Chapter 13

After finishing lunch, Yuki, who had nothing to do, absentmindedly took out his phone, following the example of his neighbor, Eri.

Incidentally, Eri seemed to be in a bad mood after their earlier conversation, glaring at her phone and swiping her fingers while giving off a strong aura that said, "Don't talk to me."

As soon as Yuki turned on his phone, a message from a messaging app arrived.

When he opened the app, several messages were displayed, as if they had been piling up.

'Yuki-kun, did you eat lunch?'

'Are you sleeping?'

'FOOOO!!'

All of them were from Mizu. However, Yuki wasn't surprised.

This phone was almost exclusively for Mizu.

'Today's school lunch was terrible! Little green trees were all over the place.'

The "little green trees" apparently referred to broccoli.

When Yuki replied, 'I had a bento today. It was delicious,' he immediately received a reply.

'Unfair, unfair, I want to eat bento too~!'

'There was spinach in it.'

'No thanks.'

It seemed Mizu was looking at her phone in real-time.

Although phones were banned in school, everyone secretly used them, Mizu insisted.

She had once been caught and had her phone confiscated, and after getting it back in tears, she had stopped bringing it to school, or so Yuki thought, but she hadn't learned her lesson.

'Why do you have your phone today? Isn't that not allowed?'

'I'm in the bathroom, so there's no way I'll be caught.'

This statement made Yuki worry.

What was she doing alone in the bathroom during lunch break?

'Friends?'

'Hehehe'

'No, not hehehe'

At this point, it was already clear what was going on.

Despite saying she would try to make friends yesterday with a bright smile.

'What about you, Yuki-kun? Do you have a girlfriend?'

'Hehehe'

'Don't joke around'

Even though Yuki was just retaliating, he was strict with others.

It was impossible to have a girlfriend just like that.

'You can't get a girlfriend in a day. What are you doing in the bathroom anyway?'

'I like you, Yuki-kun.'

Followed by a string of heart emojis. She was trying to cover it up with all her might.

Yuki thought it was because he was paying attention to her that it was bad, but then Eri, who had been sulking next to him, suddenly spoke up.

"Naokuni, what are you doing? Playing a game?"

"No, just using Line."

Eri seemed to be in a normal mood, but she kept glancing at Yuki's phone.

"Huh...?"

"What?"

"I just thought you didn't seem like the type to use Line."

"Yeah, I don't."

"But you are."

Yuki basically only used Line with Mizu.

He only replied to messages she sent.

Mizu didn't send messages every day at this time, so it was just a coincidence. Besides, he had few contacts registered.

The only other person besides family was Keitaro, but he rarely responded.

"It's just a coincidence today."

"A coincidence... but you seem pretty enthusiastic about it."

Yuki thought it didn't matter whether he was using Line or not, but Eri was unusually persistent.

He didn't understand why she was so insistent. There was nothing to hide, so he replied frankly.

"I'm just sending messages to my sister."

"Oh, oh, your sister! I see, I see~"

Eri clapped her hands and nodded exaggeratedly.

It seemed she had understood something, but it was as if she was telling Yuki to just stick to messaging his sister.

'What are you doing, Yuki-kun? Where are your friends?'

Mizu soon retaliated.

Yuki was a bit puzzled about how to respond when,

"Ah, ah... I also want to use Line with Naokuni... just a game, though."

"Huh?"

Yuki thought he had misheard and looked at Eri.

Eri quickly waved her hands in a defensive manner,

"No, no, it's just a game. Part of the game we're playing."

"Huh?"

It was getting confusing.

Apparently, it was a teasing game, but Eri herself was already a bit flustered.

Yuki, feeling suspicious, sent a questioning glance, and Eri, with a slightly wandering gaze, gave an awkward smile,

"Hehe, how about we exchange Line IDs?"

There was no point in exchanging IDs with someone who found it amusing to tease others.

But for Yuki, who had very few contacts at school, it was a different matter.

Mizu asked about friends, but she herself didn't have many.

If Mizu found out, she might say, "Yuki-kun doesn't have friends either, so it's fine!" and give him a perfect opportunity to be defensive.

In this situation, even being teased was better than nothing. This offer was like a godsend, but he was still hesitant.

"Just a game, right? Did you take it seriously?"

"Well... I want to exchange IDs."

"Eh?"

Eri, who had been acting strangely, suddenly perked up, "Well, if you insist..."

She looked very happy and started operating her phone enthusiastically.

Yuki, a bit fumbling, managed to complete the registration, and a new icon appeared in his list. It was a cat picture with the name "Yui."

(Yui... her first name?)

While checking his precious contact, Eri asked, looking at her own phone,

"Is it okay that your real name is used?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

Yuki was registered as "Naokuni Yuki."

He didn't really understand, but he said it was fine, trying to act like he was used to it.

"Your first name is Yuki, right?"

"Yep."

"Got it. So, Yuki-kun it is."

Eri gave a mysterious smug look.

Yuki, who couldn't help but blink, was suddenly leaned in on by Eri, who peered into his face.

"Hehe, what's wrong? It's okay to call you by your first name, right?"

"Well..."

"Hey, is Yuki-kun... embarrassed?"

And a big grin.

Ever since Yuki suggested exchanging IDs, Eri had been acting very bold and was always half-smiling.

(Here we go again.)

There was nothing embarrassing about being called by his first name.

Yuki, maintaining his composure, replied,

"Then I'll call you by your first name too."

"Eh?"

"Yui."

When he called her that, Eri's mouth opened in surprise and she froze.

She remained motionless, so Yuki called out to her,

"Yui-chan?"

He waved his hand in front of her face, and Eri's face quickly turned red, and time seemed to resume.

"Y-You can't call me that! That's not my character!"

"Then Yui."

When he said that, Eri froze again.

This time, their eyes met, and Eri's face turned red again, and she suddenly stood up silently and left the classroom without a word.

(...Hmm, did she get angry?)

She was still unpredictable. Maybe she was more sensitive than he thought.

But since she started the whole first-name thing, it was her own fault.

As he absentmindedly looked at Eri's empty seat, his phone vibrated with a new message.

'Hey, how many friends do you have on Line?'

'Two.'

'Mmm... Not bad, Yuki-kun.'

Good.

Yuki sighed in relief.