141 - What Do I Like About You? Everything!

RAW

Haruto’s high school life had been nothing but ordinary.

Every morning, he would enter the classroom, exchange light greetings with his classmates, and take his seat. Until homeroom began, he would either study, read, or chat with Tomoya.

That quiet school life vanished the moment he publicly revealed his relationship with Ayaka.

As soon as Haruto and Ayaka stepped into the classroom, countless gazes pierced through him.

At the same time, Ayaka’s friends rushed over.

“Good morning! You were holding hands with Otsuki-kun on your way to school today, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, I mean, Haruto’s my boyfriend.”

Ayaka responded, her cheeks slightly flushed at her friend’s remark.

Seeing her looking both bashful and happy, the girls squealed with excitement, while the boys wore grim expressions.

Feeling the occasional resentful stares, Haruto shifted his bag from his shoulder to his hand.

“Ayaka, I’m just gonna put my stuff down at my desk.”

After telling her that, he headed toward his seat.

Immediately, a group of boys surrounded him.

“Hey, Otsuki, how did you manage to get together with her? I mean, Tojo-san has turned down every single confession up till now.”

“Oh, well…”

Haruto hesitated to answer.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t entirely sure why Ayaka had fallen for him.

“You two started dating over summer break, right? What was the trigger?”

“Well… it was because of my part-time job…”

It was through his housework service job that he and Ayaka grew closer.

That much was clear, but if someone asked why she fell for him through that, he had no answer. In fact, Haruto himself wanted to know.

Ayaka had once mentioned that she already liked him by the time they went on their first movie date.

That meant something must have happened before then to make her develop feelings.

“…Maybe the hamburger steak…?”

“Hamburger steak? What the hell does that mean? Hey, Akagi, do you know anything about this?”

Frowning at Haruto’s vague answer, the boy turned to his best friend, Tomoya, for information.

“No idea. I didn’t even realize they were a thing until the latter half of summer break. If you’re so curious, why not ask the person herself? Right, Tojo-san?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Wha—?!”

Before anyone noticed, Ayaka had moved right next to Haruto.

The boy questioning him hadn’t expected the school idol to be so close, and he jolted in shock.

Usually, Ayaka was always surrounded by girls, leaving no room for boys to approach.

But now, she clearly wanted to be near her boyfriend, so she had come over to Haruto’s seat.

“What’s going on?”

Tilting her head slightly, Ayaka looked at Tomoya.

Tomoya then glanced at Haruto, silently urging him, “Go on, ask her.”

“Uh… Ayaka, um… what made you fall for me?”

“Huh? What do I like about you? Everything.”

She answered instantly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Hearing that, Haruto felt a mix of happiness and embarrassment welling up inside him.

“Oh, uh… thanks. But, you know, it wasn’t always like that, right? I mean, was there a specific moment that made you start liking me?”

“A moment, huh… Hmm…”

Ayaka placed a hand on her chin in thought.

“I don’t think I can explain it clearly. I just suddenly realized I was head over heels for you.”

“Oh… I see.”

“But, you know, I do remember the exact moment I truly fell in love.”

“Really? Fell in love? What do you mean?”

What could she mean by the exact moment she fell in love?

Wasn’t the moment she started liking him the same as when she fell for him?

As Haruto pondered this, Ayaka blushed and shyly began speaking.

“When the fireworks festival got postponed due to rain, you set up a little festival at home just for me, remember?”

“Yeah.”

“That night, I truly felt how much you cared for me. I realized just how happy it is to be cherished by the person you love.”

Recalling that memory, Ayaka’s face was filled with warmth as she leaned slightly toward Haruto.

“In that moment, my heart overflowed with ‘I love Haruto’ feelings, and I thought, ‘Oh, so this is what it means to fall in love.’”

“I see… Then I guess getting soaked in the rain was worth it.”

“Yeah. But like I told you before, don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

Smiling happily yet with a hint of concern, Ayaka looked at Haruto.

In response, he also smiled and replied.

“I told you before, too, right? Even if it means going overboard, I want to see your smile.”

“Hehe… You’re so sweet, Haruto…”

Unable to hold back, Ayaka let out a soft, affectionate laugh.

She then took a step closer to him—but before she could go any further, Tomoya’s exasperated voice cut in.

“Hey, you two. Did you forget this is a classroom?”

“Huh? Ah—!”

Realizing she had been about to hug Haruto, Ayaka froze mid-movement and snapped back to reality.

Haruto, on the other hand, simply chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head.

He could feel the intense stares of his classmates pressing down on him—far more powerful than before. Each gaze seemed to carry heavy emotions.

“Haruto, how much do you flirt with Tojo-san at home?”

“It’s not that much.”

“Really now?”

“Come on, Shuichi-san and Ikue-san are there, not to mention my grandma.”

“But you two are alone sometimes, right? I mean, you’re basically living together.”

“Well… yeah…”

Haruto averted his gaze at Tomoya’s pointed remark.

Seeing that, Tomoya let out a mix of an exasperated sigh and an envious mutter.

At that moment, Saki sneaked up behind Ayaka—who was still frozen in embarrassment—and hugged her from behind with a teasing grin.

“Ayaka~ You two are putting on quite the show this morning. The whole classroom’s atmosphere has completely changed, you know?”

“S-Saki, this is… I was just talking to Haruto normally…”

“Oh? That was a normal conversation? So you talk to Otsuki-kun like that every day, huh? Hmm?”

“No, no, that’s not it! I just wanted to tell Haruto that I love him…”

“Uh-huh, sure~ But you do love Otsuki-kun a lot, don’t you?”

“Ugh… Saki…”

Both Haruto and Ayaka blushed under the relentless teasing from their best friends.

Their classmates reacted in various ways, causing the classroom to buzz with excitement.

Just then, a male student who had arrived late hesitantly approached Haruto’s desk.

“Hey, uh… Sato was mumbling to himself in the hallway just now. I couldn’t catch everything, but I think he was saying, ‘Otsuki is incredible.’ You think he’s okay?”

“Uh… yeah, I think he’ll be fine… probably.”

Haruto’s peaceful high school life was long gone.

But he had no regrets.

As long as he could spend his school days with Ayaka, he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“Hey, Haruto. I found this cool-looking vase on a flea market app for ten yen. What do you think?”

“Stop that already!”

As he smacked Tomoya’s arm, Haruto briefly imagined how chaotic his school life would become… then promptly gave up on thinking about it.

As long as Ayaka’s smile was beside him, that was all that mattered.