"Yes."
"... What?"
Sayu blinked. Her brain was not processing what he just said.
"Wh–What do you mean… 'yes'?" she asked, voice cracking like a broken violin.
Just behind her, a group of freshman girls—led by her so-called best friend Rin—peeked out from behind the bushes, camera in hand, mouths all hanging open like fish out of water.
They were supposed to laugh at her crash and burn. They were supposed to record her humiliation for entertainment purposes. Not… this.
"You asked me out," the man said, tilting his head. "So, I said yes. What's wrong?"
Sayu's eye twitched.
"But I told you—it was a dare! I didn't mean it!"
"So?"
"So?! "she wheezed. Who just says 'so' to being fake-asked-out by a socially anxious gremlin in sneakers?!
Across from her stood Hayato Arisaka—the school's walking heartthrob. Tall. Sharp-eyed. Handsome enough to make the air around him sparkle like a shampoo commercial. The kind of guy whose side profile alone could cure headaches.
And now, for reasons unknown to science, he'd agreed to date her.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, her quiet life with movies, pajamas, and strawberry Pocky was waving a white flag.
When did it all go wrong? Was it when Rin dragged her to that stupid party?
Was it when she lost rock-paper-scissors? Or was this just… fate?
"So…" Hayato said, tilting his head with a faint smile, "when's our first date?"
Sayu's soul briefly left her body.
'How the hell did it come to this?'
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