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

Chapter 8: The Indirect Thing

Manaki gripped her chopsticks tightly and ran off. She opened the door with a loud noise, and as she left from the back of the classroom, she stood out greatly, drawing everyone’s attention for just a moment.

In other words, it seemed that hardly any of our classmates noticed that Manaki had eaten kinpira directly from my chopsticks earlier.

“Wow,” Shogo said.

We were left behind in the classroom space, but Shogo spoke first.

I felt that if I had encountered the same situation, I would have had a similar reaction. Shogo’s single comment pulled me back to reality with a strong force.

“Well, Manaki went to wash her chopsticks, huh?” I said.

“Yeah, it looks like it,” Shogo replied.

We repeated what she had said earlier, confirming to ourselves that we lived in the real world. It wasn’t a big deal, though.

“For now, shall we eat?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure!” Shogo agreed.

We agreed to act like nothing happened and continued eating. Shogo opened the seal of another round bread he hadn’t eaten yet.

“Shogo, what’s that bread? Anpan?” I asked.

“You asked the right question, Masamune. This isn’t just any anpan,” Shogo said.

“Oh?” I responded.

“This is, believe it or not, uguisu anpan!” Shogo announced.

Shogo introduced the bread with a charming smile. Caught up in his enthusiasm, I clapped lightly.

“Pretty refined,” I said.

“It’s a new product, apparently. Pretty bold for something aimed at high schoolers,” Shogo remarked.

It didn’t seem like a product for teenagers, but honestly, it worked out well. Thanks to the uguisu anpan, our conversation shifted.

Shogo deliberately played up the entertainment factor, holding the anpan with both hands and trying to split it. I understood his intent and watched his hands instead of touching my bento.

“Alright! Here we go!” Shogo said.

“Bring it on!” I replied.

The anticipation was high—come on!

“Ready, open! …Huh?” Shogo exclaimed.

“Wow! …Oh?” I added.

What appeared before our eyes, expecting green, was pitch-black anko. It was so black it seemed to absorb all light, and we lost our words entirely.

“Uh, could this be…?” I started.

I tried to offer some follow-up words, but Shogo, with a knowing expression, bit into the bread without saying anything, making about a quarter of it disappear in an instant.

While staring at the heavily bitten anpan, Shogo muttered quietly.

“Masamune, you a smooth anko guy or a chunky anko guy?” Shogo asked.

“I only accept smooth anko,” I replied.

“What a coincidence, me too,” Shogo said.

He muttered that one line and tossed the remaining quarter into his mouth. Just before, I thought I saw something glint in the anko.

* * * *

“So, that’s the deal…” Shogo said.

With Shogo’s story done, the attention naturally turned to the chopsticks I held. They were black chopsticks with a case, bought at a 100-yen shop.

The tips of the chopsticks sparkled, and it wasn’t just because of the kinpira’s juices. The anpan as a prelude made the main event feel even more intense, heightening the tension.

“Manaki used these…” Shogo started.

“Hey, don’t say it!” I interrupted.

I tried so hard not to think about it, but when he said it, I couldn’t help but focus on it.

“Masamune, you gonna do it…?” Shogo asked.

“It’s just, you know, the indirect thing, right? It’s no big deal,” I said.

“No, but, indirect or not…” Shogo trailed off.

We kept looking back and forth between the chopsticks and each other’s faces. You might want to say that high schoolers shouldn’t get so worked up over something like this, but we had our reasons.

Imagine the typical indirect thing—probably something like mistaking a drink and realizing it later, right? That’s what we thought too. But this time? It wasn’t a mistake, and it was already done. Telling us not to think about it was simply impossible.

“But, Manaki used these…” Shogo said again.

“I said don’t mention her name!” I snapped.

I desperately tried not to think about it, but every time I heard her name, I recalled the earlier situation, and it made me hesitate even more.

“Hey, you can’t just dawdle like this,” Shogo urged.

“Don’t rush me!” I replied.

Still, Shogo had a point. In this situation, taking too long wasn’t good. If we didn’t hurry, Manaki might finish washing her chopsticks and come back. Then who knows what she’d say.

“Masamune, are you thinking about me?” I imagined Manaki saying.

“If you can’t eat, should I feed you this time?” I pictured her teasing.

The imaginary Manaki in my head said all sorts of lines. It might be delusional, but the possibilities were endless, unfortunately. But hesitating wouldn’t help. I let out a small breath and steeled myself. Shogo nodded at me.

“Alright, here I go…” I said.

“Go for it, Masamune!” Shogo cheered.

There was no time to hesitate anymore. In times like this, it was about guts. I’d eat my meal casually even if Manaki came back. I’d been toyed with by her for days now—time to turn the tables and make her squirm.

Imagining a flustered Manaki filled me with a thrilling sense of omnipotence from deep within. Alright, now’s the time! I shouted “here goes” in my mind and put the chopsticks in my mouth with full force. Yes! I did it. I beat Manaki! A surge of exhilaration coursed through my body.

“…Huh?” I muttered.

But right after, a wave of exhaustion hit me. Why did we let a single pair of chopsticks mess with us this much? It felt ridiculous. Well, that’s over now. To enjoy the short lunch break left, I decided to quickly finish the rest of my bento.

“Man, Masamune, you…” Shogo said.

But as I felt a mix of accomplishment and fatigue, Shogo froze for some reason. His mouth hung half-open, with an expression that seemed to say he couldn’t believe it.

“What’s up, Shogo? Something weird happen?” I asked.

At my question, Shogo’s expression grew even more strained.

“Masamune, you didn’t have to put the chopsticks directly in your mouth… You could’ve just eaten the rest of your bento normally…” Shogo said.

“Oh,” I replied.

I felt my heart go cold. I couldn’t believe what I’d done, and my gaze drifted aimlessly. Wait, I could’ve just eaten my bento normally…?

As I slowly processed Shogo’s words, my wandering gaze fixed on one point—the door at the back of the classroom. In that moment, my whole body felt like it was boiling.

The silver-haired girl narrowed her eyes and gave a smug smile. It was a smile mixed with pure joy and desire, as if she was thrilled that I’d done it.

She didn’t make a sound, but her lips moved slowly. From the movement alone, I understood what she said.

“Pervert,” she mouthed.

That word echoed loudly in my head, and I felt like I’d collapse from the ground up.

* * * * *

“Masamune, cheer up,” Shogo said.

“I’m so embarrassed, I want to crawl into a hole…” I replied.

Despite bracing myself for relentless teasing after being seen in that decisive moment, Manaki didn’t say anything particular and just packed up the rest of her bento and left.

“Well, Manaki didn’t seem put off, so it’s fine, right?” Shogo said.

“That doesn’t feel like much comfort…” I muttered.

Shogo patted my shoulder lightly and continued talking.

“But I’m relieved, seeing you today, Masamune,” Shogo said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

How could anything about today be reassuring? Between Manaki’s actions and my blunder, it was a disastrous lunch break.

“Honestly, I thought you were the type to dwell on things more,” Shogo said.

“Do I seem that loyal?” I asked.

“Not loyal exactly, but like, you didn’t confess because you thought you’d get rejected, right? And things were good as they were,” Shogo explained.

Being told I wasn’t loyal didn’t sit right, but…

“Obviously. Who goes into a losing battle?” I said.

“No, no, I mean you weren’t confessing just to take a shot,” Shogo clarified.

“Well, yeah, that’s true,” I admitted.

“I figured if everything you’d built up came crashing down, you’d act fine but take a while to recover,” Shogo said.

Shogo said that much, then stretched widely.

“So, seeing you and Manaki today made me feel relieved. Like, whatever broke inside you, Manaki’s patching it up,” Shogo said.

“Manaki, huh…” I muttered.

I wasn’t sure how Shogo took my reaction, but he chuckled lightly.

“Her methods might be a bit rough, but maybe that’s the kind of tough love you needed,” Shogo said.

He laughed lightly as he said it. I wasn’t thrilled about summing up the past couple of days as “rough,” but complaining to Shogo wouldn’t help. I let out a sigh instead of a reply.

“So, what I’m trying to say is, I think you and Manaki are a good match. I’m rooting for you,” Shogo said.

“A good match? No way…” I started.

I tried to respond to Shogo’s gal-game-best-friend-like line, but the lunch break ending bell rang. Five minutes left until class started. While taking out his materials, Shogo asked me.

“Did you say something earlier?” Shogo asked.

“Nah, it’s nothing,” I replied.

I kept the words that almost slipped out to myself and returned to my seat. I finished getting my materials ready and spent the remaining time idly.

“Manaki and I, a good match? I don’t have the qualifications for that,” I muttered.

I whispered the line I didn’t say to Shogo so quietly no one could hear.