Two outcasts who look down on each other share an innocent first kiss. - Chapter 4

I had given up on friendship.

I had given up on romance.

And I meant it.

Or at least, I thought I did.

So then, what the hell was I doing last night?

That wasn’t like me.

It was as if I was trying to get Sumino’s attention.

Sumino, of all people.

The girl with a personality even gloomier than mine.

The girl who wasn’t particularly cute—

The girl who only became loud and obnoxious when gaming.

And, for some reason, a girl who suddenly decided to start playing fighting games at midnight.

Why had she opened her curtain last night?

Why had she suddenly picked up her controller again?

Every time I tried to dig deeper into her motives, my brain shut itself down.

What if I was wrong?

That typical cautious, overthinking, shut-in mindset kicked in.

A lifetime of living like this had trained me well.

And yet, for once, those doubts weren’t enough to suppress the endless questions flooding my mind.

Had Sumino noticed my signal?

That embarrassingly subtle, barely-existent signal?

If she had—

Then I had to admit something, no matter how humiliating it was.

I had to admit that…

I was really, really happy about it.

In a way, it proved something.

It proved that she and I—Edward Harrison and Mikage Sumino—

Had lived very similar lives.

Even if no one else could understand us, maybe we could understand each other.

Then again…

Maybe I was only interested in her because I had seen her half-naked.

That thought had crossed my mind several times while I was gaming last night.

It didn’t help that my memory of her was already starting to get a little too polished.

The way I remembered her now felt way cuter than my initial impression of her.

I had liked girls before.

And when I did, I knew how my brain worked.

If I thought about a girl for long enough, she’d start looking like a goddess in my head.

But then I’d see her at school the next day and realize…

Oh.

She wasn’t actually that cute.

Still cute, but… just normal.

I had a feeling the same thing was happening with Sumino.

And just to be clear—

It’s not like I like her or anything.

I just had this creeping fear that if I let my thoughts wander too much, I might start liking her.

And that would make me look like some pathetic, desperate virgin who had never interacted with a girl before.

Which—technically—wasn’t wrong.

But the idea of being that kind of desperate for someone as cynical as Sumino?

My pride refused to accept it.

So, to summarize—

I needed to verify a few things.

1. 1. Had Sumino really noticed my signal?

 

1. 1. Was she actually as cute as my brain was making her out to be?

The third day since moving in.

I woke up around noon, checked through the curtain, and saw that Sumino’s window was still covered.

Then, I opened my own curtain.

This time, I made sure I was the first to open my window.

This way, there was no risk of any… accidents.

And if I waited, maybe…

Just maybe…

She’d peek out, too.

And then—

Just as I was about to turn away,

A small shadow appeared behind her curtain.

Sumino?

She stood there for a moment, hesitating.

Then—

She slowly pulled her curtain back, just a tiny bit, as if she was peeking.

Through the small gap, I could see her.

She was wearing light blue pajamas, the kind a little kid might wear.

Her messy hair still had traces of bedhead.

And her dull, clouded eyes were sluggish with sleep—

Until she spotted me.

Then, they widened in surprise.

So she just woke up, huh?

She turned off her lights around the same time I did, too.

For a second, I thought she was going to slam her curtain shut and run away.

But instead—

She froze.

She wasn’t looking at me.

She wasn’t doing anything.

She was just standing there, undecided.

But strangely enough, I could tell what she was thinking.

After about twenty seconds of hesitation—

She slowly opened her curtain all the way.

Her whole body was visible now.

And because she wasn’t looking directly at me, even I, the world’s most socially awkward guy, could actually look at her without panicking.

She really was small.

Her thin pajamas made her seem even smaller.

Her wrists, peeking out from her sleeves, looked so fragile that they might break if I squeezed too hard.

And her face—

…Was not as cute as I had imagined.

Her features were fine, but her permanently pissed-off glare really ruined it.

But…

It wasn’t as bad as I expected.

No, I mean—Wait.

That sounded like an insult.

I didn’t mean it like that.

She wasn’t ugly.

She wasn’t cute, either, but…

She was just nice enough to look at that I didn’t mind staring for a while.

Sumino stood stiffly by the window.

She still wasn’t looking at me.

She wasn’t opening the window.

She wasn’t saying anything.

But I had a feeling—

For her, just standing there was already a big deal.

I understood.

The fear of letting yourself be seen.

The sheer terror of exposing yourself to someone else’s gaze.

She wouldn’t have done something this scary unless she had some kind of hope.

She was waiting.

Last night, she heard me playing.

Then, she copied me.

Maybe it felt like something had clicked between us.

And now—

She was waiting for something to change.

She was waiting for me to do something.

If this were any other situation, I would have stayed silent.

I had spent my life avoiding every conversation I could.

But now—

It felt like I had been assigned a role.

Like the universe itself was telling me—

“You started this, so you’re the one who has to do something.”

Maybe she was just too shy to talk first.

Maybe she was hoping I would take the fall for her.

But for the first time ever, we had achieved a perfect communication loop.

Nothing was missing.

Everything we needed to say had already been said without words.

All that was left—

Was to make it real by actually speaking.

That’s all.

Just that.

Just—

Ten seconds passed.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Sumino was fidgeting now, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

The silence was getting too long.

Even though I was used to silence, I could tell—

She wasn’t.

She was going to run away soon.

One minute.

Two.

Five.

Sh1t.

This was getting harder to break.

Ten minutes.

I wasn’t sure anymore.

The moment had already dragged on too long.

The timing felt off for anything I wanted to say.

Sumino looked more and more uncomfortable.

She kept sneaking glances at me.

Her body swayed nervously.

Crap.

If I didn’t act now, she was going to bolt.

She was like a Metal Slime—

Unpredictable, but guaranteed to run away at any second.

Why am I the only one feeling cornered here?

She could at least have the decency to open her own window.

If she doesn’t, there’s a chance she won’t even hear me if I try to say something.

This—this is why she’s a loner.

At least I can eat my lunch in the classroom without running away.

Unlike her, who sneaks off somewhere to hide.

I wasn’t always a shut-in.

Back in elementary school, I had friends.

I wasn’t born an outsider.

I can talk to people.

It just takes me a little longer than most to find the right words.

That’s all.

That’s why—

Sumino turned her back to me.

And in that moment—

I told myself I was better than her.

So I opened my window.

She flinched.

Frozen mid-turn, she stiffened, shoulders jerking up in shock.

And then—

For the first time—

Our eyes met.

A reflex kicked in—my instinct told me to look away.

But I didn’t.

My pride wouldn’t let me.

I was better than her.

I could hold her gaze without backing down.

Without feeling embarrassed.

At first, it seemed like she had only accidentally met my eyes.

But then she hesitated.

It was as if she could feel my silent challenge.

As if she knew I wouldn’t be the first to break eye contact.

Her ears started turning red.

Now she was the one stuck waiting.

If she didn’t open her window, we wouldn’t be able to hear each other.

It took her ten seconds to understand that.

And another thirty seconds before she actually moved.

Flustered, she fumbled with the lock.

Her fingers trembled as she hesitantly slid her window open.

Now, with no curtain and no glass between us,

From the height of our second-floor rooms, just a meter apart,

We were finally facing each other.

We had spoken in person just two days ago.

And yet, this moment felt like an entirely new first meeting.

At the same time, though…

It also felt like we had known each other forever.

No one else would understand.

Not the people who could talk to others easily.

Not the people who could make friends without effort.

Only we knew.

That every tiny, unspoken signal—

Every moment of hesitation, every second of waiting, every small action—

Had led us to this moment.

That realization gave me courage I didn’t know I had.

It pushed my rusted, broken voice into motion.

But what was I supposed to say?

I had no idea.

But I had to say something.

Anything.

Something to make this moment real.

Something to keep it from slipping away.

And so—

“O… Oha—”

“—Ohayou.”

“G-good… morning.”

A voice so fragile, the wind could have carried it away.

But she heard it.

“O… Ohayou…”

“G-good… morning…”

That was it.

The moment two cynical loners, who thought themselves better than the other,

Finally looked each other in the eye—

And exchanged a greeting.

Two days.

And twenty minutes.