My eyes flew open.
"Gah!" I coughed violently as I choked on my own drool.
After catching my breath, I let out a long sigh. "God. What a dream."
Wait... Did I seriously fall asleep in the middle of our conversation? I facepalmed, desperately trying to remember when I'd drifted off.
I glanced toward the window. Judging by the warm orange sunlight spilling into the room, it was still early evening.
Then I noticed the uncomfortable warmth and dampness between my legs.
"Seriously?" I muttered, burying my face in my hands. Embarrassed, I looked around the room.
"Kazuha?"
No answer.
Good. She still wasn't back.
I searched through my backpack for my earphones, but after rummaging through everything, I groaned. "Looks like I forgot to bring them."
I tossed my backpack aside, walked back to my bed, and flopped onto the mattress. "There's no one here... so whatever."
I quickly pulled my pants and underwear down beneath the blanket, making sure everything stayed hidden.
After confirming I was alone one more time, I opened a video on my phone.
"Ahh... ahhh... ahnn..." The actress's moan filled the room through my phone's speakers.
I let out a shaky breath, as I slowly ran my hand over my body, my face burning.
"Uhn... ah..." Before I realized it, quiet sounds escaped my own lips, mixing with the audio playing from the video.
Completely absorbed in the moment, I didn't hear the doorknob turn.
The door opened and someone stepped into the room. She took one step inside, then froze.
My body froze as well.
The sounds echoing through the room made her stiffen in place.
Slowly, I turned my head away from my phone and looked toward the doorway.
Our eyes met.
Time seemed to stop.
Neither of us moved.
Neither of us spoke.
The only thing breaking the silence was the woman's moan still playing from my phone.
Kazuha's face slowly turned bright red. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.
She stared at me for another second before immediately stepping back outside.
"K-Kazu... ha..." I blurted out instinctively.
Click. The door quietly shut behind her.
I remained frozen on the bed, my mind completely blank.
I stared at the closed door for several long seconds, then I buried my face into my pillow. "I'm really doomed."
That night, Kazuha never came back to our room.
I lay on my bed staring at the empty side of the room, my mind refusing to stay quiet. "I'm dead."
Every few minutes I found myself glancing toward the door, hoping she'd come back.
Maybe she was just taking a walk. Maybe she was staying with a friend. Maybe she was reporting me to the dean. Actually, that last one sounded the most believable.
I buried my face in my pillow and rolled back and forth across the bed like a caterpillar having an existential crisis.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Why was I such an idiot The pillow, unfortunately, refused to answer.
Needless to say, I barely slept that night.
The next morning, I dragged my exhausted body across campus, looking more like a zombie than a university student. Students passed by as usual, chatting and laughing without paying me any attention.
Then a loud thud echoed through the hallway.
"Huh?" I turned toward the staircase just in time to see a girl lose her balance. She was falling.
Without thinking, I sprinted toward her. "Watch out!"
Everything happened in a blur.
I reached out just before she hit the floor, caught her by instinct, and the next thing I knew, we both crashed onto the hallway with a loud bam.
"Ow..." I blinked a few times before realizing the girl was sitting right on top of me.
She had long pink hair that shimmered under the morning sunlight, framing a surprisingly pretty face.
"Ah!" She hurriedly covered her mouth. "I-I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay," I replied with an awkward laugh. Then I noticed several students slowing down to watch the commotion.
Including Kazuha.
"Ah!" Our eyes met for the briefest moment. My face brightened. "Kazu—" Before I could say anything, she immediately looked away and continued walking as if she hadn't seen me at all.
I lowered my hand and let out a quiet sigh. Guess I still had a long way to go.
"Um..." I glanced down at the pink-haired girl, who was somehow still sitting on top of me. "Sorry, but could you get off me first?"
"W-What?!" Her cheeks instantly turned bright red. "R-Right! Sorry!" She scrambled to her feet so quickly she almost tripped again.
I smiled awkwardly and tried to stand as well.
"Ouch!" A sharp pain shot through my ankle the moment I put weight on it. I looked down to find my ankle already beginning to swell. Great. I managed to save someone for three seconds before immediately becoming the injured one.
The pink-haired girl looked genuinely worried. "Are you okay?"
"I think..." I carefully tested my foot again before immediately regretting it. "It's fine. My ankle just declared independence."
Despite looking guilty a moment ago, she couldn't help letting out a small laugh. "Pfft."
"There it is," I sighed dramatically. "Laughing at the hero."
"N-No! I'm sorry!" She bowed several times before introducing herself. "My name is Niina."
"I'm Kaoru."
"It's nice to meet you, Kaoru."
Before I could respond, several girls called out from the end of the hallway. "Niina! Hurry up! Class is about to start!"
"I'm coming!" She looked back at me one last time.
"Thank you for saving me." She flashed me a bright smile before running toward her friends.
For a brief moment, the wind caught her pink hair, sending it fluttering behind her. The afternoon sunlight seemed to shimmer around her, and a faint floral scent from her shampoo lingered in the air.
"Wow." It looked exactly like one of those slow-motion scenes from a romance anime.
Wait... Were there actually flowers floating around her? Or was my brain just adding special effects?
Then my throbbing ankle pulled me back to reality. "Ouch."
Yep. Definitely not the protagonist. In romance anime, the guy saves the girl, she falls in love with him, and they walk off into the sunset together.
Meanwhile I saved the girl and immediately sprained my ankle...
Maybe I really was the protagonist. The author just picked the wrong genre.