"I received an NTR video accompanied by the message, 'Boyfriend, are you watching? lol.' In response, I sent back a clip of me and someone flirting, along with the message, 'Loser, are you watching? lol.'" - Episode 7

The night after breaking up with Hoshina,
I tried calling Megumi, but there was no answer.
That was unusual.
She’s usually home in the evenings and always picks up.
Instead, I sent her a message, telling her I had gone to the aquarium with Hoshina.
After that, I headed outside and started playing a mobile game, fighting monsters as usual.
About an hour in, while wandering downtown, I finally got a call from Megumi.
“Hello?”
“What’s this about going to the aquarium? Who were you with?”
Megumi’s voice was sharp—furious.
I had a bad feeling about this. And I was right.
“It’s not what you think. I’m kind of close to her. Things happened, and we ended up going… but I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Even if nothing happened, just going to an aquarium with another girl is cheating! Don’t you get that it’s a betrayal?”
She was yelling now, her emotions spilling out.
I hadn’t thought of it that way.
But from her point of view, maybe she was right.
To me, it didn’t seem like such a big deal.
But clearly, it meant something different to her.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve been more considerate. Please, calm down.”
“Why should I calm down? You did this! And you don’t even sound sorry!”
Her shouting forced me to pull the phone away from my ear.
“Look, we’re just talking on the phone right now—can we meet up? I want to apologize properly.”
“…”
Silence. Why now?
“Uh… no. It’s too late.”
“Yeah, obviously! Think about the time! You should use your head more.”
“Got it. I’ll be more careful.”
“This isn’t over. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”
With that, she hung up.
Still scolding me even at the end. What a pain…
“Oh, that guy!”
“Huh? Who?”
A sudden voice called out nearby.
I turned and saw Imamura.
“Oh, hey. Imamura.”
He looked at me with a pale face—equal parts fear and anger.
Here we go again.
And to make things worse, he wasn’t alone.
He had a group of about eight guys with him.
All of them rough-looking and staring straight at me.
“Who’s he?”
“Wait, don’t—”
Imamura was muttering under his breath.
My intimidation must’ve left an impression.
These guys were probably from Ryudan Academy.
If this had been a normal situation, I’d expect some restraint.
But from the looks of them, they weren’t that kind of crowd.
“What’s up, Imamura? This guy giving you trouble? Want us to rough him up?”
“He’s dangerous—don’t mess with him.”
This is getting annoying. I just wanted to play my game in peace.
I pulled out my phone.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Playing my game.”
“You run into someone you know and decide to game? Really?”
Yeah. That’s exactly what I usually do. We weren’t even friends.
One of the guys slung his arm around my shoulder.
I’ve never had that happen before. Felt… weirdly fresh.
“So, what’s your deal with Imamura?”
“Just acquaintances.”
“He seems to have a problem with you, though.”
“Not my problem. We were never close. Oh, are you guys from Ryujin?”
“So, what if we are?”
“Just thought it’d be scary.”
That got a laugh out of them.
Even Imamura gave a weak smile.
“We’re heading to karaoke. You in?”
“Sure. Never been to karaoke with friends before. Sounds fun.”
“You idiot. Don’t take it seriously. Just come with us.”
“Where?”
“Don’t ask. Just follow.”
One guy yelled right into my ear.
No police box nearby.
I could run, but after the call with Megumi, I just wasn’t in the mood.
I sighed and kept tapping at my phone.
“Hey, stop messing with your phone.”
“There’s a monster I need to fight.”
“Do you not understand your situation?”
“Oh, I do. That’s why I’m still playing.”
They tried to snatch my phone, so I slipped it into my pocket.
Then they started dragging me off, arms still around my shoulders.
Imamura looked smug, thinking the tables had turned.
“Wait, I just got a message. From Shimazaki-san.”
“Shimazaki…? What did you do?”
“Nothing… I think?”
Their expressions changed instantly.
The moment I mentioned that name, they all tensed up.
Apparently, Shimazaki was someone they didn’t want to cross.
They huddled together, whispering in panic.
Finally, they turned back to me.
“You’re lucky. Your superior called you.”
“See ya.”
“Wait, hold up—”
They all scattered, running off like scared rabbits.
Only Imamura lingered, confused.
I grabbed his wrist before he could bolt.
“W-what is it?”
“You still don’t get what happened yesterday. We need to finish that conversation.”
“L-look, I get it.”
He was terrified.
His friends had left him behind.
The guy clearly couldn’t function alone.
“Let’s head to the police.”
“Wait! Please! I’ll stop everything, I swear!”
“Really? If you’re lying, I’ll make sure you get expelled.”
“I’m serious! I won’t mess up again!”
He was desperate.
I could tell he really didn’t want to be kicked out.
Still, a little more pressure wouldn’t hurt.
If something like this happened again, it’d be a real problem.
I gave him a long, hard stare.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
“Are you really sorry?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t be bowing my head if I wasn’t.”
Sunday afternoon.
I met up with Megumi at a fast-food place.
She was in plain clothes, arms crossed, and still furious.
Amazing, in a way—still that mad after a whole night.
Most people calm down by the next day.
“So, who is she? Where’s she from?”
“We just know each other through a game. Met by chance.”
“You mean that game? The one you always play? Is there even anyone else who plays it besides you?”
“That’s unfair. It’s actually in the top 10 for yearly sales.”
“That game’s selling?”
Megumi clearly didn’t care about my favorite game.
Whatever. It still stung when she assumed I was unpopular.
“Well, okay. So, you’re just acquaintances. But if you ever cheat again, I will break up with you.”
“Understood.”
“Cheating is the worst thing you can do.”
After thirty minutes of being scolded, she finally sighed and sipped her drink.
“Alright. I’ll forgive you… if you buy me a movie.”
“A movie? What’s showing?”
“A romance. My classmates said it was good. I want to see it.”
“Alright. Let me check the time.”
Megumi was finally in a good mood as we headed for the theater.
If this is how things are going to be, I need to rethink my relationship with Hoshina.
No more one-on-one outings that could be seen as dates.
The last thing I need is more rumors of cheating.