I (30), Who Works for a Black Company and Died While Regretting My Gloomy Life, Started Over From High School! - Chapter 62

 Chapter 62 – The jealousy of Haruka Shijouin.

My name is Haruka Shijouin.

I’m just an ordinary high school girl who’s having fun every day and enjoying life.

Now, I was walking down the street wearing a sky blue t-shirt and a beige pleated skirt. The sun was very strong, but my steps were very light.

(Oh… a girls-only gathering is so exciting!)

“It’s summer vacation, why don’t we have tea at a cafe? The three of us don’t do enough of this kind of thing, so we thought we should do the job of high school girls: hang out and have fun once in a while!”

I agreed to Kazamihara-san’s and Mizuki’s email without a second thought.

And now I’m on my way to the cafe, the place of the appointment.

Incidentally, Mai suggested that we call her by her first name, saying, “Hey, hey, hey, isn’t it too impolite to call each other by our last name?” And that’s what we did.

I’m not used to calling people by their first names, so I was embarrassed by the friendly way they called me, and I blushed my cheeks.

(Hmmm, after taking the friend step of name calling, I’m really happy to have a tea party with other girls today. I’m very much like a high school girl now!)

I never imagined that I would really be in such a happy situation when I was just a sophomore.

Looking back, I had always felt lonely, missing out on my youth.

In elementary and middle school, there was no one to face me.

There were those who were unnaturally sycophantic, those who were hostile and attacked me, and those who were afraid to get involved with me and tried to keep their relationship with me to the bare minimum- I think the girls generally fell into one of these categories.

(I just wanted to have a normal chat with my friends and hang out with them.)

Just when I was about to give up on my youth, a turning point came to me.

One day, I started chatting with Nihama-kun, who suddenly became more cheerful, and many things changed from there.

One of the biggest was the cultural festival, which would not have been such a memorable event without Nihama-kun.

And through the troubles and hardships that I encountered, I made friends too.

Mizuki Kazamihara, who looks cool but is rather mischievous, and Mai Hatsuhashi, who is always cheerful and has a cute smile.

(I really can’t thank you enough, Nihama-kun. I gave him a thank-you gift at home once, but I don’t think that was enough.)

“But what exactly would make Nihama-kun happy…?”

Suddenly, I saw Nihama-kun in his casual clothes, wiping off his sweat as he walked.

At that moment, my heart lit up.

Even though it hadn’t been long since the summer vacation, I felt as if I hadn’t seen my family for months.

“Nihama-kun! What a coincidence, isn’t it…?”

My voice that tried to call out to him faded into the background.

Because Nihama was not alone.

Walking next to her was a very cute girl with beautiful twintails. Her age was about a year or two younger than mine. Nihama and her were chatting casually, and I could tell at a glance that they had a very close relationship.

「………………」

For some reason, my body froze the moment I saw it.

My breathing became harder and harder and my body became colder and colder, as if my blood had stopped flowing.

While I was in a daze, they blended into the crowd and disappeared from sight.

But I still can’t get my head around it.

My whole body became heavy as if it were lead, and my heart ached as if it had been pierced with a sharp blade.

(Hey, what’s this…? How come I just saw Nihama-kun and another girl walking around…)

I don’t know my own mind.

I can’t figure out why I’m doing this.

I stood there for a while with my chest tightening, staring in the direction Nihama-kun and the girl had disappeared to.

My name is Mai Hatsuhashi.

I’m a girl on the track and field team whose hobby is physical exercise.

Today, there was a tea party with all three girls in my class, and I was very excited.

When I’m with my clubmates, we mainly eat food that fills our stomachs, so this kind of girlie event is very fresh and makes me feel like a modern high school girl.

“Yoo-hoo! Haruka and Mizuki are both early, aren’t they…?”

When I walked into the cafe where we were meeting and went to sit down, they were already seated.

But there was something wrong with them.

“Wait, what’s wrong Haruka? You look like it’s the end of the world!”

Sitting at the table, Haruka’s usual innocent smile had disappeared and she looked depressed as if she was carrying a dark cloud.

Her eyes were dead and her body was drained of all life.

“That’s what I’ve been seeing since then… she was already in this state when I came here.”

Mizuki apparently didn’t know what was going on either, and said this with a puzzled look.

“Yeah…? Haruka was looking forward to this gathering so much…”

When Mizuki made this suggestion, Haruka was so enthusiastic that she replied, “By all means, let’s do it! I’m really looking forward to it!”

Why does it look like someone who has melted their entire fortune in the stock market…?

“Oh… Mizuki, Mai… you’re here…”

Haruka, who had been nodding off, staggered up, her face looking like she was about to cry.

“I’m sorry, but there’s something I’d like to discuss with you both. Could you please listen to me…?”

“Oh, you want to talk about it? Of course I’m totally fine with it.”

Mizuki says as she raises her glasses quickly.

Normally, Mizuki looks serious and cool, but she’s rather curious as well.

She’s also the type of person who’s happy when her friends ask her for help, so she’s a little excited.

“Yeah, yeah! I’m here to help you with whatever you need! So what’s going on? Did you have a fight with your parents? Or did you make too many calls on your cell phone and get charged twenty thousand yen?”

“Yes, it’s–”

Then Haruka told us what had happened on the way to this tea party.

She happened to see Niihama-kun on the street.

There was a very cute girl next to him, and they seemed to be very close.

And Haruka, who saw the scene, was suffering from unexplained emotional pain as a result.

“I don’t know why my heart hurts so much. I don’t know why anymore…”

「「………………」」

While Haruka earnestly expressed her concerns, Mizuki and I fell silent with indescribably subtle faces.

Uh… how do I answer this…?