207 — A Senior’s Proposal

RAW

After school, Haruto and Tomoya met up with Minato.

The three of them entered a hamburger shop in front of the station.

“Order whatever you want,” Minato said generously as Haruto and Tomoya looked up at the menu above the register.

“Well then, don’t mind if I do,” Tomoya replied before ordering a huge burger set.

“What about you, Otsuki?”

“I’ll just have fries and a drink set.”

“That’s enough? Don’t hold back.”

“No, I’m not that hungry.”

More than anything, Haruto was too distracted wondering what Minato wanted to talk about.

After glancing briefly at Haruto’s expression, Minato muttered, “I see,” and finished ordering for all three of them.

Incidentally, Minato himself ordered a limited-time extra-meaty burger set.

Holding the numbered order tag, he headed upstairs beside the register toward the second-floor dining area.

“How about that empty table in the corner?”

Pointing toward a table against the wall, Minato waited for Haruto and Tomoya to nod before sitting down across from them, with Tomoya beside Haruto.

“Alright, let’s get right to it.”

Without any preamble, Minato began speaking.

“Are you planning to do something about Toujou-san’s current situation?”

The directness of the question made Haruto straighten his back.

“You mean the constant confessions?”

“Exactly.”

“I do want to stop it somehow. But I can’t figure out how…”

Haruto fell silent with a troubled expression.

Minato crossed his arms and stared at him.

“You are aware that the reason Toujou-san ended up like this is because of you, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Remembering what Sato had told him in the changing room earlier, Haruto nodded.

“But I still can’t think of any way to stop the confessions…”

Watching Haruto struggle, Minato continued speaking.

“Before this, there were rumors that Toujou-san wasn’t interested in romance at all. Some people even said she wasn’t interested in guys.”

“Honestly, that’s true,” Tomoya agreed from beside Haruto. “Before summer break, Ayaka totally gave off that vibe. Like she rejected all guys automatically.”

“And then suddenly, Otsuki appeared.”

Minato pointed at Haruto.

“People who had already given up because they thought Toujou-san had no interest in love or men at all… now their emotions are all stirred up because you showed up beside her.”

Then Minato laughed bitterly.

“Well, I’m one of those guys too.”

“…Are you planning to confess to Ayaka again?”

Haruto asked cautiously.

Minato shook his head.

“I’m not insensitive enough to confess to someone who already has a boyfriend.”

After saying that, he leaned slightly forward.

“But if it’s to help you, I thought maybe confessing again wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”

“Helping me by confessing? What do you mean?”

Looking puzzled, Haruto listened as Minato spoke seriously.

“One of the reasons confessions to Toujou-san increased is because confessing to her has basically become a trend.”

“A trend?”

“Before you two started dating, there was still a possibility she might say yes. But now everyone already knows confession equals failure.”

“So why does that make it more popular?”

Normally, if the chances were zero, people should give up instead.

Minato shook his head.

“When people already know the result, the psychological burden gets lighter. They don’t need to hold onto false hope anymore either. Since everyone expects rejection, failing isn’t embarrassing. Nobody laughs at them for it. In other words, the hurdle for confessing gets lower.”

“But does that even make confession meaningful?”

“At the very least, they get to talk directly to the school idol. Before this, they could only admire her from afar.”

Hearing that explanation, Tomoya—who had been quietly listening—nodded repeatedly.

“Ohhh, I get it now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Confessing to Ayaka is basically like an idol handshake event.”

An idol usually exists only on a distant stage or beyond a screen.

But a handshake event lets fans approach them directly.

Tomoya explained that the boys at school were treating Ayaka’s confessions the same way.

Minato nodded.

“To the guys, confession has become an easy event where they can interact with the school idol.”

“An event…”

“Pretty awful when you think about it. Normally, confessing to a girl who already has a boyfriend is ridiculous.”

Ayaka herself was troubled and exhausted by the confession rush.

But because she now understood how much courage confession required after falling in love with Haruto, she couldn’t bring herself to reject people coldly.

That kindness only increased the burden on her.

“And yet they’re confessing just because it’s trendy…”

“Some people probably are genuinely trying to move on. And there are also the guys who don’t care whether she has a boyfriend or not.”

Haruto immediately remembered the upperclassman who had made Shizuku explode in anger.

“…But what does stopping the confessions have to do with you confessing again?”

“I’ll confess to Toujou-san again in front of the entire school.”

“…What?”

“And in the middle of it, Otsuki, you stop me.”

“Stop you during the confession?”

“Exactly. Before Toujou-san can answer me, you interrupt and say, ‘Please stop. You’re bothering her.’ Then I’ll accept it honestly and apologize.”

Minato leaned back in his chair.

“If we do that in front of everyone, people will finally realize that these confessions are a nuisance. And if I openly apologize to you, the next guy will think twice before confessing. Nobody wants to confess while admitting they’re in the wrong.”

Just as Minato finished explaining, the employee brought over their burgers.

“Please enjoy your meal.”

After watching the employee leave, Minato looked back at Haruto.

“If I openly bow my head and apologize to you, future guys will have to acknowledge they’re causing trouble too. Very few people would confess under those circumstances.”

Tomoya folded his arms and nodded seriously.

“Yeah, no guy’s pride would survive apologizing to Haru.”

Haruto lightly elbowed him before facing Minato again.

“What’s in this for you, Senpai?”

Confessing publicly, getting interrupted, and apologizing in front of everyone.

It would definitely have impact.

But it would also be humiliating for Minato.

Surely he understood that too.

As Haruto studied him carefully, Minato gave a bitter smile.

“I told you already, didn’t I? I’m one of the guys whose emotions got messed up after Toujou-san got a boyfriend.”

“…So you want to cut off your lingering feelings too?”

At Haruto’s question, Minato ate a fry before answering.

“Yeah. And I’m using helping you as an excuse to lessen my guilt. Pretty cowardly, right?”

He mocked himself lightly as he spoke.

Seeing that side of him changed Haruto’s impression of Minato completely.

Before now, Haruto had seen him as a somewhat dangerous guy with crazy initiative—the type to prepare a ring and publicly propose to the girl he liked.

But now he seemed more like someone straightforward and honest with himself. Someone who hated crooked behavior.

Haruto even sensed something similar to Ishikura in him.

And for that reason, he found himself genuinely respecting the senior.

“Minato-senpai… thank you for helping us.”

Haruto bowed his head deeply.

“Alright then. We’re agreed on the plan?”

“Yes.”

Just then, Tomoya spoke up.

“But if we’re doing a public confession, when’s the best timing? We need maximum attention, right?”

“You guys are participating in the mixed relay during the sports festival next week, aren’t you?”

Minato himself would also be competing, which meant Haruto and Ayaka would all be there together.

“The award ceremony will attract the entire school’s attention.”

“That’s true. But only the top three teams make the podium, right?”

To stand on that stage, they would need to survive the preliminaries, semifinals, and finals.

Haruto looked slightly uneasy.

Seeing that, Minato smirked provocatively.

“What? You don’t have confidence? You guys have been practicing seriously, haven’t you?”

Haruto’s eyebrow twitched instantly.

Minato continued with a fearless grin.

“Well, even if your team doesn’t make the podium, it’ll still work.”

His expression overflowed with confidence.

“My team is definitely making it up there.”

“…Then we’ll definitely make the podium too.”

Haruto answered firmly.

Apparently his competitive spirit had been ignited, because he now wore a grin just as confident as Minato’s.

“I see. Then we’ll carry out the plan together on the podium. That’ll attract even more attention.”

“Sounds good.”

With that, the plan for a public confession during the mixed relay award ceremony was settled, and the three of them finally started eating their food.

After taking a bite of his meaty limited-time burger and sipping his drink, Minato spoke again.

“By the way, what was it you wanted to ask me?”

Haruto paused before putting a fry into his mouth.

“Ah, right… actually…”

By now, Haruto considered Minato trustworthy.

At the very least, he didn’t seem like someone who would spread rumors about their relationship.

“…I’m actually engaged to Ayaka.”

“…Hah?”

Minato froze mid-motion with a fry between his fingers.

“En…gaged?”

“Yes.”

Haruto briefly explained how the engagement had happened.

After hearing the story, Minato leaned back and stared at the ceiling with a massive sigh.

“What the hell is that… are you two living in a rom-com or something?”

“Haha…”

Since Haruto himself knew how unrealistic their relationship sounded, all he could do was laugh awkwardly.

“So that’s why you wanted to ask about rings?”

“…Yeah.”

Haruto nodded sheepishly.

Minato let out another deep sigh.

“I can’t believe my dark history is coming back to haunt me like this…”

“Sorry…”

Haruto apologized repeatedly while Minato lightly glared at him.

“…One piece of advice. Don’t mention the engagement during the sports festival confession.”

At those words, Tomoya tilted his head.

“Huh? Why not? Wouldn’t that make an even bigger impact?”

“The impact would be too big. If high school students start talking about engagement publicly, the school can’t just ignore that.”

“…Really?”

Tomoya still didn’t seem to grasp it.

Minato grimaced.

“After I confessed to Toujou-san before summer break, student guidance chewed me out afterward.”

Remembering it apparently gave him emotional damage, because he held his head in pain.

“My confession failed, student guidance dragged me in afterward… why the hell did I do that…”

Seeing Minato suffering from the consequences of “love is blind” firsthand, Haruto no longer had the courage to ask any further questions about engagement rings.

“Uh… hang in there, Senpai.”

“Don’t comfort me. It only hurts more…”

At Tomoya’s casual encouragement, Minato weakly slumped his shoulders.