Dumped by One, Chased by Another? My Ex's Sister Is a Gal and She's Coming for Me - Episode 32

We entered the board game café, ordered our drinks, and quickly moved on to introductions.

“I’m Marco. I’ve been friends with Kengorou since we started university. This guy has saved my life three times…”

“You would’ve repeated a year if I hadn’t been there.”

“We’ve survived countless hardships that could’ve ended our friendship.”

“Yeah, like when I almost ended up as your upperclassman. That was close.”

Back in our second year, Marco had to take makeup exams for every single subject. I honestly thought he was done for. But thanks to my guidance—and Honoka’s encouragement—he managed to scrape by without repeating a year. Life is unpredictable.

I heard a stifled laugh. Turning to the source, I saw Haruki holding her stomach and covering her mouth, trying—and failing—not to laugh.

“S-Sorry! You and Marco-san are hilarious. My stomach hurts from laughing.”

Haruki had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. Was it really that funny?

I sipped my iced coffee through a straw and tilted my head.

“It’s true, you know. Not many people realize it, but Marco-kun and Kengorou-kun are actually really funny,” Honoka said, her soft and fluffy aura as bright as ever. She reached out and gently took Haruki’s hand.

“Right?! Onii-san is not only funny but super cute too!”

“Exactly~ Kengorou-kun is totally the ‘cute guy’ type.”

The two girls seemed to connect on some invisible wavelength, energetically shaking their joined hands up and down.

“Um, sorry, I didn’t catch your name…” Haruki said.

“Ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself~ I’m Honoka. I’m friends with Kengorou-kun, and I’m dating Marco-kun.”

“I’m Haruki Ayase. I’m friends with Onii-san. For now, at least.”

At that moment, I felt my heart skip a beat. I turned to look at Haruki, and she winked at me. Cute…

Wait, no, that’s not the point.

“Is it just me, or did that sound really loaded with meaning?”

“Well~ if you think it is, maybe it is?” Haruki teased.

Grinning mischievously, she gulped down her cola. Bold move.

Not that I disliked it.

Her ears had turned red—clearly embarrassed.

Definitely not something I disliked.

“Oho, what do you think, Honoka-san?”

“Hmm, I’d say… it feels like they’re already one kiss away from being a couple~ Go for it, Kengorou-kun, push her down~!”

“What the hell are you two even talking about?”

I wish they wouldn’t get all excited watching our interactions like it’s some drama. Honoka especially—that’s borderline harassment.

I cleared my throat loudly to change the subject.

“Anyway, now that introductions are done, what should we play?”

Board game cafés offer a vast array of games.

From classics like chess and shogi that everyone knows, to obscure titles most have never heard of—there’s something for everyone.

We could go with something we all know, or pick something new and learn it together.

That’s the beauty of board game cafés: endless possibilities.

Marco and I are seasoned veterans, but it’s Haruki’s first time here. So naturally, we should pick something she’d enjoy.

“Alright! Let’s play mahjong!”

“Hold it.”

“Hmm? What’s the problem, my friend?”

“The problem is, your ‘friendship’ is in immediate danger.”

Mahjong is a very well-known game—among college students and older, that is.

In other words, Haruki doesn’t know the rules, while the three of us do.

That would leave her out of the fun.

Leave it to Marco to pick literally the worst possible option from a sea of board games.

“Yeah, I don’t know how to play mahjong…”

“Oh, right. Sorry about that.”

“Exactly~ Marco-kun, Haruki-chan is still in high school, you know?”

“Good point.”

Marco nodded solemnly.

Too bad he hadn’t realized that before someone pointed it out.

Then suddenly, he clapped his hands and lit up.

“I know! Why doesn’t Haruki-chan just team up with Kengorou?”

“‘What?’”

Our voices harmonized again.

Though we both said the same word, we meant very different things.

I tilted my head in confusion.

Meanwhile, Haruki jumped to her feet with sparkling eyes.

“That sounds awesome!”

She expressed her joy with her entire body.

“A-Ah, sorry…”

Realizing how loud she’d been, she sat down quickly, her face red with embarrassment. But…

“Actually, that sounds like a pretty solid idea.”

Mahjong can be played with three people.

I could teach Haruki as we go and let her play alongside me.

We started setting up the tiles.