While I Was Giving Love Advice to My Best Friend, the School's Most Beautiful Girl Somehow Became the Closest Person to Me-Chapter 1Volume .1 - The Most Popular Girl at School Has Her Eye On Me

Chapter 1: The Most Popular Girl at School Has Her Eye On Me

I call myself an ordinary high school student, but there’s one thing I dread most about school life.

——Break time.

You might think I’m a loner when I say this, but that’s not the case.

In fact, I belong to the extrovert group in class right now.

You might expect me to be the butt of jokes or someone’s errand boy, but that’s not the case either.

Of course, I’m not one of the central members of this elite group. I’m far from such a grand status. To anyone looking, my appearance is nothing compared to theirs, and to be frank, most people probably think I’m an introvert.

If I had to describe my position in one word, it would be “invisible.”

“Something just doesn’t feel right…”

Beside me, Hirasawa Reo grumbles with a strong tone.

He has natural bright brown hair and sharp, well-defined features, and he’s tall with long legs—a perfect match for the phrase “strikingly handsome guy.”

Casually perched on my desk, Reo is arguably one of the most popular boys in our class, if not the entire school.

It’s not just his looks. He excels in sports and academics, which makes an average guy like me envious.

“What’s wrong, Reo?”

Reo, who could be called the center of the class, is surrounded by other sociable boys.

There’s Satou from the soccer club, Suzuki from the tennis club, and Tanaka from the baseball club.

The guys who flock to Reo all have a sunny disposition and have been smooth operators with the girls since elementary school.

“I feel like there was something I wanted to do, but I can’t remember what it was. I’m on the verge of remembering, though.”

“Been there, done that.”

“Yeah, I had the same thing happen to me recently.”

Whenever Reo speaks, the others eagerly join in the chatter. This is typical of the group’s conversations.

As words are exchanged around me, everyone’s gaze naturally follows the speaker. And when such exchanges continue, it’s not unusual for a girl’s voice to suddenly interject.

“Hey-hey, Reo!”

All eyes turn to the girl. It’s common for girls to call out to our group.

This time, a group of well-known gyarus in our class is sending admiring glances Reo’s way.

“We went to watch the basketball team’s game together yesterday!”

“Hmm? I see.”

“It was amazing! Reo, the buzzer-beater shot you made was so cool!”

“Yeah-yeah! It was really incredible! You’re amazing, Reo!”

“Thanks.”

Reo responds somewhat indifferently.

As the ace of the basketball team, he had performed spectacularly in yesterday’s practice game, earning the envy of the girls who had come to watch.

In fact, there are so many girls with a crush on Reo that he could have his own fan club.

These gyarus from our class seem to like him a lot and often call out to him.

“Let’s hang out today! How about going to karaoke?”

“There are a lot of girls who want to hang out with Reo!”

The gyarus press on with their light-hearted yet attractive words.

If it were me, I’d probably turn beet red if such pretty and stylish girls were so forward. But Reo just yawns, seemingly uninterested in the conversation.

“Sorry, but I’m busy with club activities. Maybe some other time.”

“Aw, you’re always turning us down! Then how about we invite Alisa too?”

At the mention of that name, all the boys except Reo start murmuring.

“Is she coming?”

“Seriously… I want to go too!”

“Hey, don’t use my name without permission.”

Another girl’s voice chimes in while seemingly irritated. She approaches the boys with a scornful look.

Ah, she’s the most popular girl in the school.

“Sorry-sorry. But if Alisa comes, maybe even Reo would…”

The boys, excluding Reo, gaze at her with admiration.

“I don’t mind if it’s just the girls, but I refuse to go hang out with boys.”

The beautiful girl flatly rejects the gyarus’ request.

Well, I’ve never heard of her hanging out with boys included.

Her name is Asahina Alisa.

With platinum blonde hair and emerald blue eyes that shine even from a distance, her features are so perfect that she could easily outshine any idol on TV.

Her flawless skin and model-like figure are accentuated by curves in all the right places. Her occasional smile is also extraordinarily cute.

Moreover, she comes from a wealthy family that runs a company. She’s also athletically gifted, excelling in everything she does, and naturally, she’s the top student in our grade.

She’s so perfect it almost seems excessive. That’s why more than half of the boys at school are probably in love with her. I remember that these three guys here also have a crush on Asahina-san.

“Hey, Asahina. There’s a soccer match next week! It would be great if you could, you know, come and watch us!”

“Asahina-san, if karaoke is out of the question… at least join us for a meal!”

“Sorry, but I’ll pass. I’m busy.”

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

However, the boys’ affections seem transparent to her and are briskly rejected. It’s pitiful.

“Geez, Alisa.”

Next to Asahina-san, the petite Otsuki-san gently chides her.

This group of girls centered around Asahina Alisa.

The man is Reo. The woman is Asahina-san.

It’s fair to say that these two wield the most influence in the class.

The central figures are always those with outstanding looks and influential voices. They may not necessarily tell interesting stories, but the luster of their words is entirely different.

When Reo speaks up, it becomes a topic of conversation, and when Asahina-san raises her voice, it becomes the opinion of the female students.

I think that’s a kind of charisma. Undoubtedly, this class—perhaps even the entire grade—revolves around these two.

“Listen to this, Alisa! Reo is really amazing!”

Matoba-san, a gal with a crush on Reo, raises her hands dramatically.

“In yesterday’s basketball game, our school steals the ball with ten seconds left and a one-point deficit! Then Reo dashes, catches a pass in the remaining seconds, and scores! He makes the winning basket right as the game ends! What’s that called again?”

“A buzzer-beater.”

“Yeah, that’s it!”

Matoba-san nods vigorously at Suzuki’s remark. Indeed, Reo was truly impressive in yesterday’s game.

“He was so cool! I fell for him all over again… right?!”

Matoba-san clings to Reo’s arm, pressing her chest against him in an overt approach.

It’s typical of a sunny character gal to be so forward with the boys she likes.

“It’s no big deal.”

Reo shakes off her hand with a look of annoyance.

“I thought it was amazing too. I couldn’t help but shout out!”

Miyoshi-san joins Matoba-san in praising Reo. The two sunny character gals heap compliments on him, but Reo’s expression remains unimpressed.

“Ryouma is the one who stole the ball and set it all up.”

“Don’t be so modest! Reo, you’re amazing.”

“The ace of the basketball team!”

The boys around him praise Reo, who remains unresponsive to the girls’ approaches. This commotion serves to spread the word about Reo’s greatness.

That’s Reo for you. The phrase “as expected of Reo” is something I’ve been hearing a lot lately.

“Wow, it’s impressive if you won the game with that play.”

“I thought so too.”

Even Asahina-san and Otsuki-san sincerely compliment the content of the play. If it had been any other boy, he would have been overjoyed by their praise.

As it should be, everyone sings his praises when the school’s most popular boy excels. There certainly wouldn’t have been this big of a fuss if it had been me.

It’s because he’s the charismatic Hirasawa Reo that he receives such admiration. But Reo doesn’t seem to care about the praise… or so I thought.

“I-is that so? Thanks.”

It’s rare to see Reo blush at the girls’ words. I’ve never seen him show a millimeter of affection despite numerous girls’ approaches, but even Reo might blush when praised by Asahina-san.

The conversation continues to revolve around Reo and Asahina-san.

Now, you might have noticed, but despite being part of this sunny character group, I haven’t said a word. Of course, that’s because I’m just part of the background.

It’s strange that I’m even a part of this sunny character group. I really hate these breaks. But it’s not so easy to just leave.

“Oh, I remembered!”

Suddenly, Reo raises his voice and slap my desk.

“Ryouma, you said you bought the new volume of the manga I borrowed the other day, right? Let me read it tonight.”

“What?”

“I’ve been wanting to read it, but I totally forgot. It’s been nagging at the back of my mind. I’m glad I remembered!”

Caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, everyone looks at Reo and me with stunned expressions.

This isn’t the kind of attention I want.

Suzuki raises his voice with confusion.

“Reo and Kogure… you guys are really close, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Reo replies.

“It’s only natural because Ryouma and I are childhood friends.”

I, Kogure Ryouma, am part of this popular group only because I’m childhood friends and best friends with Hirasawa Reo.

I never intended to belong to the popular crowd in the first place. All I wanted was to spend my breaks leisurely.

Yet, Reo shows up at my desk every time the break comes, followed by a bunch of guys and then the girls who like Reo, and before I know it, a group forms around me.

Someone please do something about this awkward atmosphere around my desk.

Ah, I bet they all think it’s my fault. It’s annoying.

◇◇◇