Ever Since I Carried Out the Penalty Game of Accidentally Confessing "I Like You, Please Go Out With Me" in the Class Group Chat, the Girls in My Class Have Been Acting Weird — Part 1

After school, in an empty classroom.

The three of us were sparking with intense rivalry.

“Ready?”

Hashioka, my troublesome friend, gulped audibly.

A unique tension filled the air just before the battle began.

“Yeah.”

“Anytime…”

Tajima, my other troublesome friend, and I were fully prepared. We each had our weapons hidden in hand.

“Alright, here we go—ready, set…”

At Hashioka’s signal, we slammed our weapons—our test score sheets—onto the desk.

A sharp snap echoed in the empty classroom.

“291 points… 340 points… 418 points…”

Hashioka read out the total scores of our five-subject exams.

The lowest score belonged to Hashioka, followed by Tajima, and the highest… was mine, Yoru Nagi.

“With an average score of 350 points… YES!”

Despite having the lowest score, Hashioka cheered in delight.

“Ughhhhhh!!!”

Meanwhile, I, with the highest score, was clutching my head in despair.

You might wonder what on earth is going on.

But I swear, we were dead serious.

We were playing a game—serious competition with a penalty for the loser—based on our test scores.

The rules were simple. The person whose score was farthest from the average lost.

Of course, this was Hashioka’s idea.

Normally, Hashioka, who isn’t exactly the brightest, would be a guaranteed loser.

So the rules were twisted—whoever’s score strayed farthest from the average would lose.

And I… lost this ridiculous game.

“Alright! Yoru Nagi, it’s your penalty!”

“Are you kidding me? These rules are so unfair!”

“Complaining now is not manly! You were all in for it, too.”

“Damn it… why do I have to be so smart…”

“Hey, Hashioka, no mercy, right?”

“None. No sign of repentance here.”

“And you’d better reflect too—there’s a failing grade on your sheet!”

Neither my sarcasm nor my jabs had any effect on them in their current high spirits.

They were completely drunk on victory.

“Alright, as promised, it’s penalty time.”

“Wait, are we seriously doing this?”

“Of course. Hand over your phone.”

“At least let me do it myself?”

“Nope. Just accept it.”

“Fine, whatever.”

I opened the LINE app on my phone and handed it to Hashioka.

Big mistake… I should’ve changed my home screen. If they saw it, things could get awkward.

“Alright, here we go!”

“Fine… do whatever you want.”

“You said it! No going back now.”

“A man doesn’t take back his word. Do it.”

“Aye aye, sir!”

And so began the ultimate embarrassment in the name of a penalty game.

The penalty was simple:

Post the message “I like you. Please go out with me.” in the class LINE group chat where everyone participated.

To anyone unaware, it would look like I accidentally confessed to someone but sent it to the entire class by mistake.

That was the whole point of the penalty game.

And, of course, since it was meant to look like a mistake, I had to delete the message.

But here’s the kicker—the timing of deletion had to be painfully awkward.

The rules said I could only delete the message after either five minutes had passed or ten people had read it—whichever came first.

If someone commented, “Did you post this by mistake?” I might seriously skip school tomorrow.

I could only pray that everyone would just read it and ignore it.

“Alright, posting now!”

“10… 9…”

“Too slow! Just get it over with!”

“Since Yoru Nagi insists… Aaand, posted!”

I like you. Please go out with me.

The message was now live in the class chat.

Please, let no one see it. Please, let no one see it.

Read 1.

Oh, it’s over.

Three seconds hadn’t even passed yet. Modern youth and their smartphone addiction are truly lamentable.

Read 2… 3…

The number kept climbing.

Stopppppp! At least don’t replyyyyyy!

“Hey, Yoru Nagi? How are you feeling?”

“…I want to die of embarrassment.”

“Ahahahaha!”

“Buhahaha!”

“Stop laughing, you jerks!”

Meanwhile, the number of read receipts kept climbing.

In less than three minutes, it surpassed ten.

“Delete it! Hurry, just delete it already!”

“Alright, alright! …There, it’s gone.”

—Message from Yoru Nagi has been deleted.

“No replies… looks like no one responded.”

“Well, yeah, that’s not surprising. It’s too awkward for anyone to reply.”

“So? How do you feel about the penalty game?”

“I’m going to kill you both…”

Today is just the worst.

By tomorrow, the people who saw it are definitely going to bring it up.

…Just thinking about it makes me depressed.

I might need to vent to that person later…

* * *

The next day.

I seriously considered skipping school, but skipping now would make the accidental confession seem way too real.

So, I decided to face it and go to school like usual.

I arrived at the classroom just before being late, trying to avoid talking to anyone.

“(Hey… about yesterday…)”

“(Yeah… it’s definitely about that, right?)”

The hushed voices of girls talking reached my ears.

I can hear you, you know…

Pretending not to notice, I sat down at my desk, projecting a “don’t talk to me” aura by looking busy.

“Hey…”

A voice called out from the seat next to mine.

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