I Accidentally Saw Her Get Dumped — Now the Losing Heroine Senpai Won’t Stop Clinging to Me - Episode 20

The Morning of the Test

With my school bag feeling just a little heavier than usual, I slung it over my shoulder and left the house. The sky was overcast, but strangely, I felt light-hearted.

That must have been because the memories of the time I spent with Chiharu-senpai in our little “secret place” during the exam period were still fresh in my mind.

—“Let’s study here again sometime.”

Her words still echoed in the back of my ears.

When I arrived in the classroom, a few students were already reviewing their notes one last time. I took my seat and pulled out my own notebook.

“Yo, Haruma. I heard you’ve been studying a lot lately?”

“…Huh? How do you know that—”

“Oh, so it’s true? Nice! Good on you, Haruma.”

Looks like I walked right into that one.

“Well, good luck, man. With both love and studying!”

“I’m not in love or anything…!”

That dumb conversation with my friend actually helped calm my nerves a bit.

First period: Math.

A problem on quadratic functions—exactly the one I studied with Senpai—showed up almost as-is on the test.

No way… I muttered to myself internally, as my pen flew across the page. In my head, I could hear Senpai saying, “Yes, yes! That graph shape right there!” It made my hand move almost instinctively.

During the break after the morning tests,

I got a notification on my phone. The sender was—Chiharu-senpai.

“How’d it go~? That math question came up, right?”

I couldn’t help but grin as I replied:

“Yep, it came up. Thank you so much.”

She must not have expected it to actually be on the test because she replied right away:

“Wait, seriously!?”

“Seriously. Thanks to you, I nailed it.”

“Heh heh heh, looks like I saved your academic future, huh?”

“You’re my savior, no joke.”

Chiharu-senpai always knew how to play along with this kind of banter. That was one of the great things about her.

“Glad to hear it. Anyway, after school! Meet you at the usual place!”

“Got it.”

It almost felt like we were carrying out a secret mission together, and that thought made me smile.

I managed to get through the afternoon subjects, and before I knew it, the school day was over.

As I stepped out of the classroom, it felt like my steps were lighter than usual.

Behind the storage shed.

When I arrived, she was already there.

Still in her uniform, she leaned casually against the fence, gazing up at the sky.

“Great job today, kid!”

“You too, Senpai. You made it through the tests.”

“Heh, funny, isn’t it? It’s just a regular after-school moment, but somehow it feels a little more special.”

“Yeah… it does.”

I sat down beside her. The wind was getting a little chilly, but just being there was comforting.

“So, how’d it go? The test.”

“Not bad. Thanks to you, I think I did fine on math.”

“That’s great… I’m really glad.”

She smiled, visibly relieved.

“You know… I’ve always been the type that people rely on. But working together like this, feeling like I was actually helpful—it felt kind of new for me.”

“Maybe I relied on you a bit too much.”

“Nope. It was perfect. You’re honest about when you need help, and it was fun teaching you.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“And… you know…”

Her voice dropped just slightly.

“I really liked spending time with you.”

“…What?”

“Aw, surprised?”

“Well… yeah. I mean, Senpai, you’re friendly with everyone, so…”

“True. But still, studying one-on-one with someone, making a little ‘secret spot’ together—that felt kind of special.”

“…”

I couldn’t say anything. My heart was pounding so loud, I thought she might hear it too.

“…Haruma?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Can I come here again tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

“Yay!”

She laughed like a little kid, eyes sparkling. She always called me a kid, but sometimes when she smiled like that, I felt like she was the one who looked younger.

Then, she pulled a small bag out of her backpack.

“Here! A little treat. You earned it!”

“…Ramune candy?”

“Yep! It helps wake up your brain when you’re studying! Though I guess it’s a bit late for that now.”

“Still… thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Well then, shall we head home?”

As I watched her stand up and turn to go, a thought crossed my mind.

—This place, this time…

—It’s all slowly starting to change my everyday life.

And I was starting to believe—truly—that it wasn’t a bad thing at all.