Dumped by One, Chased by Another? My Ex's Sister Is a Gal and She's Coming for Me - Episode 30

“You know, I am a little curious about that girl who helped you.”

“Ugh…”

“Right? Honestly, she seemed pretty cheerful. Are you sure nothing happened between you two?”

“I mean, if you’ve got a new girlfriend, I wouldn’t blame you. After what happened with Fuyumi, you don’t owe her anything.”

“She’s not my girlfriend or anything like that.”

“Oh? So, is it… an adult relationship then?”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Whoa, chill out!”

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.”

________________________________________

I’d gotten a little loud without realizing.

But it was hard to explain the relationship between us in a single word.

If there’s one thing I can say—it’s that it’s neither something cheap nor shallow.

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“I’ll tell you everything, if you’re willing to listen.”

“Of course.”

“I want to hear it.”

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So, I told them the truth—not just about Fuyumi, but also about Haruki.

That she was Fuyumi’s younger sister. That she’d been the one to encourage me when I was drowning in despair.

I made sure to put it into my own words, carefully and sincerely.

I wasn’t just rambling pointlessly—I shared it because I thought it was necessary, to show them that I was really moving forward.

For the record, I had Haruki’s permission to talk about it.

When Fuyumi cheated, Haruki had encouraged me to find allies. She told me it was fine to talk about her if it would help with that.

I think she said that so I wouldn’t end up completely alone after losing the one person I had leaned on most.

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“I see… so that’s what happened.”

“Man, it’s got that bittersweet high school romance vibe to it.”

“You two…”

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I glared at them while dabbing my mouth with a napkin.

I mean, come on—if anyone looks like a teenager here, it’s me, not Haruki, even though she’s the actual high schooler.

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“So? When are you going to make a decision?”

“…Huh?”

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I reflexively asked back, confused.

The two of them exchanged glances and tilted their heads.

Seriously, can you stop being so smug about it?

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“You’ve already been on a few dates, haven’t you? Why not just start going out officially?”

“One person’s trash is another’s treasure, you know. Just accept it—she picked you up.”

________________________________________

Marco and Takani were both smirking at me.

Damn it. This is why I didn’t want to talk to these two.

________________________________________

“At the very least, I’m not thinking about anything like that right now.”

“Wait, what?”

“Seriously?”

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“Well, if that’s how you feel, then fine. But don’t you think it’s kind of unfair to her?”

“Yeah, it sort of sounds like you’re stringing her along, like she’s just your backup plan.”

“Guh…”

________________________________________

I tried to argue back—but couldn’t.

They were right. Going on multiple dates and then claiming I had no romantic feelings for her… that would definitely be rude. No, not just rude—insulting.

And honestly, I knew that better than anyone.

Because over this past month with Haruki, I’d come to understand something:

She genuinely cared about me.

________________________________________

“I know. I’ll… do things properly.”

“Heh.”

“Oh?”

“What now?”

“Nothing~”

“Just seems like we don’t need to worry anymore, that’s all~”

________________________________________

They both had the exact same smug grin on their faces.

Seriously, are you guys twins or something?

No wait—you are best friends. Of course you’re in sync.

________________________________________

“Anyway! Let’s do a double date—us four.”

“Wait, wait—what?!”

________________________________________

That escalated fast.

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“Didn’t we agree you’d leave this to me for now?”

“I don’t remember saying that.”

“I just thought, if we left it to you alone, it’d take forever.”

“Well… I can’t deny that.”

________________________________________

Truthfully, I’d been planning to take things slow.

Haruki’s still underage. My heart’s still healing.

And above all, if we rushed into a relationship, it might make her look bad.

There are always going to be people who assume the worst. That we were seeing each other behind Fuyumi’s back.

Sure, some people say you should just ignore that kind of talk—and honestly, I usually agree.

But what about Haruki?

If rumors spread that she broke up me and Fuyumi, would she really be okay?

She’s the one who distanced herself so she wouldn’t get in the way.

That’s why I wanted to take it slow.

Still… maybe Marco and Takani had a point too. Maybe dragging things out would only end up hurting Haruki more.

________________________________________

“All right. I’ll ask her, at least.”

“Nice! So, got a place in mind?”

“Well, we were talking about board game cafés recently. She said she wanted to try one.”

“Huh.”

“Interesting.”

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

________________________________________

My voice trembled a bit as I glared at them.

________________________________________

“Anyway, we should get going—afternoon classes are about to start.”

“I feel like you just dodged the whole thing smoothly.”

________________________________________

Sighing, I got up from my chair.

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◇

Thirty minutes after I sent her a message on RINE, she replied:

“Sounds great! A double date, huh? I’m excited to meet your friends, Onii-san!”

“She replies fast…”
________________________________________

I said it aloud, realizing I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

Since that day, our RINE chats had never stopped—not even once.

And as I scrolled through the conversation, I slowly sorted out my thoughts.

She saved me. I genuinely enjoyed spending time with her.

She’s my ex’s little sister. She’s my friend.

So, what comes next?

What do I want… for me and Haruki?

________________________________________

“The answer’s already there, isn’t it…”

________________________________________

Smiling wryly at how easily I gave in, I opened the app again and sent a message to decide the date.