THE GYARU SITTING BEHIND ME LIKED ME. MIGHT BE NO HOPE FOR ME ANYMORE V1: OCTOBER 24âOCTOBER 26 GOT A MAKEOVER AND INTRODUCED, HUH? â PARTÂ 3
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The next day. Sandai felt that the time passed by faster than usual; as he was taking classes quietly as usual, it instantly became after school..
ââŠThatâs all. All right, all dismissed. Scatter,â the class teacher Nakaoka announced the end of the homeroom and listlessly went to leave the classroom while yawning. Each of his classmates were also leaving, starting with those who got club activities, committees, or stuff to do.
Sandai also began to pack his textbooks into his bag in preparation to return home. Then from the seat behind Sandai, Shino grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back along with the chair with a jerk.
âOof.â
âItâs after school!â
Srrtâthe sound of the chair being dragged across the floor echoed powerfully and attracted the attention of the classmates still in the classroom.
Sandai as well, he looked at Shino while repeatedly blinking his eyes wondering what was happening.
âItâs after school, yâknowă. You remember, right?â
ââŠNo way Iâm gonna forget a promise made just yesterday. I clearly remember the talk about going to your workplace together, Shino. Itâs just, our relationship is still totally not known at school, so for now weâre gonna go out of the school separately and thenâŠâ
âThen letâs go!!â
Shino forcibly pulled Sandaiâs hand and kept on moving.
Given that the only people at school who certainly knew their relationship were Shinoâs friends and their classroom teacher Nakaoka, it goes without saying that they attracted attention from the rest of the school.
Though, just like Shino had pointed out before, there seemed to be no small number of people suspecting it, so a part of them could be heard saying, âI knew it,â butâŠ
âHey look.â
âAre you seriousâŠâ
âWell theyâve been rumored a lot for some time now.â
âWasnât that just some misunderstanding? And so thatâs why the rumor went away pretty fast.â
âThatâs true, but the sus feeling continues, yâknow? I mean, sometimes they were also staring at each other. And thatâs not just once or twice, but again and again.â
âYou saw them staring at each other many timesâŠ? Why are you witnessing something thatâs only happening occasionally like that?â
âI liked her, alright? I liked Yuizaki, thatâs why I was always watching. I knew even if I didnât like it. And itâs not just me, the guys who were watching Yuizaki.â
âYou were always watchingâŠ? And there are othersâŠ? Whatâs with this school? Does it have a stalker infestation?â
âThat guy, heâs Fujiwara-kun from Yuizaki-sanâs class, isnât he? Heâs plain so I donât remember if we mightâve passed by each other, but on second look, heâs a pretty cool looking guy, huh.â
âAnd apparently Fujiwara is really kind⊠wait, I think it was Yuizaki-san who said that. I feel like I heard she said something like that the very first time the rumor started. Well, that means sheâs caught an excellent hidden gem.â
He could guess what was being said; it was âThose twoâŠâ stuffs
âI wonder if actually showing our relationship at school would surely make it spread out gradually⊠Just kiddinâ! The truth is I canât hold it anymore. And I also want you to be aware that the initiative is on me, Sandai~.â Shino stuck out her tongue and smiled mischievously.
Although dumbfounded, Sandai quickly understood the situation.
In short, Shino wanted to say that Sandaiâs way was slow; as well as saying that as the one taking the initiative regarding their loversâ relationship, she got the right to revise that.
Sandai was being hit by a considerable selfishness, but it being done this brazenly was just so refreshing that he felt no desire to complain.
They went out of the entrance, out of the school gate, and onto the sidewalk. And while still being led by the hand by Shino, they arrived at a block a little off the city center after about thirty minutes.
Although away from the shopping district, it was a place with a fair amount of pedestrian traffic.
âItâs that one.â What Shino pointed at was a cafe of an antique-style exterior with a calming atmosphere; that seemed to be her workplace.
Somehow⊠It sure is an atmosphere the ladies seem to really like.
Sandai got some bad feeling, and unfortunately, it came true; once inside, all of the customers and employees were women only.
On the blackboard by the counter that suddenly entered his view was written with: âEveryday is 30% off for ladiesâȘâ along with drawings of cute deformed animals.
âWhat an amazing placeâŠâ
âYou think so?â
âItâs all women here.â
âWell Iâm not good with guys, soâŠâ
Although it might get misunderstood when they were together, Shino was basically not good with men. Choosing a part-time job with a high percentage of women like this was obvious.
Although Sandai could understand it, he felt timid at this overwhelming, away disadvantage feeling.
âGo take the seat at the back there.â Then Shino just left her own standing-stock-still boyfriend and disappeared beyond the door written with: âEmployees Only.â
For the time being⊠Sandai hurriedly moved. On the way, he got suspiciously looked at by the female customers. Though, âAh, excuse me,â he said, lowering his head and cutting his way through.
And then, ââŠNn?â Feeling eyes on him upon taking a seat, Sandai restlessly looked around.
Then he noticed a number of female employees staring at him through the gap in the employees-only door Shino had just entered.
âShino-chan says she brought her boyfriend, but⊠itâs that?â
âShinopi said itâs that seat, so isnât that the case? Hmm but it might be a bit of a letdown. I just didnât think it would be background character-ish like that~.â
âHeâs plain but sure is a cute guy. Isnât the âbackground character-ishâ because youâre making your own too deep of character as a standard? Like those twirling ringlets or I guess chocolate cornets⊠that hairstyle is just too intense.â
âHow cruel! These arenât chocolate cornets! This hairstyle is cute! Iâm taking an hour everyday getting it done, you know!? Boohoo!! Waaa waaa!!â
âIâve told you not to make fun of this girlâs hairstyle. Sheâd immediately cry.â
âSorry sorry. That hairstyle sure is cute.â
ââŠYeah.â
âBut well, Shino-chan herself is surprisingly a serious girl, so considering that, I guess it might be just inevitable for her to choose a guy like that.â
âThatâs for sure⊠wait urgh the assistant manager, since when did youâŠâ
âWhat? Got a problem?â
âNo Maâam.â
âThen good. Now someone hurry up and bring out the boyfriend privilege.â
âGo, Chocolate Cornets. Itâs cute so go.â
âUwh⊠Iâm telling you itâs not chocolate cornets⊠wait do you really think itâs cute?â
âI do so just go.â
He couldnât tell what they were saying because of the physical distance. But still, even Sandai understood that they were holding curiosity.
Perhaps Shino had already told them about Sandai. So they should be coming out to observe out of curiosity.
I guess⊠I canât tell them I want them to stop staring. Theyâre Shinoâs colleagues, and if they think that Iâm a man with a troublesome personality, I suppose itâs possible it would make it hard for Shino to stay working here.
Sandai decided to just keep his mind empty. Then a waitress with a hairstyle like chocolate cornets walked up to him.
The girl who looked about the same age as Sandai and Shino gently placed a small cake and a cup of tea on the table.
âH-Here you go~. Enjoy~.â
As Sandai was a little bewildered by being presented with something he didnât remember ordering, the girl spoke up in a flirty-like voice while hiding her face with the tray. âShinopiâs Boyfriend-kun⊠Iâm correct, right?â
âThatâs⊠right, but⊠whatâs with the cake and tea by the way?â
âThis is a boyfriend privilege~. We serve it to our employeeâs boyfriend for free, limited to once a day.â
âUh-Uhuh.â
âAnd so Iâd like to ask about all sorts of things between you and Shinopi⊠ah no not good, Iâll get yelled at if I do a voyeur-like thing like this⊠Well, Shinopi will soon introduce you anyway, so just wait until then, okay? Then later,â the girl said in rapid fire, and then left in a small run going, âHya~,â while still hiding her face with the tray.
She was a somewhat bizarre girl, but that aside, the cake and tea seemed to be free as some kind of a boyfriend privilege, so he decided to accept it.