DHCYA 07

Chapter 7

How to End a One-Sided Love

Now that I think about it, I started to wonder what kind of situation this was.

Not long after waking up, I followed my senior with a dazed expression and forced myself to quicken my pace.

“Um, senior. Senior.”

This is hard. Really hard.

Maybe because his legs were long, it was difficult to keep up.

Noticing this, Noah-senpai stopped walking when I called out to him.

“Sorry. Was it difficult?”

“…N-no.”

“You’re wearing glasses.”

“Ah, yes.”

I adjusted my glasses, which had slipped down at some point.

Since I had left them sitting in a drawer unused, dust had gathered on the lenses. I should’ve at least wiped them before coming out.

As I frowned, thinking about where I had left the cleaning cloth, my senior gently smiled and brushed my fallen hair aside.

“You look pretty.”

Thump.

I held onto my heart as it began pounding heavily and looked up at his kind golden eyes.

W-what did he say? Pretty? Pretty?

Am I dreaming?

At the thought, I pinched my cheek hard, but instead of waking up, it just hurt.

“Shall we go?”

Shaken by the shock of my senior calling me “pretty,” I snapped back to my senses at his words.

Ah, right. We were in the middle of the hallway. I should go.

I shook my head vigorously to clear my thoughts and hurriedly followed Noah-senpai with quick, small steps.

Perhaps he was being considerate of me, because his pace had noticeably slowed down.

Now that I think about it, that’s not the important thing. Where are we going?

My briefly relaxed expression turned serious again.

I needed to get to class soon, and if this took too long, it would be a problem. Just as I was about to ask where we were headed, an unexpected scene appeared before my eyes.

“Um, senior. This is the second-year building.”

Looking up at Noah-senpai with an anxious expression, he gave a small nod in response.

“I know.”

What? Did he have business here?

Confused by his casual answer, I tilted my head but continued walking slowly.

“…!”

Since it was still somewhat early, there weren’t many students around. But a few who had already arrived froze in place upon seeing him. Well, it made sense—there wasn’t much reason for Noah-senpai to come to another grade’s building.

“Have a good class.”

He lifted his hand as if to pat my head, then withdrew it again.

The lips that rarely curved upward formed a faint smile.

It was a sight I had longed to see—but somehow, it felt heavy in my chest.

“Bye.”

After offering a quiet farewell, Noah-senpai turned around and walked away.

Huh?

Huhh?

Huhhh?

I stood there with a blank expression, watching his back grow farther away.

Wasn’t he here for something else? Did he really bring me all the way here?

Noah-senpai? Me?

Standing in the hallway, I muttered to myself with a dazed expression.

“…Why?”

“So he walked you all the way to your classroom?”

After hearing my story, Dora repeated it with a sour expression. She must have been a little upset, since she had to come to class alone that morning because I left with Noah-senpai.

“Why would he do that?”

“How should I know? Don’t ask me.”

I avoided Dora’s gaze while snacking on chocolate cookies.

“Wait a second…”

After mulling it over for a while, I raised my eyebrows and spoke. My eyes met Dora’s navy-blue ones.

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

We muttered at almost the same time.

As if that made any sense. Noah-senpai liking me? Even I found that ridiculous. When I confessed, he couldn’t even say anything—so it was practically a rejection.

A snort escaped me on its own. Shaking my head, I suddenly had a thought and snapped my head up.

“Could it be he felt bad for rejecting me?”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Dora nodded slowly. Pointing at me with one finger, she said,

“Did you maybe cry in front of him or something?”

“…I don’t think so?”

I tilted my head, trying to recall my vague memory.

I had tried not to cry, so it probably wasn’t visible. Ah, but what if tears had actually slipped out? Then I might as well be dead.