When I Was Rejected and Returned Home, My Childhood Friend, Who Should Have Been Distant, Was in My Room

Chapter 29: Interlude – A Monologue of a Girl Obsessed with Friendship

I, Hoshino Ozasa, do not understand love.

It is not that I have never liked someone. I have liked people, but when asked if I liked them romantically, I do not know—that is the feeling.

We share hobbies, our personalities match perfectly, and I respect them as people. I have met a few such guys before, but when asked if I want something more with them, I think, “Not really.”

However, society does not approve of this much. Some believe love is supreme! That may be a small group, but still, healthy boys and girls should like someone and want more from each other—that is the expectation.

But I cannot understand this value. I do not think love is more precious than friendship, and I think it is unfair that there is an ABC of love but no ABC of friendship. Thinking this way for years, going against society’s trends, I reached my late teens…

I completely became a “friendship-obsessed girl.”

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Let me talk about my two friends a little. One is a boy, and one is a girl. I am close with both, and surprisingly, they are childhood friends. They have known each other for almost ten years.

I want to say I am jealous of such a long-lasting friendship…

But it seems the girl likes the boy, her childhood friend, romantically. And not in a subtle, “Oh, I didn’t notice she liked him!” way—she really, really likes him. Like, as much as when the fried rice in a ramen-fried rice set is not just half a portion. That aside, I am super happy about it!!

…Ahem.

Anyway, let’s put that aside. This girl—let’s call her H—definitely likes the boy—let’s call him M. How do I know? Because H aggressively pursues M.

She seems super excited only when talking to M, tries to feed him with an “ahh” during meals, and so on… Honestly, I could list examples endlessly. I had my own issues, and when we first met, H kind of saw me as an enemy.

Following my earlier thoughts, I, who do not understand love, saw H aggressively pursuing her childhood friend and felt—not disgust, but an unamused face…

But surprisingly, watching them does not feel bad.

I do not know why. Maybe it is the mature bond of ten years, or maybe her genuine feelings pierce through my obsession. The reason is not clear, but watching her is fun.

Then, H and M fought. Oh, H and M together sound like some chocolate brand! Sorry, that is irrelevant. Yes, the two, close for ten years, fought. And the fight was the worst.

Actually, H is incredibly beautiful. She has Nordic heritage, with a model-like or doll-like appearance, unlike most Japanese. Naturally, she is popular.

With that background, here is what happened: a handsome senior confessed to H, but when M found out, he said, “Why don’t you date that senior?”

Can you believe it!? Masaki… I mean, M, probably knows H likes him.

Because only a rom-com protagonist would miss such obvious signals. Yet he said that—I could not forgive him. I got mad for the first time in a while.

Sorry, I got sidetracked. Why am I talking about this? After getting mad at Masaki, I went to see Hime-chan. I did not know why he said that, but I wanted to support her, as she was hurt.

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“Hime-chan!”

Right after the first afternoon class ended, I rushed out of the classroom to Hime-chan’s class. Luckily, her class had ended too, so I entered through the back door. Ignoring the strange looks from people unused to seeing me, I headed straight to her seat.

“What’s wrong, Ozasa?”

I ran out right after talking about Masaki, so I was out of breath. Hime-chan spoke to me with a worried voice.

“Listen!”

After saying that reflexively, I realized I had not thought it through. But if I did not speak now, they might stay misunderstood and drift apart. As their mutual friend, I wanted to prevent that.

“Um, Masaki said that earlier, but it’s not his true feelings, or rather…!”

Physical exhaustion and emotional turmoil made my words choppy. I had so much to say but could not express it, which frustrated me.

“It’s okay, thank you.”

To me, barely able to speak and looking down, Hime-chan spoke in an unnaturally gentle voice. She must be hurting, yet she still cared about me. I came to comfort her, but she ended up comforting me instead.

I felt so pathetic that tears welled up, but I held them back. Hime-chan was hurting the most right now. I was the only one who could comfort her. With strong resolve, I looked up. Hime-chan, that was not Masaki’s true feelings…!

“Huh…?”

But the scene before me was completely different from what I imagined. I thought Hime-chan was hiding her pain behind a kind face. But I was wrong.

“Hey, Ozasa. Are you free after school today? I want to talk about something.”

Hime-chan smiled with her beautiful face—and in the depths of her eyes, she did not hide a dark, murky emotion as she asked about my schedule.

—

Episode 30: What Masaki Munechika Talks About

Jingu-senpai still persistently pursues Manaki. He invited her to lunch or talked about recommended movies—his approaches reached me word for word if I was in class.

Hoshino still regularly contacts Manaki. I occasionally saw them walking home together. They seemed to get along well, which made me a little happy.

After school, I sat alone at my desk in an empty classroom. Few clubs were active today, so I did not hear the usual shouts.

I glanced at some guys chatting from the break’s remnants, but past 4:30 p.m., most went home or out to have fun.

Soon, I was the only one left in the classroom. I took out my smartphone and launched a manga app to kill time.

As usual, I opened <Baxas>, and instead of the latest chapter, a single illustration appeared. At the bottom, it read, “New volume release celebration!”

“So, the new volume is coming soon…” I muttered alone, looking at my smartphone. Nagisa, who does not appear in the main story, seemed to smile knowingly. I turned off the screen. The display showed 4:55 p.m.

Then, the front classroom door opened. Shogo walked in with slow steps. Without meeting my eyes, he lightly sat on his desk. I glanced at the clock; it was 4:55 p.m.

“You came here, so that’s the deal, right?” Shogo asked.

“Yeah, that’s the plan,” I replied.

“Hoshino’s running late, so wait a bit,” Shogo said.

“Got it,” I answered.

Without eye contact, Shogo spoke to me. I replied while putting my smartphone in my bag.

It had been days since we exchanged words like this. After I made that comment to Manaki during lunch a few days ago, I barely talked to anyone—not Manaki, Shogo, or Hoshino.

Hoshino seemed close with Manaki. I often saw them together. Before starting, I wanted to confirm something.

“This is from you guys, right?” I asked.

I pulled a letter from my pocket. It read, “To Masaki Munechika” in round handwriting. Of course, the back had no sender’s name. Shogo looked at it, nodded slowly, and showed no surprise.

“Yeah. Hoshino wrote it,” Shogo said.

“Figured,” I replied.

I found it in my shoe locker when I arrived at school today. This time, I did not drop the letter. I had a hunch this was coming.

Back in class, I opened it before homeroom. Some classmates noticed me holding something odd and looked startled but said nothing.

The letter was just one loose-leaf sheet.

One line was written in large letters, ignoring the ruled lines. I did not wonder if it had a name or think it might be a love letter. I knew from the address, and the loose-leaf confirmed it.

Shogo and I said nothing more. We stayed silent, not looking at our phones, just waiting.

A few minutes later, just before 5 p.m., loud footsteps approached. The door slid open noisily, and a petite female student rushed in, out of breath.

“Sorry, I’m late…” Hoshino said.

“It’s fine, it’s 4:59 now,” Shogo replied.

“Good, safe…” Hoshino said.

At the classroom entrance, Hoshino stretched deeply and walked to her seat. A large triangle formed in the classroom. Standing, Hoshino took a few deep breaths, exhaled shortly, and looked at me.

“Might as well explain why we called you,” Hoshino said.

“That matter, right? I get it,” I replied.

I wanted to talk after things progressed more, but no choice. Hoshino stayed silent. Shogo looked at me, urging me to speak.

“Do you both know how Manaki lives now?” I asked.

“She lives alone, right? Her parents work overseas,” Hoshino said.

“Yeah, Manaki’s been living alone since high school. Why do you think?” I asked.

“Why? Because her parents are overseas, like you said,” Hoshino replied.

Hoshino spoke hesitantly, choosing words carefully. I looked at her and slowly shook my head.

“No. I don’t mean what her parents do. I mean why Manaki chose to live alone instead of going with them,” I said.

“That’s…” Hoshino started.

“Is that related to this?” Shogo asked.

“Very much,” I replied.

I lowered my face, took a deep breath, and spoke. This was the first time I told anyone. I exhaled all the air in my lungs and began.

“The reason Manaki started living alone is…” I said.

A memory from that day flashed in my mind. At Manaki’s house entrance, she said to me:

<Masamune, I hate you!>

The reason she started living alone, and why we grew distant for a while, was…

“Me,” I said.

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“Manaki and I first met the summer before elementary school. I saw her being bullied at a park near our houses, and I protected her. That’s how we got close,” I said.

We got along well and played together often. Since our houses were close, our families started spending time together.

“But as we grew older, a big problem arose—Manaki’s bullying,” I said.

Hoshino gasped, and Shogo looked down. I continued in the same tone.

“Manaki is beautiful. She got prettier each year. Even without her quarter heritage, her striking beauty and non-Japanese aura stood out. The class’s leader girl started bullying her, and some boys joined in,” I said.

Thinking about what they did still makes me sick. I do not want to recall specifics. Manaki’s face, talking like it was nothing, looked so pained.

“But the bullying stopped after a while. Then, I heard Manaki’s parents were transferring overseas. Her dad’s birthplace, Sweden, was where they’d work. Manaki would enroll in a local school there at the school year’s change,” I said.

When my mom told me, I collapsed. Sadness, shock, and mixed feelings hit me, but mostly… relief.

“Being apart from Manaki, who I was always with, was tough. But there, she would not be bullied. Her non-Japanese look would be normal. She would not face those awful people. That’s what I thought,” I said.

So, I went to Manaki’s house to say goodbye before she left Japan. I rang the bell and waited, looking down to hide tears from the monitor.

After a while, the door opened. Manaki’s mom greeted me, wearing unseasonably heavy clothes and looking oddly happy.

“Masaki-kun, welcome,” she said.

“I… came to say goodbye to Manaki,” I said.

Swallowing tears, I spoke. I did not want to leave regrets for Manaki heading to a new place. Seeing my face, her mom smiled happily for some reason.

“Wait a sec, I’ll call Manaki,” she said.

“Manaki!” she called, leaving the door slightly open. Footsteps came from inside.

“Masamune!” Manaki shouted.

She rushed out, passing her mom. Her long white hair flowed, her big eyes sparkled, and she jumped toward me.

—Wearing a light, spring-like long-sleeve, she jumped to me.

“Why…?” I asked.

Surprise slipped out. It was almost time for her to leave. Why was she so relaxed? Why so lightly dressed? Seeing my confused face, Manaki laughed joyfully.

“Guess what! I’m staying in Japan! Surprised!?” she said.

Her face mixed joy and childish mischief. I was too stunned to speak.

“What, too shocked to talk?” she asked.

“You’re… staying in Japan? What does that mean…?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m living alone here from today. I told my parents I wanted to stay because of you, and they agreed,” she said.

She spoke casually, like a kid happy her surprise worked. But one word stuck with me.

“Because of… me?” I asked.

“Yeah! I stayed in Japan to be with you, Masamune! Surprised?” she said.

As she beamed with joy over her successful surprise, thoughts raced in my mind. Manaki staying in Japan. Manaki facing that bullying again…

“Who asked you to do that…?” I said.

“Huh?” she replied.

Maybe my voice was too soft, or her excitement blocked my words. I took a small breath and poured my feelings onto my joyful childhood friend.

“When did I say I wanted to be with you!?” I shouted.

Looking at her, I spoke clearly, and her face darkened. Her joyful, innocent expression twisted into disappointment.

“Masamune, why would you say that…? I stayed in Japan for you,” she said.

Her pleading voice made me unable to meet her eyes.

“You’d be happier not in Japan…” I said.

I knew saying this now changed nothing, but it slipped out. Not wanting to hurt Manaki, I said the words that hurt her most.

“Masamune, are you serious…?” she asked.

I could still take it back. But no words came. Even hearing she’d stay, I could not feel joy. Thinking of her painful days, I could not casually say I was happy.

The light left Manaki’s eyes for a moment. Then, with tears welling up, she took a shaky breath.

“Masamune, I hate you!” she shouted.

She spat those words and stormed back into the house. Stunned, I left, thinking I’d be in the way of her departure.

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“I couldn’t protect Manaki. Worse, I betrayed and hurt her back then. But Jingu-senpai seems reliable. I hear he’s devoted, so he won’t betray her. If she’s bullied, he’d protect her,” I said.

Until I finished, Shogo and Hoshino said nothing. They just listened. Hoshino looked like she wanted to say something but held back.

“Is that all you wanted to say?” Shogo asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

Looking down, Shogo stood up. He walked straight toward me, placed his hand slowly on my shoulder, and then—

SLAP!

A loud sound echoed in the nearly empty classroom. My cheek stung, and I realized he slapped me. Before I could protest, Shogo grabbed my collar with the same hand, pulling me up. His eyes, for a moment, burned with anger I had never seen.

“Don’t say stupid shit!” Shogo shouted.

His unfamiliar angry voice shook my eardrums. The slap’s shock rang in my head.

But my gaze turned to Hoshino, reaching toward us with teary eyes. My intuition screamed an alert at her expression, wanting to say something.