39 - Ayaka's Love Part①, Second Half

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Saki nodded thoughtfully after hearing my explanation.

"Well, it’s Ayaka’s first love, right? I can kind of understand wanting to chase your ideal."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but... I also think you missed an opportunity."

Saki leaned forward a little as she spoke to me.

"Like I said before, Otsuki is pretty popular with the girls in class. If you keep hesitating too long, someone might snatch him away."

"Y-yeah, I thought so too."

"To avoid that, you could’ve just started dating him quickly and claimed the official ‘girlfriend’ position. Then you could take your time to win him over."

Her words made me feel anxious all of a sudden.

"And besides, you want to get rid of the guilt surrounding Otsuki’s lie and start dating him for real, don’t you?"

"Yeah."

"But as long as you keep pretending to be his girlfriend, Otsuki won’t be able to forget that lie, right? Actually, the more you keep playing that role, the more guilty he’s going to feel."

Saki’s words hit me right in the chest.

She was right. The more I pretended to be Otsuki’s girlfriend, the more he would feel indebted to me. If that happens, I’ll never be able to confess my feelings to him.

I realized that after I went home yesterday and thought about it calmly. I panicked and called Saki right away.

"Saki, help me! What should I do?"

I clung to her for help, and she sighed, shaking her head.

"Honestly... First, you fall in love, and next thing I know, you’re pretending to be his girlfriend? You sound like the heroine of a rom-com."

She looked a bit exasperated, but I just stared back at her with teary eyes.

Saki sighed again and, after thinking for a bit, finally spoke.

"Let’s go over the situation. First, Otsuki probably likes you or at least has feelings for you."

"I think so..."

"But he feels guilty about the lie, so even if you show him affection, he might think you’re just playing along because of that."

"Yeah."

"But you want to tell Otsuki how you feel—genuinely, right?"

Hearing that, my face suddenly felt hot.

"...Y-yeah."

"Stop blushing!"

"B-but..."

"No buts!"

As always, Saki was a strict love coach.

With her arms crossed, she closed her eyes, deep in thought for a while. I sat there, anxious, waiting for her answer.

Should I have just confessed back then? But Otsuki was really down at the time. It felt like I would be taking advantage of his weakness, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Ugh... Saki, please help me!

As I silently prayed to my best friend sitting across from me, Saki finally opened her eyes.

"Yeah, I can only think of one way."

"There’s a way?"

My spirits lifted as hope returned.

"I don’t know if it’s the right answer, though."

Saki gave me a wry smile.

Even if it’s not the right answer, I’ll take it! I couldn’t come up with anything good after thinking about it all day yesterday.

But if it’s Saki, she’s bound to give me better advice than I could come up with.

"Ayaka, do you remember what I said before? That playing the game is important in love?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well then... forget about that."

"Huh?"

I blinked in confusion at her words.

"I don’t need to play games anymore?"

"Well, your love story has gone beyond normal bounds. Actually, you might want to forget what I said about not using romance manga or novels as references. In your case, your situation is starting to resemble something from fiction."

Saki smiled as if she had come to terms with something.

"Is my first love really that strange?"

"Strange? More like over-the-top... Anyway, here’s the plan for how to win over Otsuki."

"Yeah?"

I focused all my attention on what she would say next.

"Get Otsuki to confess to you."

"Wait, get him to confess to me?"

Not the other way around?

Otsuki’s the one who’s going to confess?

"You want to start a relationship based on pure feelings, right?"

"Yeah, but... getting Otsuki to confess seems really hard..."

He already feels guilty about lying to me. As long as that guilt is there, I doubt it would be easy for him to confess his feelings.

"That’s right. Otsuki probably won’t confess easily. But that’s why it’ll mean so much when he does."

Saki gave me a sly smile.

"Otsuki feels guilty toward you right now. He’s probably thinking something like, ‘I can't confess to her after what I’ve done. It’s too disrespectful.’"

"Yeah, I think so too."

As I nodded, Saki suddenly raised her voice in excitement.

"But! If he does confess to you despite that guilt, it means he likes you so much that his feelings override it!"

"He likes me so much he overcomes his guilt... But how am I supposed to make him like me that much?"

I’ve never been in a relationship before, and I’ve always avoided boys. Can I really charm Otsuki to that extent? I’m so unsure...

"Ayaka, you're already pretending to be his girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

"And you have to keep up the act in front of his grandma, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"That’s it! Use that!"

Saki pointed at me sharply as she explained.

"Since you’ve never dated anyone before, tell Otsuki that you need to practice being his girlfriend in front of his grandma."

"Practice being a couple?"

"Exactly! Use it as an excuse to get closer to him—flirt, let him spoil you, or do the opposite. Just blur the lines between fake and real until he can’t tell the difference."

Saki’s grin made her look like she was plotting something mischievous.

"Like I said before, forget about strategy and just go all out. You’re already his girlfriend, even if it’s just pretend."

"Go all out with Otsuki... I’m not sure I can do that..."

Saki, sensing my hesitation, encouraged me firmly.

"If you hold back, you might end up stuck in this fake girlfriend role for a long time, and it’ll get more complicated."

"I don’t want that..."

"Then you’ll have to be so bold that Otsuki’s practically swept off his feet."

"Swept off his feet...?"

At that moment, I suddenly remembered the time at the water play area in Animal Crossing Park. My face heated up so much that I thought steam might come out of my head.

"Well, I was joking about that part. But you should try being a bit more assertive."

After saying that, Saki added something else important.

"And remember, it’s not just about using charm. You also need to become the kind of girlfriend Otsuki would ideally want—someone thoughtful, maybe graceful. I don’t know his preferences, but you get the idea."

Otsuki is kind of serious and tries to be honest. To get him to like me enough to overcome his guilt, I’ll need to put in some real effort.

"Okay, I’ll work hard to become Otsuki’s ideal girlfriend and make him confess to me!"

With determination, I said those words, and Saki smiled and nodded.

"It’ll be tough, but keep working toward your perfect first love. If you need any help, I’m always here for you."

"Thanks, Saki."

Her words gave me strength, and I smiled at my supportive friend.

We then spent the rest of our time at the café discussing our plan to get Otsuki to confess, which we dubbed the "Couple Practice Strategy."

---

Back in my room, I sat on my bed, reflecting on our conversation.

"Getting Otsuki to confess..."

Saying it out loud made my heart race.

It won’t be easy.

But... Otsuki must already think about me, even if just a little.

So if I work hard to appeal to him and become his ideal girlfriend... then one day...

"Alright! I’ll do my best!"

I clenched my fists, full of determination.

If you had told me before summer vacation that I’d be in this situation, I would never have believed it.

I met someone who caught my interest, fell for him, and now I’m pretending to be his girlfriend.

Saki said my love life is a bit out there, and she’s probably right.

But this is my love story.

My first, precious love!

I’ll become the girlfriend Otsuki finds irresistible, and one day, I won’t just be his fake girlfriend—I’ll definitely be his real one!

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Ayaka’s determination towards Haruto: I will definitely become his real girlfriend!