Love confession from a coward (GL)

"Oh, shut up. Or what, you wanted me to break up with him right after we started dating?" I asked, glaring at her.

"You shouldn't have dated him in the first place..." she replied dryly.

"Well, I'm sorry, mom," I said sarcastically.

"Like I said, you just like bad boys too much."

"Ugh, what's with your attitude today? Really... Why are we talking about this again? I just don't understand you. Besides, I don't like guys like that anymore."

"Really? Not anymore...?"

Her lips curled into a sarcastic smile.

Is she really going to lecture me all day? Lol, I can play that game too, you know?

"You know, maybe we should talk about your love life instead, Hana. How about that? Oh, sorry, it's non-existent, I forgot."

"Lol, non-existent? Your jokes are so lame, you sound like one of those people from the internet," she replied.

"Huh? Like one of those people from the Internet? Why are you talking like a grandpa now?"

"Mom? Grandpa? Stop calling me these cringe things."

"You can't blame me if you're acting like one. And don't change the subject. How's your love life, Hana? Tell us about it. I'm all ears. Or can you only judge other people's tastes?"

"What do you mean? I've said many times that I'm not interested in romance, how many times do I have to repeat myself?"

"Oh, that's funny, cause you're weirdly overly interested in my love life and my tastes, y'know?"

She flinched slightly, but remained calm. "That's because you have terrible taste in guys..."

"And?"

"Well, I guess maybe I just don't want you to get hurt?"

"Ahh... so it's just because you're protecting me?" I asked with a wry smile.

"Not really... I just want to make sure you don't fall in love with another scumbag."

"That's literally protecting, babe."

"It's not. You're just stupid, so I have to do it, y'know?"

"There you go, acting like my f*cking mom again."

"Can you stop making these stupid comparisons?"

"Then stop acting like my mom, b*tch."

"I'm not acting like your mom, b*tch."

"Then what are you acting like, huh?"

"F*ck you."

"Just answer the damn question. Why are you acting like that? Every time... Can you just tell me? Or are you mad at me for some reason?"

"I'm acting normal and I'm not mad at you."

"Normal? You're not mad at me, huh?"

"Yeah... I'm acting like... like your friend, that's all."

There was a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Really? A friend? Just a friend?"

"Of course... I'm your childhood friend. That's why I want to protect you. Is that so hard to comprehend?"

"Oh, I'm sorry... Okay, okay, it's just because you're my friend, that's why you always act like that, I'm sorry, babe."

"Oh, shut up."

"You shut up. You're always bugging me with this nonsense when you refuse to talk about your love life yourself," I said.

"If you want to know something, just ask and stop being a drama queen."

"A drama queen? How hypocritical of you. Just ask, huh? Like I can ask anything?"

"Yeah, anything."

"And will you answer truthfully?"

"That's right."

"You f*cking liar."

"Just ask me what you wanted, for God's sake."

"Well then, do you have a crush on anyone?" I asked.

"As I've said many times, no, I've never been in love with anyone and you know it," she replied firmly.

"See what I mean? That's your answer after you said I could ask about anything."

"Well, I'm sorry, I'm really not in love with anyone, that's the truth."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"Even now? Don't you have someone you like?" I asked, looking at her.

"No. Is that so hard to believe? Why are you so fixated on this?" she said, looking back at me.

"Because I think you're lying," I said firmly, looking her straight in the eye.

At my words she paused, looked at me for a few seconds, and then, fixing her hair, turned away.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not lying. I really don't have a crush on anyone," she said.

"So you're saying you're just not interested in all this romance stuff?" I asked.

"Yeah, like I said, I just don't want to date anyone."

"What, so you like being single?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well... Maybe I do."

"How boring."

"What do you care?" she replied sharply.

As I stared at her calm face, only one sentence escaped my lips. "Not that I care, it's just that you're full of crap..."

To my retort, she simply said, "You're just delusional," and took a sip from her juice box.

You're calling me delusional? You hypocrite.

Tired of arguing with her, I rested my chin on the palm of my hand and looked at Rika, who was silently watching us... She didn't seem to be bothered by our banter at all.

"...Anyway... I'm tired of arguing, it's like we're going around in circles," I said. "Rika, what else did you want to talk about?"

She smiled.

"Well... Actually, I'm still curious why Hana is not interested in romance."

Hana looked at her in surprise.

"Hahaha, are you and Emi in cahoots?"

"No, no, I'm just really curious... You really don't have anyone you like, Hana?" Rika asked.

"Well... Not really..."

"Aren't you even a little bit interested in romance? Like, at all? I mean, we're in high school, you know?"

"Is it that weird?"

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just curious."

"Well... I just don't really have anyone I like."

"Well, to be honest, I understand you," Rika admitted. "Before I met my crush, I didn't understand the whole romance thing either."

"Really?" I asked. "That's surprising to hear from someone who talks about romance all the time."

"Well, there's a reason I'm so interested in it..."

She paused for a moment.

"Hmmm... You don't want to tell us yet? That's okay," I said.

"Well... I'll tell you when the time comes, lol. It's no big deal. But I wanted to ask you something, too," she said, looking at me.

"Ask away."

"That guy you dated, was he really a bad guy like Hana says?"

"Bad? Well, you know... he was a delinquent," I said. "Pretty much the stereotypical type of delinquent you might imagine."

"Oooh! Really? A delinquent? I can't imagine you with someone like that, lol. So how long had you been going out with him? What did you like about him? Was he handsome?"

"In middle school... He was okay. I didn't date him for very long, though. Honestly, I can't remember what I liked about him. Really, what did I like about him?"

I thought for a moment.

"I mean... don't you remember why you started dating him?" Rika asked.

"Hmmm..."

Unable to find an answer I could give her, I simply replied, "I can't really say, to be honest. Why are you so interested in him anyway?"

"Hmmm... Well, there's something about bad guys that I wanted to talk about... You know that guy from the soccer club? They say he flirts with practically every girl in school..."

"Oh yeah, I've heard," Hana immediately replied, "God, he makes me sick. He's such a womanizer. Flirting with different girls at the same time without even hiding it. How do they let him do that?"

"That's my question too, lol," Rika said. "I've been trying to figure out what's so great about him."

"Probably because he's handsome," I replied nonchalantly. "He's also good at sports and popular."

"True, but still..."

"Actually, why do you ask? Do you like him or something?" I asked, looking at Rika.

"Of course not, lol. There's only one person in my heart and you know it, and he's much more attractive!" she replied. "Besides, I don't like those types of guys, it's like they're full of themselves or just plain assholes, I don't understand why anyone would like them."

"Oh my God, you are so right!" Hana immediately agreed. "I wish someone else would realize that."

She gave me a quick, judgmental look.

I immediately stuck out my tongue and gave her the middle finger, but she just grinned contemptuously and turned away, fixing her hair.

"But not everyone instantly falls in love with him!" Rika said, completely missing our little exchange. "For example, I rejected him right away."

"He hit on you too, huh?" I asked, not surprised at all. "Yeah... He asked me to go karaoke with him... but I haven't responded yet."

"Wait, seriously? When?" Rika and Hana asked at the same time.

"You didn't tell us," Rika added grumpily.

"I was going to tell you. It just happened yesterday... and this morning he texted me."

"You gave him your number?" Hana asked, rolling her eyes, a note of judgment in her voice. "But why am I surprised? It was to be expected from you."

"Shut up and relax. I didn't give him my number. He probably got it from someone else," I said, a little irritated.

"Huh? Someone gave him your number without your knowledge?" Rika asked indignantly. "We have to find out who it is!"

"Calm down. It's no big deal," I said.

"No, I agree with her," Hana said firmly. "You can't just give out numbers like that without the person knowing. We need to find out who did it."

"Who cares who gave him my number. What, you two don't like him that much, huh?" I asked.

"I mean... He annoys me, he's too cocky with girls," Hana said.

"I agree!" Rika exclaimed. "Every time I see him with another girl, I just roll my eyes!"

"Okay, okay, I know that myself... You don't have to repeat it."

"Well... he asked me out the other day too, but I turned him down and now he thinks I'm playing hard to get," Hana added.

"Really?!" Rika exclaimed. "When??"