Didn’t You Say I Was Just a Stand-In?

"Good morning, Kitahara-kun."

"Good morning."

"Kitahara-kun, you look so handsome today."

"Thank you."

As Kitahara Takashi walked from the school gate to the classroom building, girls with bows in their hair and pleated skirts greeted him one after another.

Kitahara Takashi patiently responded to each one.

When he opened his shoe locker to get his indoor shoes, he found several pink letters.

Receiving love letters every day was something Kitahara Takashi had long grown accustomed to.

He casually stuffed the letters into his bag, changed into his indoor shoes, placed his sneakers in the locker, and closed it.

As soon as he entered the classroom, Tanaka Kota and Ootani Shota looked at him as if he were their savior: "Takashi, quick, lend me your math homework from yesterday."

"I need the English homework."

Kitahara Takashi walked to his seat, opened his bag, and handed over the math and English homework. He then opened his book, "1001 Years of Spanish," and began reading.

"How did you two even get into Aoba? Did you really not use connections?"

Ootani Shota snatched the math homework from Kitahara Takashi, copying it while complaining, "I never expected the classes at Aoba to be this hard."

"By the way, why do we have to learn English when we live in Japan?" Tanaka Kota also grumbled.

"Because English is one of the six official languages of the United Nations," Kitahara Takashi explained kindly, flipping a page.

Since his intelligence had reached level 8, Kitahara Takashi found that his learning ability, memory, and comprehension had far surpassed what they used to be.

Now, even multitasking was possible for him.

"I know that," Tanaka Kota said irritably. "I mean, I'm not planning to go abroad, so why do I have to learn this?"

"Wasn't your dream to join Arsenal?"

"Ah, that was last semester's goal. Now my dream is to go to Paris Saint-Germain," Tanaka Kota said excitedly, his copying speed increasing as he talked about his ambitions.

Kitahara Takashi glanced up from his book, curious. "Oh, why's that?"

"The owner of PSG wears a headscarf and is super generous. Plus, they have Mbappé, the best footballer in the world right now. He's my idol."

Kitahara Takashi almost blurted out, "Who says he's the best?" But he managed to hold back.

Ootani Shota suddenly interjected, "You're being picky? You're still a substitute on the school soccer team."

Before Tanaka Kota could fully immerse himself in his fantasy, his reverie was interrupted. Annoyed, he retorted, "The coach is considering putting me in the starting lineup."

"By the time you make it to the starting lineup, I'll already be a core member," Ootani Shota sneered.

The two had known each other since kindergarten.

From elementary school to high school, they had miraculously been placed in the same class every year. If one of them had been a girl, it would have been a classic childhood friends-to-lovers story, destined to be disrupted by a third party.

Unfortunately, they were both boys, so they could only be best friends.

"Isn't it just that our school's baseball team is weak?" Tanaka Kota shot back disdainfully.

Aoba Private Academy boasted the highest university acceptance rate in all of Japan, but its sports teams were notoriously weak.

Over its hundred-year history, Aoba had produced countless politicians, entrepreneurs, and scientists, but it had never won a single national sports championship.

Its trophy cabinet was as empty as Tottenham Hotspur's.

Aoba had recently realized this and had been trying to recruit talent from other schools, but with little success.

High school students aiming to become athletes would naturally prioritize schools like Sendai Ikuei, Yamanashi Gakuin, and Ikuei High, not Aoba.

Ootani Shota fired back, "Even if we're weak, I'm still a core member. Unlike someone who can't even make it to the starting lineup."

"What level is your baseball team compared to our soccer team?" Tanaka Kota said mockingly. "Our soccer team made it to the round of 64 last time. You guys didn't even make it to Koshien. What are you barking about?"

Ootani Shota narrowed his eyes, his tone turning hostile. "You want to fight?"

Tanaka Kota stopped writing, threw down his pen, and said, "Then let's have a manly samurai duel."

The two exchanged glances, then simultaneously pulled out their Yu-Gi-Oh! cards from their bags.

Kitahara Takashi ignored the two idiots, his attention fully focused on his book.

...

Sakaki High School

When the Japanese literature teacher announced the end of class, the first-year Class 4 immediately became noisy.

Katsura Kotonoha was the first to stand up, holding her lunchbox, ready to head to the rooftop.

Ever since she met Saionji Sekai and Itou Makoto, she no longer ate lunch in the classroom.

Because she had no friends in this class.

Japan is a country that places great emphasis on so-called "collective spirit."

In their subconscious, individuals must belong to a group of some kind.

The size of the group doesn't matter, but one must never be alone.

This is because they believe that an individual's power is limited, and only by integrating into a group can a person shine brighter and achieve greater things.

They believe that people cannot exist independently of a group.

This is why, even though Katsura Kotonoha is very beautiful, she has become the one isolated by the entire class.

Being in this class makes Katsura Kotonoha feel suffocated.

"Katsura-san!"

As Katsura Kotonoha was about to leave the classroom, someone called out to her.

Hearing the voice, Katsura Kotonoha's shoulders trembled slightly.

She recognized it.

The person calling her was none other than one of the members of the group that often bullied her.

Because she had no friends in the class, even if she was bullied, no one would stand up for her.

Even telling the teacher might not help.

The teacher might intervene once or twice, but after a while, they would get annoyed.

Not all teachers are like Hiratsuka Shizuka, who loves to meddle and isn't afraid of trouble.

Katsura Kotonoha had no choice but to stop and turn slightly to face Oguchi Minami: "Wh-what is it?"

"I have something going on at home today. Can you clean up for me?"

Although she was asking for a favor, Oguchi Minami's tone didn't sound like she was asking for help at all.

Katsura Kotonoha: "..."

Liar!

Just two minutes ago, Oguchi Minami and her two friends were discussing plans to go out after Katou Otome's club activities ended. Katsura Kotonoha wasn't deaf; she had heard everything.

But her introverted, gentle, and meek nature made her unable to resist the pressure.

Seeing her remain silent, Oguchi Minami's tone grew impatient: "So, can you do it or not?"

"Katsura-san, we're all classmates. It's normal for classmates to help each other out, right?"

"You're not that stingy, are you?"

Noticing the situation, Koizumi Natsumi and Mori Rimi also walked over, joining in the moral pressure.

Katsura Kotonoha didn't say anything, just lowered her head further, becoming even more silent.

Some people in the class noticed what was happening, but no one had any intention of standing up for her.

Katsura Kotonoha knew that no one would help her, so she simply bowed her head.

Letting her long hair hide her fragile expression, she softly said, "...Okay."

"See, I told you Katsura-san wouldn't refuse us."

"Thank you, Katsura-san."

"Katsura-san, you're so kind."

While the three of them appeared to be thanking her, in reality, they were laughing inside, thinking Katsura Kotonoha was a pushover.

They weren't afraid of the teacher finding out.

They knew that Katsura Kotonoha, with her meek personality, would never refuse.

Katsura Kotonoha asked softly, "Is there anything else? If not, I'll go eat."

"No, nothing else. Go ahead and eat, Katsura-san. Don't starve yourself." With the matter resolved, Oguchi Minami didn't want to see Katsura Kotonoha anymore.

She waved her hand, signaling for Katsura Kotonoha to leave.

Just as Katsura Kotonoha was about to turn away, Katou Otome suddenly said, "Katsura-san, I heard you've been getting close to Itou-kun from Class 2, Year 1."

"...Yes, he's my boy—" "Let me be direct. I don't want you getting too close to him."

Katsura Kotonoha was about to say that Itou Makoto was her boyfriend, but before she could finish, Katou Otome cut her off.

Katsura Kotonoha looked up and, unusually, asked, "Why?"

Katou Otome's expression froze, as if she had been bitten by her own dog.

She glared at Katsura Kotonoha, who had never defied her before but was now talking back.

"Why do you need a reason?"

"There's no reason!"

Katou Otome's forceful tone made Katsura Kotonoha fall silent again.

"Alright, Otome! Let's go eat!"

"It's not like Itou-kun likes her anyway."

"Come on, let's go. We'll have to wait for seats again."

Koizumi Natsumi and the others stepped in to defuse the situation, pushing Katou Otome toward the cafeteria.

They weren't helping Katsura Kotonoha out of kindness; they just didn't want to waste their precious lunch break because of her.

Katou Otome was half-pushed, half-dragged away.

Perhaps to vent Katou Otome's frustration, Koizumi Natsumi "accidentally" bumped into Katsura Kotonoha as she passed by.

Katsura Kotonoha didn't react, just kept her head down and silently walked out of the classroom, heading to the astronomy club's rooftop.

As she pushed open the rooftop door, Saionji Sekai complained, "Kotonoha, you're so slow!"

"Sorry, there was something in class."

By the time she reached the rooftop, Katsura Kotonoha had already composed herself.

She was the type to bottle up her emotions.

She wouldn't let her negative feelings affect others.

Of course, when such people finally explode, it's terrifying.

That's why they say, don't mess with the quiet ones.

"Alright, let's eat quickly. Lunch break isn't that long anyway." Itou Makoto didn't ask what had happened.

"..."

Katsura Kotonoha's mood worsened.

She felt that her boyfriend, Itou Makoto, had changed.

Before, no matter how small the matter, he would always ask about her.

Their conversations used to flow naturally.

But at some point, she noticed that Itou Makoto was taking longer and longer to reply to her messages, and his responses were becoming more and more敷衍.

He didn't seem to care about her as much as he used to.

'Does he not like me anymore?'

When this thought arose, her first instinct was to try to fix things.

"Makoto, do you want to try the lunch I made?"

She didn't know how to win back her boyfriend, so she chose the most traditional method: "making lunch for her loved one to express her affection."

So, Kotonoha woke up at 5 a.m., politely declined her mother's help, and worked hard to prepare a lavish lunchbox.

Just as she was about to hand it over, she saw Saionji Sekai reach out with her chopsticks and take a fried egg from Itou Makoto's bowl.

"Let me try one of your fried eggs."

Itou Makoto complained, "Hey, you have your own. Why are you taking mine?"

Although he was complaining, Katsura Kotonoha sensed that he didn't really mind.

"Let me taste it for Kotonoha, to see how good your cooking is," Saionji Sekai said matter-of-factly.

Hearing this, Itou Makoto immediately reached over with his chopsticks and took a piece of fried pork cutlet from her lunchbox.

"Give that back!"

Itou Makoto stuffed it into his mouth.

Saionji Sekai angrily punched him.

Katsura Kotonoha watched the two of them flirting right in front of her, feeling as though they were the couple and she was the third wheel.

The lunchbox she had extended slowly retracted.

This small movement didn't escape Saionji Sekai's notice. She mentally cursed, "Oh no!" and quickly thought of a response.

In a split second, she reacted.

"Kotonoha, your boyfriend stole my pork cutlet, so I'm taking yours."

Saionji Sekai angrily took a piece of fried pork cutlet from Katsura Kotonoha's lunchbox, popped it into her mouth, and before even chewing, exclaimed, "Wow, this is so good!"

"Makoto, your girlfriend is such a great cook."

"You're really lucky."

Saionji Sekai deliberately said this, hoping that Itou Makoto would follow up with a compliment to smooth things over.

But Itou Makoto didn't pick up on her hint.

Instead, he added, "Of course, it's not like you, with your flat chest and bad temper."

The smile that had almost formed on Katsura Kotonoha's face instantly disappeared.

Her grip on the lunchbox tightened.

'Makoto, you idiot.'

Saionji Sekai was genuinely speechless at Itou Makoto's lack of emotional intelligence.

He completely missed her point.

Are you trying to make sure Kotonoha finds out about our affair? Saying that right in front of her?

Are all guys this clueless?

....

"I can't believe it. Are all guys this clueless?"

At the same time, in Aoba's cafeteria, Uekawa Marie said the exact same thing.

"Can't he tell I'm upset?"

"Why isn't he trying to comfort me?"

"If I ignore him, is he just going to ignore me forever?"

.....

Uekawa Marie kept muttering under her breath, ranting to her friends about Kitahara Takashi like a machine gun.

"I curse him to always hit the pity timer when he pulls gacha."

Uekawa Marie uttered her most vicious curse.

"Marie, you still haven't given up on Kitahara-kun?"

"How much do you like Kitahara-kun, anyway?"

"I can't believe you."

Uekawa Marie's friends teased her, laughing.

"Give up? What are you talking about?"

Uekawa Marie stepped onto her chair, exuding an air of arrogance as she declared, "Just you wait. One day, I'll undo his belt, feel his eight-pack abs, kiss his ear, spend the money he earns, eat the food he cooks, and make him say 'I love you' every single day."