Living with the Arrogant Queen from High School is Surprisingly Not Uncomfortable

[Hayashi POV]

***

I still dream about it occasionally. Two months after graduating high school, I was invited by a female friend from the club I belonged to at the university to a matchmaking party. Attending such events wasn’t uncommon. Especially after becoming a university student and moving to Tokyo, away from my parents, my free time increased and it became more prominent.

That wasn’t my first time participating in a matchmaking party hosted by a friend from the club. It was my third time attending her event. That day, all the girls attending the party had put on more makeup than usual, dressed in provocative clothes, and were more pumped up.

As it turned out, the party was gathering bankers, and the girls who aimed to marry into wealth seemed to be very eager.

I didn’t care about such things and just attended as a friend.

I was often invited to matchmaking parties. Apparently, just hearing that I would participate was enough to inspire the other side to gather their best. And yet, I wasn’t especially eager or aggressive, and I didn’t ruin the drinking atmosphere, so I was well-received among the girls.

Personally, I was getting sick of being treated as I had been in high school, but in this place where I had no close friends, even those people were valuable communication partners.

With no other option, I participated in the matchmaking party, and then I met him.

My first impression of him was that he was a refreshing, nice young man. He had a baby face, was friendly, and seemed sincere… We exchanged contact information, continued to see each other after the party, and before I knew it, we had started living together.

I wonder where I made the mistake.

The nights living with him were very long. That’s why I would often gaze out the window, dyed in the darkness of night, with a sense of self-punishment. The dark world gave me no answers. Only time passed relentlessly.

I had reached my limit.

I really had.

Go to the convenience store and buy breakfast for tomorrow.

He kicked me out of bed just before I was about to sleep, handed me a thousand yen bill, and sent me outside. I said I wanted daily necessities besides food, but he didn’t give me any more money. He said I should cover it from the living expenses he usually gave me. That’s your job, he said.

Perhaps caring about appearances, he made me change clothes in the room. The clothes he handed me were long-sleeved grey sweatshirts that didn’t suit the season.

Not wanting to return home, I aimed for a convenience store as far away as possible. I passed more convenience stores than I could count on one hand. Every time I saw the light of a convenience store sign, I thought, let’s go to the next one. And when I saw the light again, let’s go to the next one. I finally went into a convenience store. There, I thought I would take more time and read some magazines. But I couldn’t enjoy the magazines I used to love.

Thoughts were swirling in my head.

What would happen to me if I returned home now? I took a little too much time. Would I be hit again?

It was so painful I felt like crying, but no tears came.

What should I do?

Even though I was worried, I couldn’t find an answer.

Time passed relentlessly.

I miss those times.

I used to hate my high school days. I had good friends. But there were also those who plotted to belittle me. I had to go through so much trouble just to go to school. I thought about it many times.

I consulted with my parents. I wanted to take a break from school. But my parents didn’t allow it. There are many more painful things when you become an adult. So, you must endure this. I used to hate my parents for saying such things.

But then, I realized what my parents said was true.

I couldn’t bear to live in this hellish time any longer.

And yet, I did as he told me, filling the shopping basket with his breakfast for tomorrow and daily necessities, and headed towards the register.

I put the shopping basket on the counter, but the store clerk who was probably in the back didn’t show up for a while. If it were high school, it would have been a scene that could have made me lose my temper, but now, it was convenient.

Finally, the clerk who came out started ringing up the items without giving me a single glance.

Listening to the mechanical beeping sound, I noticed.

“Huh, Yamamoto?”

A boy I despised the most during high school.

In this convenience store I happened to enter, I ended up reuniting with such a worst guy.

And so, I was saved by the very guy I hated the most back then.