You Girls Are Way Too Obsessed With A Lone Wolf Like Me - Volume 1 C - Prologue

Volume 1 C – Prologue

Cherry blossoms danced like snow in the breeze—it was early April, right at the start of the season. That time of year when anything, no matter how small, could feel like fate.

And that’s when she appeared before me.

“Um, excuse me!”

“Huh?”

It was during my usual morning commute. I’d just stepped off the train and passed through the ticket gate.

I had my earphones in, listening to music, but I still noticed someone calling out to me.
A girl, standing near the ticket gates, had rushed over—her footsteps light but hurried.

She was wearing a uniform from another school, and she had on a blazer that was slightly too big for her, with a brand-new leather school bag slung over her shoulder, shining with freshness. She must be a new student, just like me.

Small and delicate, with an innocent face, she looked almost like a doll. Was she a half? No, maybe just a quarter? Her skin, pale as if it had been touched by Western blood, and her glassy, doll-like eyes made her appear even more ethereal. Her naturally blonde hair, most likely her real hair, framed her youthful, doll-like face and seemed to shine. She looked like someone who had been raised well, and the sweet fragrance she carried made the atmosphere around her feel sweet too. Altogether, she looked so cute that I almost thought she had stepped right out of a picture book.

And I remembered her.

She waited patiently as I paused my music and removed my earphones, then looked me straight in the eyes.

“Do you remember me…?”

“Uh… You’re the girl who mixed up the location of her high school entrance exam, right?”

She lit up—visibly delighted that I remembered her.
“Yes! Yes!” she nodded, her whole face glowing with joy. There was a bit of shyness in her smile, but the happiness clearly won out.

It was about two months ago, on the day of the high school entrance exams. She’d mistaken the location of the school she was supposed to test at. I’d given her directions to the nearest bus stop that would take her there.

At first, like most people, I’d thought about just ignoring her—she looked frozen in place, unsure what to do. But I couldn’t shake the obvious weight of the situation for her. It was a huge day, possibly life-changing. So I stepped in—just enough not to mess with my own schedule.

As the memory replayed in my head, the girl bowed deeply. So deeply, in fact, that people walking through the station rotary stopped to stare. It was a bow filled with sincerity—careful, respectful, and with her whole being.

“Thank you so much. Because of you, I made it in safely. I’ve wanted to tell you that for a long time.”

Her gratitude was so genuine that it was palpable. Even after raising her head, she continued to express her thanks. The tension seemed to ease, and her demeanor became softer.

She spun around, showing off her uniform as if to say it was all thanks to me, then laughed, her large eyes narrowing in embarrassment as she tried to play it off.

She was just plain adorable. I had only given her directions, but seeing her gratitude made me feel like I had done something meaningful. It made me happy too.

The girl, still smiling brightly, suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up at the clock on the electronic display board. While I had some time to spare, she appeared to be in a hurry.

We were headed in different directions, so I gave a little wave. “Well then…”

“W-Wait!”

“Hm?”

“If it’s okay… would you like to grab tea with me after school?”

“Huh? …With me?”

There was no way I wasn’t going to be surprised. The cute girl standing in front of me, practically a stranger, was asking me—a plain, unsociable guy—for tea after school. Just that alone said so much about how kind she must be. And then, like a whisper blooming in my chest: Could this be… something more?

“Ah! I-I’m sorry for being so sudden! I didn’t even ask if you were free today…I just… I felt like meeting you here again had to mean something. Like… maybe it was fate or something…”

“…Fate?”

“Y-Yes…”

She knew it was embarrassing, you could tell. Her cheeks turned red in an instant. Her pale skin made the blush even more vivid—like watching a flower bloom. Meanwhile, I still couldn’t believe this was happening to me. It felt distant, like I was watching it all on a TV screen rather than being a part of it.

She shut her eyes tight for a moment, then drew in a big breath.
One beat… two.
As she exhaled, her hand resting on her chest trembled slightly, but the frantic energy from before faded into something much calmer.

Then—like she’d made up her mind—she opened her eyes.

“Um… I’ll stop beating around the bush. I want to tell you how I really feel.”

“!”

That snapped me out of my dreamy daze. Any “maybe” I had floating in my mind… had just turned into certainty. 

She was serious. That’s why—I had to listen seriously, too. I swallowed hard and straightened my back.

The girl, having picked up on my intent, bowed her head and held out her hand.

“Ever since that day, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you—the one who reached out to me! Please go out with me!”

It’s a warm season where anything at all can feel like fate—perfect for fresh starts.

Matching the racing of my heart, I answered her in the loudest voice I could muster.

“I like spending time alone after school, so… sorry!”

“…Eh?”

The girl raised her head, blinking in disbelief, and a salaryman walking past did a double—no, triple take. I gave a strained smile.

“Um… could I maybe hear the reason again…?”

“I just like being alone.”

I responded instantly. She, in turn, went completely silent.

If you ask whether I was happy to be confessed to—of course I was.

The girl in front of me was way too cute for someone like me. No doubt she had a great personality too.

But that’s that, and this is this.

If I have to weigh that against my time alone… that’s a different story.

Alone-ness is priceless.

Reading a favorite novel or a brand-new magazine alone in a quiet café, with faint BGM playing in the background…

Watching videos of bands I love or Let’s Plays by my favorite streamers while lying in bed with sunlight spilling through the window…

Even if I had a lovey-dovey life, there’d be no room to squeeze that in.

Being alone is the strongest.

And so, victory: solitude.

To the girl who, even for a fleeting moment, liked someone like me—

I bowed my head with all the gratitude I could.

“I wanna stop by the convenience store and buy some pencil lead. So, uh—take care.”

“Convenience store… pencil lead… W-Wait, please! At least tell me your name! I mean, I didn’t even get to introduce myself!”

“I’m not someone worth giving a name to, so don’t worry about it.”

“I am worried about it! And besides! That makes it sound like I’m not someone worth introducing either!”

…

I helped her once, didn’t I? Can’t she overlook just one little thing?

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

“What does that even mean?! P-Please don’t leaaaaaave!”

Even Buddha only forgives three times.

Therefore, I do not stop.

I want to get to the convenience store ASAP.

I think I heard her shout, “I won’t give up!” behind me…

But I’m pretty sure that was just my imagination.

Leaving the station rotary, I headed for the convenience store and let my thoughts wander.

People say your values change when you fall in love, but… if I don’t want them to change, then there’s no helping it.

There are those who claim overseas travel will broaden your horizons too, but that’s just crap.

If a simple trip can change your worldview, you never had one to begin with.

Or maybe you just got overhyped from going somewhere new.

Try calming down with a walk around the neighborhood first.

Besides—what if the person who helped her that day wasn’t me, but some already-married old man?

Would she still feel destiny calling and start dating him?

What, would she launch into some messy daytime soap drama once his wife found out?

With all those thoughts swirling around, I mentally bowed my head and gave a proper apology to the girl whose name I still didn’t know.

Spring, with sakura petals fluttering through the air.

As the automatic door of the convenience store slid open, that familiar jingle played to announce a new customer.

By the time it finished ringing, my mind was already filled with just one thing:

Should I get HB or B lead?