For Some Reason, My Ex-girlfriend, Who Lost Interest in Me, and My Current Girlfriend, Whom I’ve Kno

☆ Kengo Ohashi ☆

“What do you mean pretend to be your lover!?”

“Yes? Exactly what it means.”

She tilted her head and looked at me as if asking, “What?”

Eh, is it crazy that I’m not following?

…How can that possibly be!

I took a deep breath, and then,

“Why would a woman who is now trying to make Komori fall in love with her decide to have a lover!? No matter how you look at it, it’s going to have the opposite effect!”

“…Hah~. Kengo still doesn’t know anything.”

It’s you who don’t know anything!

“Listen, from now on I need Komori-kun to find me attractive. Do you understand so far?”

She talked as if she were talking to a monkey.

Oh man. This is the first time in my life that I really wanted to hit a woman.

I really wanted to lose my temper, but the conversation wouldn’t go anywhere, so I held back.

It’s a good thing I started learning anger management.

I feel like an older brother now, not a younger brother.

Since I’m the one who’s trying to act like the bigger sibling.

“I know you’re trying to show your appeal. I understand that. But why is the only way to do that is to be a fake couple with your brother?”

“…Hah~.”

I’m the one who needs to sigh!

“Kengo. I’m disappointed in you.”

“Why!?”

“Most good women have lovers. Think about it. I’m a good-looking girl, but I didn’t have a lover other than Komori-kun, right? That makes me seem like I have a bad personality.”

In fact, that’s true! In more ways than one!

“It’s not cool to look unsold. Is that what you want to say?”

“Who’s unsold!!”

Why is she getting angry!?

This sister is no good, I need to do something quick…

“I want to manipulate Komori-kun’s impression of me.”

“Manipulate impressions!?”

I looked at my sister with wide-open eyes.

“That’s right. It wasn’t that I couldn’t get a boyfriend. It’s that I didn’t get one. And if I want to get a good man like Kengo–ah, don’t get me wrong. To me, Kengo can’t even compare to Komori-kun. But you’re my brother and you’re good looking, right? So I want people to think I’m a top-notch woman who can get a good man.”

“I see. I see what you mean.”

In other words, she wants to plant the idea that she is a good woman who can attract a handsome man.　

But let me be the first to say this. It will definitely have the opposite effect.

I don’t claim to be a good looking guy, but I guess that’s how the world perceives me.

I can tell by looking at the people who make a “kyaa!” fuss over my every move.

That’s why I’ve always been a target of jealousy. I have received countless unjustified slanders.

It’s because normal people can’t do things that are easy for me to do.

If that’s the case, then–

“So come pick me up after school tomorrow, Kengo. I will report to Shota-kun that I have found a boyfriend.”

“–HUH!? NO, NO, NO! If you did that, he would surely give up on you, Sis!”

Because imagine it for a second.

Suppose I pretend to be a lover alongside my sister, who is a high school student.

And if Komori would say, “I’m not going to lose to this guy!” I think it would have a certain effect.

But from what my sister told me, Komori isn’t that kind of a guy.

If anything, he would say, “Ah… I knew this is the kind of person who will be Natsukawa-san’s lover. I can’t compete with him.”

We shouldn’t do this. We definitely shouldn’t do this.

My instincts told me that, but this idiot,

“Now Shota-kun’s opinion of me will surely go up.”

No matter how you look at it, it’s a plunge into the abyss. Niagara Falls would be pale in comparison.

I explained to her how bad this operation is, but she didn’t listen to me at all.

“…Hah~. I don’t care what happens.”

I let out a sigh as I held my head in my hands after being pushed too hard.

I really don’t care what happens!

☆

As I left my sister’s house, I felt a rush of exhaustion.

In the end, I have to pretend to be her boyfriend tomorrow… Hah~, I’m so depressed.

Anyway, let’s get to bed quickly today.

As I was walking home with a sense of despair, I suddenly saw a familiar figure in my field of vision.

Coming out of the coffee shop was my girlfriend–Tenshi Izumi.

Ah. Come to think of it, I turned down Tenshi’s invitation to come to Sis’ house.

She took the trouble to invite me, but I did something bad.

“Oi, Tenshi!”

The moment I was about to run to her at the end of the pedestrian crossing, while shouting that,

My heart jumped out of my chest.

Because a man came out of the coffee shop to follow Tenshi.

Oi, wait a sec. Who the h**l is that guy?–EH!?

I have never met him before, but I feel like I have seen his face somewhere.

Hmm… Where? Where did I know about that guy?

I activated the facial recognition system in my brain.

No, not this guy. Not that guy either. Damn it, just from where do I know this guy–

I scratched my head, not quite managing to find the result from the filter.

Just when I was about to give up on the search,

–ISN’T THAT KOMORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!?????

The wallpaper of Sis’ cell phone hit me.

Eh, wait, wait, wait! Wh-Wh-Wh-What is the meaning of this!?

Why the h**l is he coming out of the coffee shop with my girlfriend?

My body stiffened at the sight of something I no longer understand.

The most puzzling thing is…

Tenshi is smiling like she’s having so much fun!!!!!!!!!!

Moreover, as I’m thinking this, she took out her cell phone,

Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!

Don’t tell me you guys haven’t exchanged contact information!? Wave your cell phones at each other! (T/N: Kek…)

Oh my God, what the h**l is going on!?

At this point, for the first time in my life, I was scared out of my wits.

My legs stopped moving in fear that I might lose my relationship with Tenshi.

If only I had rushed to that place before I could think about it, I wouldn’t have been involved in such a troublesome situation–but at that time I couldn’t avoid the trouble that would come later.

☆ Shota Komori ☆

“Wait, wait a minute, Izumi-san! At this point, let’s not even look at the drinks. But why should I even buy you a super-sized deluxe parfait?”

Izumi-san, who had made an agreement with me, said, “We have to fight Natsukawa-san from now on, so we need to replenish our energy. Ah, waitress. I’ll have two of these super-sized deluxe parfaits!”

Yes. She ordered two of them, each costing more than 1,500 yen.

And before I knew it, I found myself treating her.

“You can make a girl’s tears disappear with a sweet treat, you know? What are you going to do if you don’t show your manly side here?”

“Damn it… It’s a small price to pay when you put it that way.”

“Eh?!”

Izumi-san’s eyes widened at my casual remark.

Eh? What? Did I possibly say something wrong?

“Um… Are you trying to hit on me by any chance?”

“What makes you think that!?”

“So it’s unconscious, huh…? I see. Perhaps Komori-san is a natural womanizer.”

“I’m treating you and you’re still bad-mouthing me!?”

I wonder if there has ever been such unreasonable treatment.

“Fufu. It appears to be confirmed–Okay!”

Izumi-san looked convinced.

She pulled her cell phone out of her breast pocket.

“Please rest assured. I don’t intend to ask you to treat me for free either. I will pay you what you deserve.”

“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant–“

“–Exchange contact information with me.”

“Yes!?”

“We have an agreement. From now on, we will cooperate for each other’s sake. Then we should be able to contact each other at any time.”

“That’s…”

“Please rest assured. I say exchange, but it’s a contact I can discard at any time.”

“There’s no need for you to tell me that at all!”

“Eh, you expect me to give you my real life contact information? …Tch.”

“Don’t click your tongue!! Ah, well then, just use a contact number that you can discard anytime you want. Please tell me that.”

We waved our cell phones and exchanged contact information.

“Now we are accomplices.”

“Well… I don’t know what I can do, but I look forward to working with you from now on.”

“Me too. I look forward to working with you too, Shota-san.”

“Shota-san!?”

☆

This chapter was weird to TL. Natsukawa said Komori-kun, instead of Shota-kun. And the contact info exchange doesn’t make sense with both Komori and Kengo’s perspective.