Chapter 5

• It's funny how quickly time flies by. Every day that passes seems to widen the gap between Toma and me. He's slowly slipping away from our close friendship, and I can't help but wonder if telling him to keep his distance was a mistake.
• "Who are you talking about?" Xia interrupted my thoughts, pulling me back to reality.
• I suddenly realized that I had been speaking my thoughts out loud without realizing it. "Ah, nothing. Pay no attention to me."
• "Uh-huh, sure." She looked at me skeptically. "Something's clearly bothering you. You can't even focus on your part of the research right now."
• I glanced at the blank document on my laptop screen. She was right; my mind was too preoccupied with other thoughts.
• "Ugh, I think I need a break."
• "Alright, but don't forget we have to submit this next week," she reminded me.
• "Yeah, I'm heading out now." As I began to gather my things, Xia suddenly dropped a bombshell.
• "Your friend Toma has a girlfriend. I saw them together yesterday, and they looked really happy."
• "When did this happen? How come I didn't know?" I was taken aback by this news.
• Xia's face shifted from surprise to sympathy. "Oh, it seems like Toma might not have wanted to tell you about it…" She let her sentence trail off. Though I desperately wanted to deny it, her words made sense.
• "Yeah," I replied, defeated. I had pushed Toma away, and now it seemed like he was keeping things from me. But why did it hurt so much?
• "Yuji, I'm sorry, but maybe it's not what you think—"
• I just needed some time alone…
• "I'll finish my part tomorrow. See you later."
• But why did it feel like everything was changing, especially with Toma?
• Toma having a girlfriend without my help? Wasn't I supposed to be his wingman?
• I ran back to the dormitory, barging into our room to collect my thoughts. "Ha… this is stupid. I'm stupid. I wanted this, but why do I regret it?"
• As I had lost track of time, I hadn't noticed that Toma had returned to our room and was changing clothes. "Oh, you're here already."
• "Yeah," I replied.
• Unable to contain my curiosity, I blurted out, "I heard you have a girlfriend. Is that true?"
• Toma looked surprised at first, but then his expression turned into a genuine smile. "Yeah, I do. Cami and I started dating a week ago."
• "R-Really? That's great. You've always liked her. Congratulations." It did strike me as somewhat unusual, though. Did Cami break up with Duke and then start dating Toma?
• "Thanks." I was genuinely happy for Toma, despite my mixed emotions.
• "It surprised me, though. I thought you wouldn't care if I started dating Cami. Haha!"
• "What are you talking about? It's you who surprised me. I thought you'd want my help with that," I admitted.
• "Weren't you the one who said I'd be your wingman?"
• "Oh, about that... I had Noru help me instead," Toma confessed, adding, "And I didn't want to bother you because you seemed so busy lately."
• It felt like Toma was pushing me further away.
• Sigh "I feel so foolish."
• It didn't take long for me to realize how different life was without my best friend, Toma. He was always the sociable one, while I was more of a tag-along. I wasn't particularly friendly with the other guys he hung out with besides me.
• So, when lunchtime rolled around, I often found myself sitting alone in the cafeteria. Meanwhile, I'd spot Toma with his other friends, including his girlfriend, Cami.
• "I never thought it would be like this," I muttered to myself, occasionally regretting my suggestion to avoid each other.
• I glanced at the person beside me and saw Xia. "Oh, it's you."
• "Yeah, mind if I join you?" She asked with a mischievous smile.
• "There's plenty of room, as you can see, so be my guest," I replied with a touch of sarcasm.
• "Hahaha, sure." She took a seat next to me. Of all the places to sit, it had to be next to me. This girl could be really annoying.
• "I noticed you're alone," she began, unwrapping her sandwich. "So I figured I'd keep you company."
• "Tch, I don't need your pity. I'm used to this."
• "Fair enough. I used to see you with Toma all the time before, though. Until you pushed him away," she remarked.
• Her words stung, but I didn't appreciate her prying into my business. "You've got nothing to do with my life, so stop nosing around."
• Then she looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite decipher. It was the first time anyone had looked at me that way. "I know that," she said, averting her gaze. "I knew you'd say that."
• "Well, if you do, then stop bothering me about Toma, okay? If you like him so much, you should talk to him, not me," I retorted.
• She fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
• "But I don't like Toma," she said, her face turning red. "It's you that I like!"
• "You... Xia, you idiot!" She abruptly ran off with her food, leaving me dumbfounded.
• I couldn't believe it. Xia liked me? My mind was in turmoil, and I couldn't even finish my lunch as I replayed the confession in my head.
• It was the first time a girl had ever confessed to me. As I made my way to the boys' restroom, I looked at myself in the mirror, trying to understand why Xia might be interested in me.
• I wasn't particularly tall for a guy, and I didn't possess the same rugged masculinity as Toma and other attractive guys. So why would Xia be interested in someone like me?
• Could it be my personality? But I knew I often came across as rude to her.
• Or was it my intelligence? I wasn't exceptionally smart, so that didn't seem likely.
• While I was lost in thought, a guy bumped into me. "Oh, sorry about that," he said.
• "It's okay," I replied, still feeling a bit dazed.
• Instead of going about his business, he continued to talk to me. "Hey, aren't you Yuji?"
• "Yes, and who might you be?"
• He smiled, but it wasn't a particularly friendly one. "I'm Noru, a friend of Toma's."