Prologue: The End of a Long-Distance Relationship

Anyone unaware of the circumstances would find this scene bizarre.

Right around the time the first bell was about to ring, a large number of students had formed a line along the school gate, where a refreshing autumn breeze blew through, all eagerly awaiting the arrival of a certain female student.

「Hey, what's with this line?」

「Ahh, you see, in a moment──」

Students arriving at school would be surprised by the commotion, and upon hearing the details, would find it amusing and join the line one after another. This repeated itself over and over, and by the time a long queue had formed, she finally appeared.

「Ahh... the Furaku Bishoujo is as beautiful as ever today...」

Every single person agrees with that one entranced whisper.

Semi-long black hair like silk threads and big, wide eyes. For a girl, she is tall, with a bust well above average. She is wearing the dark navy blazer which is unpopular with the female students for being "plain and not cute" as if she were a model, and walks gracefully down the common school path as if it were a runway──

This girl, who possesses both cuteness and beauty, is named Kousaka Nanami. Aided by her neat and lovely appearance and a calm personality befitting a traditional Japanese beauty, she is a girl who boasts overwhelming popularity within the school.

Faced with her divine beauty, both the boys and girls are captivated, able to do nothing but stand there transfixed.

Amidst them all, a boy with a gallant expression raises his hand dramatically and calls out to Kousaka Nanami.

「Good morning, Kousaka-san! Do you have a moment?」

He is a student who has gathered popularity for being handsome, having excellent grades, and outstanding athletic ability, and was elected student council president this autumn with a unanimous vote.

The students gathered here had heard that the student council president was going to confess his feelings to Kousaka Nanami, and they watched with bated breath.

「Good morning. ...Is there something I can help you with?」

Addressed by a voice like the ringing of a bell, he takes a sharp breath. Then, coming back to his senses, he spoke of his feelings with a serious gaze.

「It's been half a year since I met you, and I've worked on improving myself every single day! As you know, I've even been appointed student council president! I swear that I will continue to strive to be a man worthy of you! So please let me confess! Would you please go out with me!」

He knelt and extended a hand to Kousaka Nanami. Performed so majestically in public, it is practically a public proposal.

「...I'm sorry. I cannot go out with you.」

Nanami speaks apologetically.

At once, the students began to stir.

「I knew it wouldn't work~」

「Even the handsome student council president can't win her over...」

「As expected of the Unfallable Beautiful Girl!」

In the last six months, the number of male students who have confessed to Kousaka Nanami easily exceeds one hundred. Yet, as a result of not a single one succeeding, she had at some point come to be known as the "Unfallable Beautiful Girl".

Having been rejected by Nanami, the girl with the greatest beauty in the school, the student council president laughs self-deprecatingly.

「I see... I guess it was arrogant of me to hope you might accept me just because I became the student council president.」

「That's not true at all. I voted for you in the election, and I think you are a respectable person. ...It's just that, I already have a boyfriend I've given my heart to. I love Haru-kun with all my heart.」

Kousaka Nanami has a boyfriend──. Hearing this information, neither the student council president nor anyone else was surprised. It is a well-known fact that there is a man who has uniquely managed to win over the Unfallable Beautiful Girl.

However, the identity of this boyfriend named "Haru-kun" is almost entirely shrouded in mystery.

The only thing that is clear is that Kousaka Nanami loves this "Haru-kun" enough to continue a long-distance relationship for over four years.

「I had hoped that since it was long-distance, maybe... but it seems you're still with him.」

「Yes. My feelings for Haru-kun will surely never change.」

As she speaks of her love for her boyfriend, the student council president gives a refreshed smile, as if he has cut off any lingering attachment.

「I understand. I wish you and him happiness. I hope the day comes soon when you're no longer in a long-distance relationship.」

「Y-Yes. Well then, if you'll excuse me.」

With a small bow, Nanami leaves the students behind and heads for the entrance hall. After changing into her indoor shoes, she entered Class 1-1, and as she sat at her desk, a sigh naturally escaped her.

Her classmates look at her with concern.

「I feel so bad for Kousaka-san... To be in a long-distance relationship for over four years and not be able to see her beloved boyfriend.」

「Her boyfriend moved far away because of family stuff, right? It's so mean of God to tear apart two people who love each other...」

「But on the flip side, there's a chance he could move back here! If that happens, he'll obviously transfer to Hazakura High, where his beloved girlfriend is!」

「I feel so sorry for Kousaka-san if things stay like this, so I really hope that happens!」

Hearing such considerate words from all around, Nanami suppresses the rising feeling of anxiety.

──Kousaka Nanami has a boyfriend she's in a long-distance relationship with.

All the students attending Hazakura High School know this. Yet, knowing this, there was no end to those who hoped, "If it's a long-distance relationship, there must be a chance to win her over!", and in the six months since she had enrolled, Nanami ended up rejecting one hundred boys.

Many boys still held feelings for Nanami, but faced with her utter unfallability, they gave up on confessing one by one, and finally, even the handsome student council president was rejected. Kousaka Nanami will likely continue her long-distance relationship with "Haru-kun"──that's what everyone must be thinking.

──Even though, in truth, Kousaka Nanami has no such long-distance boyfriend.

Nanami has never had a boyfriend in her entire life.

She has never even once wanted a boyfriend.

For Nanami, interacting with boys is nothing but nerve-racking.

When a boy looks at her, she gets flustered and can't speak properly, and even if a conversation starts, she cuts it short and runs away. Even when she rejected the student council president just now, she tried her best to appear calm on the surface, but inwardly, her heart felt like it was about to burst from the tension.

That is precisely why Nanami decided to tell a lie in the spring of her second year of middle school.

Believing that if she pretended to have a long-distance boyfriend, the number of confessions would decrease──.

The effect was tremendous.

Thanks to the lie, she was no longer subjected to forceful confessions that made her feel afraid, nor was she persistently pestered for her contact information.

By creating an image of a couple so incredibly in love that it left no room for advances, she had to act like she was madly in love with her boyfriend almost daily, and was assaulted by intense embarrassment each time, but with exceptions like today, Nanami was able to live a peaceful school life.

「...I'm sorry, Haru-kun. For using your name without permission...」

Nanami muttered in a voice so quiet no one could hear.

Nanami has no "boyfriend", but the "Haru-kun" she had fabricated into her boyfriend, "Hayakawa Haruki", is a real person.

Her childhood friend with whom she had played almost every day from as early as she could remember until the end of fifth grade──for Nanami, he is her one and only male friend.

However, just before advancing to sixth grade, Haruki had moved far away due to family circumstances.

Even for Nanami, who was timid around boys, she was able to have fun playing with Haruki. That was why she was so lonely when they were separated.

Not being able to see him is lonely, but... because they were actually close, and because he is far away, the lie has an air of reality to it.

For that reason, Nanami had continued to say that she was "in a long-distance relationship with Haru-kun, a.k.a. Hayakawa Haruki", without his knowledge to this very day.

Of course, she felt guilty for using his name without permission, but... regardless of the circumstances, it was far too embarrassing to face him and say, "We're supposed to be in love with each other".

「Everyone, to your seatsー」

While she was lost in thought, the chime rang and their homeroom teacher, Yokota-sensei, arrived. Once everyone took seat and Yokota-sensei cleared his throat loudly,

「Before we begin homeroom, I have a transfer student to introduce.」

The moment he said that, the classroom buzzed with excitement.

「A transfer student in October is rare.」

「So that's what that mysteriously added desk was for.」

「Is the transfer student a boy? Or a girl?」

「Since they're coming to Class 1, I think it's a boy. Our class is the only one with a lot of girls.」

「The transfer student is lucky. Not only are there a lot of girls in our class, but we have Kousaka-san, the cutest girl in school.」

「He'll 100% fall for Kousaka-san.」

「And then he'll learn about Kousaka-san's unfallability.」

「A love that's doomed from the start is so sad, huhー」

「It can't be helped. Kousaka-san is head-over-heels for that Haru-kun──for Hayakawa Haruki-kun.」

「Everyone, quiet downー. I can't introduce the new student like thisー」

Wanting to meet the new student quickly, the class immediately fell silent. Yokota-sensei nods in satisfaction and calls out to the front door of the classroom,

「You can come in.」

As the students watch with curious eyes, the door opens, and the transfer student enters.

He was a gentle-looking boy, it was hard to imagine him with an angry face. He has black hair, and his height and build are average; he is the type who doesn't leave much of an impression, but...

Nanami felt like she had seen him somewhere before.

Not quite seen him before, but more like there is a shadow of someone she knew──

「Nice to meet you, I'm Hayakawa Haruki.」

The moment the transfer student stood at the podium and stated his name in a strained voice, the entire class turned to look at Nanami.

All Nanami could do was stare blankly as she slumped over her desk, as if to escape their gazes.

「.........Eh?」