It was Monday, a day after a hectic Saturday. As usual, I made my way to school. Even though I arrived at school early, there was nothing to do, but since I didn’t want to rush by leaving at the last minute and arriving barely on time, I reached the classroom about ten minutes before the warning bell.

By this time, two-thirds of my classmates were already present, engaging in various conversations within their respective groups, filling the classroom with the usual cacophony.

However, the atmosphere in the classroom today felt slightly different from usual.

While conversations were still buzzing around, creating the usual noisy ambiance, there was an underlying sense of unrest, a subtle hum of excitement.

It was hard to put into words, but the atmosphere was slightly different.

My seat was in the ideal spot, at the very back by the window. As I headed there, I wished I could casually ask someone, “Did something happen?” but unfortunately, I was not close enough with anyone to do that.

Unable to pinpoint the source of the unusual atmosphere, I reached my seat and began observing the classroom, subtly eavesdropping on nearby conversations.

What suddenly caught my eye was a pair of classmates who stood out more than anyone else.

Kotobuki Hikari and Kotobuki Yuzuki. They were twin sisters, which is quite rare. Well, maybe not that rare, but still.

Hikari had brown, semi-long hair with wavy ends. Her slender physique suggested athletic prowess. Yuzuki, with her long, flowing black hair, embodied the term “Yamato Nadeshiko” (the epitome of Japanese feminine beauty). Her model-like figure, with curves in all the right places, hinted at academic excellence.

Since I didn’t interact with them much, I didn’t know which one was the older sister and which was the younger. Based on their interactions with their friends, I could only guess that Hikari was the brighter of the two, while Yuzuki was more reserved and composed.

“What are you guys talking about?”

A black-haired female student, who had just arrived, casually joined her group, effortlessly doing what I couldn’t.

Since the group was close by, I strained my ears to listen in on their conversation.

“Look at this. Do you know about it?”

The blonde-haired female student showed her smartphone to the black-haired one. As she said that, the blonde female student showed her smartphone to the black-haired female student. ++Hey, what are you showing her? I can’t tell just by listening.++

“Ah, I’ve seen this. It came up on mine too.”

++Came up? What are they talking about?++

“We were saying that this uniform looks like ours.”

“Ah, I thought so too. But I don’t know this person.”

“Well, we don’t even know what year they’re in. If you search around the school, you might find them.”

The conversation was getting lively, but I couldn’t figure out what they were talking about in the end. I tried eavesdropping on other groups as well, but they seemed to have already discussed the important parts, leaving me with no answers.

“Ugh,” I groaned, unsure of what to do, when suddenly, a voice called out to me.

“You have a stupid look on your face this early in the morning.”

Only one person would dare say such a rude thing to me this early in the morning. Even though I didn’t turn around, I knew who the voice belonged to, but I decided to glare at them in return for the morning insult.

“Maybe if you took off your glasses, you’d look a bit better.”

With her short white hair and languid voice, the one who said that was Hibino Sumomo. My only friend in school.

“None of your business.”

“And if you styled your hair a bit, you might actually look decent.”

As if to illustrate her point, she showed me her smartphone screen. My eyes widened in surprise at what I saw.

The scenery looked familiar. It was a video, and its content was part of the incident I got involved in on Saturday.

“That’s you, Kirishima, isn’t it?”

Hibino said, raising her voice a little, as she sat in the empty seat in front of me. She seemed to be enjoying this a bit too much.

“No, that’s definitely not me. I don’t wear glasses, and I don’t style my hair.”

“So, if you took off your glasses and styled your hair, you’d look like this?”

“…”

She seemed to have reached a significant conclusion, and no matter how I tried to deny it, it seemed futile.

“Though, I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been paying attention to your face all the time. I was surprised to see you taking such a noticeable action.”

“…Someone collapsed in front of me. That’s not something you should be saying right now.”

Apparently, someone in the crowd had filmed the scene. I wished they had helped instead of filming, but it was too late to say anything now.

The bigger problem was that this video was circulating, and it was being discussed in the classroom.

“Why don’t you just come forward? You’d become the talk of the town.”

“You know I hate standing out, right?”

“Of course.”

Without any hesitation, Hibino smiled as she said that, so I gave her a half-glare, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Besides, the girls involved are the Kotobuki sisters. Every guy would gladly accept their gratitude. I wonder what kind of erotic favors they’d offer.”

“Are erotic favors a certainty…?”

While retorting to her nonsense, I glanced towards the Kotobuki sisters.

++The admiration of all boys, huh?++ With their level of beauty, it was understandable. Everyone must have fantasized about a rom-com with them at least once.

Even a realist like me had, at least once.

“Hibino-san, do you know this person?”

Kotobuki Hikari asked her classmate. This person, she was probably referring to me in the video.

However, Hibino-san just shook her head. Seeing her reaction, Kotobuki Hikari slumped her shoulders, saying, “I guess not.”

A couple of seats away, Kotobuki Yuzuki was also asking another classmate.

“Nonoka. You don’t know him, do you?”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t forget a handsome guy like this if I’d seen him before, so no, I don’t.”

Hearing the answer from the girl called Nonoka, Kotobuki Yuzuki also sighed.

If I came forward now and said it was me, I might indeed receive some kind of gratitude, as Hibino suggested. Or perhaps, the romantic comedy that everyone had fantasized about might actually begin.

However.

That would mean standing out. If I came forward now, amidst all this buzz, I would definitely be questioned and interrogated.

Half a year into school, I had found comfort in my inconspicuous, almost invisible position. I didn’t want to give that up.

Besides, I wasn’t doing it for gratitude or anything. It would be better if someone else had helped, wouldn’t it? Probably. I don’t know.

I hoped that this topic would fade away in a few days, and my existence would remain unknown, ending the whole matter without any fuss.

Unfortunately, my prayers were not answered.

!next

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