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

The Person She’s Interested In

In just a few minutes, I’d be getting a call from Yossy.

It was usually me who called her, but this time it was the other way around—and somehow, that alone made me all fidgety. I lay on my bed, rolling back and forth for no reason, earbuds already in my ears.

Two minutes later, my phone finally lit up with her name—“Yossy”—and my heartbeat instantly doubled.

“Hello, this is Mook.”

“Ah, Yossy here! Good evening!”

“Good evening, Yossy-san. Thanks for calling.”

“No, I’m just happy I get to talk with you.”

Right after saying that, she let out a small “Ah.”

“I ended up using polite speech again—sorry! Um, I’m just happy I get to talk with you.”

“Heh.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at how awkwardly she tried to switch to casual speech.

“Come on, don’t laugh! I’m still not used to it yet!”

“Sorry, sorry. You just sounded so stiff.”

“Haah… but really, Mook-san, your voice is so nice. It’s… calming, somehow.”

Whoa… that’s basically the highest compliment you can get on #Tsubowo!

“Hearing that makes me really happy. I’m glad if my voice helps you relax.”

“Lately, I’ve been kind of tense at school, you know? So having a place like this where I can unwind feels really nice.”

“Tense? Did something happen?”

Did something go wrong in class? Or maybe in her club? Or could it be student council-related?

“Um…”

She trailed off, so I quickly said—

“You don’t have to force yourself to talk about it, okay? I’m not trying to pry.”

At that, she giggled shyly. Naturally, that laugh sounded just like Sakura’s—the same laugh she made when I pointed out her injury. It reminded me that the two of them were, in fact, the same person.

“…Yeah, thanks. But, I think I’ll talk about it. Mook-san wouldn’t laugh at me, right?”

“Of course not. I’ll listen properly. Besides, I’m not exactly someone who can spread rumors around school, right?”

“Hehe, yeah, that’s true.”

After a short laugh, she took a deep breath and began.

“The truth is… there’s someone in my class I’ve started to kind of notice. I’m not sure if I like him yet, but…”

“Really?”

Wait, what? Me—uh, I mean, Mook—had come up in conversation before, but now there’s someone in her class she’s interested in?

I was surprised—and, honestly, just a little bit lonely. No matter how close we get through our calls, I’m still just her “call friend.” Nothing more.

Still, I should do what I always do—listen.

“Can I ask what kind of person he is?”

“Yeah. He’s someone who’s been kind to me lately.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You know how I mentioned before that I don’t really like mango flavor? Well, at school, they gave out mango candies, and when I made a bit of a face, he noticed—and traded candies with me.”

“Yeah, uh—wait, what?”

Hold on a second…

“And then recently, when I hurt my leg, he noticed and went to the staff room to get some papers for me. He even made copies! He’s so kind.”

“Oh, uh… I—I see.”

That’s me! That’s totally me, isn’t it!? Rokuhara Chihiro—that’s me!!

Wait, what do I do!? I mean, I’m seriously happy right now. Sure, it’s great that she likes talking to “Mook,” but hearing that she actually noticed me—the quiet guy in class—makes me ridiculously happy!

But also… this is bad. If my identity ever got exposed, it’d be over.

She’d think, “So you were pretending to be someone else just to get close to me?” or “You were using Mook to spy on me?”

That’d make me the worst kind of guy—the type who gathers information online and uses it in real life.

If that happened, she’d definitely be disgusted. And I’d lose our late-night talks… those precious hours I really treasure.

But I can’t exactly say, “Maybe you shouldn’t like that guy.” She’d totally be like, “What would you know about him, Mook-san?” And, well, I’d know everything—but I can’t say that.

So in the end, I could only respond positively.

“That’s nice! Having someone you’re interested in makes school way more fun, doesn’t it?”

God, saying that about myself feels unbelievably awkward.

As I was cringing internally, she hit me with something totally unexpected.

“So… Mook-san, if I ever start worrying about him, will you cheer me on?”

Wait, what kind of relationship is this!? Yossy likes me, and now I—as Mook—have to cheer her on!? I mean, I will, but still!

“Ah… yeah, of course! I’ll support you.”

“I’m glad! Thank you!”

I gave her my answer, but honestly, it felt… complicated.

It made me happy that Sakura might like me, but without these calls, I can’t even properly talk to her in real life, let alone help her. Is it right to play the role of her “supporter” when I’m the one she’s talking about?

Alright. Decision made. From now on, I’ll make a real effort to get closer to Sakura in person too. If we can talk like this here, then surely I can talk to her at school too.

“Mook-san, I really feel like I can talk to you about anything.”

“Yeah. I hope you’ll keep sharing things with me.”

As we continued chatting about random stuff, my heart burned with determination.

And that night, filled with excitement and confusion, I kept talking with Yossy—punching my pillow in embarrassment the whole time.