Chapter 8: The First Step to Getting Closer to You
Ren Suzuki's plan was progressing steadily and smoothly.
At school, he maintained his active, outgoing lifestyle, carefully expanding his circle of influence.
At his part-time job, his maturity and composure qualities far beyond his age quickly earned him popularity at [STARRY].
As for his progress with Hitori Gotoh…
Despite his persistent efforts to increase their daily interactions such as quietly greeting her or casually waving when they passed in the hallway she always avoided him by lowering her head and hurrying away.
If Ren hadn't been familiar with the "behavior patterns" of gloomy, reclusive characters, he might have mistakenly thought she actually disliked him.
"That said… I really should go have lunch with her again soon."
After another week of careful observation and waiting, Ren felt it was about time to take another step forward.
He still didn't know how long it would take to get her to finish her self-introduction, but for someone as completely passive as her, it was essential to probe her current progress through repeated, small steps.
So, during lunch break that day, Ren once again used his go-to excuse of "needing to call his family" to leave his friend group and made his way alone to Hitori Gotoh's "sanctuary."
…
"…Ah."
When Hitori Gotoh, who had arrived first, saw Ren approaching, she let out a startled sound before quickly sitting up straight and moving her lips, working hard to say
"G-Good afternoon… Suzuki-kun."
"…You're finally willing to greet me?"
Seeing how much effort she seemed to be putting into it, Ren couldn't help but laugh softly.
"I thought you'd ignore me like always."
"T-That's not it! I've never been ignoring you, Suzuki-kun!"
Flustered by Ren's teasing, Hitori Gotoh panicked.
Determined to clear up what she thought was a terrible misunderstanding, she even stood up, speaking more seriously than she ever had before.
"Every time you greet me, I see it! But… but… every time you do, there are always other classmates around… If they saw me responding to you… they might think we're close or something…"
"So in other words, you don't think we're close?"
Seeing her so worked up, Ren mischievously put on a mock-hurt expression and sighed.
"So I was the only one who thought of us as 'comrades sharing the same sanctuary' huh…"
"Ehh?! N-No! It's not like that!"
Completely lacking the ability to tell when someone was joking, Hitori Gotoh was instantly overwhelmed by panic at Ren's "dejected" tone. Without thinking, she blurted out everything she'd been struggling with for the past week:
"I just really didn't want you to get dragged down because of me! I never once thought Suzuki-kun would see someone like me as a friend, but I also never thought about pushing you away! Honestly, the fact that you'd even bother to talk to someone like me is already a huge blessing! So please, please don't misunderstand!"
"..."
Since Hitori Gotoh was standing, Ren couldn't help but get a clear view of her face as he looked up at her.
It was the first time he'd observed her from this angle and the first time he fully saw the face usually hidden beneath her bangs.
Her delicate, well-shaped features formed an undeniably cute face. The slight droop of her eyes, while giving her a timid air, only made her more endearing.
Even with her bare face and faint dark circles under her eyes, she was without a doubt a beautiful girl.
Incredible…
She's already in high school how could she not have looked in the mirror at least once and thought, "Maybe I'm actually kind of cute"?
"I was just teasing you, Gotoh-san. You don't need to be so nervous."
Though his heart wavered slightly, Ren still kept his usual calm on the surface.
"Y-You were joking…?"
Hitori Gotoh's breathing was a little shaky, probably because she'd just delivered what amounted to a month's worth of lines in one breath.
"So you're not mad at me, Suzuki-kun…?"
"If I were really angry with you, do you think I'd even be here?"
Ren patted the ground beside him, signaling for her to sit.
"So relax. I was just messing with you to see how you'd react. Honestly, I didn't expect you to get so worked up."
He had anticipated that Gotoh would try to defend herself, but he hadn't expected her reaction to be this intense.
Someone who normally wouldn't say a word in class had suddenly stood up and, in a loud voice, poured out her true feelings.
It was clear she valued their connection far more than he had expected.
And beyond that, her earlier words had also revealed something very important.
"By the way, I'm a little curious what kind of image do you have of my classmates that made you think this way?"
Ren asked as Gotoh, face still flushed red, timidly sat back down.
"You seem to have some pretty serious misconceptions about them."
"…Am I wrong?"
Maybe because she was still riding the momentum from her earlier outburst, Gotoh's posture remained a bit hunched, but her speech had become noticeably more fluent.
"Popular people at the top only acknowledge peers of the same rank. They look down on people like me, mock and ostracize them without hesitation. And if you make them mad, they'll use their influence to start nasty rumors, making life miserable for you not just in class but throughout the entire school…"
"That sounds like medieval nobility."
Her vivid description actually made Ren pull a strange face.
"You painted that picture a little too well. Did something like that happen to you?"
"N-Not really…"
Gotoh shook her head.
"I've never even had the courage to get close to those kinds of people, so… there's no way I've ever clashed with them."
"So all that you just said was completely based on what you've seen in movies, anime, and stuff you've read online?"
Ren asked, and Gotoh gave a small nod.
"Yeah… pretty much. Some of it's probably just my imagination too… I'm naturally pessimistic, so I tend to assume the worst."
"…I see."
Now that he had a clearer picture of how she thought, Ren's next steps became even more obvious.
After a brief pause to consider his approach, Ren pulled out his phone, and under Gotoh's shocked gaze, he casually said
"Hey, Gotoh-san, do you… want to exchange contact info?"
"...Eh?"
________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 8.5: A Three-Hour Delay in Replying to a Private Message
"Mom… ever since Onee-chan got home, she's been acting super weird."
During dinner, Hitori Gotoh's younger sister, Futari Gotoh, spoke up with a puzzled look.
"She's just been sitting there holding her rice bowl without moving… like a scarecrow."
"…Yeah, she does seem a little off."
Their mother, Michiyo Gotoh, also cast a worried glance at her eldest daughter, who hadn't touched her food at all.
"Hitori, are you okay?"
"…"
"Hitori?"
"Eh?! Ah… yes."
It wasn't until Michiyo had called her name several times that Hitori finally snapped out of her daze, blinking as if she'd just returned to reality.
"What's wrong? Is something bothering you at school?"
Actually, this dazed behavior had been going on for almost a week now.
Every time Michiyo asked about it, Hitori would brush it off with vague answers.
But now, after a full week, things had escalated to the point where she couldn't even eat properly.
If this kept up, Michiyo was seriously worried that her daughter might develop deeper emotional or health problems.
"If you're struggling with anything, you need to talk to me or your dad, okay? We'll figure it out together."
"Figure it out… together…"
Hearing her mother's words, Hitori softly repeated them to herself, then slowly lowered her head, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"Then… can I tell you guys what's been bothering me?"
"Of course!"
Her father, Naoki Gotoh, who had also been quietly watching her this whole time, put down his chopsticks and firmly promised.
"Whatever it is, we'll do everything we can to help you."
"I see… okay, then, listen to this…"
Hitori cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
"Today at lunch… the most popular boy in our class asked to exchange contact info with me, and after school, he even messaged me to say 'See you tomorrow'… What should I do now?"
"..." *3
Silence fell over the entire Gotoh household.
For a long moment, neither of her parents could even process what they'd just heard, and her younger sister, Futari, stared at her in shock before finally reaching out to touch Hitori's forehead.
"You don't have a fever… so why are you suddenly spouting nonsense, Onee-chan?"
"I'm not! It's true!"
Flustered by her sister's blunt doubt, Hitori quickly pulled out her phone and opened the chat with Ren Suzuki one of the few, nearly barren entries in her contact list.
"Look! This boy, Ren Suzuki! He's the one!"
"Let me see."
Naoki Gotoh leaned over to take a look at her phone.
Sure enough, on the screen, there was a message sent right after school from someone using a Gemini constellation icon as their profile picture: [See you tomorrow.]
"W-Wait… is this real!?"
"Eh?! Let me see too!"
Michiyo quickly joined them and took the phone from her husband.
"…Whoa, you're right. Someone actually messaged Hitori first…"
"And according to Hitori, this is the most popular boy in her class…"
Naoki's jaw practically hit the floor in disbelief.
"No way… is my daughter's spring finally here!?"
"Should we cook red bean rice!? We absolutely have to make red bean rice!"
"Of course! This is the most worthy celebration we've ever had!"
"Congrats, Onee-chan!"
Aside from Hitori herself, the entire Gotoh family erupted into joyous celebration.
Normally, a daughter just entering high school starting to get close to a boy would be something to watch cautiously. But in the Gotoh household, the fact that anyone let alone a boy would voluntarily talk to Hitori was already nothing short of a miracle.
"…Eh??"
Meanwhile, watching her family's overwhelming excitement, Hitori was utterly confused.
"You guys… you don't seriously think Suzuki-kun likes me, do you?"
"What other explanation is there!?"
Michiyo countered with absolute conviction.
"Think about it. The most popular boy in class is definitely surrounded by girls, right? And yet he still made the effort to ask you for your contact info. He must like you! Don't you think so, honey?"
"I agree completely."
Naoki nodded seriously, supporting his wife's theory.
"At that age, boys only make the effort to approach girls they're genuinely interested in."
"Interested… huh?"
Come to think of it, Suzuki-kun had said he wanted to hear the rest of her self-introduction…
Looking at it that way, maybe he really did have some interest in her.
But still, this wasn't something she could take at face value so easily.
After all, their connection had only happened because of a "coincidence."
She was simply eating lunch in her usual quiet corner when Ren Suzuki just happened to find the same spot. That's how they ended up as "comrades sharing the same sanctuary."
For him, he was simply looking for a quiet place to eat.
For her, she was simply looking for somewhere anywhere that didn't belong to anyone else.
It was all just a coincidence.
So…
"I think… Suzuki-kun probably just habitually exchanges contact info with people he knows."
Hitori quietly shared her own reasoning.
"I don't have any particular strengths, and I don't have anything I can offer him… so don't get your hopes up. Suzuki-kun is a really nice guy. He's way out of my league."
"Still saying that, huh…"
Michiyo sighed helplessly at her daughter's negativity.
"You know, if you just tidied yourself up a little, you'd actually be super cute. Why can't you realize that?"
As her mother, Michiyo knew all too well her daughter's natural charm.
She'd carefully picked out plenty of cute clothes for Hitori, hoping she'd eventually see her own appeal. But no matter what, her daughter always chose the same shapeless, boyish sportswear that had zero fashion sense or feminine flair.
Even in her school uniform, with her figure alone, she could easily turn heads!
(Not that Michiyo wanted that either, honestly.)
"..."
On the other side, Naoki quietly pondered his daughter's thoughts before finally offering his own gentle perspective.
"Even if it's not the kind of relationship we're hoping for, becoming friendly classmates would be good enough, don't you think?"
"…?"
Hitori tilted her head, confused by his words.
Naoki continued, "No matter how you explain your current relationship or how you two met, the fact that he messaged you after school isn't something you can deny."
As he spoke, he sat down beside Hitori and handed her phone back.
"So don't overthink it. Just reply to him, Hitori. There's no need to make it complicated just send a simple 'See you tomorrow.' Even if you're not friends yet, that's a perfectly reasonable reply between classmates, right?"
Naoki, knowing his daughter's personality inside and out, understood that if he left her to her own devices, her total lack of social experience would cause her to overanalyze her reply until she froze again.
But what really mattered wasn't the content it was simply opening the door to communication.
Framing it as a "classmate" interaction would be the easiest path for her to accept.
"…As classmates, huh?"
The warning sirens in Hitori's mind finally went silent.
For her, that was probably the furthest she could allow herself to go.
No need to initiate. No need to worry about other people watching.
It was just the two of them, just in this chat window, just a reply, just for him.
Sending a simple "See you tomorrow"… that should be perfectly normal, right?
Thinking that, Hitori slowly raised her hand and, under the warm, encouraging gazes of her family, gently pressed send…