And just like that, the way Ren Suzuki and Hitori Gotoh communicated with each other completely changed.
He no longer greeted her openly at school. Instead, he would send her private messages via chat:
[I'll be having lunch at our usual spot today. See you there.]
"Hey, Ren-kun's been texting a lot lately… Are you chatting with friends from middle school?"
"Mm~ I'm not sure I can even call them friends…"
When asked by a curious classmate, Ren gave a slightly hesitant answer.
"But it's someone I really want to build a good relationship with."
"Eh?! Someone Ren-kun wants to get closer to? Who could that possibly be?!"
His classmate looked genuinely shocked.
After spending the past two weeks together, everyone had come to accept Ren's calm maturity and apparent lack of earthly desires as common knowledge.
None of them had ever seen him openly express interest in anyone before.
"You always turn down girls from other classes who ask for your contact info, but now there's someone you want to be friends with? I'm super curious now! Hey, can you introduce us?"
"…Not yet."
Ren smiled and shook his head.
"We're not close enough for that. Maybe someday."
…
"Wow… so there really is someone even Ren-kun can't handle…"
Over on the girls' side of the classroom, another student overheard Ren's conversation and couldn't hide her surprise.
"Honestly, I'd be over the moon if Ren-kun even just said hi to me."
"The person he's this serious about must be pretty amazing."
A girl sitting nearby chimed in, speaking as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Just think about how out of our league Ren-kun is… Yeah, that's a world we'll never set foot in."
"So jealous of whoever it is."
"Totally."
Similar sighs and whispers of envy echoed throughout the girls' group.
Meanwhile, Hitori Gotoh, who had been absentmindedly clutching her phone all this time, buried her face deep under her desk the moment she heard the surrounding chatter.
(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm really not anyone special! I'm just a gloomy, awkward loner who can't even bring herself to type out a simple 'See you at lunch' reply!)
As she desperately apologized in her heart to the classmates who were blissfully unaware of the truth, Hitori couldn't stop a tiny, irresistible feeling from surfacing a touch of superiority.
No matter the reason, she really did share a secret connection with Ren Suzuki that no one else knew about.
Their interactions might be laughably simple, but the thrill of having this private bond, of being the one everyone envied, quietly satisfied Hitori's hidden pride.
And as that pride swelled, the very thought she had once firmly rejected started to resurface
(Could it be… that Suzuki-kun actually likes me?)
…
Lunch Break
"By the way, Gotoh-san, do you like fried chicken?"
Ren casually started a conversation with Hitori as they sat together for lunch.
"I've noticed your bento always has some in it."
"Ah… yes."
Hitori timidly nodded.
"It's… my favorite dish."
"Hee~ I see."
Ren smiled, genuinely interested.
"It's been a while since I've had some myself. Maybe I'll make some next time… Do you prefer it with lemon or without?"
"Ei-either is fine…"
Though her verbal response was calm, Hitori's heart was in absolute turmoil.
(Wait, what? What's happening? This feels like one of those setups where the next thing he says is 'I hope you'll try it when I make it' !)
"Alright, I'll make some fried chicken tomorrow then."
Ren nodded and smiled at her.
"Would you mind trying some for me, Gotoh-san?"
"?! ?! ?! ?! ?! ?! ?!"
HE ACTUALLY SAID IT!!!
Her daydream just came true.
What the heck was this?! The most popular boy in class not only asked about her favorite food, but also promised to make it for her?!
Was this a dream? Would she get hit by a truck on her way home today?
Wait, could this really still be explained by just being "classmates"?
Sure, she'd seen classmates swap bites of each other's lunches before but that only happened between close friends.
Could it be… just maybe…
That her relationship with Ren Suzuki… was surprisingly good?
They ate lunch together, they exchanged contact info, and now he was even going to make her favorite food…
…
"Um… Suzuki-kun…"
Already overwhelmed by the morning's conversation, Hitori was further pushed to her emotional limit.
This bold thought gave her enough courage to forget her nerves, just long enough to ask
"How… how do you see me?"
(I said it!!!!)
Oh no. She really asked that.
That's the number one line on the "Most Self-Deluded Shoujo Manga Lines" list and the "Top Lines You'll Regret If They Reject You" list.
And she asked it to Ren Suzuki.
He'd definitely be confused, right? Definitely thinking "What's with this sudden question?"
Ahhh, she really should've phrased it more carefully!
I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead !
"Hm? How I see Gotoh-san?"
Ren was briefly surprised by her sudden question.
But it wasn't enough to faze him.
Under Hitori's anxious, trembling gaze, he calmly answered
"I think you're a very mysterious person."
"M-mysterious?"
That completely neutral answer immediately calmed the storm inside her.
"You think I'm… mysterious?"
"Yeah, pretty mysterious."
Ren nodded.
"That unfinished self-introduction, the way you always hide your face even though you're so cute, how you always take at least an hour to reply to my messages… everything about you just really piques my curiosity."
"…Buh?!"
Wait, wait, wait did he just say what I think he said?!
Did my ears just glitch out?! Or have I been dreaming since this morning?!
Ren's words hit her so hard, her mental processor immediately maxed out at 100% CPU usage, and the storm in her heart roared back to life with even greater force.
But for Hitori Gotoh, the bombshells weren't over yet.
While she sat there utterly frozen, Ren went ahead and dropped the number one most easily misunderstood line between the sexes without even hesitating
"If possible, I'd really like to get to know you better, Gotoh-san."
"..."
Hitori Gotoh, HP: 0/100.