After I Kept Telling the Angel Who Transferred to the Seat Next to Me "I Like You" and "You’re Cute" Every Day, I Realized Our Relationship Was Too Close. When I Tried to Be More Reserved and Put Some Distance Between Us, the Angel Started Closing the Gap Herself — Part 1

Have You Ever Fallen in Love at First Sight?

I’ve never really understood the concept of love at first sight.

I mean, can you really fall in love with someone just based on their looks?

To me, love is a feeling that only blossoms after you get to know someone—their personality, their good traits, and even their flaws.

So, I’ve always thought that the kind of “love” you feel at first sight is as shallow as a piece of paper.

“Starting today, I’ll be attending this school. My name is Hina Sonoda... I-I’d be really happy if we could all get along... Please take care of me.”

Her voice was delicate, soft, and carried a hint of fragility.

Her face looked young for a second-year high school student, and her hair was a long, straight chestnut brown.

Simply put, she was the kind of “adorable, delicate girl” you’d instinctively want to protect.

A thunderous shock coursed through me.

Her angelic appearance made me forget to even breathe.

Yes. She’s an angel. An angel... Ah... I—I think I like her.

That day, I, Tomoki Mitsuya, fell in love at first sight with Hina Sonoda, the girl sitting next to me.

“I like you!! I like you so much!! I totally fell for you at first sight!! Please go out with me!!”

And just like that, I confessed for the first time in my life, on the very day we met—and was promptly rejected.

Well, of course. If a guy you just met suddenly confessed to you, you’d turn him down, wouldn’t you?

But I had to let her know how I felt.

Still, getting rejected didn’t mean I was going to give up that easily.

One Month Later

“Hina-chan!! What do you think of me? For the record, I think you’re super cute and I love you!! Please go out with me!!”

“Mitsuya-kun, I think you’re a nice guy, but I don’t like you that way. Sorry.”

Three Months Later

“Hina-chan!! You’re so cute!! I swear I’ll make you happy, so let’s get married!! But first, go out with me!!”

“...I’m not going to marry you, and I’m not going to date you either. Sorry. Mitsuya-kun, how long are you planning to keep this up?”

“Until I hear a yes from you!!”

“Then that’s going to take forever.”

Six Months Later

“Hina-chan!! Umm... I-I like you!! I like you a lot! And you’re so cute!! I love you, so please go out with me!!”

“Tomoki-kun... You’re running out of ways to phrase this, aren’t you? Maybe it’s time to stop?”

“Hah, you’re too naïve. For me, telling Hina-chan how much I love her is like saying good morning—it’s just something you do.”

“Right, right. So it’s as light and trivial as a greeting, huh?”

“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s as natural and important as a greeting.”

“...Sure, sure.”

By now, it had been almost six months of continuous rejections.

But my feelings for her hadn’t diminished in the slightest. In fact, they only grew stronger with each passing day.

The more time I spent with Hina-chan, the more I learned about her.

Her smile.

Her love for sweets.

Her shyness around strangers.

Her intelligence.

The way her hair is a total mess when she wakes up in the morning.

Even her flaws have become endearing to me.

Six months ago, I thought love at first sight was shallow. But now I know that’s not true.

It’s just the beginning.

Falling in love at first sight makes you want to know more about the person. The more you learn, the deeper you fall for them.

And if, after getting to know them, you find that you don’t like them anymore, that’s fine too.

But for me, it didn’t turn out that way.

As I was walking to school, thinking about all this, I spotted a familiar long, straight chestnut-brown hair in the distance.

“Hina-chan!!” I shouted.

I waved and ran toward her at full speed.

“...Tomoki-kun.”

Her face clearly said, “Ugh, I’ve run into the annoying guy first thing in the morning,” but I was used to it by now, so I didn’t let it bother me.

"Hah… Hah… Hina-chan, good morning!! Y-You’re cute as always today!!"

"How about catching your breath before saying that?"

Without even looking at me, Hina-chan let out a sigh of exasperation. And even that was cute. I took a moment to steady my breathing.

...Alright!

"Hina-chan, good morning!! You’re cute as always today!!"

Sigh. "You’re the same as ever, Tomoki-kun."

As usual, she brushed off my words lightly, and we walked to school together. By now, this exchange was more or less like a daily greeting for us.

But still—getting to walk to school with her in the morning? What incredible luck! Thank you, God…!!

"Oh, by the way, have you heard about the new Japanese-style café? It’s got a garden and is said to have amazing sweets."

Hina-chan is a huge fan of sweets, especially traditional Japanese confections and matcha-flavored ones. Apparently, she even enjoys café-hopping on her own, though she’s refused every time I’ve begged to tag along.

"Oh, I know about that place. It’s pretty famous, isn’t it? But I’ve heard it’s super crowded on weekends, with long wait times."

"Exactly! But it seems it’s quiet in the evenings on weekdays! So we could—"

"Maybe I’ll go check it out with Akane-chan and the others sometime."

"Uh… isn’t there an option where you go with me…?"

"There isn’t."

"Ughhh."

Her outright rejection hit me like a dagger straight to the heart. And before I knew it, we’d arrived at school.

That was way too fast. Felt like a minute tops… Is this what it’s like to attend a handshake event for your favorite idol? Ah… if only this bliss could last forever!

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