Tʜᴇ Rɪᴠᴀʟ Nᴇxᴛ Dᴏᴏʀ | Itoshi Rin

06. Revenge

"May I sit here?" a familiar voice, one Shizuka disliked the most, startled her. She looked up to see Tadashi Murata from the Architecture faculty—the guy who had been pursuing her for two months. "I'll take that as a yes?"

Before she could respond, he had already taken a seat across from her, placing a book on the table. Shizuka rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the book she was reading, but it was impossible to focus with Tadashi staring at her in that unsettling way.

Tadashi was a senior who had a habit of pursuing any girl he fancied, but his weak personality kept him from ever succeeding. To Shizuka, it was still a question whether he was even a man at all. Despite numerous rejections, he never seemed to feel any shame or attempt to correct his behavior. Those who truly knew him found him to be a nuisance, and as a result, he had no real friends.

Rumor had it that he was mentally unstable because the way he looked at women was always unsettling. Shizuka never expected him to target her; initially, she had been friendly with him, unaware of his true nature. But once she saw who he really was, she did her best to avoid him. What annoyed her most was that, despite rejecting him countless times, Tadashi never gave up.

Shizuka debated whether to tell her friends about the situation, but she didn't want to create a scene. She thought she could handle it on her own.

"Hey, what do you think about what I asked?" The senior hissed, leaning closer. Shizuka glared at him.

"Come on, I know you like me. Why can't you just admit it?"

"I don't," she replied, repeating the same words she had said a thousand times before. She quickly stood up and left the library.

Shizuka always tried to avoid him as much as possible. She had scolded him harshly before, but it never worked. Ignoring him and keeping her distance seemed to be the only solution.

"Oops!" Shizuka nearly collided with someone as she rushed out of the library, trying to find Nagi and Reo. Instead, she ran into another friend. "Ruby!"

"Watch where you're going, girlie," the blonde said, shaking her head with a chuckle. But her smile faded when she saw the expression on Shizuka's face. "What's going on—"

Ruby's eyes landed on Tadashi, who was now standing behind Shizuka. It didn't take long for her to piece together what was happening.

"Hey!" Tadashi called out as he hurried towards them. "How are you, Ruby-chin?"

"I've told you before, my name is Ruby Shindo, and you shouldn't call me by those stupid nicknames," Ruby spat, causing Shizuka to chuckle. "Can you leave us alone?"

"Actually, I didn't come for you, but—" Tadashi's eyes shifted to Shizuka, who scoffed and looked away, "—for the sweetest girl."

Ruby rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. She grabbed Shizuka's hand and tried to lead her away.

"You don't have to be jealous because she likes me," Tadashi remarked, earning a furious glare from Ruby. "Don't give me that look. Everyone knows you liked me when they assigned us to the same team."

"Like you?" Ruby laughed, clutching her stomach. Shizuka looked back and forth between the two, sensing the tension about to explode into a full-blown argument. "I would never like you—not even if you're the last man on the earth. I still wonder if you're even a man."

"What did you just—"

"Hey, stop, Tadashi. That's enough," Shizuka stepped forward, her voice firm. "You've almost crossed the line. First, Ruby doesn't like you—that's all in your head. Second, stop following me. I don't like you either. You're just an annoying pest."