Dumped by One, Chased by Another? My Ex's Sister Is a Gal and She's Coming for Me - Episode 1

“What should I do…?”

I—Kengo Akishima—was struggling with a dilemma.

And that dilemma was my girlfriend, Fuyumi Ayase.

We’d been dating since high school—five years now.

To some, that’s already long enough to be married.

But… things hadn’t exactly been smooth lately.

Lately, we’ve been getting into petty arguments over the smallest things.

“This isn’t good. Not like this…”

We’d met by chance through a certain incident and quickly grew close. That’s how we got to where we are now.

I let out a sigh, drained the last of my coffee, and left the café I had stopped by.

“Ah, big bro!”

“Hm? Oh—Haruki-chan.”

Standing in front of the café, calling out to me, was Fuyumi’s younger sister, Haruki Ayase.

Long black hair, school blazer perfectly worn—she looked every bit the diligent student.

And as sisters, she and Fuyumi shared very similar features.

…Actually, she looked a lot like Fuyumi when we first met.

Back then, we were both still in high school—and Haruki was just a grade-schooler.

Time really flies.

Her big, bright eyes sparkled as she spoke to me.

“What a coincidence, running into you here! Out on one of your usual café hunts?”

“Yeah, just needed to clear my head. What about you, Haruki-chan?”

“Ahaha, I came to do some studying!”

She pointed at the cram school sign just down the street.

Of course. She’s in high school now.

It’s that time—prepping for entrance exams.

I was just like that at her age too.

“Aren’t you with my sister today?”

“Nah, I came here alone this time.”

“Oh? That’s unusual.”

“Yeah… I guess it is.”

It probably seemed like we were always together from her perspective.

We live together, after all.

But at university, we have different classes, different friends.

And today, she’d said she was staying over at a friend’s place.

…Though lately, things between us have been tense anyway.

“Well then, I’ll get going—need to hit the books!”

“Right. Good luck!”

“Yes! After all, nothing can be solved without facing it head-on.”

Haruki gave me a flawless, radiant smile.

And in that moment—

A jolt like electricity shot through me.

“She’s right… I need to talk things out properly.”

“Big bro?”

“Ah, no—it’s nothing. Don’t worry about me. You really cheered me up. Thanks.”

“…I’m glad.”

Haruki’s expression faltered just for a second, like she was holding something back.

Maybe I imagined it.

More importantly—

Have I really been facing Fuyumi properly?

When she looked upset, did I just avoid the issue?

That won’t work.

Just like Haruki facing her studies head-on, I need to face my own problems.

If I apologize, if we talk things through—I’m sure we can fix this.

With that thought, I pulled out my phone to call Fuyumi.

Right now, I just… wanted to hear her voice.

I wanted to make things right.

And then—I heard her ringtone.

Coming from just nearby.

“…What?”

The sound was coming from the entrance of the hotel near the café.

The ringtone had gone off just as a couple stepped out.

A man and a woman, arm in arm.

One of them was Natsuyama-senpai from university.

Bleached blonde hair, sharp features—he’d won the university’s “Mr. Contest” or something like that.

The other… was Fuyumi.

Long black hair. A floral one-piece dress. The picture of grace.

My girlfriend.

The one I’ve been with for over five years—since high school.

Why was she… arm in arm… with him?

Natsuyama-senpai stood frozen. Fuyumi, her hand still on her phone, was motionless too.

And I—could only stand there in stunned silence.

“Senpai… what are you doing?”

“Ah—”

“U-Um, this isn’t… it’s not what it looks like, okay?”

“Fuyumi… didn’t you say you were staying at a friend’s place last night?”

“T-That’s… no, I was just talking to him about something…”

My heart was pounding like it was going to explode.

My girlfriend. Coming out of a hotel. With another man.

What do you even call that?

Even a kid could answer that. That two-syllable word floated to the front of my mind.

But I didn’t want to say it.

If I said it aloud—I don’t think I could take it.

“Come on, isn’t it obvious?”

Only one person remained calm: Natsuyama-senpai.

He was completely unfazed, as if none of this mattered.

He casually patted Fuyumi’s head.

“Fuyumi, just say it here and now—who do you care about more, me or him? That’s all I need to know to move on.”

“I… I…”

Fuyumi, pale as a sheet, tightened her grip on his arm.

It felt like her hand was squeezing the life out of my heart.

I couldn’t breathe.

My chest hurt.

“I love Natsuyama-senpai. Don’t ever talk to me again, Kengorou.”

“…kh.”

I could hear the dry rasp of my own breath escape.

Despair swallowed me whole.

“Thanks, Fuyumi. Let’s go.”

“Y-Yeah!”

The two of them disappeared from view.

I stood there, legs shaky, the ground beneath me crumbling.

“Kengorou?”

“Big bro?”

I ran.

Without thinking. Like a scared animal fleeing from pain.

“Big bro!”

Someone called after me, worried.

But I couldn’t hear them anymore.