“You’ll become the personal bodyguard of a celebrity one day, Yuichi!”
“Yeah!”
“Alright, today’s training! First, run ten kilometers with me!”
“Got it!”
* * *
Back then, I admired bodyguards. My dad and granddad were in that line of work, and I thought it was cool.
Since I was a kid, I was trained by both my dad and granddad, and I steadily grew stronger.
Then, when I became a high schooler… I was roped into helping my dad, who worked as a detective. It was really more of a bodyguard job under the guise of investigating celebrities.
I spent most of my weekends helping him with that.
After assisting with life-threatening jobs for a while, I came to realize, “This isn’t a job for humans.”
Life comes first. Once I started thinking that way, I decided that living a peaceful, ordinary life was good enough for me.
So, I told my dad.
I told him I wasn’t going to become a bodyguard.
He looked really disappointed, but he didn’t argue with me. That’s when I gained my freedom.
Somehow, I managed to enter university, and now, as a second-year student, I’ve achieved a peaceful, ordinary life.
* * *
I received a message on LINE.
It was from Saeki, the idol of our class.
She asked me to stay in the classroom after the fourth-period lecture.
… Could this be… a confession?
No way. I never thought Saeki would look at me like that.
It wasn’t like I was particularly interested in her, but I figured this was probably what “normal” university life was all about.
Source: The Internet. I read online that if you don’t get a girlfriend in college, you’re basically trash.
If she confesses to me, then finally I’ll be a normal college student.
Feeling excited, I finished my fourth-period lecture.
“Hey, introvert, what’s up?”
“…Nothing, really.”
In class, they call me “introvert.”
There was some malice behind it, but it never escalated into anything like bullying.
As long as my life wasn’t in danger, I didn’t care what they called me.
Since it was a class-wide lecture, familiar students began filing out of the classroom one by one.
Usually, people would hang around, but today, it was like they all knew about Saeki’s confession as they made their way into the hallway.
Maybe Saeki told them. She’s friendly with everyone in class, so it wouldn’t be hard for her to pull that off.
Some of them were grinning mischievously, but I didn’t pay it any mind.
Before I knew it, only Saeki and I were left in the classroom.
I could sense people still loitering in the hallway. Yep, they were there. I had learned to pick up on that sort of thing effortlessly from my survival training.
Saeki made her move. She walked up to me and smiled.
“So, you saw my message on LINE, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Do you know why I called you here?”
She blushed and fidgeted, looking at me shyly.
“…Well, I’ve been thinking about a few things.”
“Thinking? About what?”
Saeki’s voice turned sweet and syrupy.
It felt a little embarrassing to say out loud, but I decided to answer.
“A confession, maybe?”
When I said that, Saeki’s lips curled into a grin. She nodded slightly.
“That’s right. I… I’ve been thinking about you for a long time, Nagae… Will you go out with me?”
I honestly didn’t think she was really confessing. This was it—I had taken one step closer to living a normal life. Feeling happy, I nodded.
“…So that’s how it is. Alright, I’ll go out with you.”
…Never did I imagine I’d get a girlfriend this easily.
The moment I responded, Saeki burst into laughter.
“…Saeki?”
“Haha! I knew it! This is hilarious!”
Just then, the door swung open, and people started pouring into the classroom from the hallway. It was everyone from class.
Well, I had sensed them, but… what’s going on?
“No way! You actually thought you could go out with Saeki?!”
When I looked at Saeki, she was clutching her stomach, laughing hysterically.
… I see. So, this is one of those.
A fake confession, huh? I read about this online too.
It’s one of those pranks where they call you out and pretend to confess, only to reveal it was all a punishment game.
Apparently, there are quite a few people who’ve experienced this… So maybe this is just another step toward living a normal life.
However, once you actually experience it, you realize:
This is painful… But I convinced myself that I was getting just a little bit closer to normal, and I endured it.
“Gahaha! What’s with the ‘sure, fine’ response? You seriously think you can date Saeki?”
“This is killing me, so funny!”
“You, the introverted loser, need to know your place! Hurry up and leave, you introverted otaku!”
I glanced at Saeki one last time, and she, irritated, brushed her hair back. She cast a look at one of the delinquent-looking boys in the class.
“Stop looking this way. Do you wanna get beaten up?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Hurry up and get lost, you introverted freak. Or do you wanna become my fists’ next meal?”
The delinquent raised his fist.
Not wanting to cause any injuries, I quietly grabbed my bag and left the classroom.
“You can’t even talk back, huh?”
“Such a typical introverted otaku!”
…It turns out that being “normal” in this world is pretty rough.
* * *
Shoulders slumped, I returned to my room. After turning on the light and preparing for tomorrow, the doorbell rang.
Was it a delivery? As I headed to the door and opened it…
“It’s been a while.”
A woman who looked far too out of place in this shabby apartment was standing there.
I immediately shut the door.
But she wedged her foot in.
“Go away! Why are you here?”
“I wanted to see you.”
“I don’t want to see you!”
“Liar. Even now, the door is slowly opening…”
“You’re the one forcing it open!”
With her resisting, I sighed and opened the door. I didn’t want her to get hurt.
“…What do you want, Akashiki?”
“My name.”
“…What do you want, Yurika?”
Hearing that, she smiled happily and removed her hat and mask, revealing her face.
…I let out a small breath at her overwhelming beauty.
She was my childhood friend, Akashiki Yurika.
Her parents were singers, and she was also working as a singer.
And… she was incredibly popular with young people, known as the Diva, thanks in part to her stunning looks.
Dragging a suitcase behind her, she stepped into my room.
“…Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Haven’t you seen the news?”
“What news?”
“Love scandal.”
“With who?”
“With Yuichi.”
“What!?”
Seeing Yurika blushing, I couldn’t just ignore it.
First of all, there was nothing between us beyond being childhood friends.
But Yurika didn’t have all her screws tightened. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’d mentioned my name when talking about a “special someone” somewhere.
Shocked, I pulled out my phone and searched her name.
The first news headline that popped up was “Akashiki Yurika, Threatened.”
“…What’s this about?”
“…I was threatened over the next event I was supposed to attend—by phone calls and letters. Because of that, my agency told me to take a break for a while.”
“…Okay, and?”
“That’s why I came to the safest place in the world.”
“This run-down apartment is so fragile it could make you weep, especially compared to your near-million-yen-a-month apartment.”
“But Yuichi is here. Safe.”
Yurika flashed a peace sign.
As I grimaced, a call came from my dad. …Don’t tell me he took this job?
“Hello?”
‘Hey, how’ve you been?’
“I’m fine, but… what’s up?”
‘Did Yurika come over to you? Well, if she did, take care of her, okay?’
“…Hey, I told you I’m done with your line of work, that I’m living as an ordinary person now. You take care of her.”
As I said that, Yurika, looking lonely, tugged at the hem of my shirt.
‘I wanted to take care of her myself, but she insisted that only you would do. Please, just this once?’
I figured she’d be safer with my dad, but… when I looked at Yurika again, she was smiling, though her face seemed a little stiff.
The anxiety and fear were practically radiating from her, and I scratched my head in frustration.
“…Please, Yuichi.”
“…Fine, just this once. But I’m taking ninety percent of the reward.”
‘Alright, alright. I owe you one.’
With that, Dad hung up.
…Seriously.
I’d prefer not to get involved with celebrities. It’s too far removed from the peaceful, ordinary life I want.
But I couldn’t just ignore my childhood friend either.
“This is just for this time, alright?”
“…Yeah, thanks.”
“It’s fine, whatever.”
“I’ll treat you to something as a thank you.”
“…Oh, well, there’s a pretty nice restaurant nearby. Want to go there?”
“I’d love to. A date.”
“…Make sure you disguise yourself, okay?”
“Yeah, I know.”
Yurika smiled happily.
She really does suit that smile, I thought.
“By the way, did something happen?”
Yurika suddenly tilted her head in curiosity.
“What do you mean?”
“…It seemed like you were a little down today, Yuichi.”
…It was probably because of that fake confession. I thought I had hidden it well, but maybe her childhood friend’s intuition picked up on it.
“Well, yeah… a lot happened at university today.”
“A lot?”
“Yeah. I got called out by a girl—”
“—What do you mean?”
Even before I could finish, Yurika’s eyes glinted sharply.
“Y-Yeah, I got called out… and confessed to—”
“Should I ruin them socially, or just destroy them normally? I wonder who I should ask…”
“Stop! It was just a fake confession! Nothing happened!”
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