Chapter 18: Let’s Block My Ex-Boyfriend (Hiyori’s Perspective)
【Good evening.】
【Did this reach you?】
When I saw that first, slightly formal message, I thought it was so very like him.
I figured he’d probably overthought things, and as a result, the message ended up being incredibly simple… Discerning Yusuke-kun’s train of thought, I chuckled as I typed my reply.
【It reached me~! Don’t worry!】
【Good.】
【Are you free now?】
I could tell Yusuke-kun wasn’t used to this from the way he kept sending short messages, one after another.
Figuring he was probably nervous about exchanging messages with a girl, I decided to send a reply that was also a bit of a tease.
[I’m free~!]
[Though I’m in the bath right now!!]
[I’ll contact you again later. I’m sorry.]
[Whoa, whoa! You really don’t have to worry about it!]
[I’m so okay with it, we could even have a call, you know!]
[I’m the one who’s not okay with it…]
Reading his lightning-fast, formal reply, I laughed out loud.
He’s just so fun to tease, or maybe it’s that Yusuke-kun always reacts exactly as I expect. Either way, thoroughly enjoying our irresistibly amusing back-and-forth, I brought up a new topic with him.
[About the yakiniku party, I’m free anytime!]
[My parents aren’t home most days, you know. So please tell your family that weekdays are generally okay for me!]
[Hiyori] “Roger that.”
[Hiyori] “Mom also says that once the due date is set, she’s going to go all out to clear her work schedule.”
[Yusuke] “Please tell Marie-san not to push herself too hard!”
[Hiyori] “Mom says, ‘Thank you!'”
[Yusuke] “Is everyone nearby? What are you all doing?”
[Hiyori] “My little brothers are dancing.”
[Hiyori] “They say it’s a dance to celebrate ‘Big Bro’ getting to text a girl.”
[Yusuke] “Awesome! I’m ridiculously loved, aren’t I!”
[Hiyori] “I think they’re probably just making fun of you, though…”
Just from our text exchange, I could already picture what Yusuke-kun’s home was like.
His whole family was probably there, teasing Yusuke-kun together while watching over him with warm affection… I chuckled, picturing such a happy family, and it was just as I was about to reply to that.
【Yo! I know this is sudden, but wanna go somewhere tomorrow after school?】
“My mom’s apparently going out tomorrow, so I was thinking of eating out for dinner.”
“Huh…?”
I couldn’t help but frown and murmur as I read the message that had suddenly arrived, one of a completely different sort.
When I checked the sender’s name on that message, which felt vaguely familiar, it said Koma Yoshihide.
(Ah, that’s right. I guess I hadn’t blocked him or anything…)
It’s been about a week since I parted ways with that guy. In that time, the only real contact I had with him was when he nonchalantly called out to me the morning after I exposed his cheating. Nothing particular had happened since then, and I’d figured Hidetoshi, for his part, had decided to focus on getting all lovey-dovey with his main squeeze, Shibamura… but now, out of the blue, he sent me a LINE message.
【About what happened the other day… Let’s grab some food and talk it out!】
【You can pick the place, and I’m treating!!】
“Hah…? What’s with that tone? I mean, who do you think you are?”
It was the same the other day, but how could Hidetoshi interact with me so shamelessly?
I’d known for a long time that he had this kind of personality, and on my part, I’d often let things slide and forgiven him when we fought, so I thought I understood him to some extent.
However… to think he’d betray me for an entire year, cheat on me with another woman while we were supposed to be lovers, and then not even offer a proper apology—this attitude of his is just unbelievable.
He’s probably… no, he’s definitely looking down on me.
Hidetoshi must think that if he just lets some time pass and then tries to sweet-talk his way back, I’ll forgive him like I always do.
But I have absolutely no intention of doing that. This whole affair is completely different from all our fights as childhood friends up until now; it’s something far more critical and serious than that.
Reading Hidetoshi’s message while thinking that, I realized anew just how little he truly thought of me.
It’s because I’m not particularly important to him that he can afford to have this kind of attitude.
I understood all too well. To Hidetoshi, I wasn’t someone he’d ever treat with sincerity, just someone to be trifled with.
【”The usual ramen place, sound good? You liked the tonkotsu ramen there too, right?”】
【”Then again, right after school is a bit early for dinner, huh? lol Let’s go hang out somewhere!”】
【”How about karaoke or something? If we sing for about an hour, we’ll have worked up an appetite by then, right?”】
Don’t just decide everything on your own.
“Don’t you go saying things like you’ll ‘go along with me,’ then decide on the restaurant yourself without even listening to my opinion.
I mean, the very fact you’d pick a ramen shop after saying you ‘wanted to talk’ just shows you have no intention of doing so. If anything, it’s painfully obvious you’re just choosing a cheap place with large portions because you don’t want to spend money.
And another thing, after all that happened, what on earth makes you think I’d go to karaoke?”
You’d think it would be obvious with just a little imagination whether or not I’d want to be deliberately alone in a confined space with a guy who, in that situation, said things like “let me grope your breasts.”
“Aaargh! Enough! Shut uuuup!!”
Having reached the limit of my patience with the barrage of messages from Hidetoshi, which showed absolutely no consideration, or delicacy, or even what you might call basic human decency… I shot up from the bathtub, screaming at the top of my lungs.
Splash! The hot water sloshed with a resounding sound. To keep myself from getting even more pissed off, I reached for my smartphone.
I was done exchanging messages with him. Blocking his account wouldn’t be an issue in the slightest.
And so, I decided to block Hidetoshi’s account. But just as I was about to, a water droplet from my fingertip dripped onto my phone screen, and I ended up sending that guy a sticker I had absolutely no intention of sending.
“Ugh…!? This is so annoying…!!”
I groaned, an utterly fed-up expression on my face. I was just going to block him without a word, and now I’d actually sent him a sticker!
However, fortunately or unfortunately, the sticker I’d accidentally sent showed a rabbit lying down and looking away—the kind meant to express anger or displeasure—and it perfectly matched my feelings at that moment.
“…Oh, whatever. I’ll just block him then.”
If it had been a sticker expressing some sort of goodwill towards Hidetoshi, I would’ve made a point to correct it, but it wasn’t.
It’d be a pain to tell him that was just an accidental tap, and if he misunderstood and got all cocky about it, that’d be a pain too… More than anything, I just didn’t want my messages with Yusuke-kun to be interrupted any more.
So, I decided to just block him without bothering to react any further. After wiping my hands on a towel, I started using my phone.
[Still mad? C’mon. Alright, I get it! I’ll treat you to a large bowl of ramen, so just cheer up already!]
……He’s such an idiot, honestly.
The last message Hidetoshi sent me, too, was filled with things just begging for a retort.
We aren’t childhood friends anymore.
That relationship had already ended the moment I confessed to him, when we took our first step as lovers.
And now, we aren’t lovers anymore either.
The moment Hidetoshi’s cheating came to light… no, the moment that guy started cheating with Shibamura, that relationship, too, had already met its end.
And with this, we wouldn’t even be friends anymore. Because I had no intention of ever getting involved with him again.
Without saying anything in particular, I tapped my phone and finished the settings.
And just like that, messages from Hidetoshi would no longer reach me, and the notifications that had been so incessant fell utterly silent.
Having completed this task, my heart felt a little lighter, and I even felt a sense of refreshing clarity at having been able to put a definitive end to a chapter of my past.