Chapter 10

That night, Eri couldn’t fall asleep no matter how long she lay in bed.

This always happened before and after a seat change. When she couldn’t sleep, she would inevitably start to recall things.

“Ugh, I don’t want to sit next to that guy. He’s such a bad draw. It’s the worst.”

It was during a seat change in the fourth grade of elementary school.

She overheard a boy who ended up sitting next to her saying something like that. He wasn’t whispering; it was at a normal volume.

Indeed, she had to admit that she was the kind of person who would be considered a “bad draw” back then. She had a soft voice, was a poor speaker, and extremely shy. She even felt embarrassed to smile in front of others.

So, when she heard such a comment, she couldn’t retort with something like “I feel the same way,” and instead went home and cried quietly.

She began to hate seat changes and suddenly disliked going to school. During class, she was always on edge, fearing the next move or word from the person next to her, enduring until the next seat change.

But what if she got another “worst” seat after the next seat change?

If that happened, it wouldn’t solve the problem. Would this anxiety continue every time there was a seat change?

Confused, Eri consulted her older sister, who was the closest and most reliable person to her at the time.

Her sister made a face as if she didn’t quite understand and then said,

“Why don’t you just try to be more interesting?”

Looking back, it was a rather casual piece of advice, but at the time, Eri thought it made sense.

There was indeed a bright and funny girl in her class who was always surrounded by people and very popular.

From then on, Eri started to research how to become a fun and enjoyable person.

She read not only shoujo manga but also gag manga. She watched funny people’s streams on video sites and never missed checking out comedy and variety shows on TV.

Her sister also gave her some questionable advice, like “charm is key” and other such things.

However, it’s uncertain whether these efforts actually paid off.

Often, she would just laugh at gag anime in her room and that would be it.

In the end, her sister told her, “Are you really trying? Just be lively and fun. Start by laughing,” and Eri started to act accordingly.

Fortunately, it seemed to work. She no longer had issues with the person next to her disliking her.

She became brighter, made more friends, and everything seemed to go well.

But after a while, things started to take a strange turn when she entered junior high school.

Just by greeting people with a smile, she began to be called out and told, “I like you.”

On the other hand, the girl who was funny and popular in elementary school was now seen as noisy and annoying.

Eri, who had little awareness of her growing appearance, was thoroughly confused. She had always believed that being funny was the right thing to do.

All Eri wanted was to avoid being disliked by the person next to her.

She tried to make them happy with her smiles and friendliness, but it seemed to have gone overboard.

Eventually, she heard from friends that she was quite popular among boys, but it didn’t feel real to her.

After receiving several confessions, Eri finally realized.

She decided to stop and just be herself.

Even though she understood this in her head, her fear of sitting next to someone didn’t go away.

In fact, she had forgotten how she used to act before.

She felt like she was still acting, but her personality seemed to have changed so much that she couldn’t tell the difference between on and off.

Still, she didn’t dislike her current personality, and it was much better than when she was gloomy and depressed.

However, when someone next to her got angry, she couldn’t help but think it was her fault.

When the people in front and behind her were chatting happily, she felt the urge to say something.

The unconscious compulsion to make others happy still lingered.

She still hated seat changes as much as ever.

Sighing, Eri turned over in bed.

Actually, the reason she couldn’t sleep tonight wasn’t because of the seat change.

“You’re playing a game to make the guy next to you fall in love with you.”

He said it with a very serious face.

Thinking back, his smug expression was so funny it made her laugh.

(To think he’d call it a game... Hmm, maybe he’s just a natural? But it’s kind of interesting...)

Her lips curved into a smile.

If that was all, she could have just thought of him as a bit silly and cute, but what happened next was not good.

(I was petted on the head...)

She had never been petted on the head by a boy her age. In fact, when she thought about it, she couldn’t remember ever being petted on the head.

So, he took my first... and it was a surprise.

(And he was surprisingly skilled! Honestly, it felt a bit good! His voice was so gentle too...)

He must be a professional at petting heads.

He must have secluded himself in the mountains, petting heads non-stop and leaving only the sound behind. It must be something like that. It definitely is.

(He has a younger sister, so maybe he’s the older brother type...?)

Especially since he didn’t seem like the type to do something like that, it was even more unsettling.

She panicked and lost her composure, probably showing a very ungraceful face.

He must have thought, “Wow, she’s blushing so much over this, what a joke.” Just thinking about it made her face heat up.

(What is this, seriously!)

She couldn’t help but hold her head and kick her legs.

She had always been a bit competitive. She wanted to make his sleepy face turn bright red. If it came to this, she was ready to play the “make him fall in love” game seriously.

If he did it, she would do it back. Double retaliation... no, quadruple retaliation!

After thinking about it, she decided—.