65.それぞれの恋愛観 - I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me

The day after the freshman welcome party, I had finished attending my classes and was fiddling with my smartphone, contemplating whether to watch a movie alone. I hadn't seen Ayaka today. She was probably attending classes with other friends from her department and hanging out with some group afterward. Ayaka usually plans days to spend with me in advance, and when it’s not one of those days, like today, we often don’t meet at all. But since I prefer watching movies alone, today felt just right. A film adaptation of a popular boys' magazine was currently playing, so as I was about to move to the reservation screen, someone called out from behind me. "Hey, Yuu. You're coming to the club today, right?" It was Toudou, approaching while holding a bag with his basketball shoes. His hair, once a bright ash gray, had been dyed brown, giving him a calm and mature look. "Hey, Toudou, the hair suits you." "Oh, you think so? I dyed it to give a sense of reliability for the new arrivals," he replied with a light laugh. Originally, his ash gray hair was quite stylish, but for freshmen coming straight out of high school, it might have been too bold. As the club president, the change was probably a decision to better suit the club's image. "As expected from the president, prioritizing the club's image." "Exactly. So, here's the real question from your president: are you joining the club meet today or not?" I answered Toudou's question by flapping my empty hands. "As you can see, I didn’t bring my basketball shoes today." "Are you planning to borrow shoes again, paid with the club’s hard-earned funds? Oh, and did you pay this month's club fees?" Remembering that detail, I gave him a thumbs up. "I paid it all off during our last practice!" Honestly, it was burdensome to pay for the months I hadn’t participated, but as the club president, Toudou deserved that respect. He responded to my declaration with a wry smile. "What are you bragging about? It's expected. So, are you coming or not?" "I think I'll pass." "Thought so. Had a feeling you might say that. Shame, though." "Shame? Why so?" Although I've often turned down Toudou's invitations to the club, this was the first time he mentioned it being a shame. Curious if there was something I didn't know, I queried further, and Toudou smirked. "There's a very cute girl among this year's potential new members." "Seriously? But don't you already have a girlfriend?" "I do, but that’s not the point. As president, I’m doing it for everyone's motivation." "I see, I see." I grinned, seeing Toudou's expression shift. It's always amusing to see him get more talkative when discussing his girlfriend. "You hung out with Ayaka a lot even when you were dating, right? Girlfriends and friends, or seniors and juniors, are separate things." "You've got a point there." I agreed reluctantly. It makes sense to view friendships and romantic relationships as separate. Distancing oneself from friends every time you enter a relationship leaves nothing after a breakup. The term 'friend' is broad. Consider Akaya, for instance. Even if I were to have a girlfriend in the future, I wouldn't want to distance myself from Ayaka. We might refrain from traveling together, but it would feel annoying if this dynamic were criticized. There are unique qualities in a girlfriend, even when dating. That doesn't erase the good things in my relationship with Ayaka. Is it wrong to enjoy the happiness from different relationships? Interpersonal relationships are largely influenced by compatibility. It seems wasteful to distance oneself from those with whom there's great compatibility, although this isn’t a universal viewpoint. At least Toudou and I share a similar thought on enjoying time with female friends aside from having girlfriends. "Exactly, they might be separate things." "Right. I'm devoted to my girlfriend, but one should also enjoy the club." Toudou’s sincere smile accompanied his words. With his handsome looks, high communication skills, and fashion sense, I'm aware he was once the subject of many girls' affections within the club. Yet, by sharing stories of his girlfriend, Toudou effectively signaled his commitment and never strayed. Knowing this about him, I trust his words. "Let's go to our usual spot." "Huh?" "The smoking area. We haven't gone together recently." Toudou gestured with his thumb toward the smoking area's direction. It was the place I often went with Ayaka around the latter part of our second year. "Ah... I actually quit smoking." "Really?" Toudou's eyes widened. His influence was a major reason I'd started, so I should have given him a heads-up. "Sorry, Ayaka said it didn't suit me." I sighed as I admitted this, and Toudou understandingly flashed a grin. "Heh, well, it never suited you anyway." "Come on, you're supposed to deny that!" Reflecting on the money I spent on something that didn’t suit me was quite disheartening. Perhaps that's why quitting smoking wasn't too difficult for me. People have various reasons for smoking, but for me, it seemed it wasn't worth continuing after being told it didn’t suit me. "Well, I'll join you as you have your smoke. You've got an e-cigarette, so you probably won’t fidget too much." "Cool. My girlfriend also wants me to quit, so maybe I'll make this my last smoke." "Let's do that. You'll save money." Although I didn't know Toudou’s exact consumption, he easily spends around ten thousand yen a month. That's 120,000 yen a year. Quite a difference to have or not. Plus, since his girlfriend wants him to quit, it would bring benefits on two fronts. As soon as he opened the smoking area door, the smell of smoke hit my nose. Despite the stink, there's a peculiar comfort it brings, a feeling unchanged even after quitting smoking, and that was strangely reassuring. "Ayaka’s words really carry weight for you." Toudou lit his cigarette and exhaled a gray plume. His casual yet elegant motion made me reconsider if he really needed to quit. After accompanying Toudou for a smoke, I received a call from Shinohara, and we met up to stroll through a shopping mall together. This mall, the largest in the area, also houses a movie theater. "Wow, it's such a coincidence to find you right when I wanted to watch a movie," Shinohara said. "For the record, I'm not syncing up with your movie choice." "What? That's a thing?!" I had already decided to watch the film based on a boys' magazine. Shinohara called me out after I made this decision, so I had no intention of changing my choice. "Come on, let's watch it together since we’ve met up," she pleaded. "If you want to join me for the movie I’m watching, I don’t mind," I replied. "Ehh, it's definitely that comic-based one, isn’t it?" Shinohara pointed it out astutely among the panels on the wall. Since she had rummaged through the manga collection at my house, Shinohara had become quite a manga fan, but she hadn’t yet shown interest in that particular series. "What do you want to watch, Shinohara?" I asked. After a moment of contemplation, she chose a movie with a suspiciously cheesy title, "I Want to Involve You in My Love Views!" "Ah... that reminds me, weren't you worried about your take on relationships being a bit off?" I recalled. That was back in January. Shinohara had watched a romance show at my place and asked me, "Am I out of touch?" Back then, the conversation had drifted when I gave her a birthday present, and Ayaka showed up later. But for some reason, Shinohara’s words from that moment remained etched in my mind. "Did I say something like that?" Shinohara asked with a cheerful smile. I exhaled involuntarily. "You did. You were cheated on by Motosaka, but said it didn't hurt because you were only dating to feel like a couple. And yet—" "I remember now, I said I got tired from friends comforting me. Please don't remind me, you’re mean!" she protested, playfully hitting my shoulder. I wondered, if my shoulder had emotions, how it would feel about this, yet quickly dismissed the thought as irrelevant and shook it off. "So if I did say that," she began. "Why are you backtracking on what you've admitted? Didn't you remember just now?" "I've forgotten again." "Too fast!" I couldn’t help but retort sharply. For Shinohara, perhaps it was a memory she wanted to forget, but I reckoned I’d remember it for a while. "Watching that movie with you is now non-negotiable for me!" she declared. "No way," I replied immediately. "You sound genuinely against it. Now I'm genuinely hurt... I was even considering getting you a hot dog and popcorn." "You’re a real piece of work! Fine, I get it!" I conceded. "You understood just now..." Shinohara remarked slightly exasperated. And so, I found myself agreeing to watch a genre of film I’d never ventured into before. It felt like paying for a meal with the movie ticket. I glanced over at Shinohara, who was joyfully buzzing with excitement beside me. ──Maybe this kind of thing might be interesting once in a while. As I received the tickets being printed out, that thought crossed my mind.