Chapter 24 – “You Can Joke About Anything—But Not My Feelings!”

It started with another misunderstanding.

Of course it did.

By now, Riko should’ve been used to it — the teasing, the whispers, the chaos Mina called “romantic progress.” But today, something inside her finally snapped.

Because Daichi laughed.

Not his usual boyish laugh — but a teasing, careless one, in front of their classmates, right after someone joked about the stage kiss again.

“Guess she couldn’t resist my charm,” he’d said.

The room had erupted in laughter.

And Riko’s heart — for reasons she couldn’t quite name — twisted.

---

By lunchtime, she’d had enough. She stormed across the courtyard, cheeks puffed, fists clenched, eyes locked on the idiot himself — Daichi Hoshino, laughing with Rei near the vending machines.

“DAICHI!”

His name cracked through the air like thunder.

Both boys froze. Rei wisely took a sip of his juice and backed away.

Daichi blinked. “Uh, Riko—”

“Don’t ‘uh’ me!” she snapped, stomping closer. “You can joke about everything, Daichi, but not my feelings!”

The courtyard went silent. Even the birds stopped mid-chirp.

Daichi’s eyes widened, mouth parting slightly.

“Wait—your… feelings?”

Riko realized what she’d just said — out loud, in front of half their class. Her face went redder than a tomato.

But there was no backing down now.

“Yes! You heard me!” she said, voice trembling. “You keep laughing about that stupid kiss, pretending it meant nothing, pretending I meant nothing, and I’m— I’m tired of it!”

Daichi looked like he’d been hit by a bus made of emotions. “Riko, I didn’t mean—”

“Oh, save it!” she interrupted, arms crossed tightly. “You’ve been ignoring me, dodging me, then joking about me like it’s all funny! Well, it’s not! It’s confusing!”

The wind rustled through the courtyard, carrying her words farther than she wanted.

Mina appeared behind a bench, holding up her phone with a wide grin. “Continue, this is peak drama!”

“MINA!” Riko yelled, mortified.

“Don’t mind me! I’m capturing character development!”

---

Daichi rubbed his neck awkwardly, eyes darting everywhere but her face. “Look, I didn’t mean to make fun of you. I just… didn’t know how else to act.”

“Oh really? Avoiding me was your solution?” she shot back. “You’ve been acting like I have the plague!”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Because every time I look at you, my brain just—shuts down, okay?”

That stopped her.

Riko blinked. “…What?”

“I said—!” Daichi turned red, shouting a little louder than intended, “My brain shuts down! I get nervous! You’re… distracting!”

Riko’s lips parted. “I—what—”

He waved his hands, flustered. “Not like in a bad way! You just—ever since that kiss, I can’t think straight! My heart keeps racing, I start saying dumb things, and—ugh!”

He groaned, burying his face in his hands. “This is so embarrassing.”

For a moment, Riko just stared at him — the same guy who’d once teased her nonstop — now rambling like a nervous mess.

Her anger melted into something softer, fluttering.

She bit her lip, suppressing a smile. “You’re an idiot.”

He peeked through his fingers. “You yelled at me in public and I’m the idiot?”

“Yes,” she said firmly, crossing her arms again, “because you could’ve just said that instead of avoiding me for a week!”

He sighed, shoulders slumping. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“…Wait, what?”

“I said you’re right,” Daichi repeated, glancing away. “I’ve been acting stupid. I just—didn’t know how to handle all of it. Everyone was teasing, Mina was posting memes, and I thought if I joked too, it’d feel less… serious.”

Riko’s eyes softened. “And did it?”

He shook his head. “No. It made it worse.”

---

A long silence followed, heavy but not uncomfortable. The wind carried the faint smell of cherry blossoms from the garden.

Riko looked at him, really looked — the way his ears turned red when he was nervous, the way his fingers fidgeted with his sleeve.

It hit her how much she’d missed this — just talking to him.

She sighed. “You’re lucky I’m not still mad.”

He smiled sheepishly. “You’re still a little mad, though.”

“Maybe.”

They both chuckled. The tension broke like a wave finally calming.

Mina zoomed in from a distance, whispering into her phone, “And they reconcile in Act 3. Beautiful storytelling. Ten out of ten.”

“Mina, delete that video!” Riko shouted.

“No spoilers!” Mina yelled back, sprinting away.

Daichi laughed, the sound lighter this time. “You two are impossible.”

Riko rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. “You’re part of the chaos too, you know.”

“Yeah,” he admitted, looking at her softly. “But… it’s better with you in it.”

Her heart gave a sharp, fluttering twist. She tried to hide her face behind her hand. “Stop saying things like that.”

“Why?” he teased, leaning closer. “You said I shouldn’t joke about your feelings. What if I’m not joking?”

Riko froze, face burning. “Wh—You—! Ugh, you’re impossible!”

Daichi laughed again, scratching his cheek nervously. “Sorry. I just… needed to say it.”

They stood there for a while, not quite looking at each other, but not walking away either. The air between them buzzed — awkward, warm, and alive.

Finally, Riko mumbled, “Just… don’t avoid me anymore.”

“I won’t.”

“And don’t joke about me behind my back.”

“I won’t do that either.”

“Good.”

A pause.

“...Also,” she added quietly, eyes down, “you didn’t have to say my kiss distracted you.”

Daichi smiled faintly. “Well… it did.”

Her heart stuttered.

She punched him lightly in the arm. “Idiot.”

He grinned. “Yeah, but your idiot.”

---

As they walked back toward class — side by side for the first time in days — Mina trailed behind, still filming like a proud director.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she whispered dramatically, “after countless episodes of denial and chaos, they have finally reached emotional honesty!”

Riko turned around. “MINA!”

Daichi just chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets, eyes glinting as he looked at Riko.

> “I… I really can’t hide it anymore.”