The Silent Me Who Talks on the Phone at Midnight with the Class’s Most Beautiful Honor Student - Chapter 3

An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth, a “Good Night” for a “Good Night”

“Phew…”

Taking a deep breath, I looked at the clock. Ten minutes had already passed—we’d gone over the time Yoshi-san had planned. I calmed myself. It had been short, but I really enjoyed talking with her, and honestly, just being able to hear her voice—something I never thought would happen—was enough to make me happy.

“Yoshi-san, I guess we should hang up soon.”
“Yeah… I think so.”

I could’ve pretended not to notice the time, but she’d said from the start that she could only talk “for a little while,” so it wouldn’t feel right to push it

“Let’s talk again, okay? I really enjoy talking with you, Yoshi-san.”

Then she quietly took a breath and spoke.

“I really enjoy talking with you too, Muku-san, so let’s talk again, okay?”
“…Huh?”

Her words echoed in my head again and again.

“…?”
“I just noticed something—you dropped the honorific speech, didn’t you?”
“Ah!”

Realizing it, she suddenly panicked, flustered all by herself.

“I-I’m so sorry, Muku-san! I was thinking about what we’d talk about next time we call, and somehow I just slipped out of polite mode…”

Her honest reaction made me happy. And I knew—if I was ever going to push forward, this was the moment.

“No, actually, I like it better tha—”
“W-wait!”
“Eh?”

Yoshi-san cut me off. Huh? Was she going to reject the idea?

After a hesitant “Um…,” I heard her swallow.

“Can I… say it first?”
“Say what first?

I tilted my head, not understanding her meaning, and she gave a small cough.

“I wanted to be the one to say that I want to drop the honorifics.”

“I see.”

Oh no—I might actually die tonight, from excitement and embarrassment combined.

“At school, I talk casually with the people I’m close to. And I feel like I’ve gotten really close to you, Muku-san, so I wanted to stop using polite speech… but since our relationship is just through calls, I wasn’t sure when it’d be okay to switch. I’ve never gotten this close with anyone on #Tsuwabo before either…”

So she hasn’t been this friendly with anyone else. That made me feel kind of special—and really happy.

“But you know, if I’ve reached the point where I can forget to be polite around you, that means we’ve gotten close, right? So… can I talk casually with you?”
“Of course! I’d like that!”

Then, from the other end of the phone, I heard her shy little laugh.

“Yeah! Me too—let’s talk like that from now on!”

And just like that, Yoshi-san and I became close enough to speak casually.

Wrapped in the warmth of that thought, we moved on to our goodnight.

“Well then, Yoshi-san, good night.”

“Ah, um, wait…”

She suddenly went silent. What’s wrong?

After a few seconds, she spoke slowly.

“Um, Muku-san… I have a little… re-request…”
“A request? Sure, what is it?”

“Uh, um, h-hawawa…”
“Hawawa?”

Wait, what’s going on? Why did she suddenly become this cute?

“S-sorry, I just got nervous. So, um, my request is… ah, no, never mind! Forget it!”
“I can’t just forget it!”

Come on, I can’t let that slide!

“I’ll listen properly, so please tell me?”
“R-really? Then, um… instead of saying ‘good night,’ could you say just ‘goodnight’—more casually?”
“‘Goodnight’? Sure, that’s fine.”

That’s it? That’s so easy. But before I could relax, she added another line.

“Um, and… if you can, could you say it before we actually hang up too?”
“Huh? You mean you want me to say it now, not just right before hanging up?”
“Yes! I just… I really like your voice, so I want to hear it properly.”

She liked my voice that much? That honestly made me really happy.

“Okay then, I’ll say it.”
“Ah, thank you! W-wait, let me sit up straight first!”
“Why?!”

Now she’s making me nervous! Saying “goodnight” out of nowhere is actually really embarrassing when you think about it.

I cleared my throat lightly, and then—

“Yoshi-san, goodnight.”

There was a short pause, and then I heard a small gasp of amazement through the phone.

“Waaah… my heart’s racing! Thank you, Muku-san!”

She thanked me, but it honestly felt more like I’d just been put through a shy kind of challenge.

Feeling mischievous, I decided to turn the tables.

“Fufu, then Yoshi-san, can I make a request too?”
“Eh? Sure, what is it?”

“As payback, can you say ‘goodnight’ to me?”
“Eeeh?! Me?!”

She let out a little squeal—“Hyawa!”—clearly flustered beyond belief.