A Popular Girl Confessed to Me, the Loner—Thinking It Was a Prank, I Tried to Scare Her Off... But She Was Actually Serious. - Chapter 11 – A Summons from the Popular Guys

One afternoon after class.

Just as I was about to leave the classroom with my bag slung over my shoulder like always—

“—Hey, Manabe~!”

Someone called out to me.

I turned around to see three boys at the back of the classroom, looking straight at me.

“Uh, ah—”

Ren Kurokawa. Haruto Soma. Daichi Nishina.

The so-called “popular guys” who always hang out with Hiyori. The core members of the sunny-side squad.

I totally panicked. I’d never spoken to any of them before.

(…It’s happening. This is it.)

My heart skipped a beat.

This was it—the infamous Popular Guy Council summoning me. Wait, what even is that?

(They’re probably gonna say something like ‘stay away from her’ or ‘don’t bring your gloomy vibes around here’… right?)

I went on high alert.

But there was no escape route near the back door either.

Kurokawa smiled and waved me over.

That smile was terrifying in its brightness. How do they look that effortlessly cheerful? That’s extrovert power for you.

“Got a sec? There’s somewhere we’d like you to come with us.”

“…W-What is it?”

“Relax, it’ll be quick.”

It felt like every red flag in the universe just popped up.

Still, I couldn’t say no. Something deep in my bones whispered, If you run now, it’ll only make things worse.

I followed them as they led me to a hidden spot under the stairs.

…What is this place? A secret meeting room?

“Um…”

My feet froze in place.

Then Soma clapped his hands and spoke up.

“Alright, first things first. Just wanna say—none of us hate you.”

“Huh…?”

“Actually, you’ve left a pretty good impression. I can kinda see why Hiyori fell for you.”

“Wait, no—what? No way.”

“What? You looked seriously freaked out, so I figured we should clear that up right away.”

Confusion took over.

Wait… this isn’t a threat? Not a “you’re not good enough for her” speech?

That’s when Kurokawa chimed in.

“Look, we’ve barely talked before, right? So we just wanted to get to know you a little better.”

“…Get to know me?”

“Yeah. I mean, Hiyori’s seriously into you. Naturally, we got curious.”

“She’s seriously into me”—even now, I still couldn’t get used to hearing that. But hearing it from someone else made it feel more real. And… it honestly made me kinda happy.

“We just wanted to make it clear—we’re not your enemies.”

Nishina adjusted his glasses as he said that.

His gesture was surprisingly calm and gave off a sharp, intellectual vibe. But still totally cool and approachable. As expected of the megane prince of the extrovert squad.

“When Hiyori smiles, it makes us smile too, y’know? Especially when she’s with you—she’s always grinning like an idiot.”

Soma chuckled.

Then added, “She’s crazy fast at reading messages, right? But with yours, she just stares at them for minutes before opening them.”

I’d heard that one before—from Suzu.

“Yeah, Suzu told me the same thing.”

Kurokawa laughed and nodded in agreement.

These three popular guys… were just really normal dudes.

Not pushy. Not overly friendly either.

They just talked to me like any regular person, not as a gloomy loner. To them, I was simply “the guy Hiyori cares about.”

It caught me completely off guard.

(What the heck… they’re all actually good guys…)

That thought hit me—but at the same time—

(Wait a sec. Am I just… too easy?)

I’d freaked out the moment they spoke to me,

but now, just from a friendly chat, I was already warming up to them.

Hiyori… and even the extroverts around her…

But—surprisingly—I didn’t hate this feeling.

I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t being judged. In fact… it felt like they were accepting me.

“…Sorry. I was kinda suspicious of you guys.”

I muttered that, and Nishina let out a small laugh.

“Totally understandable. I’d be nervous too if I were you.”

“What the hell, Daichi!” Soma retorted.

Even as he was teased, Nishina remained cool as ever. This guy’s ridiculous. He’s got the
unshakable charisma of a chill anime character.

“But really, we’ve got no reason to diss the guy Hiyori chose.”

After Kurokawa said that, Soma stepped up beside me and gave my back a firm slap. It was a solid, unfamiliar kind of weight.

“Alright then! That makes you one of us—friends! Cool with that, Masato?”

“Ugh… Y-Yeah…?”

My back stung a little. I couldn’t manage a proper response, but they just laughed and called me awkward.

Oddly enough, it didn’t feel bad at all.

“Later, man.”

I watched the three of them walk up the stairs, their laughter echoing behind them.

And I thought to myself:

(The popular guy squad… they’re actually really good dudes.)

As they left, still laughing like it was no big deal, I couldn’t help but smile a little.

(Maybe… I’m the kind of guy who trusts people way too easily.)

But somehow, in this moment, that didn’t feel like a bad thing.