I Accidentally Saw Her Get Dumped — Now the Losing Heroine Senpai Won’t Stop Clinging to Me - Episode 12

Ever since we exchanged contact info, I’ve been acting weird.

Even after slipping my phone back into my pocket, I couldn’t stop thinking about the screen.

No new notifications or anything, but I kept unlocking it, checking to make sure Shirakawa Chiharu’s name was still there, then locking it again.

Over and over.

…What the hell am I doing?

It’s just an exchange of contact info. That’s all.

I keep telling myself that, but I still can’t wipe this stupid grin off my face. It’s pathetic.

“I’m home!”

As I stepped through the front door, a casual “Welcome back~” called out from inside.

My sister was in the living room—slouched on the sofa, snacking on chips while watching videos. The usual sloppy scene.

Her name is Ayase Akari. She’s three years older than me and a college student.

Top of her class, tons of friends, but a total slob at home.

She also has this annoying sixth sense when it comes to people’s love lives.

“…Hmm?”

She glanced up from her phone and stared at me.

“W-What?” I asked.

“You’re grinning,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Something good happen today? Did you finally taste the sweet nectar of youth?”

Ugh, here we go.

Once she’s in this mode, there’s no stopping her.

“I’m not.”

“Come on, come on. That’s a ‘something good happened’ face if I’ve ever seen one. Who is it? A girl?”

“There’s no one like that.”

“Liar~! Your face says it all: ‘Just exchanged contact info.’ It’s practically written across your forehead.”

…Geh.

She calls me Haru, by the way.

And she just nailed it.

My reaction totally gave it away.

She never misses those moments.

“No way. For real? Haru, finally!? The day has come!?”

“Shut up!!”

“Oh my god. Who is it? Classmate? Upperclassman? Underclassman? NAME. Tell me the NAME. What kind of girl is she!?”

“…”

There’s no way I can say it.

Shirakawa Chiharu.

The girl everyone at school knows—the legendary popular upperclassman.

The second I say her name, my sister’s brain is going to explode.

“It’s not that big a deal—”

“Ooooh~? Then why do you look like that, Ayase Haruma-san?”

She starts pressing harder, step by step.

I quickly wash my hands, turn on my heel, and head straight for the stairs.

“Hey! Don’t run away! HARU! You running away now is the most suspicious thing ever, you know!?”

“Leave me alone!”

I slammed the door shut behind me as I dove into my room.

Right then—my phone buzzed.

I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the screen:

Shirakawa Chiharu: Nice to meet you!

(Sticker of a bunny waving)

…Wait, that was fast.

We’d only just exchanged info a few hours ago, and she already messaged me.

Then again, maybe that’s normal?

She followed up with another message:

“Looking forward to our day out, Haruma-kun~!”

…Yeah. No way I’m not grinning after that.

And she called me Haruma-kun.

I flopped onto my bed, resting the phone on my chest as I stared at the ceiling.

No seriously—what if this is all a dream?

Me. Messaging with Shirakawa Chiharu after exchanging contact info?

Just a while ago, I was just some background guy in class.

“…That secret spot’s kind of amazing.”

I muttered to myself.

That quiet space behind the school building, beside the storage shed—the place where no one ever goes.

It had somehow become our secret base.

And from there… we’d ended up connected like this.

Pretty soon, I’ll be going out with her. Just the two of us.

The thought alone made my stomach twist into knots.

But still—

I didn’t hate it.

As I looked down at my phone screen, a quiet, barely-there smile crept across my face.