For Some Reason, My Ex-girlfriend, Who Lost Interest in Me, and My Current Girlfriend, Whom I’ve Known Since Childhood, Are Now Fighting Over Me - Chapter 56

☆ Shota Komori ☆

“What is the meaning of this? Please explain it to me.”

“Um…”

After leaving the Mitsubishi Outlet Mall, I split up with Mayu-nee.

I had time to spare before my appointment with Natsukawa-san, but as soon as the bus arrived, Mayu-nee said, “Let’s call it a day.”

By the way, when I tried to sit next to her on the bus on the way home, I was strongly rejected with, “Not next to each other, Sho-chan! What if our shoulders touch!?”

Huuu. That’s right. Just because we’re a couple (in disguise), it doesn’t mean we’re allowed to get close to each other.

I might have got carried away after getting a little more sophisticated.

I’m sorry for that.

Incidentally, Izumi-san contacted me immediately after I split up with Mayu-nee.

She said she would like for us to meet if convenient. Apparently, like us, Izumi-san was just starting to return home.

It was unnecessary to confirm the matter, as it was about the matter in question.

So we met up at a coffee shop…

My gaze fell on Izumi-san, who was eating a super-sized deluxe parfait at a super fast pace. Binge eating is an appropriate expression.

Moreover, her eyes are bloodshot and red. It’s easy to imagine that she was crying before I arrived.

What’s most painful is that she’s staring at me with her upturned eyes. I’m really not in the mood for this.

I mean… This is a couple fighting no matter how you look at it!

And it’s a disaster in the center of an audience! I feel like I’m trapped!

Thanks to this, I can hear customers around me whispering, “What’s that…? An affair?”

It’s a concentrated barrage of stares and snide remarks.

If possible, I’d like you to do it whispering so that I can’t hear you. Maybe it’s on purpose? I feel very uncomfortable.

“…So? Who was that girl?”

( ( ( (Whisper Whisper) ) ) )

Whoa! She threw in something she definitely shouldn’t have!?

She’s got people all over the place starting to get suspicious!

Izumi-san, you should know the danger of saying something like that in this situation!

Will you stop trying to vent your frustration over your boyfriend’s cheating on you with me!?

Just so you know, I’m not a sandbag!

Kengo Ohashi-kun is the one who’s two-timing, and although I have nothing to do with it, I’m the one who is being accused. It’s beyond unreasonable.

“Um, Izumi-san… If possible… Could you refrain from saying something that makes us look like a couple fighting for no reason? I can’t stand it with my flea heart–“

Izumi-san smiled wickedly at my plea.

Oh no, this girl! Instead of reflecting, she’s going to come after me!

She knows the customers are listening and she’s trying to s***w me over!

Anybody! Please be my witness!

At this rate, I’m going to end up a womanizer!

“–Don’t act like I’m your girlfriend… You went too far! Are you saying that what happened that night was just for fun!?”

( ( ( (Whisper Whisper) ) ) )

Hey, if you deliver a killing blow like that–

“Disgusting.”

“Enemy of women.”

“Scum.”

“I hope he dies.”

That’s it, game over! The customers’ opinion of me has been confirmed!

There’s no way to change it. It’s set for life! I am now the worst man in the place!

If I give up, does the game end here?

Hah~. I wonder if I can say the same thing after hearing that kind of abuse earlier. By the way, ‘enemy of women’ and ‘I hope he dies’ are not hurled at me by the college girls, but by some old men in their fifties!

I’d very much like to give a tsukkomi, but there’s no one here who’s on my side!

“How dare you choose another woman’s underwear when you have me?”

Ah, I’m sorry, Izumi-san. Could you please shut up?

It’s outrageous! The old man even said, “This can’t be true.”

I’ve only had daily conversations with girls in my life, and I’m an unattractive herbivore who has never had a girlfriend in his life. What’s with all this talk about me?

I guess Izumi-san must have sensed that my HP had reached the red gauge.

“Of course, encountering such a critical scene would make me want to vent my frustration.”

I understand how you feel, but please stop trying to feel better in the form of my social death!

But let’s think about it from the opposite perspective.

Suppose, for example, that I have a girlfriend.

If I witnessed through the fitting room that my girlfriend was there with another boy to choose an underwear–

Whoa, that’s a shock my brain can’t take. I won’t be able to recover.

This is the psychological damage of NTR. No good, it really gets to me.

I can’t stop feeling nauseous.

“Actually, after that… I met Kengo-san.”

“What!?”

And here you are saying that!

Your confession is too shocking! Can someone bring shock absorbing sheets!?

Because you know, this is especially after she has witnessed her boyfriend’s choice of underwear for the girl he’s two-timing with.

I can smell the shuraba!

I’m so afraid to hear what’s to come!

Izumi-san continues to talk, despite my desire to cover my ears.

To sum it up, Ohashi-kun asked Izumi-san out on a date even though he was just picking out Natsukawa-san’s underwear.

He probably didn’t even imagine that he had been spotted, but what bad timing!

Even I’m taken aback by his behavior.

“And what’s more, when I told him I went to the lingerie store, he got very upset. It’s too suspicious, isn’t it? He’s a douche, right? He’s a pitch-black douche, right?”

“Putting aside the strong word ‘pitch-black douche’… That’s a pretty good point.”

I guess Ohashi-kun got impatient when the word ‘lingerie store’ came up by accident. No matter how strong-willed he is, he must have been nervous.

If it were me, I would have had a heart attack. There wouldn’t be any need to write my name on a black notebook.

“What I couldn’t believe was that he asked me what I was doing on the day Natsukawa-san was crying her eyes out. That means he was probing me to see if I had found out about his affair, right?”

“……”

No, Ohashi-kun! That’s as good as confessing to having an affair already! I’m speechless!

“And did I…appear on your answer?”

I asked fearfully.

To be honest, I don’t mind at all if Izumi-san mentioned my name.

If Ohashi-kun is the kind of guy who would be upset by that, I’m going to do everything in my power to separate him from Izumi-san.

I will probably get beat up one way or another, but the law in this country is the first one to make a move loses.

That’s the knowledge I acquired when I researched stalking control laws and the like. If you don’t have the strength, you have to use your head.

Well, of course I don’t want to get hurt, so I want to arrange a discussion as much as possible.

But if Izumi-san had mentioned my name, I would have to be prepared. I am the opposite s*x, and mentioning my name would be the same as pouring oil on the fire.

“I couldn’t say that… That’s why I lied and said I was with a female friend, even though I was actually with my son.”

“That’s not true at all.”

My mom is a student. No, that’s too complicated of a family environment! That’s a level that can’t be seen any longer in this world, only in novels.

“Oh my, is it the rebellious phase? When you were little, you said you would marry your mother.”

Izumi-san lamented.

Is this person finally starting to go for a mother position!?

“Joking aside, I didn’t name names. And I don’t remember it in the first place… Hmm? Who are you again?”

“Sudden amnesia!”

“That was a lie. Don’t be pleased when I spout at you. I’ll be tempted to whip you–maybe even poke you with an ice pick.”

“Psychopath! You’re a psychopath! What’s with the urge to poke me with an ice pick!? That’s beyond the realm of a s****t, no!? I’d rather be whipped!”

“Hey… I can’t believe you’re wishing for S&M out loud while the sun is still high in the sky… I’ll sue you for sexual harassment. You pervert!”

“Unreasonable!”

“…Hah~”

I’m the one who wants to sigh–or so I thought, but it’s Izumi-san who is still heavy-hearted.

She is facing a cruel reality.

“Shota-san… What do you think I should do?”

Izumi-san asked me, looking exhausted. This is a really difficult question.

I don’t understand why she would want to ask for someone else’s opinion.

I think she probably wants me to decide the answer.

However, that is still Izumi-san’s decision to make.

She shouldn’t ask someone else.

That is why I can only wait for her to come up with an answer.

“I’m sorry, I can’t answer that.”

“Eh…?”

I thought Shota-san was the only one on my side… Izumi-san has such an expression on her face.

“Um… Can we talk about something a little more serious?”

“Ah, yes.”

Perhaps hit by my seriousness, Izumi-san became somewhat nervous.

“I like Izumi-san. You can even say that I love you.”

“EHH!?”

Izumi-san’s eyes widened and she could not hide her surprise.

She waved her hands in the air.

“W-What are you talking about, Shota-san… No way… In a situation like this, that’s–“

“–Of course, as a friend.”

“As a friend!? Wait, that was too confusing, Shota-san! I really thought my heart was going to stop! It was like shoujo mangas, I really thought they were real!”

I could somehow predict that this would happen, and I smiled inwardly.

Fufu. This is payback for all the times you make fun of me.

“I would like to be of help to you, Izumi-san. To be honest, I really enjoy talking with you. But, say hypothetically, just hypothetically, okay? Even if Izumi-san’s opinion of me is that I’m a goldmine who would buy her a super-large deluxe parfait, I’d still want to chat with you. Even if I have to pay for it.”

“I see… But I want you to withdraw the goldmine comment. Shota-san is an important friend of mine, or rather, my son.”

“Thank you very much. Well then, today Izumi is going to pay for the super extra large deluxe parfait–“

“–Gasp.”

Ah, this is a pattern that I will be made to pay again today. Yes, yes. I understand. Well, let’s not worry about today. It’s a small price to pay for Izumi-san’s broken heart.

“I know this is a bit off topic, but I’m going to do my utmost to support what Izumi-san will decide to do. I’m not lying here. I swear to God… No, I swear to the angels. But I can’t take responsibility for your life. Only Izumi-san can take responsibility for her life. Therefore, I’m available for talks and if necessary, I’ll give you my personal opinion. In return, I want Izumi-san to decide what to do, not let someone else decide for her.”

My life has been shaped by reading the air. Because of the trauma of being bullied, I’ve only made choices that minimize the damage to myself.

But I don’t want Izumi-san to make the decision to break up with Ohashi-kun so easily. Of course, if Ohashi-kun is just two-timing with his own desires, I think he should break up with Izumi-san as soon as possible.

Clearly, it’s not appropriate for a single-minded girl like Izumi-san.

That’s why I want Izumi-san to take her time and come up with a satisfactory answer.

I will do my best to support her answer.

“…That’s true. Yeah, I think you’re right. It’s up to me to figure out what to do. Fufu. You can say something other than the bottom line once in a while, can’t you, Shota-san? Thank you.”

“I don’t remember saying a single bottom line, though.”

That said, I feel like I said something out of character.

I have no experience in love, let alone in life, so I don’t know what I was talking about.

When I think back on it, I feel really embarrassed.

As I was getting uncomfortable,

“I’ll get going now. Ah, I’ll pay for the parfait, so please take your time.”

As I was trying to run away,

“Wait a minute!”

Izumi-san’s eyes sparkled. Her mouth loosened.

“By the way, Shota-san–Who is this Mayu-nee?”