The next morning, before homeroom.
I watched Katsurama chatting and laughing with his guy friends.
With his stocky build, he seemed to serve as the group's good-natured punching bag.
Even so, the moment Shinonome walked into the classroom, I didn't miss the quick glance he darted her way.
While he carried on the conversation as if nothing had happened, Katsurama's attention was completely fixed on Shinonome.
"Ah, I might've forgotten my homework. Gonna go check my bag."
With that excuse, Katsurama stepped away from the circle.
He casually rummaged through the student bag resting on his desk. Then, adopting a nonchalant expression, he called out to Shinonome.
"M-Morning, Shii-chan!"
"Morning, Katsurama-kun. Full of energy today, aren't you?"
"Haha, well, it's pretty much my only redeeming quality, right? By the way, did you listen to ELLIT's new song from yesterday?"
"Yeah, of course I did! I'm a huge fan, after all."
"Right? I totally knew you would've listened to it, Shii-chan!"
ELLIT was supposed to be a trendy girls' pop group.
I couldn't imagine Katsurama actually having the slightest interest in them.
Then came lunchtime.
"Shii-chan, I have some extra snacks. Do you want them?"
"Oh, it's Slanted-Eyes Panda chocolate cookies! So cute, can I really have them?"
"Yeah, they gave me way more than I expected, so I can't finish them all."
And then, during basketball in gym class.
"Whoaaa, Katsurama, nice!"
"Pfft, this is child's play."
Katsurama smugly spun the ball on his fingertip to show off, his gaze drifting toward Shinonome roughly once every five seconds.
I mean, honestly.
When someone's this transparent, it almost borders on endearing.
Still, the sheer desperation was so palpable it was downright painful to watch.
Meanwhile, as for Shinonome...
"Waaah, nice layup, Masanori-kun! You almost touched the rim, didn't you?!"
She was clapping with all her might, praising the gorgeous layup made by Masanori—the guy renowned as the future ace of the basketball team. And she did it with the most adorable smile on her face.
When gym class ended, several girls swarmed around Masanori.
Shinonome claimed the front of the pack, letting out a syrupy-sweet voice.
"Masanori-kun, you're playing in the starting lineup for the next game, right?"
"Yeah, thankfully they're trusting me with a position even though I'm just a first-year."
"That's amazing! Hey, would it be okay if I came to cheer you on?!"
"It's just a practice match against another school hosted at our gym, so it's fine, but it's on Saturday morning. Wouldn't that be a hassle for you?"
"I just happen to be completely free that day!"
Well, she was just as painfully obvious.
The quality of the smile Shinonome showed Masanori was blatantly different from the ones she directed at any other guy.
Incidentally, the only thing she gave me was a click of her tongue and a glare like she was staring at a pile of filth.
Thanks for the special treatment, truly...
Even after school, Shinonome kept talking to Masanori right up until the very last second before he had to head off to club practice, while Katsurama watched from a distance with a conflicted expression.
After getting home from school, I tossed my bag aside and flopped onto my bed.
Katsurama liked Shinonome, Shinonome liked Masanori, and Masanori had an eye for Amanatsu.
An invisible triangle had been drawn neatly across our classroom.
That Shinonome really had zero charm to her.
She definitely knew about Katsurama's feelings.
And yet, rather than giving him the cold shoulder, she brushed him off with words and actions that kept his hopes up.
No matter how happy she acted whenever she was praised, her eyes were never smiling.
Being fawned over by boys was something that had always been second nature to a girl who'd been popular her whole life.
There was no gratitude in it, nor any consideration for the other person.
Just an irritating, suffocating arrogance.
And Katsurama, too, was committing a sin, drunk on romance.
Katsurama and Masanori were friends.
They always talked amicably in the classroom, so they had to be.
Fitting in as the class's beloved punching bag, Katsurama didn't seem like a bad guy.
Yet, putting his own romantic prospects first, he had leaked the identity of the person Masanori liked to Shinonome.
Katsurama knew Shinonome liked Masanori.
He understood that he had no chance of beating Masanori on his own.
That was why he told her that Masanori already had someone he liked.
Hoping she would give up on him and look Katsurama's way instead.
Romance really does drive people crazy.
An unpleasant possibility crossed my mind.
However, I had no intention of voicing it.
Criticizing something ugly for being ugly without any purpose... I had zero desire to pose as a champion of justice and boast about taking someone down just to state the obvious.
So, I intended to keep it locked away in my chest.
Until things turned out the way they did on Monday, the start of the following week...
◇
The moment I arrived at school, I felt a sense of discomfort.
People passing by in the hallway were following me with their eyes.
I had grown used to being stared at over the past few days, but there was one distinct difference this time. Even students who weren't my classmates were paying attention to me.
Brushing it off as my imagination, I slid open the classroom door and sat in my seat, only for a guy to call out to me.
"Hey, Hatsukade."
Someone I had never spoken a word to in my life.
What business could a guy like that possibly have with me first thing in the morning?
"Is it true you're dating Amanatsu?"
"...Huh?"
As I tilted my head in confusion, the guy's leg started jiggling restlessly.
"Well? Are you?"
"I'm not dating her."
"You're not just hiding it, are you?"
"What would be the point of doing that? Where on earth did you even hear a rumor like that?"
"...No, well, just around."
Leaving only that behind, he returned to his seat.
Talk about an absurd misunderstanding.
They were probably making wild assumptions because of that public confession.
However, the questions didn't end with just him.
"Hatsukade, is it for real that you're going out with Nakina?!"
"Not this again. There's no truth to that."
"Ehh, sounds suspicious to me~"
Throughout the first half of the day, similar inquiries came flying at me one after another.
At this point, it went beyond the realm of individual misunderstandings; it was unnatural unless there was a clear source spreading the rumor.
"Hey, why does everyone think I'm dating Amanatsu?"
So, I decided to ask one of the guys who had questioned me, but...
"Wait, it's trending pretty hard on social media. You seriously didn't know?"
"...I don't really check social media."
"What kind of caveman are you? Look, see this?"
With that, he showed me his screen.
On it, a mysterious anonymous account had posted multiple times claiming that Amanatsu and I were dating.
"It even landed directly in people's DMs. This account mass-followed a ton of people from our high school. It's one of those trendy drama-alert accounts, you know?"
"The world really has gone to the dogs if garbage like that is popular."
I see. It finally made sense.
So this was the reason everything had gotten so weird.
"You're pretty weird yourself, Hatsukade."
"How so?"
"Normally, if someone got exposed like this, they'd panic way more. Whether it was a lie or the truth."
"I'm panicking plenty normally."
At the fact that there were so many idiots dancing to the tune of information like this.
The public confession from yesterday probably added credibility to it, but the idea of me and Amanatsu dating was practically setting foot into the realm of fantasy. Just how fertile were these people's imaginations?
Now then, I didn't care about a rumor like this.
However, that was only if I were the sole victim.
"Nakina, hey, hey, what's the deal between you and Hatsukade for real?"
"Eh, umm..."
"Getting confessed to so passionately like that totally swayed your maiden heart, didn't it~?"
"No, we're not dating!"
With cold sweat beading on her forehead, Amanatsu was surrounded by the girls in class.
If even I was getting approached, it was only natural that someone far more approachable like her would be subjected to a barrage of questions. A flustered, panicked Amanatsu was prime prey for onlookers.
The gossip reached its peak during lunch break.
Putting lunch aside, the central topic of the classroom was entirely about the two of us.
The one egging it on more than anyone else was Shinonome.
"Come to think of it, there are witness reports of you two being alone together sometimes, right~? Were you flirting behind the scenes~?"
"L-Like I said, that's not true!"
"Ehh, you don't have to lie about it. Wow, what a surprise, to think Nakina liked such a plain guy. I mean, doesn't that mean it wasn't a fake confession, but a totally real one?!"
Looking delighted, Shinonome turned back toward Hiiragi.
"Then wouldn't it be fine if she just confessed one more time? I mean, Hatsukade said it himself, right? That he only turned her down because it was a fake confession."
In high spirits, Sakura raised her arm straight up.
"Yes, yes! Sakura-chan totally agrees~! I wanna see the moment a new couple is born~!"
Amanatsu shook her head frantically.
"Ah, hahaha, you two are taking the joke too far. That'll just trouble Hatsukade-kun. Besides, I don't have anyone I like!"
"Just work up some courage and be honest with your feelings!"
Sakura grabbed Amanatsu by the arm.
"Come on, come on, go tell him!"
Pushed from behind, Amanatsu stumbled out into the center of the classroom.
The snickering voices of the girls whispering, "Pfft, why a guy like him?" The discontented glares of the boys wondering, "Why does it have to be that guy?" The silent pressure of the bystanders.
The swelling excitement was steering the atmosphere into forcing a confession event to take place.
A panicked Amanatsu looked at me with a face on the verge of tears.
Shinonome and Hiiragi egged me on with their gazes, urging me to hurry up and step onto the stage as well.
Who was it that spread the rumor on social media that Amanatsu and I were dating?
There was only one person who stood to gain from the two of us going out.
I stood up from my seat.
A ripple ran through the air.
Some people hurried to start recording with their smartphone cameras.
Amanatsu gasped and hung her head apologetically.
"Amanatsu, is it alright if I ask you something?"
"...What?"
"Who was the one who brought up doing the fake confession in the first place?"
Her eyes went wide in surprise.
"Why are you asking that right now?"
"There's something on my mind."
"Huh? I-If I remember right, wasn't it Sakura?"
That matched my own memory.
When I eavesdropped on them in the empty classroom, the one who had brought up doing a fake confession was indeed her.
I looked at Hiiragi.
"Hey, why did you bring up doing a fake confession?"
Sakura pointed at herself, wearing a dazed expression.
Because I had completely derailed the momentum of the confession, I could physically feel the atmosphere among the onlookers rapidly cooling down.
Ignoring every last bit of it, I asked again.
"Mind answering me?"
"I-It's fine, I guess... but why was it again?"
At that moment, Shinonome cut in with a contorted expression.
"Excuse me, does that even have anything to do with this right now?"
"You're the one who has nothing to do with this, so shut up."
"Haaah?!"
Shot down instantly, Shinonome raised a single eyebrow, her face twitching.
Right then, Hiiragi, who had been groaning with her hand on her chin, brightened up with an "Ah!"
"Oh right! When we were thinking of a punishment game, Shii-chan was the one who suggested a fake confession!"
"Sakura?!"
Just as I thought.
Women really do come up with the most petty, worthless ideas.
"Hatsukade, Sakura, who even cares about that kind of stuff right now?!"
Screaming that, Shinonome edged closer to me.
"Just how bad are you at reading the room? The mood was literally set for Nakina to confess to you right now!"
"Sorry, but being bad at taking hints is practically in the job description for a loner."
"E-Enough already! Stop trying to dodge the issue with random lies!"
"Calm down. Well, I'll live up to your expectations."
I turned back to Amanatsu.
Then, I held my palm out toward her as she choked back a breath.
"Still, don't you think this is kind of pitiful for Amanatsu?"
As I dragged out the confession further and further, I could distinctly feel the animosity focusing on me.
Though, considering what I was about to do next, that was actually just about right.
"What is your problem?!"
"Making just one person confess is unfair, isn't it? Hey, since we're at it, why don't you join in too, Shinonome?"
"Wh... what are you talking about?"
"I mean, it makes no sense to force a friend to do it while refusing to do it yourself."
"No, that makes no sense, that makes no sense at all! There's no way I'm doing that, I don't even have anyone I like!"
Intentionally curling the corners of my mouth upward, I pointed at Masanori.
"Yes you do. Right over there—the guy you love so much you're harboring an unrequited crush on him."
"...H... Huh?"
"Ah, but it's looking pretty rough for you, isn't it! After all, Masanori likes Amanatsu!"
"...How did you..."
To prevent Shinonome from fleeing as she stumbled backward, I grabbed her by the arm.
"Let go of me, you're wrong!"
"Come on now, that's rich coming from you. After all the crap you've pulled on others. Or what, are you planning to claim that Masanori isn't the one you like? In that case, declare it right now to the man himself."
"...N-No..."
"You can't, can you? Not when you egged Amanatsu into doing a fake confession just to make Masanori give up on his feelings. Telling her to date for a few days had the exact same goal, didn't it? So that Masanori would be completely disillusioned with Amanatsu."
As Shinonome tried to scramble backward to escape, I slowly eased my grip on her arm.
Collapsing limply to the floor, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
Looking down at her, I declared:
"I did a reckless confession too. So you go ahead and do one as well. One of those fun public confessions, that is."