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The day after, I came home earlier than usual.
Because of the rumors, just being at school had left me feeling a little exhausted. It wasn’t as if Mei had completely changed her tune. But now that Tanabe and a few other classmates understood my side of the story, at least the atmosphere where I was being singled out as the villain had eased a bit.
When I opened the front door, I saw a pair of familiar loafers next to my mom’s shoes.
I had a bad feeling.
“Minato, welcome home.”
It was Rino who came out of the living room. She was still in her school uniform, her brown hair—which fell just past her shoulders—loose. She’d always been like that when she came to my house. Her face, which looked a bit stern at school, naturally relaxed when she was at my place. My mom didn’t mind it, since Rino was my childhood friend.
As soon as Rino saw me, she looked slightly relieved.
“You’re late. I heard you didn’t have club activities today, so I came over early.”
“Heard that from who?”
“A girl in my class. It’s fine, right? Auntie said it was okay for me to come in, too.”
Mom poked her head out from the back of the living room. She started to say in her usual tone, “Rino-chan, it’s been a while,” but stopped when she saw my face. Probably because I wasn’t smiling.
Back in the day, Mom wouldn’t have complained about Rino being at our house. We’d been going back and forth between each other’s homes since elementary school, and even in middle school, we’d swap notes before exams. So I think, for Mom, seeing Rino in the living room wasn’t an unusual sight.
But things are different now.
“Rino, what brings you here?”
“What do you mean, ‘what do you want’? I just wanted to talk. Miyahara-san’s at school, and Minato never comes over here anyway. Let’s talk in your room.”
Rino started toward the stairs as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I instinctively stepped in front of her.
“You’re not coming up to my room.”
Rino stopped in her tracks. She looked surprised. She probably hadn’t even considered the possibility that I might refuse her.
“Huh? Why not? You used to let me in all the time.”
“That was back then. Now I have a girlfriend.”
Rino furrowed her brow. It was the look she got when she was angry. But beneath that, there was a hint of anxiety.
“That again? Is it really such a big deal for childhood friends to talk in my room? Is Miyahara-san the type to control even Minato’s social life?”
“Shiori has nothing to do with it. I’m the one saying I don’t want this.”
After my curt reply, Rino bit her lip.
I think she was waiting for me to say, “Miyahara told me to.” That way, Shiori would be the one at fault. Rino wouldn’t have to blame me, and she wouldn’t have to face the fact that she’s overstepping her boundaries.
But that’s not it.
This is my decision.
“I’ll listen to you in the living room. But you can’t come into my room alone with me. Also, please stop waiting at my house on your own when I’m not home.”
Rino’s face flushed.
“What do you mean, ‘on my own’? auntie let me in.”
“I’ll tell Mom myself. From now on, don’t let Rino in when I’m not here.”
At those words, even the air in the living room seemed to freeze.
Mom looked a little troubled, but perhaps realizing I was serious, she nodded quietly.
“All right. If that’s what you say, Minato, I’ll make sure to check next time.”
Rino’s eyes wavered.
Mom didn’t take Rino’s side. As a childhood friend she’d known for a long time, Rino had always been tacitly allowed in. I think that ambiguous door has now been firmly shut.
“……Minato, you’ve really changed.”
“I haven’t changed—I’m just drawing a line.”
“You don’t have to put it that way. I wasn’t trying to make things difficult for you, Minato. I just wanted to talk like we used to.”
Rino’s voice trembled slightly.
Hearing that voice made my chest ache. I didn’t want to make her cry. It wasn’t that I hated all the time I’d spent with Rino. I clearly remember the days we walked home together, the times we encouraged each other before tests, and even the times I laughed at Rino when she got genuinely upset after losing a game.
But I can’t use those memories as an excuse to pretend the distance between us now never existed.
“You say ‘like before,’ but by ‘before,’ you mean back when I’d just laugh it off no matter what you said—like when you called me ‘convenient,’ or said ‘I could never date you,’ or ‘at least you won’t get mad.’ Just because that distance was comfortable for you, Rino, doesn’t mean it was comfortable for me, too.”
Rino fell silent.
She opened her mouth as if to retort, but no words came out. For the first time, her expression seemed to show that she’d realized the childhood friend she knew no longer existed in that form.
After a while, Rino picked up her bag.
“…I’m going home.”
“Want me to walk you to the station?”
As soon as the words slipped out, I felt a little disgusted with myself. I still hadn’t shaken the habit of trying to win her over.
Rino must have noticed it too, because she gave a bitter smile.
“It’s fine. You’d just get scolded by her for that anyway, right?”
“So don’t blame it on Shiori.”
This time, I managed to say it clearly.
Rino said nothing more and walked out the front door. Even though the sound of the door closing was faint, it lingered strangely inside the house.
Mom came out of the living room and said, looking slightly apologetic.
“I’m sorry. Out of old habit, I just let her in without thinking.”
“No, it’s okay. I hadn’t said anything about it until now, either. From now on, I’d like you not to let her in when I’m not home.”
“Got it.”
Just confirming that made me feel like another place I could never go back to had been created.
I went up to my room and opened my phone. I sent Shiori a short message.
‘Rino came over. I didn’t let her into my room. I also told Mom not to let her come in without my permission from now on.”
A little while later, a reply came.
“So you made the decision on your own. Good job.”
Seeing that one sentence, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
I can’t keep any space left where things are forgiven just because we’re childhood friends. I closed the door to my room and set my bag on the desk. Today, no one will be allowed to enter this room without my permission.
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I don’t know how this going to work. PLEASE NO HAREM.
ONLY SHIORI