Act I: My Ex-girlfriends Come to My House â Part 1
Oi oi oi! This is a lie, right?
I almost scream even though itâs the middle of the opening ceremony. My heart is beating fast and Iâm sweating like a waterfall.
The newly appointed teachers were lined up on the stage of the gymnasium. Among them are two people I know.
One is a gentle-looking female teacher. She is a petite, busty beauty with soft brown hair that reaches her shoulders. She looks at her students with kind eyes and smiles like a holy mother.
The other one is a feisty-looking female teacher. She is a tall, busty beauty with silky black hair that reaches down to her waist. Her interesting face looks straight ahead, and her lips are set in a straight line.
They are my ex-girlfriends.
Itâs hard to believe that they are someone else. On top of that, the new teachers were introduced to us, and we found out their names were âShirasawa Kohakuâ and âAkamine Akari.â
Is this for real? Are they really Kohaku and Akari? Whatâs going to happen now? Iâm going to take my ex-girlfriendâs class? Itâs going to be so awkward!
As I was freaking out,
âSeeing those two again⊠Itâs like a dreamâŠâ
The man sitting next to me talked to himself dreamily.
Two beautiful teachers had just arrived at the school, and I can understand why he would want to grin happily. But what does âagainâ mean?
âHey, do you know about Shirasawa-sensei and Akamine-sensei?â
I called out to the boy next to me, and his relaxed face scrunched up.
Iâm tall and I have an intimidatingly strong face, so I must have scared him off.
Of course, itâs only my appearance that is scary, and I havenât done anything wrong, but⊠It seems that no eccentric person likes to associate with someone who looks scary, so I have no friends.
âYe-Yeah, I guess Nijino-kun doesnât know because heâs a transfer student. They were both interns.â
They both came to the school last springâabout four months before I transferred here.
âItâs so lucky to have two beautiful teachers like that. Ah, by the way, I heard that neither of them has a boyfriend.â
âReally?â
I thought they had found another guy they liked. So they just like him, but they havenât confessed to him yet? Or did they confess but it didnât work out?
No, this information is from a year ago. They might have a boyfriend now. I mean, itâs none of my business if they have one or not.
I want to get back together, but I canât have a relationship between a student and a teacherâI donât even know which one I should get back together with.
Well, thereâs no reason to worry about it. Iâve been dumped anyway.
ââŠâŠâ
After he finished explaining to me, he looked at Kohaku and Akari with a fascinated face again. The other students have the same look on their faces. I understand how they feel. They are both super cute and adorable.
I was dating two such girls. As a man, I feel proud of myself. âŠBut, I have no intention of boasting like, âActually, I dated them! Amazing, right?!â
It would only be a waste of time and would cause both of them a lot of confusion and embarrassment.
If it was found out that they were dating a student, they would be looked at with a cold shoulder, and in the worst case scenario, they might have to resign from their teaching position.
I knew that their dream was to become teachers. I donât want to be an evil influence on the two of them who have made their dreams come true. Even though weâve broken up, I still love them both.
I donât want to ruin their bright and glorious lives as teachers. I will support Kohaku and Akariâs life as teachers from the shadows.
Well, since weâre going to spend time at the same school, weâre bound to run into each other sooner or later. It would be awkward, so Iâll try to stay low as much as possible.
While I was making up my mind to do so, the opening ceremony was over, and I headed back to the third grade class. Then homeroom ended, and the day came to an end.
âThose two were as cute as ever!â
âI canât wait for Shirasawa-senseiâs class!â
âAs I thought, Akamine-sensei is really cool!â
âI could hurt myself everyday~!â
After school, the classroom was still buzzing with talk about the new teachers. By the way, Kohaku is a home economics teacher and Akari is a school nurse.
Since thereâs only one home economics teacher, the students are obliged to take classes with Kohaku, and if they were injured, they would have to be examined by Akari.
Although I canât skip Kohakuâs classes and avoid seeing her, I can avoid going to the infirmary. I just have to be careful not to get hurt!
With these thoughts in mind, I finished getting ready to leave and went out into the hallway. Then, I see a blonde girl in front of me.
She is carrying a tote bag on her shoulder, and her body is leaning forward as if it was very heavy.
âDo you need help carrying it?â
I might scare her, but I didnât want to let her go through with it. I called out to her from behind, and she turned around.
Sheâs a girl who looks like a gal. Her school uniform is worn out and her skirt is short. She has a strong look in her eyes, but her face is quite well-defined.
She glared at me with all her might. âŠWhy the glare?
âI wonât give you the contact info even if you hit on me!â
âNo, Iâm not hitting on anyone.â
Of course I want a girlfriend. But Iâm not so hungry for love that Iâd hit on girls whose names I donât even know.
However, even though I donât know her name, it doesnât mean Iâve never met her before. Weâve been classmates since this semester, and weâve passed each other in the hallway a few times during our second year.
Um, her name isâŠ
âWhat are you doing looking at my chest? Thatâs disgusting.â
âYouâre wrong! Iâm just checking your nametag to make sure itâs correct.â
Besides, youâve been talking so rudely since a while ago. Youâre so aggressive⊠Did I do something to make you hate me?
âŠEh? This girl, sheâs Shirasawa?
She doesnât look like Kohaku. But when we were dating, she told me she had a sister my age.
Iâve never met her sister because I never visited her house, but maybe sheâs heard stories about me. Maybe thatâs the reason why sheâs so foul-mouthed towards me.
âShirasawa-san, are you Shirasawa-senseiâs little sisterâŠ?â
Her eyes became even sharper.
âI knew it, you approached me with that intention. Youâre so persistent! Even if you hit on me, I wonât give you my Onee-chanâs contact information!â
I see. Thatâs what she meant.
Kohaku is a very popular teacher. She won the hearts of first-year students just by showing her face, and apparently, she won the hearts of second and third-year students during her teaching internship. Itâs not surprising that some boys tried to befriend her little sister in order to get close to Kohaku.
Sheâs often approached by men who want to get close to her sister, and sheâs fed up with it.
âIâm not hitting on you. I just found out youâre her little sister.â
âYouâre so pretentious. How could you not know after all the talk about it last year?â
âIâm a transfer student. I moved here last year after the summer break.â
Shirasawa-san blinked her eyes. With a scowl on her face,
âAh, I see. Then, whatâs the point of you calling me out?â
âYour luggage looks heavy, so I thought Iâd help you carry it.â
âDo-Does that mean youâre hitting on me?â
âAs I said, Iâm not hitting on you. I called you purely out of kindness. I have no ulterior motives whatsoever.â
âHmm, kindness, huhâŠ?â
A still gaze. Sheâs doubting me. How distrustful of men are youâŠ?
âWell, okay. Um⊠Nijino-kun? If you want to help, Iâll let you help.â
When she said this in a bossy manner, Shirasawa-san crouched down and began to rummage through her tote bag.
âŠUm, I can see your cleavage pretty clearly. Also, I can see your pink underwear.
I donât think sheâs showing them off, but⊠Sheâs a girl with a lot of openings for someone who distrusts men.
Shirasawa-san then took out a cookbook from her tote bag. There were quite a few more she took out.
âAre those from the library?â
âYeah, I borrowed them during spring break. The due date is next week, but since I donât have class today and I donât have a lot of baggage, I decided to return them all together. Are you confident in your strength, Nijino-kun?â
âI am.â
Iâve been well-built from a young age, and my first acquaintances always look at me as if I were three grades older than them. I am now 5â8âł tall and well muscled for a go-home club member.
âThen, take these 10 books please.â
After handing me the books, Shirasawa-san quickly started walking. I donât know how many books there are in total, but they still look heavy. Shirasawa-san is slender, so maybe sheâs simply not strong enough to carry them.
âIf theyâre heavy, I can still carry them.â
âIâm fine. Rather, donât walk next to me. If we walk side by side, people will get the wrong idea that weâre dating.â
I donât think theyâll get the wrong idea, but they might think weâre close. If Kohaku sees me in such a situation, she might think, âHeâs messing with my sister.â
I donât want my ex-girlfriend to get the wrong impression of me, so I decided to take the distance as she suggested. Passing the heavy-footed Shirasawa-san, I went down the stairs andâ
âHyaa!â
The moment I stepped down onto the stairs, a scream echoed through the air. I turned around and saw Shirasawa-san had slipped and fallen. I quickly held her andâThump, we landed on my back.
âOw..!â
âA-Are you okay?!â
She stood up hurriedly and looked into my face worriedly.
âAh, yeah, Iâm fine⊠Are you injured yourself, Shirasawa-san? Did you sprain your leg?â
âIâm fine. Thanks to Nijino-kun. âŠThanks for helping me.â
ââŠâŠâ
âW-Why are you so spaced out? Could it be, you hit your headâŠ?â
âN-No, just my back.â
The only reason I was in a daze is because I was surprised by Shirasawa-sanâs unexpected straightforwardness. I was sure she would blame me for hugging her.
âLetâs go to the infirmary just to be safe.â
âI said Iâm fine.â
âNo, you mustnât judge for yourself. You have to go see the nurse.â (T/N: She said âSensei.â It can mean doctor, but also Akamine-sensei.)
Thatâs why I donât want to go! If I go to the infirmary, Iâll run into Akari! Though I canât tell Shirasawa-san that.
It canât be helped. Iâll go to the infirmary even if itâs awkward.
âOkay. Iâll go.â
I went downstairs with Shirasawa-san and opened the door to the infirmary.
I expected the room to be crowded with students who want to get close to Akari, but the infirmary is deserted. Well, this is the right place. They probably thought that it would be a nuisance to barge into the infirmary where there might be sick people, so they hesitated to do so.
The room reeks of disinfectant, and the only person in the room is Akari, a female teacher wearing a white lab coat over a pants suit.
Akari, whoâs sitting on a chair looking over papers, looked at me with slitted eyes andâ
â!?â
Her eyes widened in surprise and she stared at me intently.
âCome on, get yourself checked out. Iâll wait for you.â
Shirasawa-san pushed my back and I went to Akari.
âŠAkari looked sad for some reason as she gazed at me.
The man who she dumped is right in front of her. Normally, people would make a disgusted or awkward face. So why does Akari have a sorrowful look on her face?
This, does this mean she still loves me by any chanceâ
âYou look like youâre about to die.â
Iâve been told itâs a bad omen! Thatâs a very punchy greeting. This means she hates me to death, right?!
âEh? Youâre going to die?â
âIâm not going to die!â
âB-But, Akamine-sensei said you wereâŠâ
Shirasawa-san is anxious, perhaps mistakenly believing that Iâm dying because of her. Thereâs no way Iâm dying⊠Akari isnât the type of person to tell jokes, so she canât help but believe her.
âYouâŠlook pale. Go to bed and rest.â
Shirasawa-san took her seriously, so Akari reiterated.
It seems that Akari wants to keep me around. She wants to talk to me alone. Iâm sure she wants to keep me from revealing our relationship.
By the way, Iâm seriously ill. I was full of energy when I arrived at school, but seeing my ex-girlfriends again has made me so nervous that I feel like Iâm going to vomit.
âIâm really fine. Iâm sure Sensei has work to do, so weâll get going now.â
I quickly told her and we left the infirmary. I kept up the pretense of the first meeting until the very end, which shouldâve let her know that I have no intention of revealing our relationship.
âHey, are you sure you donât need to rest?â
âDonât worry about it. Maybe the lighting just makes it look like Iâm sick.â
âI see. Okay then.â
Shirasawa-san looked relieved. I thought she was a foul-mouthed girl earlier, but she really seems to have a gentle personality.
Walking down the hallway with a better understanding of my classmates, we reached the library. The door opened andâ
Kohaku came out.
âWhaa!?â
Kohaku screamed when she saw me. The book she was holding in her hands fell down, but she doesnât seem to care, she just stares at me.
âOnee-chan? Whatâs with the sudden yellingâŠ?â
Shirasawa-san followed her gaze suspiciously, and then she reached me.
âThis is my classmate, Nijino-kun. Heâs helping me carry some books. Heâs big and intimidating, but heâs not such a bad guy, so donât be afraid of him.â
âYouâre a student of ours. Thank you for taking care of my sister! Iâll make you a pot of tea as a thank you, shall we go to the home economics room?â
The thank-you tea is just an excuse to be alone with me, and the real purpose is to keep my mouth shut. But I canât be alone with Kohaku. If someone sees us talking alone, they might think weâre having an illicit relationshipâ
âI want to drink Onee-chanâs tea too.â
We wonât be able to talk about the past with Shirasawa-san with us anyway.
âIn return for your help, Iâll let you have some of my Onee-chanâs tea.â
She said as if to say, âYou should be honored.â In actuality, for the boys, Kohakuâs tea is truly something to drool over. Itâs one of those teas that they would be willing to humble themselves to drink.
To be honest, I want to drink it, butâŠ
âIâm good. I want to go home and do my laundry.â
âYou do your own laundry?â
âWell, yeah. I live alone.â
Six months have passed since I moved here, and my family had to move again for work. This time, it was an overseas transfer.
Since Iâm not comfortable living abroad, I decided not to follow my parents and started living on my own this spring.
âI know youâre tired from helping carry those books, right? If your house is far away, I can give you a ride!â
âIâm fine. I live in an apartment nearby.â
âNearby⊠Could it be a green apartment?â
âYes, butââ
âItâs the same apartment as mine.â
Kohaku said excitedly. (T/N: Excitedly!!! YEAH BOIII!)
She seems to be somewhat pleased about it, but⊠That canât be true. She just reunited with her ex-boyfriend, and on top of that, discovered they live in the same apartment building. The tension must have just gotten crazy.
âBy the way, Iâm in room 503.â
I didnât even ask her and she gave me her room number. By the wayâ
âThatâs next doorâŠ!â
I never thought my ex-girlfriend would be living next door!
âH-How long have you lived here?â
âItâs been about two weeks. I came to say hello when I moved in, but no one answeredâŠâ
Two weeks ago⊠It was the time when the whole family went to visit my grandmaâs house.
I could hear them going about their lives, and I knew someone had moved in, but I didnât go out much during spring break, so we never ran into each other. I canât believe it was my ex-girlfriend.
I am at a loss, and Shirasawa-san sharpened her eyes at me.
âYouâre not thinking of going to Onee-chanâs room, are you?â
âIâm not thinking about that. Iâm just in the mood to relax at home today.â
âThen itâs okay. You helped me today. Thank you.â
âYouâre welcome. Then see you tomorrow. Shirasawa-sensei too⊠Excuse me.â