Chapter 6 – “Rumors and Red Faces”

The next morning, Riko could feel it — the stares, the whispers, the buzz.

Something was up.

She opened her shoe locker and found a folded note inside.

It read:

> “Nice bento date, Tachibana 💕”

Her heart dropped. “Wha—!?”

From behind, Mina snickered. “Oh, looks like the school knows.”

“Knows what!?”

“That you fed Daichi in public.”

“I didn’t feed him! He just ate it!”

Mina smirked. “Uh-huh. Sure. Totally platonic food sharing.”

Before Riko could throttle her, two girls from her class passed by, giggling.

“Good morning, Riko~ So, how’s your boyfriend?”

Riko’s face went crimson. “H-He’s not my boyfriend!”

They laughed and ran off. Mina patted her shoulder. “Congrats. You’re officially famous.”

---

By the time she entered class, it was chaos.

“Yo, Riko-bro!” one of Daichi’s friends called out. “Heard you made him a love lunch!”

Another chimed in, “So when’s the wedding?”

“Should we start calling you Riko-chan instead?”

Riko’s jaw dropped. “Shut up! It wasn’t like that!”

Across the room, Daichi had his face buried in his desk, red as a tomato.

“C’mon, Daichi,” someone teased. “You gonna propose with dessert next time?”

“Knock it off!” Daichi groaned. “It wasn’t like that!”

Riko flinched slightly. The same words.

It wasn’t like that.

Her heart twisted a little, but she forced out a laugh. “Yeah, seriously! I only made it ‘cause he helped me out the other day.”

The class groaned in disappointment.

“Boo, boring answer!”

“So you two aren’t dating?”

“No!” they both shouted at once — then froze and glared at each other.

The room erupted in laughter.

---

During lunch break, Riko slumped against the rooftop fence, groaning.

“I wanna disappear…”

Mina sat beside her, sipping juice. “Hey, at least now people think you could be a couple.”

“Yeah, but Daichi looked like he was being accused of a crime!”

Mina chuckled. “Boys. They don’t know how to handle embarrassment.”

Riko sighed, looking at the sky. “Still… hearing him say it wasn’t like that—kinda stung.”

Mina’s teasing smile faded a bit. “Riko…”

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t care. We’re just friends.”

“Are you sure that’s all you wanna be?” Mina asked softly.

Riko hesitated. “I… I don’t know.”

---

After school, Daichi caught up to her at the gate.

“Hey!” he called, jogging up. “Sorry about earlier.”

She blinked. “Huh?”

“In class,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk. I just panicked when everyone started yelling.”

Riko tried to smile. “Nah, it’s fine. I get it.”

“No, really,” he said, looking embarrassed. “It was cool of you to make that lunch. I, uh, kinda liked it.”

Her heart skipped. “R-Really?”

He nodded, grinning. “Yeah. Even if it tried to kill me.”

“Daichi!” she shouted, kicking his shin.

“OW! I was complimenting you!”

“That’s a compliment!?”

He laughed, and despite herself, she laughed too.

The awkward tension melted into their usual easy rhythm. But beneath her smile, something still tugged at Riko’s chest — something she couldn’t quite laugh away.

---

That night, Riko flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Her phone buzzed. A message from Mina.

> Mina: So, how’s your “not-a-date” boyfriend? 😉

Riko: Shut up.

Mina: Aww, don’t be grumpy. You two are cute.

Riko: He said “it wasn’t like that.”

Mina: Yeah, ‘cause he’s dense. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.

Riko: …

Mina: You like him, don’t you?

Riko stared at the screen for a long moment.

Then she typed slowly:

> Riko: Maybe I do.

She hit send — then tossed the phone onto her pillow and buried her face in it.

“Ughhhh, this is so embarrassing!”

Her face burned just thinking about it — his smile, his dumb laugh, his stupid overprotective attitude.

Every little thing he did replayed in her mind until her chest ached.

Why does it hurt like this…?

---

The next morning, when she walked into class, the teasing had calmed down — but her heartbeat hadn’t.

Daichi waved casually. “Yo, Riko-bro.”

She blinked, then smiled softly. “Yo.”

It was the same as always — yet different somehow.

She wanted to smile wider, laugh louder, and tell him how she really felt… but for now, she just walked beside him, pretending everything was fine.

As they left school together, Mina watched from the window, sighing.

“Love’s really a slow train for those two,” she muttered.