I Went Out With a Losing Heroine, But Before I knew It, My Childhood Friend, Who's Supposed to

Proofreader: Mowaso

“―I never thought I’d see the day when you’d call me, Hazakura-kun.”

While Marin and the others were in the corridor, Haruki, who had been summoned by Yō via Kasumi, looked at Yō with a surprised look.

To Haruki, the first thing he did was to apologize.

“I’m sorry for calling you out on such short notice.

“Oh, no problem. So, when you say you want to talk to me, is it about Marin?”

You’re surprisingly perceptive― Yō thought so as he opened his mouth.

“Oh, that’s right. Did you hear from Nemoto?”

“No, it seems that you and Marin have been spending a lot of time together lately, and that’s the only reason I could think of for you to call me.”

“I see. Well, thank you for talking to me so quickly.”

“No, no, you’re welcome.”

As usual, Yō frowned and opened his mouth to speak in a somewhat inaudible manner.

“Well, let me cut to the chase― I heard that you pretended to be Nemoto’s lover in order to get rid of Akimi?”

When he got to the point, Yō changed his mood and asked Haruki with a glare.

And Haruki, who was being glared at, opened his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.

“Ah~, you promised not to tell anyone. You’re surprisingly soft-spoken, aren’t you, Kasumi-chan?”

Yō’s eyebrows furrowed even more as the man who was supposed to be sincere until now suddenly became a bit of a charlatan.

Yō had heard half of what Kasumi had said, but seeing this attitude, he understood that Kasumi’s words were true.

He knew that Haruki Kinoshita, who was known to be sincere and kind to everyone, was actually a scumbag.

“It’s true, isn’t it? Moreover, it seems that you were the one who suggested to Nemoto to come on to me last year.”

“Oh, that’s a misunderstanding. I was just saying that since you were half-heartedly pretending to be interested in me, you should be more proactive.”

Without taking offense, Haruki corrected him as if to say that this was the truth.

Although Yō feels inwardly angry at Haruki, he feigns calm and opens his mouth again.

“That person―Nemoto is actually simple and stupid as she looks, so she doesn’t realize it, but your advice had a purpose other than to keep Akimi away, right?”

“Hee~, I’m surprised you noticed. How did you know?”

Hearing Yō’s words, Haruki tilted his head with a grin.

The expression on his face seemed to indicate that he was enjoying the situation, and Yō almost felt as if a different person was standing there than the one he knew.

“No, it’s simply because I wouldn’t give such advice if I knew what Nemoto wanted. You’ve been annoyed with her, haven’t you? So I made a suggestion that, while plausible, would not serve her purpose. Am I right?”

“Oh, I’ve heard about you from Kasumi, but you’re really amazing. Yes, there is no doubt about what you said. In fact, from my point of view, it’s only natural, isn’t it?”

Haruki easily affirmed Yō’s words.

He doesn’t treat her well at all, in fact, he gives off the vibe of being a jerk to Kasumi.

“Why are you talking to me like you’re having a good time and not feeling bad about it? You already know why I called you here, don’t you?”

Currently, Yō couldn’t see what Haruki was trying to do from his appearance.

Rather, his demeanor itself is puzzling, and he can’t figure out what he wants.

There seemed to be no advantage in his taking such a playful mood here.

“Ah, I don’t know. I think it’s because you wanted to talk to me?”

“You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, I did. I thought you might be able to understand my feelings.”

Hearing Haruki’s words, Yō frowned even more.

“Sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t understand your feelings.”

“Haha, don’t be so cold now. You’ve been through a lot with Kasumi-chan, haven’t you? So you pushed her away. It’s the same as what I’m doing right now.”

“…”

The fact that Yō pushed out Kasumi, and Haruki pushed out Marin.

Surely, at a glance, they are probably the same.

However, the fundamentals and responses of Yō and Haruki are different.

Both of them shunned their childhood friend, so they were still the worst, but Yō couldn’t help but complain to Haruki even though he had put himself on the shelf.

“You say you’re the same as me, but what was the reason you pushed Akimi away?”

“Hmm? That’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s because Marin’s presence is annoying.

Haruki tilted his head as if to say, “What are you even saying?”

“Does that mean she’s bothering you?”

“Ah, that’s right. It’s okay to hang out with her because she’s your childhood friend. However, if I stay with her, I’m going to get hurt by jealous idiots. It’s been that way since elementary school.”

Marin’s popularity was tremendous.

The past few days had been enough for Yō to understand that if he was with her, others would look at him with a great deal of jealousy.

So he could understand what Haruki was trying to say.

In fact, jealousy has probably caused him to do some terrible things.

However, it’s not Marin’s fault.

“I still don’t understand your feelings.”

“Eh?”

“Even if I were in your shoes, I would have never shun Akimi.”

“Why is that…?”

When Yō looks straight into Haruki’s eyes and says this, Haruki’s expression changes from a smile to one of dissatisfaction.

“What are you saying all of a sudden? You are actually pushing your childhood friend, Kasumi, away.”

“You haven’t heard why I shunned Nemoto, have you?”

“…”

In response to Yō’s question, Haruki stared at Yō’s face in silence, as if he knew exactly what he was talking about.

So Yō decides to tell him what happened with Kasumi, which he has never told anyone before.

“If I were in your position, it wouldn’t be Akimi I’d keep away from, it would be the others. Akimi didn’t do anything wrong, it was the others who were jealous and harassed you.”

“Then why did you send Kasumi away from you…?”

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to dig up something that’s already been resolved, but I’ll tell you now. She―”

Yō began to talk about why he had shunned Kasumi.

After middle school, he stayed in his room from morning till night and never left.

She would get furious everytime he talked with other girls.

To top it all off, she even decided where Yō was going to enroll at highschool and made him study like he was stuck in a can in order to pass.

These were just some of the things that Yō told Haruki.

Then, Haruki started to lose interest and finally said,

“I don’t know how you’ve been able to keep up with her all this time…”

“To be honest, I can’t really blame her for that, because I’m the one to blame who made her become like that. But that’s the reason why I pushed her away, and it’s different from yours.”

“I see… But that doesn’t mean it’s up to you on what I should do. I don’t think you have a right to tell me what to do. Or are you suggesting that I should go out with Marin-chan even if I have to stifle my own feelings?”

When Haruki understood that he and Yō couldn’t understand between each other, he began to insist that it wasn’t his fault, as if he were turning his hand away.

Indeed, he was right, only he could decide what to do.

And of course, Yō had no intention of asking him to go out with Marin.

If Haruki didn’t have any feelings for her, it would only hurt her more.

However―

“What I can’t forgive you for is not because you didn’t go out with Akimi. It’s because what you did was unforgivable.”

“What do you mean…?”

“You used Nemoto to get Akimi to give up on you, didn’t you?”

“Ah, you’re mad because I used your childhood friend. But she was the one who tried to use me first, you know? So what’s wrong with using her back?”

“It’s true that what she did was also disgusting. So I’ll make sure she knows that. But still―”

Yō hung up his words and walked towards Haruki.

Then he grabbed Haruki’s chest with a firm grip.

“She’s been trying to get you to like her for a long time, hasn’t she!? And why did you break her heart in such a scummy way instead of refusing her head-on!? Do you know how much she cried when she was caught up in your farce!?”

It was that part that Yō couldn’t forgive.

Marin had always believed in this man and had always loved him.

And even though he hadn’t chosen her, she still wished for Haruki and Kasumi’s happiness and cried all the time, trying to bite off the pain on her own.

Seeing her like this, Yō understood her feelings, but he couldn’t forgive Haruki for betraying her feelings.

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Translator’s Comments: Can I just please give a punch to Haruki? I want to beat him up so bad :<