TSIINGAC Chapter 4

As soon as I stepped into the classroom, I looked around the room.

Haruno Hinata had already arrived at school, and a number of girls were already gathered around the seat where she sat, chatting with each other.

Haruno was at the center of the conversation with the same bright smile I used to see when I was a first-year student.

─ ─ Yes, there are always many girls around Haruno.

The fact that she is popular with the same sex probably proves that she has a good personality.

However, Haruno herself is not so talkative.

She is always smiling and giving a friendly nod, or laughing in a cheerful voice.

Even so, just by being there, she radiates an overwhelming presence that seems to sparkle and shine.

She is truly a natural-born idol.

That natural idol is the one who is in the center of everyone’s attention.

The other day, at our cooking class, I felt strange to see her in a way that she never shows at school.

I took my seat while watching Haruno surrounded by everyone with a sideways glance.

Since I was the first one in attendance, I was at the front of the class.

Unlike Haruno, no one talked to me.

I always go about my life at school quietly and unobtrusively.

I don’t have to pay attention to anyone, and I don’t have to force myself to smile at others.

It’s the best and easiest thing to do.

“Yuya! We’re in the same class again!”

I turned around to see Masahiko Mizunashi standing there, who had been in the same class with me since junior high school, even in the first grade.

Masahiko is the only person I can call my best friend, and this guy is good-looking, social and cheerful.

He is totally different from me, but somehow we hit it off and have been friends since the first grade.

I don’t know why such a cheerful guy is getting along with me, but maybe it’s because we’ve been together for a long time.

“Oh, Masahiko. You’re in the second group too?”

“What? You saw the class placement board, didn’t you? You saw my name there too, right?”

“Oh… ah, yes. Oh, that’s right.”

I was so concerned about Haruno that I honestly didn’t look at the other names.

“Yuya, don’t lie to me. You didn’t see it, did you?”

“Oh… yeah. I didn’t see it.”

“I knew it. You are not interested in other people.”

Masahiko laughed and slapped my back with the palm of his hand.

“Ouch!”

“But you should be interested in other people once in a while. You see, Haruno-san is in the same class as us again. It’s nice to have such a pretty girl in the same class.”

Masahiko quickly pointed with his chin, and Haruno’s figure was there.

I noticed that many of the other boys in the classroom were also glancing at Haruno.

Some of them are talking about Haruno.

“Hey, I’m in the same class as Haruno-san.”

“Lucky me.”

“She’s really cute when you look at her up close.”

“I just made eye contact with Haruno-san. She smiled at me.”

“You’re wrong about that.”

Haruno is still amazing.

She is talked about by everyone as if she were a real idol.

But Masahiko, you have a girlfriend.

“What are you talking about, you have a girlfriend? Ama will be furious with you.”

Kisaragi Ama.

She is this guy’s girlfriend, who started dating Masahiko in the middle of the first year.

“Aman is in another class, so she won’t find out.”

Masahiko calls her ‘Aman’ as if it were French.

Aman means ‘mistress’ in French, so I don’t think it’s appropriate for a high school student to call her that.

She seems to be happy about it because she thinks it’s a cute word, so I’ve decided to stay out of it and not interfere.

For a lovey-dovey couple like these guys… excuse me, it’s best for others not to meddle.

“Hey, Yuya.”

“What?”

“Are you interested in Haruno-san?”

“What? Why?”

Masahiko is grinning.

I had never had anyone say such a thing to me before, so I was surprised to hear Haruno’s name come out of Masahiko’s mouth all of a sudden.

“Because you were unusually glancing at Haruno.”

“No, it was just your imagination.”

“I wonder if it was.”

“Yes, it was.”

Masahiko is pretty sharp…

I don’t want people at school to know that Haruno and I are involved, and I don’t want them to get the wrong idea that I have feelings for her or something.

I have to be a little careful.

“Well, Yuya ain’t interested in women…”

“I guess.”

It’s not that I’m not really interested, though.

It’s just that talking to girls is a hassle because it requires a lot of weird attention.

“But Yuya. You should try going out with a girl once, and you’ll understand. It’s good to have a girlfriend.”

“Yes, yes, thanks for the advice. Masahiko just wants to brag about his girlfriend, right?”

“Haha, you found out, huh?”

Well, Masahiko and his girlfriend are a couple of idiots, but I envy them for being so honest and proud of their relationship.

“Come on, let’s go to the opening ceremony. Masahiko, I look forward to seeing you again for another year.”

“Yeah, it’s my pleasure.”

I was glad to be in the same class with Masahiko, whom I knew very well.