Chapter 3 The Arcade of Distractions

The Arcade of Distractions

Well, well, even if it’s a new girlfriend…

During the lunch break, after eating with Haruto, I go to different classrooms by myself.

I walk around to see…

Oh, I like that girl. No, that girl too. She’s really pretty! Oh, she’s pretty too!

… Huh?!

There’s something weird. It’s like, how do you say, a little weird, what am I doing, now?!

Am I looking for someone to be my girlfriend out of nowhere? Huh, let alone a girlfriend… I’ve never talked to another girl before.

That means what I’m doing now is useless, right?

“What am I doing?”

How do I fall in love?

I see a cute girl, but she doesn’t move me at all.

“What am I looking for?”

As I walked at a leisurely pace, someone called out to me from behind. The voice belonged to a man.

Who was he? I don’t have many friends. Moreover, I don’t have a friend with a voice like that.

There’s no point in thinking about it.

I turn around slowly.

“…”

My eyes widened involuntarily at the unexpected figure.

The protagonist.

And…

I turn to face her and she turns her face away from me.

Mia was there, next to the protagonist.

They’re holding hands. Oh, look at her happy face, even though you just broke up yesterday.

“Hey, do you regret what you did?”

The protagonist asks me with a smile.

Wow, he’s handsome.

“Huh? Are you talking about Mia?”

“Yes.”

While the protagonist and I were talking, Mia turned her head away.

She has a complicated expression on her face.

“No, I don’t. I don’t regret breaking up with her. Be happy.”

I smile at both of them and walk away.

“Hey, wait…”

I thought I heard something behind me, but it was probably just my imagination.

I decided to return to the classroom.

“Akito, you’re free after school today, right?”

“Oh, yeah.”

I used to go home with Mia, but we broke up yesterday, so I’m free!

“Well, let’s go to the arcade then.”

“Oh!”

Woohoo! It’s been a while since I’ve been to the arcade!

“Hey, your skills are still good, right?”

“No, I don’t know. The last time I went with you was before high school.”

“I’m sure it’s already down. Haha, okay, let’s go…”

Haruto cranks his neck. Not forcibly, though.

Haruto and I laughed at each other.

Oh, I love it. I want to find a new girlfriend, but it’s also fun to play with Haruto like this.

“Oh, well, I heard that your ex-girlfriend was very intimate with the ‘Protagonist’.”

The ‘protagonist’ Haruto is referring to is, of course, Mochizuki Kaito.

Of course, he didn’t know about this game.

This just because Mochizuki Kaito is so handsome, the ace of the soccer club, has a good personality, and so popular that guys call him the ‘protagonist’.

“Yes, I know. We’ve met before.”

“Oh, really? What?”

“Well, he asked me if I regretted breaking up with Mia. So I said, no, not at all.”

“… He’s provoking you, isn’t he?”

“No, no, no, he’s the protagonist. He’s not the kind of guy who’s looking for that kind of cheap fight.”

“Well, that’s true.”

After that, Haruto and I went to the arcade.