Chapter 36: Do You Like Your Classmates? 4

But at that moment, Akaishi arrived at the fundamental question.

Why did Hirata want him to admit that he was “going out with Hachiya”?

And why was she questioning him so aggressively, almost like a threat?

Even if he were dating Hachiya, it had nothing to do with Hirata.

So why was she pressing the issue over and over again?

Furthermore, even without getting him to admit they were dating, spreading the photos should have been enough.

Why did she specifically want verbal confirmation?

Akaishi shuddered at the look in Hirata’s eyes — it was as if she was thinking about what she would do next, full of dark intent.

“Hurry up and answer already. We don’t have all day either. Akaishi, c’mon, you’re dating Hachiya, right?”

Hirata pressed closer, demanding an answer.

Akaishi looked her straight in the eyes and said,

“We went out together, but we’re not dating.”

He answered as expected.

It’s fine. This should be okay.

Hachiya had said it wouldn’t be a problem. So what he was doing now should be correct.

Hachiya said so. Hachiya said so. Hachiya would take care of the rest somehow.

Akaishi decided to leave all the aftermath to Hachiya.

It’s fine. Since Hachiya said it’s fine, it’s fine. This has nothing to do with me. It’s Hachiya’s problem now. Whether it gets boiled or burned, it’s all Hachiya’s problem.

He kept shifting responsibility onto Hachiya in his mind, repeating it like a mantra.

Hirata seemed to realize that pressing him further was pointless and let out a sigh.

“Whatever. Then I’ll just spread these photos. You don’t mind, right? For real?”

“Do what you want.”

Akaishi looked away from Hirata and answered.

There was no way Hirata, who had gone this far, wouldn’t spread them.

If he had admitted they were dating, she would have used it as leverage and spread them anyway. Akaishi had already predicted that.

“Fine then. I’ll go ask Hachiya.”

Hirata waved her hand dismissively, urging him to leave.

Akaishi left with a vague sense of unease.

On the way home, he looked for Hachiya, but she was nowhere to be found.

That day, the school felt terribly desolate.

He took the same train as always, commuted the same way, and arrived at school the same as usual.

But today, the atmosphere was different.

The moment Akaishi stepped into the classroom, he saw something bizarre.

“Hey everyone~ The pathetic loser is here~~~~~~!”

“…………”

As soon as he entered, Hirata shouted loudly.

The classmates whispered behind his back in agreement, staring at him.

When Akaishi went to his desk, he found things written on it that had never been there before.

‘Pathetic Loser’

‘Man Dumped by Hachiya (lol)’

‘Delusional Piece of Trash’

Curses of all kinds were written on pieces of paper and stuck to his desk.

Wondering if the same had been done to Hachiya, he looked at her desk.

Hachiya’s desk was even worse.

‘Slut’

‘Piece of Trash’

‘Garbage Scum’

‘Loose Woman’

‘Horny Monkey’

‘Fucking Bitch’

‘In Heat (lol)’

‘Slut Who Only Cares About Guys (lol)’

‘Walking Ball of Lust (lol)’

Countless insulting notes were plastered all over Hachiya’s desk.

This was bullying.

It was done in a way that even if someone tried to report it, the evidence could be quickly destroyed. Writing directly on the desk would leave permanent proof, but paper could be removed before Kanna arrived.

Only Hachiya’s desk had been unnaturally cleared of surrounding desks, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere filled the classroom.

What had happened to Hachiya? Why was this happening?

Hadn’t she said there would be no problem even if they were seen together?

Why had it come to this?

Yesterday, Hirata should have talked to Hachiya. Hadn’t she said there was no issue even if people knew they went out together?

What exactly had Hachiya said yesterday?

While staring blankly at the desk, Hirata approached.

“Oh my~ Isn’t this Akaishi-kun, the guy who got dumped by Hachiya~? Pfft, how sad. It’s because you have no charm. Going out with a girl like that is seriously disgusting, huh?”

“…”

Hirata patted his shoulder, her eyes filled with mockery, and spoke loudly enough for the whole class to hear.

“Hachiya-san was all over Sakurai-kun, hitting him and acting lovey-dovey, but she was secretly dating Akaishi, apparently.”

“So annoying, right?”

“Yeah. Acting all flirty like that, but actually going on dates with Akaishi. Unbelievable.”

“She was probably planning to date Akaishi if Sakurai-kun didn’t work out. He was her backup, right? She never talks to us girls but immediately goes along with any guy. She’s the absolute worst.”

“And Akaishi’s just as bad for going along with her. Why would he go out with someone like Hachiya?”

“Seriously……”

““So gross…………””

In the corner of the classroom, three girls deliberately spoke loud enough for Akaishi to hear as they badmouthed him.

Hirata and her followers giggled and pointed at him.

So that’s…… what this is.

Akaishi understood the general situation.

There was no doubt that Sakurai and his followers were the rulers of the class.

But while they were the public, surface-level rulers, Hirata was the one ruling from the shadows.

Because he hadn’t paid any attention to anyone outside of Sakurai and his group, he hadn’t noticed Hirata scheming behind the scenes.

Hirata was the shadow ruler who moved the class through public opinion.

She was the embodiment of controlling people with malice.

She was the kind of person who manipulated others through ill will.

Akaishi felt disgusted with himself for having decided he didn’t need to know his classmates.

He tore off the papers covered in insults and threw them away.

His classmates looked at him with expressions of disgust.

Unable to endure it any longer, Akaishi left the classroom.

“Wait, everyone’s going too far!”

In front of the classroom, Mizushiro’s voice could be heard.

When Akaishi returned, Sakurai and his followers were already there.

Mizushiro was peeling off the many papers one by one.

“Everyone’s being horrible! Just because Kyoko-chan went on a date with Akaishi-kun, doing something like this…… Ah.”

“…………”

Their eyes met.

Mizushiro made an awkward face and went back to removing the papers from the desk. Akaishi quickly looked away and sat at his own seat.

Hachiya had probably been hated from the beginning.

Akaishi slowly began piecing together what had happened yesterday.

Hachiya possessed extraordinary beauty, but her personality was extremely harsh.

Despite having a fragile heart that could break easily, she had no problem saying things that deeply hurt others.

He himself had been told multiple times by Hachiya, “I’m popular, you know,” along with mocking words.

Because of that harsh personality, she had no female friends. He had heard her say several times that she didn’t have any.

She had probably said things like “I’m popular” to everyone.

Having real beauty made such behavior unforgivable to others.

Hachiya had been disliked from the start.

But until now, there had been no clear material to openly criticize her.

The students had simply wanted a legitimate reason to condemn her openly.

By the same logic, the same could probably be said about Mizushiro and the other followers, but none of them had Hachiya’s harsh personality.

They also didn’t badmouth others. Hachiya’s public declaration that she hated men backfired, and the inconsistency in her words and actions was criticized. The only boy Hachiya was involved with was mainly Sakurai.

The followers were only interested in Sakurai, which was still acceptable.

She had absolute confidence in her popularity and had results to back it up. That alone was enough to earn resentment.

Her public claim of hating men had been her final line of defense.

She publicly said she hated boys, yet she was always glued to Sakurai. During the student council election, many students probably saw them doing something obscene together.

To outsiders, Hachiya, who was always sticking to Sakurai, suddenly disappearing with him during a school event would naturally lead to dirty assumptions.

On top of that, while everyone else was busy with school events, only Hachiya was enjoying a rendezvous with Sakurai — that alone was enough to earn resentment.

And then the photo of her at the movie theater with Akaishi spread.

Hirata had finally reached her limit with Hachiya’s inconsistent words and actions.

She publicly claimed to hate boys but enjoyed secret dates with Sakurai, skipped school events to show off, and bragged about how popular she was.

People thought she was keeping Akaishi as a backup in case Sakurai didn’t work out. That was how it looked.

Yes — that was how it appeared.

To Hirata, this was unforgivable. She probably thought, How presumptuous.

When Akaishi denied they were dating, Hirata had mocked him but still hesitated on whether to spread the photos.

But afterward, she said she would ask Hachiya.

She probably met her.

She probably talked to Hachiya directly.

If Hachiya had honestly apologized and admitted her fault, things might not have gone this far.

But Hachiya, despite how she looked, was a girl with a strong sense of responsibility.

When Akaishi had walked her to the station, she had said, “I can’t treat you badly after you helped me.”

If someone like her was badmouthed by Hirata, she would definitely get angry — furious, even.

On top of that, Hachiya didn’t think going out with Akaishi was wrong, so she probably pushed back hard against Hirata on that point too.

The angry Hachiya probably hurled every insult she could think of at Hirata, and in the process, Hirata decided to carry out her punishment.

From Hirata’s perspective, Hachiya was arrogant, looked down on others, and thought nothing was wrong with it.

Even so, Hachiya faced no consequences.

Her words carried no responsibility.

That must have been a huge problem for Hirata.

Akaishi had thought there would be no issue.

That was his miscalculation.

The ones who really shouldn’t have found out were people other than Sakurai and his followers.

He had never imagined Hachiya was this hated.

Everything was speculation.

It might not even reach the level of an educated guess.

But considering what Hachiya had done so far and her personality, he didn’t think he was that far off.

In the process, Hachiya, who had earned Hirata’s displeasure, dragged him into it, and now he was being bullied too.

Chapter 36_ Do You Like Your Classmates