I’m a Shy Loner and I Was Confessed to by a Beautiful Girl Who Has All the Boys in School Smitten, but It Turned Out to Be a ‘Fake Confession,’ So I Politely Declined. As a Result, I Ended Up Learning About Her Hidden Side and She Started to Cling to Me

I, Daiki Kaneda, lost everything after that day… the day I was utterly defeated by Sato in a basketball match.

I didn’t even want to look at a basketball, so I skipped club activities. I really started to hate basketball.

Though I seriously didn’t want to play basketball ever again, I had my place in the basketball club.

I had contributed to the basketball club until now. Yes, I took them all the way to the nationals. There’s no way they’d make fun of someone who’s done so much for them.

That’s right. They’re useless without me.

So believing this, I went to club practice the next day, and everyone acted as usual.

See, I knew it. I am still the king of the basketball club.

I regained some motivation towards basketball and resumed practice.

“Hey, bring me some sports drink.”

As usual, I ordered my junior.

“What? Listen to you? LOL. Loser who lost to a rookie.”

“…What?”

“Ah, just as everyone thought… That’s what it means, right? Captain?”

“Ah, I thought your attitude might change a bit after the recent incident, but it seems it was in vain.”

Once the captain said that, even the juniors who used to listen to me started making fun of me. The attitude of the seniors also clearly changed.

Everyone’s mocking me, saying I lost to a rookie.

These guys are really stupid.

“Don’t mess with me!! Do you know how good you’ve had it because of me?! I took you all the way to the nationals!”

When I raised my voice with force, they replied,

“Can we please bring in Sato-senpai instead of Kaneda? To be honest, Sato-senpai is hundreds of times better, and we want to learn from him.”

“Hey, hey, not hundreds of times… thousands of times, right? It’s disrespectful to Sato-senpai!”

“Ahahaha!”

They laughed, mocking me.

The captain who had high expectations for me, the seniors who flattered me, the classmates who groveled to me, and the juniors who respected me all laughed.

That day, I quit the basketball club.

Even Yokojima and Nagata, who had been so obsequious in the classroom, looked at me with mocking eyes. No one wants to hang out with me anymore, and all the girls who used to flock to me have dumped me.

Don’t give me that crap about fixing my habit of hitting on girls indiscriminately!

This can’t be happening… Isn’t it a girlfriend’s role to support me during times like this?!

Truly, I lost all my standing in this school.

But only Hana Shirasaki still talks to me. She’s the only one who cared about me after I lost everything.

I completely understood.

Hana is in love with me.

I’ve only had eyes for Nene until now, but she’s on par with Nene in terms of looks and popularity. She seems obedient, and she’s definitely a catch compared to the girls who abandoned me.

Now, I just need to make her confess to me…

“See you tomorrow, Kaneda-kun…”

After school, Hana gives her usual goodbye, but she seems less cheerful than usual.

She comes back alone, maybe to retrieve something she forgot.

“Hey, you seem a bit down today.”

“Hm? Ah, haha… yeah, a little.”

Hana makes a troubled smile, as if I hit the nail on the head. This is my chance. It seems like the heavens are on my side. She’s practically begging to fall for me.

“What’s wrong? I can listen, you know.”

“Really? It’s okay, though?”

“Don’t say that. Consider it a favor; let me hear what’s bothering you.”

She won’t be able to refuse if I say it like that.

“Um, well then, can I ask for your help?”

Just as I thought. I’m the only one who understands her.

“There’s this guy named Tetsu who’s a year younger, and I think I made him angry… How can I make up with him?”

…Who’s Tetsu? Don’t tell me he’s her boyfriend?

Looking at Hana’s face, it’s obvious she’s serious and distressed. I realize it from her expression.

Are you kidding me?

Wait, does this mean… she’s betraying me?

“Don’t mess with me! You’re mine!”

“Calm down, it’s not like that! Who do you think—”

“Shut up!”

I raise my voice to intimidate her.

“Hana!”

A very low voice comes from behind.

The moment I hear it, my body freezes.

It’s a voice I’ve heard before, but just a little.

Yes… it was that time.

The moment I realize it, my body starts to tremble.

“Sato-kun!”

Hana rushes to Sato, her face relieved, as if the fear from a moment ago was a lie, and hides behind him.

The Sato who took off his glasses that time is standing right in front of me now.

“Kaneda, what’s going on here?”

“None of your business!”

The moment I try to punch Sato, he grabs my arm.

I can’t move!

“I’m asking you, what is this?”

“…!”

Those eyes… the same dull, inorganic eyes I saw when he broke my spirit.

“I can’t…”

I can’t talk. My throat dries up, my body shakes, and a chill runs down my spine. This feeling… it’s bad.

Flashbacks start to come. A feeling of everything crumbling, a sense of loss.

And a feeling of despair that clenches my chest.

“Ugh!”

I shake off his grip and run out of the classroom.