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 29: I Want to See the You I Don’t Know

Thursday, after school.

Just like always, Hiyori smiled and called out, “I’m off to club!” before dashing out of the classroom.

It was a scene I’d seen so many times.

But for some reason, it stuck with me more than before.

Her back, as she ran off saying she was headed to practice, felt more and more like something I wanted to chase after.

The Hiyori who smiles beside me and the Hiyori who runs on the track—maybe they’re like two different people.

But still—both of them are the Hiyori I love.

So I want to see her properly.

She came to cheer for me during the sports tournament. She saw me compete and praised me, said she was proud.

—So now it’s my turn.

If I can be even a small source of support, then I want to be there by her side.

***

The next day, Friday during lunch break.

I sat next to Hiyori, eating lunch, and tried to casually bring it up.

By now, no one really commented or stared when we ate together. It had become part of our normal, everyday routine.

“Hey, Hiyori.”

“Hm? What’s up? You sound kind of serious.”

“I was wondering… would it be okay if I came to watch your club activities sometime?”

She paused, put down her chopsticks, and turned toward me.

Then her eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait… really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

…The moment I said it, I felt my face heat up.

Being honest is seriously hard.

But I managed to say it. The way I truly felt.

Hiyori blinked once, then smiled like she was absolutely overjoyed.

“Wait, really?! That makes me so happy!!”

“Too loud. You’re too loud.”

She shouted with so much energy that the whole class glanced our way. I couldn’t help but scold her.

“No, it’s fine if I’m loud! I can’t believe we’ve reached the day where you, Manato-kun, would say
something like that…”

What do you mean “it’s fine to be loud”?

Still, her words somehow warmed my chest.

If just one small step forward from me could make her this happy—maybe I should’ve said it a long time ago.

“Actually, there’s a time trial meet tomorrow. It’s not a tournament exactly, just an official record-keeping event. It’s at the city track stadium. Can you come?”

“I’ll go. Just send me the location and I’ll look it up.”

“Okay! It’s about a 15-minute walk from the station. I’m running the 100m and the relay.”

She pulled out her phone and quickly sent me the venue name and a map.

Efficient. She’s always so on top of things—definitely has that “capable girl” vibe.

“Thanks. Uh… what time do your events start?”

“100m is a bit after 10, and the relay’s in the afternoon.”

“Got it.”

“…Hey, Manato-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“What made you decide this? I mean, I never thought you’d suddenly say you want to see me at practice.”

Hiyori asked with a slightly teasing tone—but her eyes were serious.

“Um…”

I got stuck for a moment. But I didn’t want to dodge the question.

“I just thought… I want to see you giving it your all. I honestly want to cheer you on.”

I don’t know how much of that reached her.

But—

“……I LOVE YOU!!”

“Hey! That came outta nowhere!”

“No, seriously! That was like… straight out of a romance manga! You were so cool just now!”

“What even is ‘so cool’ supposed to mean…”

My face burned.

But Hiyori kept smiling at me, eyes sparkling.

“Really, thank you. Just knowing you’ll be there makes me feel so much stronger.”

“…Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

The rest of lunch felt different somehow. Like the distance between us had shrunk.

Not just “boyfriend and girlfriend”—but maybe now I was becoming “the boyfriend who supports his hardworking girlfriend.”

It was a totally new feeling.

It didn’t suit me, I thought… but I kind of liked it.

***

After school.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and was just about to leave the classroom when—

“Yo, Manato!”

A cheerful voice called out—Soma, of course.

“You’re really going to Hiyori’s meet?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Nice! Seriously, you’ve gotta see it! Her running form is amazing—it fires you up just watching. She’s kind of a legend among the sports clubs.”

What’s with the “Nice!”? He’s way too hyped up all the time.

“Huh…”

“Hey, Manabe. Should I write an article about it? Like, ‘Do athletes get stronger when cheered on by their boyfriend?’”

This time it was Nishina, stepping in with his notebook, grinning like a cat.

Nishina writes for the school newspaper. His name shows up in the credits pretty often.

And here he is, notebook in hand, clearly enjoying himself.

A bit… no, very unsettling.

That face is definitely having too much fun with this.

“…No. If you write about it, Hiyori might lose focus.”

“Ooh… fair point. Manabe, you really get it.”

“…Shut up.”

Still, I couldn’t help but smile a little.

Wanting to cheer someone on—it’s a surprisingly natural feeling.

***

On the way home, Hiyori wasn’t with me.

She’d told me practice would run late today, so I should go ahead without her.

I walked, glancing at my phone—the map she sent, and the schedule for tomorrow.

I don’t know much about meets or sports in general, honestly.

But still.

(…I want to see her face when she’s running.)

She’s always right there next to me, smiling.

But I haven’t seen her “serious face” yet.

I don’t know what she looks like when she’s all in.

I want to see that cool side of her that I’ve never seen before.