~ The support for this fanfiction has declined over time. Its progress depends on your daily support, and I hope that support remains steady.
2 Chapters today!!
--------------------------------------------------
"Well, I might have other dates, so I'll have to decline!"
Kai shrugged, sounding completely at ease.
Soyo Nagasaki was definitely pretty, but Kai already had plenty of beautiful girls around him. So why should he say yes to her?
"A... a date? Is it with Sakiko?" Hearing this, Soyo's tone noticeably spiked with urgency. She had to put a stop to that.
However—
"No, actually. It's with other girls."
"..."
Learning that he wasn't dating Sakiko brought Soyo a wave of immense relief. But hearing that it was with other girls made her inexplicably indignant.
'Does he think Sakiko isn't good enough? Sakiko is clearly the best, so why isn't he taking her out? Wait! What am I thinking? I must be losing my mind.'
Noticing how weird her thoughts had gotten, Soyo quickly shook her head to clear them away. She tried to look casual and glanced back at Kai.
"Oh? Other dates? But didn't I hear that Sakiko is your girlfriend?"
"Yeah, she is."
"So... you're cheating on her? You have other girlfriends on the side?"
"Yep!"
"..."
She just wanted to ask, but his shameless answer left Soyo speechless.
'What the heck? Aren't you the one who cheated? How can you seem so morally superior about it?'
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Class is about to start soon."
Seeing Soyo standing there, frozen, Kai shrugged, said a quick goodbye, and started walking away.
"PLEASE WAIT!"
Snapping out of her daze, Soyo hurriedly called out to stop him. She hadn't even gotten to the main point of her plan yet—she couldn't just let him walk away.
"Um, could we at least exchange LINE contacts? To be completely honest with you... Ever since the first moment I saw you, my heart hasn't stopped racing. You understand what I mean, right?"
As she finished her sentence, Soyo shyly averted her eyes.
Her acting was honestly impressive. She really nailed the shy, fluttery feeling of a girl with her first crush.
But in a way, it wasn't all an act. This really was the first time Soyo had said something like this to a boy, so her awkwardness was real.
"Is that so?" Since she wanted to play a game, Kai didn't mind playing along. He rubbed his chin, trailing his gaze slowly up and down her figure. His scrutinizing look made Soyo subconsciously stiffen.
"Alright then."
After evaluating her for a moment, Kai finally nodded—looking incredibly reluctant—and pulled out his phone.
"..."
Even though she got his LINE contact, Soyo felt strangely annoyed. Something just felt off.
'ARE YOU BLIND? A BEAUTY LIKE ME THROWS HERSELF AT YOU, AND YOU ACT LIKE IT'S A MASSIVE CHORE? AM I REALLY THAT BAD?' For a brief moment, Soyo genuinely started to doubt her own attractiveness.
"I'm leaving now."
Kai didn't bother with her inner struggle. He just said goodbye and walked off without looking back.
His indifference left Soyo speechless again. She clenched her small fists tightly.
She could only silently console herself in her head: 'Don't get angry, don't get angry... No matter what, I got his contact info.'
The next step was simple. All she had to do was unleash her charm, and he would definitely fall madly, hopelessly in love with her. And when that happened, Sakiko would finally be free.
Thinking that, Soyo's eyes grew serious and her determination strengthened.
——————————
Ding!
The moment he sat down at his desk in the classroom, Kai's phone started buzzing incessantly.
[Kai-kun, if you're not free this weekend, how about next weekend?]
[It's totally fine if you can't! Actually, I'm quite a good cook. I could come over to your place and make you dinner!]
[I wonder what kind of food Kai-kun likes to eat?]
[...]
Message after message kept coming in. Now Kai was finally getting a taste of what Sakiko Togawa had gone through.
He had to admit, reading these messages, she really did sound like a desperate simp.
"Tsk. Is a girl blowing up your phone?"
Yumiko Miura suddenly appeared beside Kai and leaned in, clicking her tongue in a teasing way.
"Don't tell me you're starting an online romance just like Tobe!"
"What's the point of an online romance?" Kai casually switched his phone to silent and ignored the flood of texts. He looked up at Yumiko, his eyes full of amusement. "Do you really think someone like me would settle for an untouchable, invisible online relationship?"
"..." Yumiko scoffed, though she had to admit it. She knew Kai was a true carnivore at heart. No way he could be content with just a virtual romance. She was merely teasing him.
She shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe you'll change your mind one day. After all, no one ever expected that idiot Tobe to fall this deeply into an online relationship!"
"Hmm?" If Yumiko hadn't mentioned it, Kai might have forgotten about Kakeru Tobe entirely. Did something happen?
Kai followed Yumiko's gaze and saw Tobe holding his phone, giggling nonstop. The way he acted made him look pretty creepy.
"Let me tell you," Yumiko whispered, leaning even closer to Kai, "I heard Tobe has been spending tons of money buying gifts for this online girlfriend of his."
"Didn't you say they've never met?"
"Online shopping, duh." Yumiko shrugged. Online shopping is very popular nowadays. Even she preferred ordering things online when she was too lazy to go out.
"I heard he's already blown through his entire living allowance for the month."
"..."
What was there even to say to that?
If Kai remembered correctly, Tobe's family wasn't particularly well-off. In their popular clique, only Yumiko Miura and Hayato Hayama came from wealthy backgrounds. Yumiko's parents were high-ranking corporate executives, while Hayama's parents were elite lawyers who worked closely with the Yukinoshita family, meaning they pulled in a very lucrative income.
But the others? Their financial situations were painfully average.
Tobe's family was okay, but not wealthy. At this rate, he'd probably end up asking his parents for more money.
"But still, if he's buying her stuff, he at least knows her address, right? He could just go find her."
Since it was online shopping, he needed the shipping address.
"Tch. If only it were that simple." Even Yumiko looked exasperated by the situation.
"Who knows what goes on in that idiot's head. He knows the address, he bought all those gifts, but he refuses to go! He says she 'isn't ready yet' and wants to 'give her time to prepare'!"
"..."
'Good lord. I never noticed it before, but Tobe has the makings of a supreme simp.'
"What does Hayama have to say about this?"
As the group's natural peacemaker, Hayato Hayama was never going to sit back and do nothing.
"He tried talking to him, but it was useless!"
Yumiko shrugged, honestly not caring much about it. She wasn't close to Tobe anyway—they were just acquaintances who talked now and then.
Initially, when she found out Tobe had a crush on her friend Hina, she considered playing matchmaker. It would have been nice to help set them up.
But now? Knowing that Tobe was this fickle and prone to emotional cheating, Yumiko felt nothing but intense relief.
Thank goodness she hadn't intervened! If she had actually managed to set Tobe and Hina up, she would have been leading her friend right into a disaster!
Tobe probably didn't realize it, but this whole online dating fiasco had tanked his reputation in Yumiko's eyes, plunging his score straight into the negatives.
"Tsk."
What else was there to say?
Looking over, Kai saw Hayama observing Tobe with a very complex expression. He seemed desperate to say something but was at a loss for how to start.
After all, the current Tobe was entirely unapproachable. He refused to hear anyone out. Not long ago, Hayama had specifically taken Tobe aside to a quiet spot for a serious heart-to-heart. But it was utterly futile. In fact, by the end of the conversation, Tobe had actually begun to suspect that Hayama was jealous of him—even accusing Hayama of trying to steal his girl!
"Hayama, I never thought you were this kind of guy! Just because Yumiko isn't interested in you anymore doesn't mean you can try to sabotage my relationship! And you can just give up right now!"
"..."
--------------------------------------------------
~ Every 200 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ 15 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)