you’re so upset, right? That means she’s special to you.”

Her words hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I had liked many people before, but never had I been so emotionally disturbed. Never had I been so troubled or so concerned. It was only Ayame who had this effect on me.

With my eyes wide open, Chika asked me gently.

“How was it being with Ayame, Tetsu-kun? What kind of person is Ayame to you?”

“…I was constantly nervous, but it still felt comfortable. When she smiled, I felt happy too, and when she was sad, I wanted to do something to make her feel better. Like Chika said, I think Ayame is special to me.”

“Then…”

“But… for me to go out with Ayame…”

The complex I had carried for so long was not something that could be easily shaken off. It coiled around me like chains, holding me back.

The ‘liking’ I felt for Ayame might be ‘love.’ But I couldn’t say that for sure. Maybe, like with Chika, my feelings for Ayame would fade away. If that happened, I’d obviously hurt her.

And that scared me. It scared me so much that I couldn’t take the step forward.

I fell silent, trembling.

It was then that Shuuji showed me a way forward.

“Tetsu, have you talked to Ayame?”

“Talked? About what?”

“About why you rejected her confession, or how you feel about her.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Well, at least tell her that. After that, you can decide what to do together with Ayame.”

“That’s right! If you don’t, you’ll always have regrets, Tetsu-kun. Both you and Ayame will carry this burden with you forever.”

As they tried to persuade me, I could picture Ayame’s figure in my mind. Her back after I rejected her confession.

That hollow figure told me that she had been hurt. What if that wound continued to torment Ayame? What if the memory of me rejecting her haunted her forever?

“…I don’t want that.”

They say, “It’s better to regret doing something than to regret not doing it.” If I didn’t act now, I would regret hurting Ayame for the rest of my life, until the moment I died.

Even if I told her why I rejected her confession or how I truly felt about her, I didn’t know if it would fix our relationship.

But still, I thought, it would be much better to act and regret it than to do nothing and regret it forever.