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 32: The Hardworking Sunshine, the Watching Loner

The track meet arc with Hiyori is over—for now, the spotlight shifts to our cheerful, slightly goofy sunshine boy, Haruto Sōma!

Enjoy!

***

After school.

The setting sun slanted in through the windows, casting long desk-shaped shadows across the classroom floor.

Most students had already gone to their clubs or headed home. The room was unusually quiet.

In that silence, Mei Saeki sat alone by the window, in her usual seat.

A sketchbook lay open on her desk. She held a pencil, completely focused on whatever she was drawing.

And there I—Haruto Sōma—stood quietly, peeking from the classroom doorway.

(This is it… If I don’t do it now, I never will!)

Today’s the day.

I want to call her “Mei-chan.”

I always call her “Saeki-chan,” but it feels too formal—too distant.

There’s just something about her…

My usual two partners-in-crime always say, “Dude, you’ve got some weird taste,” but hey—I like her, so what can you do?

They also ask me “What do you like about her?” and honestly, I keep answering “I dunno.”

But that’s fine, right?

Love can be like that, too.

Still, I get the feeling my feelings haven’t really gotten through to her. I know I act goofy all the time, and yeah, I probably come off like an idiot.

…but I’m not gonna lie to how I feel.

I, Haruto Sōma, am going to charge ahead.

That’s why—even if it’s just little by little—I want to get that feeling across.

I want to show I’m serious…

So even starting from something as simple as calling her by her first name—I want to change that.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

Just then, Saeki-chan looked up.

“…Oh. Sōma-kun.”

“Ah—hey there. Were you… drawing?”

“Yeah. It’s quiet, so it’s easier to concentrate.”

“Am I… interrupting?”

“…No, not really. I’m almost done anyway.”

I sat down in the desk diagonally in front of her.

Saeki-chan didn’t break focus, continuing to move her pencil with smooth, practiced strokes.

Silence settled in between us.

With each line she drew, the soft scratch of graphite against paper echoed across the desk.

Then, finally—I broke the silence.

“Hey… Saeki-chan.”

“Hmm?”

She looked up again, face expressionless as always.

“I was just thinking… if you don’t mind, can I change how I call you?”

“…Change how?”

“Yeah. I want to try calling you ‘Mei-chan.’”

She blinked, eyes drifting up as if to think for a moment.

“…Sure. That’s fine.”

“Wait—seriously!?”

“Yeah. I think names change depending on the feelings of the person saying them. If that’s how you want to call me, then go ahead.”

(…Is she a poet or something!?)

As I flailed mentally, she calmly returned to her sketching—Mei-chan, that is.

—Was that really okay? I mean, she did say it was fine, right? I heard that, right?

My heart was pounding like crazy.

“S-So… um… Mei-chan.”

“…Yeah?”

“I-I just wanted to say it. Like… practice. It’s kinda embarrassing, huh? Stuff like this.”

“…Hehe.”

—She laughed. She totally laughed. I saw that!

I must’ve looked like a total mess—but I swear, this was my proudest moment today.

“Can I… see what you’re drawing?”

“…Nope. It’s still in progress. I’ll show you when it’s finished.”

“R-Right… I’ll look forward to it!”

“…Look forward to it, then.”

Leaving those words behind, Mei closed her sketchbook and stood up. As she packed her things to head home, she added—

“See you later, Haruto-kun.”

…Wait, what?

That might’ve been the first time she’s ever called me Haruto-kun.

“…She called me by my name…”

I collapsed onto the desk, burying my blushing face.

—Yessssssssss!!

***

It was Monday—the first day back after the track meet.

I slouched over my desk, spaced out the entire time.

Hiyori’s running still played on repeat in my mind.

Watching her give it everything she had made me feel like I should try harder at something too…

…maybe. Or maybe not.

But still, a part of me felt restless—like I didn’t do anything but watch from the sidelines while she gave it her all.

That’s probably why I felt even more unmotivated than usual today.

Just then, a particularly loud voice echoed from the front of the classroom.

“I wanna call you Mei-chan!”

(…He’s at it again.)

Haruto Sōma.

Ace of the sunshine squad.

Well, I guess all of them—Kurokawa, Nishina—are aces in their own way.

A guy who seems to run on pure energy.

I glanced up.

Mei-san was sketching in her seat, and she quietly nodded at Haruto’s request.

“…Whoa. He actually got permission?”

He called her Mei-chan, and she didn’t even flinch.

The way they interacted—it felt strangely peaceful, and even a little warm.

(They’re kind of… cute together.)

Haruto has zero intention of hiding that he likes her.

But I have no idea how much of that actually gets through.

Mei-san always seems a little detached from the world around her, like she’s living in her own dimension.

Haruto’s affection—how much of it truly reaches her, I couldn’t say.

Even so—Haruto looked genuinely happy.

Just being close to Mei-san made him smile like a kid.

And Mei-san…

Maybe she’s noticing more than she lets on.

(Whether it’s getting through or not… I can’t tell at all.)

But still… it looked kind of nice.

Facing someone that openly, that honestly—

…I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.