I Ended Up Cross-Dressing, My Secret Relationship with a Handsome Guy (BL) - Chapter 7

With the sound of cicadas screeching endlessly behind me, I sat on a shaded bench, looking as if the world was ending.

It was just past noon.

The station-adjacent shopping district was crowded and noisy with excited summer vacationers.

Like everyone else, I too had entered summer break—a season I utterly despised.

The clinging heat, the cheerful, restless crowds, the general air of excitement—

I hated it all.

If the alternative was staying at home, dealing with occasional small talk with my parents, then I’d still rather be indoors, studying in air-conditioned comfort.

So then, why the hell was I here?

For that, we’d have to rewind a little.

The Aftermath of the Makeup Disaster

After that complete makeup failure, where I ended up washing my face in sheer horror, Kiryu and I had decided to try again while following a tutorial video.

And that’s when we learned—

Makeup isn’t just about applying stuff randomly.

It has to match your skin tone.

The colors have to be chosen carefully, or else the entire look ends up weirdly mismatched.

Neither of us had known that.

As it turned out, all of Kiryu’s makeup products were wrong for my skin.

Even the eyeshadow shades didn’t suit me.

The realization was a relief.

If the products weren’t compatible, then there was no point in proceeding, right?

That was my logic, at least.

But Kiryu?

That rich bastard had other ideas.

The moment he understood the problem, he just shrugged and said—

“Guess I’ll buy new ones.”

Like it was nothing.

I hadn’t objected.

After all, he was the one paying.

And if this whole makeup thing was going to remain strictly within the confines of his room, then honestly, I didn’t care anymore.

So I let him do whatever he wanted.

I shouldn’t have.

Because now, I was sitting outside, under the blazing sun, in a suffocating crowd, waiting like a prisoner on death row.

Sweat trickled down my spine, but this wasn’t from the heat.

No.

This was cold sweat, born from pure, unfiltered dread.

And the sole cause of my suffering was—

“I swear, Kiryu, I am going to kill you one day.”

“Whoa. Scary.”

Kiryu, sitting beside me, looked completely at ease, casually holding two fancy-looking frozen drinks from some trendy café.

One of them was for me, and without hesitation, he handed it over.

I took it grudgingly, my fingers tightening around the cup as I glared down at—

The floral-print dress covering my legs.

“This isn’t about whether it looks good, you absolute idiot…”

“I mean, we’re about to go buy makeup. Wouldn’t it be weird if two guys went in together?”

“I AM A GUY NO MATTER WHAT I’M WEARING!”

“Not from where I’m sitting. You look like a delicate, petite girl. No problems here.”

“You goddamn degenerate—!”

That’s right.

I was cross-dressing.

Again.

In broad daylight.

At a busy, public shopping district.

In the middle of summer vacation.

If this was a nightmare, I needed to wake up.

Immediately.

This morning was supposed to be just another photoshoot day (which, granted, wasn’t “normal” at all).

But the moment I arrived at Kiryu’s house, he casually said:

“Let’s go buy makeup.”

To which I had replied, “Do whatever you want.”

I should have been more specific.

“We need to find the right shades for your skin, so obviously, you have to come with me,” he had argued.

I could have handled that much.

I could have just gone as myself.

But Kiryu had planned ahead.

By the time he made his proposal, I had already changed into one of his outfits—

A long skirt that concealed my legs, a loose top that hid my frame, and a wide-brimmed hat to further obscure my features.

“This outfit works. No one will suspect a thing.”

“…What?!”

And before I could protest, he had dragged me out the door.

Now here I was.

Dressed like a girl.

Sitting in public.

Wanting to die.

The frozen drink did nothing to cool my nerves.

I barely even registered the taste.

I had never hated my own lack of physical strength and assertiveness more than I did today.

“Alright, once we finish these, let’s head over to the store. It’ll be nice to finally get into an air-conditioned space.”

“Must be nice,” I muttered, sipping my drink bitterly.

“You have nothing to lose in this situation.”

Kiryu simply grinned, completely unfazed by my seething resentment.

So I punched his shoulder.

Not hard enough to actually hurt him—just enough to vent some frustration.

“Don’t worry, Saito. You look adorable.”

“There is something very wrong with your eyesight, because I am NOT cute. I AM A GUY.”

“Maybe don’t say that out loud in a normal volume?”

Kiryu smirked.

“Also, shouldn’t you stop calling me by my last name? That’s kinda risky too.”

“…!! YOU—!”

My expression twisted in sheer horror as I processed what I had just done.

I had spoken in my usual voice.

I had called him ‘Kiryu’ in public.

Heat rushed to my face, and I almost lunged at him in frustration—

But then—

“Yukiho.”

The sound of my name stopped me cold.

A sharp breath caught in my throat.

For a moment, the rest of the world faded away.

Kiryu was looking right at me.

His usual playful expression had softened into something almost unreadable.

“It’s a beautiful name.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Not from flattery.

Not from affection.

But from a deep, unsettling feeling I couldn’t quite name.

I wanted to say something.

To shut him down with another sharp insult.

But for some reason, the words never came out.

Yukiho.

Kiryu called my name again.

This time, I felt it.

My heart pounded violently, so loud that I was convinced he could hear it too.

Heat rushed to my face, bl00d pooling under my skin.

This is bad.

Before my face could turn completely red, I sprang up from the bench, acting purely on instinct.

“Huh? Hey, where are you going?”

Kiryu’s voice followed, carrying a hint of concern.

I didn’t respond.

I simply raised a hand and pointed toward our destination—the makeup store inside the shopping center.

I need to finish this and leave.

Now.

I couldn’t let this linger any longer.

Not when my heart felt like it would explode.

Not when Kiryu’s voice still rang in my ears, refusing to fade.

This isn’t normal.

Friends don’t react like this just from hearing their name.

Friends don’t feel like this over something so small.

I knew I wasn’t normal.

But I could pretend to be.

I had done it my whole life.

And I wasn’t about to let it slip now.

I forced myself to breathe, repeating in my head—calm down, calm down, calm down.

As I stepped inside the shopping center, a rush of cool air met me.

It was sharper than usual, cutting through the heat clinging to my skin.

It helped.

Just a little.

But not enough.

Not when I still felt like I was about to collapse under the weight of my own thoughts.