According to Sara, the guy had created an approachable, friendly atmosphere.
With just that, the possibility of it being him was firmly denied.
The more Haruya listened raptly to Sara’s story, the more powerfully he realized what a pathetic man he himself was.
(Hang on…aren’t I too lame!? Totally the opposite of the cool guy she’s describing!)
Such vastly differing impressions despite the similar circumstances, it was nothing short of absurd.
Haruya honestly felt despondent at his sense of inferiority.
(Yeah, better just stop thinking about it…it only lowers my self-esteem.)
With no choice but to forcibly tell himself that, Haruya this time still failed to realize that the cool guy Sara spoke of referred to himself.
After school.
While some students energetically rushed off to their club activities, and some lingered behind intending to study more, Haruya belonged to those who headed straight home once classes ended
Although today he was an exception. His feet carried him not down the stairs toward the entrance but up toward the rooftop.
Since the sunset looked so beautifully vibrant today he wanted to admire the scenery from the rooftop.
In principle the rooftop was forbidden entry and kept locked, but due to the school neglecting inspections the lock had broken leaving it open to access.
Of course that didn’t mean they now had permission to go in…
Having chanced upon the broken rooftop lock while wandering around campus, when Haruya felt like viewing the sunset’s splendor he would sneak up alone like this.
And so, the rooftop.
Pushing open the rusty door he was first wrapped in the warmth of sunlight.
Approaching the railings to better take in the scenic view, Haruya removed his glasses and brushed back his hair that had grown to fringe his eyes.
The sea.
Spreading endlessly before Haruya’s vision was the magnificently beautiful sea, sparkling in the sunset’s reflected radiance. He lost himself admiring the campus scenery illuminated gloriously by the evening light.
Breathing in the crisp air, Haruya had just begun savoring the sights when…
His solitary time was abruptly interrupted in less than a few minutes.
“So…pretty.”
The familiar voice suddenly came from behind, startling him into glancing back.
…Seeing who it was, he couldn’t find any words.
Blinking blankly several times, but clearly no mistake.
A slender waist and fleshy figure, glossy hair.
Her girlish innocence still lingered while exuding a refined air.
Haruya doubted his eyes at first.
The girl standing there was the beauty he had encountered last weekend, then met again the day before yesterday…
She too seemed frozen in surprise, both silently facing each other for a few seconds before she spoke first.
“I’m…shocked.”
Blinking widely her round eyes several times she continued.
“So we…go to the same high school.”
Haruya was equally astonished at this.
But the bigger reason for Haruya’s speechless bewilderment was –
If they were in the same high school, Haruya had no choice but to come to this conclusion.
(No way, we’re…in the same class!? Ahaha…)
His thoughts turned to the female classmate talking about an experience resembling his own.
Getting hit on, then meeting again…moreover her voice sounded similar too.
With so much evidence stacking up, certainty would naturally follow.
(No…that’s crazy.)
Naturally he was shocked at his own obliviousness and ignorance, but being utterly indifferent to matters uninteresting or unrelated to himself couldn’t be helped.
But even more than that, Haruya was bursting to retort –
(There’s no way I’m that cool a guy! I didn’t save her from getting hit on in some cool way, I made things awkward afterwards didn’t I!?)
What on earth was going on here.
Haruya smiled wryly.
Apparently some misunderstanding about Haruya had arisen between him and her.
At the very least, he couldn’t possibly evaluate himself as the cool character she had depicted to the class.
Unable to immediately understand what was going on, Haru refrained from questioning her directly.
Doing so would be akin to confessing that they were classmates.
Moreover, she was already known as a top-tier beauty in the class. Revealing that he was her classmate would only complicate things.
If he were to casually say, “Actually, the person you guys talking about… is a classmate! Teehee♡,” it would likely lead to unnecessary complications.
Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.
Right now there were two key points Haruya had to be mindful of here and now:
[Absolutely can’t let her realize my identity]
[Have to lower her overblown impression of me]
These are the two things that Haruya has to do.
Obviously the former was to avoid drawing attention in class if this got out.
As for the latter, he had to diminish her highly embellished…no, downright fabricated…opinion of Haruya, in order to eliminate her interest in him.
Without doing that, she likely wouldn’t realize her idealized image of Haruya was mistaken.
(I felt like I desperately needed her to know that I’m not as cool as I think, for my heart to be at peace. )
“Uh, um, I know this must be surprising but please don’t be too shocked.”
Lost in thought, Haruya realized she had called out to him.
“Huh… ah, sorry.”
“No, I… I’m just really surprised, you know…”
As he averted his gaze from her interested eyes, she changed the subject and started a new conversation.
“The sunset here is so beautiful.”
However, she continued with a preamble.
“But isn’t this place supposed to be off-limits?”
Maybe because she has a serious personality, she narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Well, the lock was broken, so… aha ha.”
“So that doesn’t mean you can just enter someplace that’s prohibited, right?”
(Yes, you’re right. Sorry.)
While apologizing inwardly, Haruya was at a loss for words because she was correct.
However, Haru couldn’t help but think, [You’re saying that?] about the girl who was present with him.
Whether it showed on his face or not, she began to nervously explain herself.
“I, um… T-today, I was feeling a bit unsettled, so I took a stroll around the school. That’s when I witnessed the rooftop being open.”
“I see.”
“However, if the rooftop’s lock is broken, it needs to be reported, right?”
She placed a hand on her chin, deep in thought.
The report she mentioned undoubtedly meant informing the school.
While her actions were undoubtedly correct as a student, Haru had a reason he couldn’t just overlook.
If she reports this, he won’t be able to come here anymore.
In other words, it would mean he can no longer enjoy this beautiful sunset in this place.
Haruya started to panic.
Before he realized it, his mouth opened on its own.
“Um, so, I’ll do anything within my ability, so please keep this a secret…”
He pleaded with his hands together.
His words spilled out from the regret he felt about losing the chance to see this scenery.
Perhaps reacting to his “anything” offer, her shoulders shook slightly.
Then, after a short pause, she acted somehow bashful, wavering her eyes.
Finally making up her mind, she tightly closed her mouth, then timidly opened it to speak.
“Then… I have just one request, if that’s okay?”
She appealed to him with a lonely expression that provoked his protective instinct.
Haruya immediately wanted to refuse since this smelled like trouble, but he couldn’t go back on his word.
He was desperate to defend his ability to see the rooftop scenery at all costs.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Your request is?”
At his words, she nervously opened her mouth.
“Um… can we exchange contact information?”
“Huh…”
Haruya unintentionally let out a surprised voice at her bold demand.
Her wish was such a cheap favor.
Plus, exchanging contacts would be quite convenient for him in dispelling the fabricated image others had made of him, and making her realize he’s not as amazing as the rumors say.
“No problem at all.”
“Phew… thank goodness, thanks so much!”
When he said that, she let out a relieved sigh, eyes downturned.
They promptly pulled out their phones to exchange info. But as they did so, Haruya noticed something and panicked, saying, “Wait a moment!” to stop her.
The reason he panicked was simple and clear.
His chat app username was “Akasaki Haruya” – his real name.
Now that she knows they go to the same high school, if his real name gets exposed, his identity could also be revealed.
In a hurry, he changed his username to “Asai Yuu,” the name of a certain protagonist from some girls’ comic.
She tilted her head curiously at his flustered state, but they successfully exchanged contacts.
“Asai Yuu… right?”
“Y-Yeah…”
Haruya felt a little guilty about using a fake name. Then her next words turned his mind completely blank.
“Can I ask which class you’re in too… is that alright?”
“Um, my class is…”
And then he realized.
(Even if I bs my way through my name, I can’t do the same for my class…)
Unpleasant sweat formed on his brow.
No matter what random thing he said, she could easily uncover the truth if they went to the same school.
So once again, he agonized over what the best course of action was.
(Well… to lower people’s evaluation of me, giving a random answer might be the optimal solution.)
His original goal was, first of all, to not stand out, and secondly, to have her know that he’s not as amazing as rumored.
Therefore, he decided to give her a random reply to her question.
“I’m in Class 1-I.”
“Class I? …Pfft, what are you saying?”
She giggled happily.
The freshman classes at his school were divided into eight from A to H.
So of course, there was no such thing as Class I. That’s why he gave a random response, but…
“Ahaha, saying Class I with such a straight face… you really are a unique person.”
She had a gentle smile, but Haruya was sure it was just a perfunctory one. No doubt about it.
“Sorry… you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
With a nuance like “If you don’t want to say your class, you don’t have to,” she peered into his eyes.
“…Yes, there are some circumstances I’d rather not mention. Sorry.”
He honestly bowed his head, feeling guilty about lying.
Then, as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, she smiled contentedly.
“What circumstances…? But you don’t need to apologize so much. Nice to meet you properly, Asai-san.”
“Ah, likewise…”
After greeting each other, she seemed to realize something.
“Since I’m a first year, you can drop the formal speech with me…”
Sara said, glancing up at him. But Haruya brought his hand to his chin, pondering what the best course of action was.
(What’s the right answer here? Should I keep using polite speech, or shift to casual? The closest distance will be best for making her think I’m not an amazing guy, probably.)
Having decided that, he said in seriousness –
“Got it, nice to meet ya… Sara…”
He was trying to act overly familiar.
(But since I had no experience addressing girls by their first names, an awkward discomfort came out. Dammit, stupid me.)
///
scene transition
///
(But, this is more embarrassing than I thought. What am I doing?)
Thinking that, as he looked at Sara, she was holding her fists tightly in front of her chest, her round eyes focused on Haruya.
And, when she noticed Haruya’s gaze, Sara said,
“Yes, please. …Asai-san,”
lowering her face. It seemed like the effect was excellent.
(she’s pulling away, pulling away… the effect seems to be working. But that’s fine. Yes, continue lowering the favorability. If she lose interest, I won’t become a topic in the class!)
Haruya harboring an evil grin internally, However, Sara had her own thoughts:
(He called me by my name… by my name. And not telling me his class, it must be part of the game, trying to entertain me…)
he was quite a unique person, Sara thought, as she unconsciously felt her heart pounding. Is he really thinking about me this much?
But, in this way, the misunderstandings between the two were not known to either.
In fact, Haruya was trying to lower Sara’s favorability.
However, from Sara’s perspective, it was interpreted in a positive light.
They were both unaware of each other’s intentions.
That night.
Since exchanging contact information with Haruya, Sara had been staring at her phone screen, lying on her bed alone, in agony. On the screen was the contact information for “Asai Yuu.”
“Oh… why did I do something so bold?”
Restless, Sara had been pressing her face against the pillow and writhing in discomfort for a while.
Even so, Sara couldn’t help but look back on the time she spent with Haruya.
(I never thought that person… Asai-san would be in the same high school…)
Meeting the person who helped her again, only to find out they attended the same high school…
She hadn’t told Rin and Yuna about it yet, but she could easily imagine their reactions.
(…It’s like something out of a shoujo manga.)
Although she couldn’t read many of them,
Sara felt this way about shoujo manga.
Once again, she felt like she was in the midst of fate.
Because of that feeling of destiny, she was becoming unexpectedly passionate.
Sara opened Haruya’s private chat and started to ponder whether to send a message.
“…I should probably at least greet him.”
Typing and erasing messages repeatedly, Sara sighed and groaned.
“At times like this, formal greetings aren’t preferred, right?… But being too simple is also dull. Maybe I should use stamps? No, but—”
Unable to reach a conclusion, Sara let out a deep sigh.
“Oh…”
She sighed deeply and mumbled to herself, “It’s like this during these times. It’s not good to be too formal, right? But not too simple either. Is it okay to use stamps? No, but—”
Sara couldn’t find a solution and sighed deeply.
So deep that, as if telling herself, Sara muttered:
(…It’s, it’s not like I like him. I just haven’t properly thanked Asai-san.)
—It’s okay, it’s okay.
Repeatedly telling herself, Sara sent a message to Haruya.
After sending it, to prevent herself from deleting the message due to embarrassment, Sara turned off her phone in a rush.
Although Sara denied having romantic feelings, there was an unconscious girl struggling with love beneath the surface.
Chapter 2 will posted in this site sometime next month
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I’m really confused by the author’s writing and the premise of this story. It seems to really just jump around a lot and it’s hard to follow. I understand that some people can look really different if styled well, but she seemed to recognize him first glance. Then was he still disguised or did he somewhat alter his appearance to make him more recognizable? And if they’re classmates, how was he not able to recognize Sara as the same girl? I know he keeps his head down a lot, but to the extent where he’s never given any other classmates a straight look or even a fleeting glance? If she’s beautiful she should be easy to recognize regardless of how long someone has looked at her. A bunch of situations that are seemingly so unlikely and improbable. Just breaks my suspension of disbelief. Misunderstandings and coincidences are one thing, but for all this to happen it seems more likely to win the lottery. And the group chat they share, not once have they taken a picture or described the person they’re talking about? No one has ever pondered to think about the time line of events? I appreciate the translate but the novel is genuinely a hard read if it requires turning off your brain to enjoy.
Admittedly this novel is really stupid the more you think about it. But once you can suspend your disbelief that the MC has superman disguises, it’s very enjoyable novel
Yeah, turning of my brain to enjoy this novel’s premise