I Ended Up Cross-Dressing, My Secret Relationship with a Handsome Guy (BL) - Chapter 13

My phone vibrated, notifying me of a new message.

In the slightly noisy classroom during break time, I pulled out my phone and glanced at the screen. The lock screen, still set to its default background, displayed a notification from my messaging app.

“What are you doing right now?”

“……”

Accompanied by a random, meaningless sticker, the sender of the message was, of course, Kiryu.

I could feel the furrow in my brow deepening. Letting out a slow, deliberate exhale, I tried to shake off my irritation.

“You can see for yourself. Nothing.”

“Well, I can’t be sure you weren’t doing something before I looked.”

Break times between classes were short.

And yet, every single break, Kiryu was at the center of the rowdy crowd, always surrounded by people. Even though the voices of the popular group were loud, I couldn’t hear Kiryu’s voice among them. He was probably focusing on his phone instead.

“I can’t see your face because people are blocking the way, but I’d bet 100 yen that your eyebrows are furrowed right now.”

“Drop dead.”

The only noise that stood out in the classroom was from Kiryu’s group. Everything else was just background noise, barely noticeable.

Which was why I could hear it so clearly—the sound of Kiryu bursting into laughter at my reply.

“What the hell, why’d you suddenly start laughing? That was creepy.”

“Kiryu-kun’s been grinning at his phone for a while now.”

“…Must be his girlfriend.”

“Hah!?”

A few minutes before the end of break, a group of flashy-looking girls shrieked in disbelief.

They were the kind of people who always acted like they were the center of the universe. Naturally, they didn’t notice how the rest of us—the ones who weren’t part of their world—had instinctively faded into the background.

For a moment, the entire classroom, aside from them, fell silent.

“Why haven’t I heard about this!? And where did that info even come from!?”

“Tanaka.”

“So it’s real!? No way, Kiryu, you promised I’d be next!”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Trash!”

A beautiful girl, someone well-known for her looks even at school, leaned against Kiryu, laughing.

I felt something inside my chest groan and creak, like the slow strain of a rusted hinge.

“When did this even start? None of us knew.”

“I’m invoking my right to remain silent.”

Loud. Chaotic.

Those were the perfect words to describe the conversation.

If it were about something unrelated to me, I could easily ignore it. But this—this, I couldn’t.

Feigning disinterest, I busied myself preparing for the next class while keeping my ears firmly tuned in.

Please, just keep dodging the question.

Don’t let them dig any deeper.

Because if they did, they might figure out that the supposed “girlfriend” they were talking about…

Was me.

Dressed in girls’ clothing.

The very thought made my stomach churn.

“Do you have any pictures?”

“Nope. And even if I did, I wouldn’t show them.”

“Huh? That’s unexpected. You used to show pictures of your exes without a second thought.”

“Well, this one’s way too cute. I don’t want anyone else seeing them.”

For a second, the classroom was completely silent.

Then, at almost the exact same time, the shrill voices of the girls and the sound of the bell overlapped.

The teacher entered through the front door, barely putting any effort into his halfhearted, “Alright, settle down.”

The popular group grumbled but slowly returned to their seats.

My phone vibrated again.

After the opening call of class ended, I discreetly glanced at the screen, making sure the teacher wouldn’t notice.

“Your face is red.”

“—!”

Instinctively, I shut off my phone and shoved it deep into my desk drawer.

My heart pounded so loudly it was deafening.

I could feel the heat rising to my face.

Hiding behind my long bangs, I turned my head toward the window, where the lingering warmth of summer drifted in through the slightly cooler breeze.

I shifted my gaze toward Kiryu, sitting a few rows ahead.

He looked the same as always—unbothered, unaffected.

And for some reason, that irritated me.

It was now mid to late September—somewhere around there. The second semester had begun, yet our secret relationship continued as if summer break had never ended.

The kiss, the hassle, the emotional turmoil—all of it had been a personal nightmare.

But Kiryu didn’t seem to think anything of it.

So, if he wasn’t bothered, then maybe I was just overthinking it.

When we took photos, our proximity was anything but what you’d call “friends.”

We were physically close—closer than we had ever been before.

Kiryu touched me more often now.

Not kisses, but things like hugging me or ruffling my hair had become an everyday occurrence.

Just the other day, for some reason, I ended up sitting on Kiryu’s lap.

I had immediately yelped and scrambled away, but he had easily lifted me by the sides, as if I weighed nothing.

That had genuinely startled me.

And worse—my heart had skipped a beat.

In the end…

The one who falls in love loses.

With midterms coming up next month, the library was more crowded than usual after school.

The sun had started setting much earlier.

Flipping a page in my paperback novel, I exhaled softly.

The sound of quiet breathing, the occasional scratch of a pen against a notebook, and the autumn breeze rustling the curtains—all of it blended together, carrying with it the fading scent of summer.

As I moved my eyes to the next page, a certain word caught my attention.

“Plaything.”

At that moment, something inside me clicked.

The realization settled in almost instantly.

It made sense.

Of course, it made sense.

If I was nothing more than a favorite toy—something to entertain and amuse—then everything about the way I was treated was perfectly logical.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

Closing my book, I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

A message from Kiryu.

“Are you at the library again today?”

“Yeah. Did you finish helping out with practice?”

Midterms were still a little ways off, but Kiryu had been assisting with club activities lately.

Apparently, he had been joining regular practice sessions to improve team communication for the upcoming matches.

“Yeah, I’m done. Heading to a family restaurant now.”

“Have fun.”

“Thanks, I will.”

Another meaningless animal sticker followed his message.

I stared at the screen for a moment.

This…

This looked exactly like a conversation between a couple.

To Kiryu, it was probably nothing.

But to me, it was something so precious that it gave me enough strength to keep going the next day.

The screen dimmed as the phone automatically locked.

I let out a quiet breath and began packing up my things, moving carefully to avoid making unnecessary noise.

With everything neatly gathered, I slipped out of the library.

The distant sound of the wind ensemble practicing filled the evening air.

I liked this time of day—the way it felt like a scene pulled straight from a coming-of-age novel.

Maybe nostalgia was just another word for moments like this.

Another vibration.

I assumed it was my mom texting about dinner.

But when I checked the screen, it was Kiryu again.

I opened the app and stopped in my tracks at his message.

“Let’s study for midterms together next week.”

“Alright.”

A mixture of happiness and emptiness hit me all at once.

It was mostly emptiness.

But in the end…

Happiness always won out.

“…Liking someone is such a hassle.”