If only the world would suddenly end right now.
For what had to be the hundredth time, Ringo Shirakawa found herself on the verge of dying from embarrassment and thinking exactly the same thing.
“U-Um…” The blonde girl clenched her fists on her knees. Her palms were already damp with sweat, and her light violet eyes were filled with unmistakable anxiety and despair. Even her voice trembled as she spoke. “Do I really have to…”
“You absolutely do!” the girl sitting beside her interrupted firmly, cutting off the rest of her sentence—and with it, her last shred of hope.
Ringo closed her eyes.
Waaah…
She never should have come to this club gathering!
No, that wasn’t right. She never should have joined the club in the first place. If she hadn’t joined, she wouldn’t have had to come to the gathering, wouldn’t have lost the game, and wouldn’t have been forced to accept this punishment.
“All right,” the upperclassman beside her said, giving her a shove. “Hurry up and take your punishment.” She grinned mischievously. “Who knows? You might get something good out of it~”
Ringo’s lips drooped into a frown. She felt like crying.
What kind of “unexpected reward” could possibly come from a punishment like confessing to the next customer who walked into the café?
The only thing she’d gain was a one-way ticket to complete social humiliation!
And she’d probably make some poor innocent passerby think she was a total weirdo.
With that thought, Ringo slowly got to her feet and shuffled toward the entrance, silently praying with all her heart.
Earth… please just explode.
In a few billion years you’ll become a perfectly good planet again anyway!
Or… it’d be fine if no one came in next.
But if someone absolutely has to come in… please let it be a girl. QAQ Then it’ll be much easier to explain.
Ringo Shirakawa’s prayers grew more humble with every passing second.
Ding—
The bell above the door rang crisply as someone pushed it open.
Already so nervous that she didn’t know where to put her hands or feet, Ringo froze completely the instant she heard the door open.
She swallowed hard, her lavender eyes widening as she stared at the customer walking in.
A man.
Not a single one of her prayers had been answered.
He was tall, wearing a black trench coat that didn’t suit the current season. Bandages covered his right eye, but even so, it wasn’t hard to tell that he was a handsome young man with delicate features.
Bandages also peeked out from beneath his collar around his neck and from the cuffs around his wrists.
“…Are you injured?” Ringo asked before she could stop herself.
Osamu Dazai hadn’t intended to pay any attention to her.
He’d noticed her the moment he walked in—after all, she was standing right by the entrance, staring directly at him while looking so nervous that she’d practically turned into a statue.
But now she’d actually spoken to him.
And she’d asked out of genuine concern.
For some reason, that left Dazai feeling oddly conflicted.
“No,” he replied, pointing at the bandage over his eye in a carefree tone. “I’m just wearing them because they look cool.”
…How is that cool? That’s just eighth-grader syndrome!
And I’m really supposed to ask someone like this to go out with me?
Having casually answered her question, Dazai started to walk past her.
Just then, one of the upperclassmen sitting nearby called out, “Ringo, hurry up!”
Dazai paused slightly, his gaze shifting back.
Ringo… Is that her name?
He watched as she jolted like a startled hamster before awkwardly shuffling over until she stood in front of him. She looked even more nervous than before. Her face was flushed bright red, like a perfectly ripe apple.
“U-Um… I-I’m sorry!”
Ringo bowed deeply. Squeezing her eyes shut and steeling herself, she blurted out the words.
“P-Please go out with me!”
I said it—!
Dazai raised an eyebrow.
Remembering the girl being urged to hurry up and hearing what she’d just said, he pieced everything together in an instant.
She must have lost a game and was carrying out the punishment of confessing to a random stranger.
No wonder she’d apologized before saying it.
Still…
It was only a game punishment.
Why did she look as though the sky had fallen?
Then another thought crossed his mind.
If I say yes… her reaction should be pretty entertaining.
Relieved that she’d finally managed to say the words and complete her punishment, Ringo failed to notice the flash of mischief in Dazai’s uncovered eye.
He doesn’t seem to have processed what just happened yet, she thought. Good. I’ll explain everything before he misunderstands.
“Um, actually, I—”
“Sure.”
“…Huh?”
Ringo froze.
Her pretty face filled with equal parts shock, confusion, and complete bewilderment.
“Sure… what?”
“Go out with you,” Dazai replied, the corners of his lips curling into a remarkably bright smile. “I’d be happy to.”
“…Huh?!”