Dumped by One, Chased by Another? My Ex's Sister Is a Gal and She's Coming for Me - Episode 22

Of course, it’s not that I minded helping Haruki with her studies.

If anything, I truly wanted to support her—to be of help.

And that’s precisely why I felt guilty about it.

She had already done so much for me.

Without her, I might not even be alive right now.

She dragged me out of the darkness, brought me back to life with her energy and light.

To me, that was more than enough.

And yet, if she even went as far as to find me a job, I’d feel like I was taking far too much from her.

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“I’ve already been saved more than enough. You don’t need to feel responsible for me anymore.”

“Responsible…?”

Haruki had been carrying a heavy sense of guilt over Fuyumi.

And honestly, I understood.

It was her sister’s mess, after all. It made sense she’d blame herself.

But that didn’t mean I could let her carry that weight for me.

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“…It’s not about responsibility,” she whispered, voice trembling. “I just…”

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Haruki looked at me, her eyes shimmering, face trembling ever so slightly.

Her makeup made her look mature, but at that moment, she seemed more like a lost child.

And seeing her like that, I had no idea what kind of face I was supposed to make in return.

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“Isn’t that a bit off?”

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The tense moment was broken by Koyomi’s voice.

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“Koyomi? What do you mean, ‘off’?”

“I mean… don’t you think this has nothing to do with responsibility?”

“Nothing to do with it?”

“Yeah. I mean, the relationship between you two isn’t like that, right? Koyomi, do you not like being with Haruki?”

“No, it’s the opposite. I enjoy being with her.”

“Fueh…”

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…Did Haruki just make a weird noise?

It was kind of cute, though, so I let it slide.

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“Then what about you, Haruki? Do you enjoy being with Koyomi?”

“I do… I really do.”

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“The truth is, I want to spend more time with you. But with exams coming up, I know I’ll be seeing you less and less. So that’s why I—”

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Her words faltered, but her feelings came through loud and clear.

And hearing them made me… angry.

At myself.

Because, without even realizing it, I had let Fuyumi get between us.

Just because she was Fuyumi’s sister, I assumed I knew what Haruki felt.

But no matter what Fuyumi did—cheating, breaking up—that gave me no right to decide anything for Haruki.

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“I… I’m sorry, Haruki. I was wrong.”

“…Yeah.”

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She looked down, her face unreadable.

Her voice was flat, almost too calm, like she was trying to hold something back.

But I had to face this properly.

I had to say what I hadn’t said before—what I should have said.

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“I want to get closer to you too, Haruki.”

“…Yeah.”

“So… would it be okay if I accept your tutoring offer? I’ll make sure to get permission from your mom and everything.”

“Yes!”

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Haruki looked up, her face blooming into the brightest smile I’d seen from her.
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“Alright, well then… can I go home now?”

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Startled by the annoyed voice, both Haruki and I snapped back to reality.

Like two rusty tin toys, we slowly turned toward Koyomi.

She was staring at us, arms crossed, with a very unimpressed look on her face.

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“S-Sorry,” we apologized in unison.

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Yeah, can’t blame her.

She got dragged out here by a friend, only to be third-wheeling some awkward love confession.

It’s not like we meant to be all lovey-dovey, but… the mood just kind of went there on its own.

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“Well, I’ll just make myself scarce. Besides, I’ve got something I need to take care of anyway.”

“…Something?”

“Nothing important. You two just… enjoy yourselves, alright?”

“She was mad, wasn’t she?”

“I dunno… I didn’t think she looked angry.”

“…Huh?”

“Actually… she looked more sad than anything.”

“Sad…?”

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Now that she said it, I could kind of see it.

But… why?

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“Anyway, we should head out too.”

“Yeah… I’ll message you once the tutoring stuff is all set.”

“Alright. Looking forward to it.”

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◇

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“Sigh… I feel kinda bad for Haruki.”

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Getting called out by a guy who just got dumped by her sister…

It’d be a lie to say I wasn’t hoping for something.

I knew from the start it wasn’t just going to be the two of us, but still, a tiny part of me couldn’t help but wonder.

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“From Haruki’s point of view, I was probably just in the way.”

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I let out a dry laugh, picturing the face of my well-meaning but slightly clueless friend.

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“Well… whatever. I’ll do what I need to do. That’ll be enough to settle this.”

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Pulling up my contact list, I scrolled until I found the number I needed.

Considering everything they’d told me… and the rumors I’d heard… it wasn’t hard to piece things together.

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“Hello? Is this the cram school director? I’ve got something you really ought to hear…”

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If someone hurts a friend of mine, the least I can do is make sure they pay for it.

…Okay, maybe 70% of this is just me being petty.

But still.