Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051597934651646/episodes/2912051599194364696
It was dusk in the residential neighborhood. The two of them walked side by side along the school route, which was bathed in the crimson glow of the setting sun.
Houtarou was walking her home. Well, since they lived next door to each other, it was only natural that they were heading in the same direction.
Even so, Seika knew.
She knew that he was deliberately walking slowly to match her pace because he was worried that the boy from earlier might come looking for revenge, and he was protecting her.
(I like him…)
She stole a glance at Houtarou’s profile as they walked side by side.
The cheek he’d been struck on was faintly red and swollen, looking painful, but he didn’t even seem to mind.
Seika’s heart was completely captivated by this boy who had put himself on the line to protect her and was now walking calmly by her side.
(I like him, I like him, I like him…)
Her mind was already overflowing with those two words.
A sweet heat welling up from deep within her chest seemed to make the blood in her entire body boil.
Her invisible tail kept wagging as if it might snap off, and her ears remained perked up.
“—So, the scope for tomorrow’s quiz is…”
“Hmm… that’s right… ‘I like you.’”
“Huh?”
“Ah, no! Never mind! The quiz, right? Yeah, I’ll do my best!”
Houtarou was trying to talk to her, but Seika’s mind was completely elsewhere.
Even though she was trying to nod along as if in a daze, the moment she let her guard down, her true feelings threatened to slip out.
She had absolutely no memory of what they’d talked about or which route they’d taken, but before she knew it, they had arrived at the familiar hallway of her apartment building.
They stopped in front of the two iron doors lined up side by side.
“Well then. Take care.”
“U-uh-huh. Achi-kun, make sure to ice that cut on your cheek, too.”
Houtarou gave a brief nod and placed his hand on the doorknob of his room.
He stepped inside, and the door closed with a soft click.
Seika was left standing all alone in the common hallway.
Once his presence had vanished and she was certain she was completely alone, Seika finally let out a deep sigh.
“I like you…”
She muttered it under her breath, as if to no one in particular.
That was the trigger; the emotions she had been holding back burst forth like a dam breaking.
“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you, I loooove you…!”
She slumped down right where she stood, covering her bright red face with both hands.
Taking advantage of his absence, Seika repeated her words of love as if in a feverish trance.
If she could, she’d throw herself into his arms right now and tell him everything she felt.
But when he was actually right in front of her, she just couldn’t bring herself to say it.
What if she confessed and he was turned off by her?
What if he thought her overwhelming affection was creepy and started avoiding her?
That kind of cowardly anxiety always tightened its grip on the back of Seika’s throat.
(So, since no one’s here right now… let me say it.)
“Achi-kun, I like you. I really, really like you. Seriously, I like you so much it’s crazy…”
In the cold, empty hallway, she writhed in agony facing the door to her beloved’s room.
She was so embarrassed her face felt like it was on fire, but if she didn’t do this, her heart felt like it was going to explode.
Click.
Suddenly, the door in front of her opened.
“Huh?”
Seika froze in her tracks.
Through the narrow crack in the door, a pair of familiar, calm eyes peered out at her.
“What’s wrong? Why are you crouched there all alone?”
Houtarou, who had been in the middle of taking off his blazer—perhaps to change into his pajamas—tilted his head in puzzlement.
Had she forgotten something, or had he grown suspicious of the strange muttering he’d heard from outside?
Either way, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Ka-aaah!
In an instant, Seika’s face burned with a lethal heat.
Where on earth had he been listening from?
Her 530,000-IQ brain completely froze, going completely blank.
“Ah, aaaah, no, it’s nothing!”
Seika jumped to her feet as if she’d been struck and shouted in a strained voice.
She dashed toward her room like a startled rabbit, flinging open the door and darting inside at bullet speed.
BANG! She slammed the door shut with a deafening crash and locked it securely.
(Did someone hear me!? Hey, they definitely heard that, right!?)
Sinking to the floor of the entryway, Seika clutched her head and screamed silently.
She pushes herself past her limits all on her own, and self-destructs all on her own.
The trials of an innocent gal and the history of her blunders continued to be updated smoothly, just as they always did.
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