Vol. 1 — Chapter 7: Just a Little Jealous?
After their noisy lunch under the tree, the group sat for a while longer, enjoying the breeze.
Yuto leaned back a little, listening to the overlapping voices of his friends. Daiki was joking about something dumb, Souta was arguing with Rika again over snacks, and Ren was still quiet like always but he stayed close. Yuna sat beside him, quietly humming a tune while sipping from her juice box.
It's peaceful, Yuto thought. Even though everyone's loud, it feels nice.
Then Yuna suddenly leaned a bit closer.
"Hey," she said softly.
Yuto turned toward her. "Hm?"
"Thanks for eating with me earlier," she said with a small smile.
"O-Oh… It's nothing," Yuto replied, scratching his cheek. "Thanks for asking me in the first place."
"Fufu," Yuna giggled. "I thought you'd say no."
Yuto tilted his head. "Why?"
"You always look like you're thinking about something. Like… you're shy or scared to talk."
"I-I'm not scared," Yuto said quickly.
"Then are you shy?"
Yuto looked away. "Maybe a little…"
Yuna laughed again, and Yuto smiled without realizing it.
Then, just as Yuto was starting to relax, Rika suddenly called out.
"Yuto!"
"Huh?" he looked up, startled.
"Come here for a sec," she said, waving him over. She was sitting a bit farther now with Souta, who was playing with a stick in the dirt like a child.
Yuto stood up, confused, and walked over.
"What is it?"
Rika leaned closer and whispered, "Hey, do you like Yuna?"
"Wha—!?" Yuto nearly choked. "W-What are you talking about!?"
"I'm just asking," she said, shrugging. "You looked kinda happy sitting next to her."
Yuto's face turned red. "N-No! I mean—I'm just friends with her!"
Rika raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "Sure…"
Yuto glanced back at Yuna. She was talking to Ren now, pointing at something on his phone and laughing. It made his chest feel… weird.
"...It's not like that," he mumbled, but even he wasn't sure if he believed it.
Just then, Souta popped up from the ground.
"Hey, hey, is this a love triangle?" he teased.
"Shut up!" Yuto and Rika said at the same time.
Souta burst out laughing. "Haha! That was perfect!"
Yuto walked away quickly, hiding his face. As he sat back down beside Yuna, she turned to him with a curious look.
"What did Rika say?"
"Nothing," Yuto said way too fast.
Yuna raised an eyebrow. "You're acting weird."
"I'm always weird," he said nervously.
Yuna blinked, then smiled. "That's true."
Yuto sighed, embarrassed.
Suddenly, a message tone came from Ren's phone.
"Oh. The teacher sent a group chat message," he said.
Everyone quieted down.
"What'd it say?" Daiki asked.
Ren read the screen. "Club clean-up is done. We can go home now."
"Oh, finally!" Souta stretched his arms. "I thought I'd be stuck picking leaves forever."
One by one, they packed up their things and stood. The sun was lower in the sky now, casting golden light across the schoolyard.
As they walked back toward the school building, Yuto found himself walking beside Yuna again.
"Hey," she said, swinging her bag a little.
"Yeah?"
"Do you walk home from school?"
"Usually. Why?"
She tilted her head. "Wanna walk together?"
Yuto froze.
"Uh…"
Yuna gave a small pout. "You don't want to?"
"No! I mean, yes! I mean… I'd like to."
Yuna smiled. "Then it's settled."
Behind them, Rika and Daiki walked side by side, Ren a few steps behind, and Souta was poking at a bug on the sidewalk.
As they neared the school gate, Rika glanced at Yuto and Yuna.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Hmm…"
Daiki looked at her. "What's with that face?"
"Nothing," she said.
But her eyes were still watching the two walking ahead of them.
Is it really nothing?
Even Rika wasn't sure why she felt a tiny pinch in her chest.
Yuto, meanwhile, tried not to let his smile show too much.
Walking home with Yuna…
That was new.
And maybe… something was changing.
Just a little.
End of Chapter 7.