I Accidentally Saw Her Get Dumped — Now the Losing Heroine Senpai Won’t Stop Clinging to Me - Episode 19

The Next Day After School

The next day after school, I found myself heading once again toward our “secret spot” behind the old storage shed.

The conversation I’d had with Chiharu-senpai yesterday still lingered faintly in my mind.

If what she said… if any of that had been real—

I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about it.

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“Hey, kid! I figured you’d show up early!”

Senpai’s voice rang out, earlier than expected—or maybe right on cue. She was already there, of course. As always, she was one step ahead, and the way she acted so normal about it made me feel kind of ridiculous for overthinking everything alone.

Still in her school uniform, she was sitting cross-legged on the ground with a study guide open in front of her. Sticky notes marked several pages—just from that, she looked like the model student.

But scattered around her feet were candy wrappers and an empty milk tea carton, completely ruining the illusion.

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“Senpai… isn’t it a bit early?”

“I figured I’d come early in case you showed up, you know?”

“Wait… are you saying you were waiting for me?”

“Of course! I wanted to see you, kid!”

“Did you just casually drop something kind of huge…?”

“I said it, and I meant it! But don’t read too much into it, okay?”

“That’s exactly what makes it confusing…”

She chuckled playfully and patted the ground beside her. “Come on, have a seat.” I sat a short distance away and pulled my notebook from my backpack.

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“You actually study out here, huh?”

“Totally! I take my exams pretty seriously, believe it or not.”

Right. In less than a week, our regular tests would start.

“‘Pretty seriously,’ huh…”

“So, what are you good at, Haruma-kun?”

“Uh… I guess math?”

“Whoa! You can do math?! Teach your senpai! Please, I beg you!”

“Well… I guess I can…”

She clasped her hands together in a dramatic pose like she was about to drop into a deep bow. I hesitated a bit, caught off guard, but eventually nodded.

And then—

“Thank you, oh divine Haruma-sama!”

Unbelievable. She was so over the top.

But as if flipping a switch, she suddenly turned serious.

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“Alright, so I need help here—applications of quadratic functions. I just don’t get the graph stuff at all.”

“…Okay.”

She handed me her notebook, and I started explaining the key points. Senpai nodded along, murmuring “Hmm” and “I see” as she scribbled notes more seriously than I expected.

And as I watched her profile—completely focused—I found myself thinking:

She’s always so carefree and playful, but now she’s staring at her notebook with this kind of quiet intensity. I’d never seen this side of her before… and it honestly made my heart skip a beat.

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“…You’re really good at explaining things, Haruma-kun.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah, super clear. And your voice is really calm, too.”

“My… voice?”

“Mhm. It’s soothing. Like, my ears are happy?”

“What kind of feedback is that?”

“It’s a compliment!”

She gave me a playful smack on the shoulder.

Our eyes met—and just for a moment, neither of us said a word.

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My heart gave a small jump.

But Senpai quickly looked away, coughing softly as if to hide her flustered reaction.

“S-So anyway! Are you doing okay with studying? Any subjects you’re struggling with?”

“Uh—me? Well… English, I guess. I’m not great at it.”

“Perfect! I’m good at English. Let’s trade—I’ll help you with English, you help me with math!”

“This is starting to sound like a deal…”

“Exactly! A win-win, kid!”

“Please stop calling me ‘kid’…”

“Aww, okay then—Haruma-kun?”

“…Honestly, that’s even more embarrassing.”

“Really? But getting called by your name isn’t so bad, right?”

She flashed me a grin and went back to her textbook. Her expression softened slightly, and something about that look gave me a strange flutter in my chest.

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This space… it really is special.

We’re just studying, that’s all. And yet somehow, the time feels like it flies by.

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“Alright, let’s wrap it up for today.”

The sky had turned completely orange with sunset. The school buildings cast long shadows, and the breeze had grown a bit chilly.

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“Let’s study here again, okay?”

“…Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Y’know,” she added, her voice suddenly turning thoughtful,

“This place really does feel like it belongs just to us.”

“…Yeah. It does.”

“Haruma-kun, you haven’t told anyone else about this spot, right?”

“Nope. Just you.”

“Yes! Then it’s really our secret place!”

She sounded so genuinely happy that I couldn’t help but laugh with her.

And honestly, I was glad.

Glad that this place wasn’t just mine anymore.

From the bottom of my heart—I really was.