When My Girlfriend Cheated On Me And Spread Rumors That I Was A Guy Who Would Sleep With Anyone, I Decided To Just Accept It And Ended Up Dating The Most Slutty Girl In School.

I’m Going To Be A Handsome Guy.

Naoki was an otaku who could distinguish between reality and fiction.

Therefore, while he loved the trope of a plain otaku transforming into a handsome guy after a haircut, he believed it was nothing more than a convenient fantasy allowed only in fiction.

That is, until Kirara finished styling him.

“…Is this… me?”

He muttered in astonishment.

In the mirror, a completely different, slightly edgy handsome guy was staring back with an open mouth.

“Right? I had confidence, but I never thought you’d transform this much… My talent and your potential are honestly a little scary…”

Kirara, who was peering into the mirror beside him, seemed equally surprised.

Naoki’s original hairstyle had been a messy cut from a nearby 1,000-yen haircut place that he hadn’t touched for half a year—a true unkempt look. His eyebrows were equally disheveled.

Then, Kirara performed a transformation of another dimension.

She boldly snipped away with scissors, shaved the lower half with clippers, and trimmed with a razor.

Finally, with a touch of styling product, she completed a loose, carefree wolf cut that looked surprisingly trendy.

His eyebrows were now so thin they almost seemed nonexistent.

“…No, seriously, this is too much of a change. It’s like an animation error…”

“If you’re going to say that, I’d prefer you call it a theatrical version! But seriously, you look amazing… The kind of guy who might hit a girl, that’s super moe…”

“Is… that a compliment?”

“I’m saying the trait is moe, not that it’s okay in real life! You get it, right?”

“…I sort of understand.”

It’s like how a real-life yandere is undesirable, but yandere traits in fiction are appealing.

“But still, this is…”

Naoki felt he finally understood why narcissistic characters liked to look in the mirror.

A strange joy bubbled up, making him almost want to smile.

“Too handsome?”

“…I wouldn’t go that far.”

Getting carried away here would just make him a narcissist.

This transformation was all thanks to Kirara’s skills.

It wasn’t his own doing.

“Come on, say it! I worked hard for this! And honestly, you look super cool!”

Kirara pouted and gazed at her proud creation with a dreamy look.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but the real me is just a plain guy…”

“I don’t think that attitude of yours is good. Even if you look handsome, that kind of thinking ruins it!”

“…Sorry.”

“I’m not blaming you! I’m talking about the skills to become handsome!”

With a serious expression, Kirara spoke.

“The skills to become handsome?”

“Exactly! I told you, you can create a handsome guy! If you want to become one, you need to make your heart handsome too! It’s like that saying, ‘If you’re going to cosplay, dress your heart too!'”

“Gintama?”

“Correct!”

Kirara joyfully pointed both fingers at him.

“Seriously though, even if you work hard on your appearance, it won’t be enough to improve the accuracy of cosplay. In the end, it’s this that matters!”

With a loud thump, she intended to pat her chest.

In reality, her ample boobs jiggled instead.

“Are you talking about your breasts?”

Naoki swallowed the retort that almost escaped.

“Your heart! In other words, your spirit! It’s the feelings that matter! If you’re portraying a sleazy character, you need sleazy feelings; if it’s a cool character, you need cool feelings. If you mimic the feelings, your expression, posture, gaze, and overall vibe will start to resemble the character! I’m not actually a gyaru, but I look like one, right?”

“What? You’re not a gyaru?”

“Of course not. I’m an otaku too, you know? Deep down, I’m just a regular introvert.”

“Then why do you act like a gyaru?”

“Well, you know… It’s a bit of a dark past, a youthful indiscretion…”

Kirara fidgeted, playing with her fingers near her chest.

“Gyaru seem strong and unlikely to be bullied, right? Around that time, I was really into rom-coms with gyaru heroines. I thought if I became a gyaru, I might be able to get along better at school…”

“I see…”

“Are you disappointed?”

Kirara looked anxious, regretting that she had spoken.

“No. In fact, I’m impressed.”

“Really? With what?”

“Everything. Even though it wasn’t your fault, you got bullied. Most people would give up and cry, but not many would think of changing themselves like you did. Even if they thought about it, actually doing it is another thing. And to see results? That’s incredible.”

Naoki genuinely admired Kirara.

Despite facing similar circumstances, Kirara had faced adversity with a positive attitude and overcame it, like the protagonist of a youth novel.

“Y-you’re praising me too much! In my case, things just happened to work out, and I had a lot of help from others…”

Blushing with embarrassment, Kirara steered the conversation back.

“Anyway, we’re talking about you now! If I could do it, then you can too! Your appearance has changed, so now it’s time to work on the inside! Have more confidence in yourself and stand tall as a handsome guy!”

“Easier said than done…”

“Asshi…”

Kirara glared at him with narrowed eyes.

“I know. You’ve done so much for me, so if I don’t try my best here, I’m not much of a man… But I’m worried. Can someone like me really pretend to be a handsome guy?”

“You don’t need to overthink it. Just think of it as cosplay and have fun with it. That’s what I do. It’s just role-playing, a bit of fun. But if you don’t take it seriously, it won’t be fun, right?”

“…That’s true.”

A wry smile spread across Naoki’s face.

Naoki was an otaku. He took his hobbies seriously. He completed every ending in a multi-ending game and won over every character in dating sims. He celebrated and despaired over wins and losses in competitive games, and his parents scolded him more than once for banging on the table. He worked part-time jobs to collect merchandise of his favorite characters and rode his bike to the next town to search for limited-edition prizes.

Chiharu laughed, saying he was silly to get so worked up over such things.

But Naoki believed that the joy came from being passionate about seemingly foolish things.

Besides, it would be far too shameful to sulk after all Kirara had done for him.

Whether he could do it or not didn’t matter at this point.

Even Kirara hadn’t said anything about that.

She was just telling him to try his best, believing he could do it.

Being handsome wasn’t the issue.

He just needed to live as if he were handsome.

The outcome could be either good or bad, but it was better than chickening out here.

“I’m sorry, Kirara. For talking about breaking up on my own. I was wrong. And thank you for not abandoning someone like me…”

“Of course! Because I’m your girlfriend, right?”

Kirara flashed a double peace sign with a cheerful smile.

Naoki wiped away the tears that welled up.

How wonderful it would be if a girl like her were truly his girlfriend.

But that was too much to hope for.

Just having her pretend to be his girlfriend was more than enough.

A real girlfriend felt too much to ask for.

He didn’t deserve someone like her.

“…Yeah.”

In any case, Naoki had made up his mind.

He would never back down again.

Kirara had invested so much in him.

So he would respond with all his might.

“Yes, that’s the look! You just got more handsome with that determination!”

Kirara said, holding up a three-way mirror.

“R-really?”

Naoki blushed at Kirara’s pleased expression.

“Come on! Don’t let your guard down! From tomorrow, you’ll be the new you at school! If you become a handsome guy, even Chiharu the bitch, will be upset, and I’ll gain some points too! So, we need to practice! Now say it! ‘I’m handsome!'”

“I-I’m handsome…”

“Not good enough! Like a conceited, arrogant narcissist!”

“I-I’m handsome!”

“While looking in the mirror!”

“I’m handsome!!”

“With more self-admiration!”

“I’m handsome!!!”

“That’s great, you’re looking cool! Yes! Handsome guy! Ladies’ man! Give me a look!”

“Tch. Can’t be helped.”

He brushed his bangs aside, looking down with disdain, as if gazing at a pig.

“Kyaa! That’s perfect! Do more of that!”

Click, click, click.