Chapter 1: “Getting Along Well” – The First Hurdle of Romance
“Hahaha, Yoshiki, you’re way too cynical!”
“That’s harsh! Isn’t everyone thinking the same thing?!”
Yuzuha Yui, sitting in front of me and I couldn’t help but raise my voice.
It had been a month since we started high school.
It was early May, just before morning homeroom.
Yuzuha had brought up the topic of romance, and we were discussing how to judge if someone was “getting along well” with you.
For Yuzuha, even thinking about it seemed troublesome.
“Eh, I just sense it instinctively~”
Yuzuha chuckled softly.
Yuzuha Yui was a popular gyaru throughout the school and the central figure in our class 1-2. She was also my friend from middle school.
Of course, I had never “gotten along well” with her in that sense.
Her light golden ponytail and, above all, her distinctive violet eyes seemed to cast a glamorous atmosphere over the entire class.
With her friendly and cheerful personality, Yuzuha’s name was always the first to come up in the boys’ usual “who’s the cutest” debates.
It would be incredibly difficult for any boy to “get along well” with such an ultra-popular girl like Yuzuha without some extraordinary talent.
Yuzuha turned to me with a smile.
“You can usually tell if you’re getting along well by the atmosphere, right? Don’t think, just feel. It’s all about instinct!”
“Really? So what happens when your instinct tells you you’re getting along well with someone?”
“Like when there’s a hot guy next to me.”
“Damn it!!”
I couldn’t help but shout at her ruthlessly quick answer.
A hot guy can create an atmosphere of “getting along well” with many girls just by standing next to them.
I had unconsciously excluded that answer from my mind.
It’s natural in a way for girls to choose hot guys, especially for someone at the top of the social hierarchy like Yuzuha.
Faced with such a disheartening answer, I shook my head.
“I guess having a girlfriend is still a distant dream for me…”
“Eh, maybe not necessarily.”
“…What do you mean?”
Yuzuha grinned and rested her chin on her hand on my desk.
Her friendly smile almost made me want to look away.
“There are different values, like just increasing the fun times you have is okay. In that sense, it wouldn’t be strange if you were popular, Yoshiki.”
As I struggled to respond, Yuzuha casually continued.
“I’m having fun right now, too.”
“Uh…”
The last part was said quietly, but that only made it feel more real.
Any healthy guy might misunderstand this as “getting along well.”
But sadly, Yuzuha was a virgin killer who could casually close the distance with anyone.
I always needed to be careful not to be misled by Yuzuha’s typical gyaru personality.
“That’s a lie, I won’t fall for that!”
“Haha, what a difficult personality. There’s no reason for me to lie, you know?”
Yuzuha said cheerfully, then showed a mischievous expression.
I sighed and strung together my words.
“Even without a reason, you might just be having fun with me.”
“Maybe?”
“Don’t admit it?!”
Yuzuha laughed heartily, clearly amused.
I couldn’t tell what she was really thinking.
But for now, I was just relieved that she seemed to be enjoying this time.
I sighed and tried to wrap up our “getting along well” debate.
“Anyway, so hot guys can get along well just by standing next to someone…”
“Wouldn’t you be conscious if a cute girl was next to you, Yoshiki?”
“This conversation is hard to summarize!?”
The school chime rang out: ding-dong-dang.
It was the signal for five minutes before homeroom.
“Okay~”
Yuzuha responded to the chime and casually left her seat.
As she stood up from the chair, her ponytail swayed.
I thought I caught a whiff of her nice shampoo scent.
As Yuzuha returned to her own seat, a male friend took her place.
The 165cm tall, buzz-cut guy whose seat Yuzuha had been occupying was Takeru Arino.
Takeru’s reaction to having his seat stolen again was:
“It’s warm. I’m honored to have my seat used again today.”
“Ugh…”
“Hahaha!”
Takeru laughed cheerfully at my grimace.
This was the kind of exchange that only close friends could have.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
It was the same with Yuzuha Yui.
Having a friend of the opposite sex that you can be comfortable with is valuable in itself.
Yes, to sum it up, high school life wasn’t bad.
In fact, for Ryota Yoshiki’s life, this was probably one of the better times.
“I’m still jealous that you get to talk regularly with Yuzuha,”
Takeru said in a low voice, gazing at Yuzuha who had started to nap at her desk.
“Well, we were in the same middle school, so…”
“Liar, that alone wouldn’t let you talk to her like that! Damn, I’m a Yuzuha fan too. I wish a gyaru would call me cute…!”
“Hey, your desires are leaking out…”
“You wouldn’t understand, always talking with Yuzuha! Geez, I’m really jealous of how well you two get along!”
Takeru turned to face forward with a slightly twisted expression.
…It was an incredibly timely comment.
I muttered to myself in a voice too quiet for anyone else to hear.
“…Getting along well, huh.”
Sure, I could talk one-on-one with Yuzuha Yui.
But that was only because we were the only ones from our middle school who had advanced to this high school.
Even if Yuzuha considered me a friend, there were plenty, really plenty of other people who were close to that gyaru.
In middle school, while I had opportunities to talk with Yuzuha, it was mostly in group conversations.
We actually only became close as individuals in our third year of middle school.
For Yuzuha, it might have been more convenient if she had ended up at the same school as other classmates from middle school.
Given this background, I couldn’t possibly think that our current interactions were “getting along well.”
…Well, even so, it was extremely lucky for me to be in the same high school as Yuzuha.
It was thanks to Yuzuha that I was able to easily fit into this Nishidai-kita High School, and into this class 1-2.
Yuzuha, beautiful and treating everyone equally, often compared to the sun by the boys, quickly became the central figure in this class too.
The fact that such a Yuzuha frequently talked to me had both good and bad impacts, but it ultimately stabilized my high school life.
Perhaps because of the influence of having a friendly gyaru as the central figure, most of my classmates had a harmonious atmosphere, and so far, I hadn’t struggled with social interactions.
There was just one vague thirst in my daily life.
— Getting along well, huh.
Could I ever have a romantic relationship when I stumbled at this first hurdle of finding a partner?
As I was thinking this, Yuzuha turned back towards me.
She was discreetly tapping on her smartphone hidden behind her desk.
After confirming that the teacher hadn’t arrived in the classroom yet, I lowered my gaze to my phone screen.
Yui [By the way, I prioritize fun ♪]
When I quickly looked at Yuzuha, she had a mischievous smile on her face.
Damn, I was about to think we were getting along well just now.
Perhaps because of this morning’s conversation, I couldn’t really concentrate during classes today.
Even by fourth period, that hadn’t changed, and I found myself idly looking around the classroom to pass the time.
I could see Yuzuha’s ponytail swaying near the center of the room.
It looked like she was exchanging notes and chatting with the girl in front of her.
Her words flashed through my mind.
— By the way, I prioritize fun ♪
…Yeah, she definitely prioritizes fun.
Popular people like Yuzuha don’t bother looking for reasons behind every little thing that happens in front of them.
Yuzuha’s personality, moving instinctively towards whatever’s fun, becomes clear just by watching her.
Her shirt boldly unbuttoned to the second button, with a light purple hoodie.
Light golden hair, painted nails, and other fashion choices that pursued her own likes.
Her fun-prioritizing personality wasn’t just reflected in her appearance, but in her words and actions too.
The way Yuzuha easily got along with everyone was the very image of the so-called “gyaru who’s nice even to otaku.”
The reason why Class 2’s room quickly became a bright space was thanks to Yuzuha becoming the central figure of the class.
The fact that some boys had nicknamed her “the sun” was probably a crystallization of her popularity.
“Since it’s the 9th today, let’s multiply by 3 and… student number 27!”
The teacher’s words suddenly brought me back to reality.
I couldn’t help but smile wryly while hiding my face behind the textbook.
If I wasn’t mistaken, did that teacher just do multiplication?
The one who received this almost unreasonably random call was—
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