Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [21]

“Good morning, Kitahara-kun.”

“Morning.”

“Kitahara-kun, you’re looking handsome today too!”

“Thanks.”

From the school gate to the academic building, girls in pleated skirts and ribbon ties greeted Kitahara Takeru nonstop.

Takeru responded to each one, unfazed and polite.

When he opened his shoe locker to switch into his indoor shoes, a few pink envelopes fell out.

Love letters — again. At this point, he barely reacted.

He stuffed them into his bag without a second glance, changed shoes, tucked his sneakers into the locker, and closed it.

As soon as he stepped into class, Tanaka Kōta and Ōtani Shōta pounced on him like drowning men spotting a lifeboat.

“Takeru! Quick, let me copy your math homework from yesterday!”

“I want English!”

Takeru walked to his seat, opened his bag, and handed over both the math and English notebooks. Then he flipped open a book titled 1001 Years of Spanish and started reading.

“…How did you guys even get into Seijō?” he muttered. “You sure you didn’t sneak in through the backdoor?”

Ōtani grabbed the math notebook and grumbled as he scribbled, “I didn’t think the classes here would be this hard, okay?”

“And we live in Japan! Why the hell do we even have to learn English?” Tanaka whined too.

“Because English is one of the UN’s six official working languages,” Takeru said, flipping a page. He was feeling generous, so he even tossed in a little trivia.

Ever since his Intelligence stat had hit 8, his ability to learn, memorize, and comprehend had skyrocketed.

Multitasking was a breeze now.

“I know that.” Tanaka rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying — it’s not like I’m ever gonna use it.”

“I thought your dream was to join Arsenal.”

“That was last semester! Now I wanna go to PSG.” Just talking about his dream got Tanaka fired up — his handwriting even sped up.

Takeru looked up, curious. “Oh? Why the switch?”

“Come on — PSG’s owner wears a keffiyeh and throws money like confetti. Plus, they’ve got Mbappé — the best player in the world. He’s my idol.”

Takeru almost blurted, Says who?

But he managed to hold it in.

Ōtani suddenly cut in, “You’re getting picky now? Aren’t you still just a benchwarmer on the school soccer team?”

Tanaka hadn’t even finished his fantasy sequence and was already being yanked back to earth. “The coach is considering putting me in the starting lineup!”

Ōtani scoffed. “Yeah, well, I’m already a starting pitcher for the baseball team.”

The two had known each other since preschool.

They’d somehow ended up in the same class from grade school through high school. If one of them were a girl, it’d be textbook childhood friends get third-partied by a blonde drama.

Unfortunately, they were both guys — just two idiots doomed to be bros forever.

“Yeah, well, isn’t your baseball team garbage?” Tanaka sneered.

Seijō Private Academy had the highest college acceptance rate in the country — but its athletic departments were another story.

The school had turned out politicians, CEOs, and Nobel winners. But not a single national sports trophy.

Their awards room was as empty as Tottenham’s.

Lately, Seijō had tried scouting athletes from other schools to fill the gap, but progress was slow.

Any student serious about a sports career would prioritize top athletic high schools like Sendai Ikuei, Yamanashi Gakuin, or Ikuei High — not a brainiac factory like Seijō.

“Even if we suck, I still play. Unlike someone who doesn’t even make the cut,” Ōtani shot back.

Tanaka sneered. “Please. You think your baseball team’s in the same league as our soccer team? We made the national Top 64 last time. You guys didn’t even sniff Koshien.”

Ōtani’s eyes narrowed. “You want a fight?”

Tanaka tossed his pen down. “Let’s settle this like real men — duel of the samurai.”

They locked eyes.

Then, in perfect sync, pulled out their Yu-Gi-Oh! decks from their bags.

Takeru ignored the two idiots. His focus was still on his book.

---

Ayanogasaki Academy

As soon as the language arts teacher announced the end of class, the 1st Year Class 4 room burst into noisy chatter.

Katsura Kotonoha stood immediately, cradling her lunchbox and making a beeline for the rooftop.

Ever since meeting Saionji Sekai and Itou Makoto, she no longer ate lunch in the classroom.

Because she had no friends here.

Japan placed a heavy emphasis on what they called group spirit.

Deep down, there was this unspoken rule — you had to belong to a group.

Size didn’t matter. But being completely alone was unacceptable.

The thinking went: individuals are weak. It’s only when you’re part of a group that your light can shine, that you can find purpose and meaning.

Being isolated meant you were broken.

So even though Kotonoha was beautiful, she was still the one everyone avoided.

Being in this classroom was suffocating.

“Katsura-san!”

Just as she was stepping out, someone called to her.

Her shoulders trembled slightly.

She recognized the voice — one of the girls who bullied her regularly.

Because she had no friends here, no one ever stood up for her.

Even if she told the teacher, it wouldn’t matter.

Maybe once or twice they’d help. But after that, the teacher would just get annoyed.

Not everyone was like Hiratsuka-sensei — someone who cared, even when it was inconvenient.

Kotonoha stopped and turned halfway to face Obuchi Minami. “W-what is it?”

“There’s something going on at home today. Can you clean the classroom for me?”

The request came with all the tact of a queen ordering a servant.

Kotonoha said nothing.

Liar. Just minutes ago, she’d overheard Obuchi and her little crew planning to go out after Katō Otome’s club ended.

She wasn’t deaf.

But her quiet, docile nature made her unable to push back — even when being stepped on.

Obuchi’s tone turned sharp. “Well? Can you or not?”

“Katsura-san, we’re classmates, right? Helping each other is normal.”

“You’re not that stingy, are you?”

Spotting the situation, Koizumi Natsumi and Morikura Misae joined in, using guilt to corner her.

Kotonoha kept her head down, completely silent.

Some classmates noticed — but none spoke up for her.

She knew no one would.

So she just dropped her gaze lower, letting her long hair curtain her face.

“…Okay.”

“I knew Katsura-san wouldn’t say no!”

“Arigato~ you’re the best!”

“Such a nice girl!”

Outwardly, they sounded grateful.

Inwardly, they were laughing — because they knew she’d say yes.

They weren’t afraid of a teacher finding out.

Kotonoha wasn’t the kind of person to make waves.

She asked quietly, “Is there anything else? If not, I’d like to go eat.”

“Nope, go ahead! Don’t go hungry.”

Obuchi waved dismissively, eager to be rid of her.

Kotonoha was just about to turn away when Katō Otome suddenly said, “Katsura-san, I heard you’ve been getting close with Itou-kun from Class 1-2.”

“…Yes. He’s my boy—”

“I’ll be blunt. I don’t want you getting close to him.”

Before she could finish saying “boyfriend,” Otome cut her off.

Kotonoha lifted her head. “Why?”

Otome froze — like she’d just been bitten by her own dog.

Kotonoha had never talked back to her before.

Her glare darkened. “Why all the questions?”

“There’s no why. Just don’t.”

Otome’s aggressiveness made Kotonoha go quiet again.

“Otome, come on. Let’s eat already,” Koizumi said.

“Yeah, Itou-kun doesn’t even like her.”

“C’mon, the cafeteria’s gonna fill up.”

They dragged Otome off — not to help Kotonoha, but because they didn’t want to waste lunch break.

As they passed, Koizumi “accidentally” bumped into Kotonoha with her shoulder.

Kotonoha didn’t react.

She walked silently to the Astronomy Club rooftop.

When she opened the door, Saionji Sekai complained, “Kotonoha, you’re late!”

“Sorry. Something happened in class.”

But by the time she reached the roof, she’d buried it deep.

Kotonoha was good at hiding her emotions.

She never brought her negativity to others.

But people like that… when they finally break, they break hard.

Never mess with the quiet ones.

“Come on, let’s eat. Lunch break’s short,” Itou Makoto said casually, not even asking what had happened.

Kotonoha’s mood dropped even further.

He’s changed.

He used to care — used to notice everything.

Now, his replies took longer. He was more distant.

Does he… not like me anymore?

The thought alone made her panic.

“I… I made you a bento, Makoto. Want to try it?”

She didn’t know how to fix what was happening between them.

So she went for the oldest method in the book: making lunch to express love.

She’d woken up at 5 a.m., turned down her mother’s help, and made it all by herself.

But just as she reached out to offer it…

Sekai reached over and grabbed an egg from Makoto’s lunch.

“Let me try your omelet.”

Makoto protested, “Hey! You’ve got your own!”

But he didn’t seem all that mad.

“I’m just helping Kotonoha test your cooking,” Sekai said with a smile.

Without missing a beat, Makoto reached into her bento and grabbed a pork cutlet.

“Give that back!”

He popped it in his mouth.

Sekai punched him lightly, playfully.

Kotonoha watched them — laughing, bickering — and felt like they were the real couple.

Her hand quietly withdrew the lunchbox.

Sekai noticed and panicked.

She blurted out, “Hey! If your boyfriend’s stealing my food, then I’m eating yours!”

She grabbed a piece of pork cutlet from Kotonoha’s bento and stuffed it in her mouth. “Wow! This is amazing!”

“Makoto, your girlfriend can really cook.”

“You’ve got yourself a winner.”

It was a clear cue. If Makoto just followed up with a compliment, the tension would be gone.

But Makoto — dense, oblivious, Makoto — didn’t get it.

Instead, he said, “Of course. It’s not like Kotonoha’s like you — flat-chested, loud, and annoying.”

Kotonoha’s almost-smile froze in place.

Her hand clenched the lunchbox tighter.

You idiot, Makoto…

Sekai stared at him, speechless.

Do you want her to find out we’re sneaking around? Are you serious right now?

Are all boys this dumb?!

...

“Seriously, are all boys this emotionally stunted?!”

“Does he not see I’m mad?”

“Why isn’t he trying to coax me?”

“If I ignore him, is he just gonna ignore me forever?!”

She rattled off complaints like a machine gun, venting to her girlfriends about Kitahara Takeru.

“I hope he never pulls a good gacha roll again!”

It was her most vicious curse.

“Rie, haven’t you given up on Kitahara yet?”

“Just how into him are you?”

“You’re hopeless!”

Her friends giggled, teasing her mercilessly.

“Give up?” Rie slammed a foot onto the chair with exaggerated flair.

“You just watch. One day, I’m going to unbuckle his belt, trace his eight-pack with my fingers, kiss his ear, spend his money, eat his cooking, and make him tell me he loves me every. Damn. Day.”

---

T/N: girl, im rooting for u

This is a fan translation of 不是说只拿我当替身的吗？by 雪碧加冰. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!