September began, and with it came the new term.
Students who finished their summer break returned to school.
I headed to school with a certain resolution in mind.
I haven’t contacted Yumi even once since that day.
Yumi didn’t show up at the place where we usually met.
Naturally. This is the result I wanted.
I passed through the ticket gates and waited for the train.
Whispers reached my ears. These voices were surely directed at me.
After all, the guy who cheated is acting completely calm.
This is fine. I am the villain, and Yumi is the victim. I don’t mind this dynamic.
Rumors will spread, and everyone will surely bash me. And Yumi will surely use what happened with me as a lesson to start a new romance.
Next time, she will probably date cautiously. If she does that, Yumi should be able to be happy.
I will disappear from Yumi’s sight. And someday, she will forget me.
This is fine.
However, I am worried about Iori. She ignored what I said and made herself a villain too. I am going to leave school soon. I can no longer stay at this school. Our family has no margin left for anything else.
The move is also complete. My dad closed down his company and found a new job. He ended up working at his friend’s place.
Once I quit school, I plan to start working that job immediately.
But Iori still has to stay at school. She plans to graduate from high school and go to vocational school.
She should have already finished her career path consultation.
However, because of the incident with Yumi, Iori is going to face even harsher criticism from those around her than before. That worries me.
I asked Iori many times, but she only ever says, “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
Still, there is nothing more I can do. At this point, making excuses like “Iori was tricked” won’t work anymore.
If that’s the case, I have to make sure the hate is directed at me as much as possible. Can I do it…? I don’t have time.
But I have to do it, this time for Iori’s future.
I arrived at school and entered the classroom. Just as expected, everyone looks at me with cold eyes. No one talks to me.
Yumi’s friends are fast workers. Spreading the news about the cheating already.
I sat at my desk and thought. I thought about how to direct the hate toward myself in a short amount of time.
(Should I say I got close to her just for Iori’s body? No, that alone doesn’t guarantee the hate will focus on me. Besides, saying something like that would only increase the number of creeps eyeing Iori’s body with lust. And the same thing could naturally happen to Yumi too. Then what should I do? Pretend that Iori and I had amazing compatibility in bed? No, this will also be taken the wrong way and draw sexual gazes toward both of us.)
No answer came to mind.
Then Iori arrived at school. I locked eyes with Iori, but I didn’t greet her.
If I greet her here, everyone will realize the rumors are 100% true.
That is not ideal at the moment. It’s something they’ll figure out eventually, but I want to hide it for as long as possible. I want to delay the backlash heading toward Iori.
I sat at my desk, trying to hold my breath. Iori did the same.
An invisible wall had formed between the two of us.
The opening ceremony ended, and we were heading back from the gymnasium to the classroom.
Just as expected, the girls from Yumi’s class gave me terrifyingly intense glares and hurled abuse at me in loud voices that could hardly be called whispers.
I tried to ignore the insults and head back to the classroom.
“Hey, Hayami!”
Someone called out to stop me.
I turned my face toward the owner of that voice.
Standing there was Tsuyuki Eguchi.
“What is it, Eguchi? We need to go back to the classroom for HR, you know? Don’t stop me in a place like this.”
However, Eguchi didn’t listen to what I said.
“Weren’t you the one who cheated on your girlfriend?! Having a girlfriend named Sakura and yet being such a scumbag!”
Eguchi said that to me even though there were still students around.
He probably wanted to make everyone recognize me as the worst guy and look cool in front of Yumi.
Yumi was also watching us from the shadows. I had noticed that.
If he says that to me here, Eguchi will undoubtedly be the hero, and I will be the absolute villain.
“What is it, Eguchi? Are you trying to make a spectacle out of me just because Yumi dumped you?”
Well, that’s probably the reality of it, though.
“A spectacle? No way! I just want to point out what a scum you are!”
Eguchi is saying things like that, but in reality, a guy who cheats has to be the lowest of the low.
Anyone who calls that “awesome” is either completely out of their mind or a habitual cheater.
“Hayami! Have you ever once thought about Sakura’s feelings?!”
Yumi’s feelings… It’s true that I haven’t considered Yumi’s feelings. But I’m sure Yumi will eventually think that this was for the best in the future.
Therefore, I don’t need to consider Yumi’s present feelings. I am thinking about Yumi’s future feelings.
“No, I haven’t. This is what I did because I thought it was the best course of action.”
Yes, this is the best. Yumi cannot be happy staying together with a broke guy like me.
So, breaking up and forgetting about me is the best thing for Yumi.
Which means it’s the best option from my perspective.
“Hayami! How can you so calmly say something like…”
“Shut up!”
The one who stepped in while Eguchi and I were arguing was Iori.
“You’ve been annoying this whole time!”
Iori glared straight at Eguchi.
“Guh! You’re Hayami’s cheating partner…”
When Eguchi said that, Iori yelled back at him.
“So, what if I am?! You’ve been asking this whole time if I’ve ever considered Sakura’s feelings, right?
If you make a spectacle out of her in front of all these people like this, doesn’t that make this person named Sakura a spectacle too?!
Have you ever thought about the feelings of the girl you crushed on, huh?! Stop talking about other people! You’re the one who needs to think things through properly!”
Iori’s words were, for once, completely logical.
Hearing that, Eguchi couldn’t find a reply.
“……Damn it.”
And Eguchi muttered a parting insult before walking away.
“Hayami! In the end, you were never able to make Sakura happy!”
What’s up with that guy, actually spitting facts before walking off.
Still, didn’t this at least damage my reputation a bit more? And maybe boost Eguchi’s… though maybe not with that kind of exit.
However, Iori’s move right now was a complete miscalculation. She openly admitted to being the cheating partner.
There’s no running away from it now.
“Hey, why did you butt in? You completely admitted to being the cheating partner, you know?”
When I said that to Iori:
“What’s the big deal, it’s fine. Everyone already knows anyway, right?”
Well, I figured that out this morning.
What a school, information travels way too fast.
“Anyway, just keep a low profile for the rest of the day. If you speak up in front of everyone like that, your future…”
Just as I tried to say that, Iori cut in and told me:
“It’s already fine. There’s no point in hiding it anymore, right? In that case, it’s better to act proud and bold.”
Hearing Iori’s words brought a smile to my face.
“No argument there.”
Thus, the two of us spent half the day being looked at with cold eyes by everyone.
And today was also the day I submitted my notice of withdrawal from school.