Chapter 55: My Classmate Yuno, Who Always Happens to Run into Me
"Bocchi-chan~"
Another change came to Hitori's school life this day. During lunch break, Ikuyo appeared at their classroom door, calling out while waving into the room, her face wearing the lively smile typical of popular students.
For Hitori, this was something she never could have imagined before. Now she had become one of those successful people who had popular friends coming to find them after class.
But before going to Ikuyo, Hitori first glanced toward Ren.
Meeting her gaze, Ren gave a gentle smile, indicating that Hitori was free to go with Ikuyo. Now that Hitori had made plenty of friends, the next step was maintaining those relationships. Ren didn't mind if they weren't together every single lunch period.
With Ren's approval, Hitori excitedly went to meet Ikuyo. To have a popular beauty come find her after class—she had unknowingly surpassed so many of her classmates.
"Bocchi-chan, I hope I'm not interrupting your date with Ren-kun?"
After calling Hitori over, Ikuyo looked somewhat embarrassed, but she had no choice.
Having just picked up the guitar again, she couldn't practice conveniently at home and urgently needed Hitori's guidance. So she could only use some lunch break time for extra practice. Of course, they could continue at Kessoku Band too.
But now that Hitori had a boyfriend, this might affect her time with Ren. It would definitely reduce some of their time together.
"It's fine, Ren doesn't mind, and..."
Hitori shook her head. Ren had always supported her activities with the band and wouldn't mind missing this little time together.
But wouldn't Ren be left alone after she left? Would that give Satou and Yuno an opportunity?
This was her biggest worry, but she couldn't just bring Ren along either? If they did everything together, they might easily get tired of each other.
"And?"
"Never mind."
Just as Ren always encouraged her to be more confident and believe in herself, she should believe in Ren too. Setting aside her worries, Hitori took Ikuyo to her secret base to teach her how to play guitar.
No sooner had Hitori left than Satou got up and sat in Hitori's seat, even throwing a challenging glance at Yuno.
But Yuno just smiled faintly and left the classroom with her lunch box.
"Ren, let's have lunch together~ I made you a bento today too~"
Thinking she had won this round, Satou showed Ren a sweet smile, placing two lunch boxes on the desk.
"Maybe next time, I have something to do."
It was better not to interact with girls who had feelings for him when his girlfriend wasn't around. Ren politely declined before picking up his own lunch and leaving the classroom.
"It's just having lunch together, Ren. You don't need to avoid me like that, do you?"
Though not surprised, Satou still felt somewhat disappointed and followed Ren, trying to find an opportunity.
"If we were dating and another girl came to have lunch with me, would you be okay with that?"
Hitori stopped in his tracks. When faced with a girl like Satou who clearly knew he had a girlfriend yet still showed interest in him, his first instinct—having experienced his first love with Hitori—was to consistently and explicitly reject her.
If the other person were as annoyingly persistent as a lovesick puppy, he could reject them without mercy. But Satou was merely expressing interest—being too harsh would make him the one at fault. He could stay true to himself, but he couldn't stop others from liking him.
The best approach was simply to avoid her and spare himself the trouble.
"We could start dating first!"
Upon hearing this, Satou selectively ignored the latter part of his words. Whether it would work out or not, they'd have to try dating first to find out.
"I have a girlfriend."
Ren couldn't help but roll his eyes at Satou. Dream on. Though she was pretty and cute, Hitori was even prettier and cuter.
As for their personalities, both seemed to have their flaws, so he wouldn't compare them.
After saying this, he continued walking outside. Satou gritted her teeth but didn't follow. Being too clingy at this stage would only annoy Ren. If it didn't work today, she'd try again tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in the classroom, Gabriel glanced up at Ren, pondering how much money she should ask him for. Her earlier intuition hadn't been wrong—someone had genuinely altered Ren's future.
It wasn't too much to exchange this information for some cash to spend on her games, was it?
If she had to step in and resolve the situation herself, she'd need extra payment.
As for acting out of chivalry and helping others selflessly—she'd pass on that. Even angels needed to eat, and her allowance was no longer enough to support her gaming habits. She needed to earn some extra income quickly, and Ren seemed like a suitable sponsor.
After shaking off Satou, Ren wandered around the campus, searching for a suitable spot for young couples to have some private time. He wanted to prepare for future lunch breaks with Hitori.
But no matter where he looked, none of the places were as secluded as the stairwell where Hitori usually hid. Unexpectedly, Hitori turned out to be quite the expert at finding hiding spots.
In the end, Ren made his way to the rooftop.
The rooftop at Toyosaki High was officially closed to students, though the school hadn't actually locked it—they'd just put up a notice.
The closure was due to safety concerns, as there was a risk of students attempting dangerous stunts or even falling. Even though the area had been renovated and benches were installed for students to rest, the school had decided to shut down this recreational space.
But if you were bold enough to ignore the school's notice and weren't afraid of getting caught, accessing the rooftop was as easy as breathing.
Even so, most students were too intimidated to go up there. Those who feared their teachers wouldn't dare defy the school's warning and enter the rooftop.
Ren, however, wasn't one of those people. He wouldn't flinch even if the principal came to catch him in person, so the vast rooftop practically became his private lounge.
Or so it seemed—because there was someone else just as daring as he was.
"Ren, what brings you to the rooftop for lunch break too?"
Yuno sat on one of the benches installed on the rooftop. When she saw Ren, she looked surprised, then smiled at him with evident delight, as if pleasantly startled by their chance encounter.
"I wanted to find a quiet place to rest. I didn't expect you to be here too."
Ren was also somewhat surprised. Yuno appeared to be a well-behaved girl, yet she turned out to be quite bold, daring to disregard the school's warnings.
"What a coincidence. Let's have lunch together then."
As she spoke, Yuno shifted aside considerably, making ample space for Ren to sit beside her—a clear invitation for him to join her.
"Excuse me."
Unlike his wariness around Satou, Ren felt no such caution toward Yuno. They had shared some brief encounters in middle school, and since Yuno was Hitori's friend, she was essentially his friend as well.
So far, none of Hitori's friends had turned out to be bad people.
The worst, if he had to name one, would be Ryo, who borrowed money and never returned it. According to Hitori, Ryo had borrowed 3,000 yen from her with no intention of paying it back—almost like band bullying, if one didn't know better.
Thus, Ren sat down beside Yuno, leaving enough space for two people between them.
They chatted idly while eating, occasionally complaining about how boring a certain teacher's class was, making everyone drowsy, or gossiping about some boy or girl from the next class who got caught dating by a teacher. These were all trivial matters from their student days, making Ren feel relaxed and at ease.
Among those he had helped before, Yuno was definitely the one who put him more at ease.
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