Careful What You Think, Pervert! (My Dirty Thoughts Became Real)-Chapter 22: Post-Beach Tension Syndrome Is Real and I’m Dying

Monday Morning.

Back to school.

Back to desks, uniforms, and pretending we didn't emotionally combust on a beach while roasting marshmallows with unresolved feelings.

Kokoro walked past me like nothing happened.

Aya greeted me like everything happened.

I sat at my desk and stared at my pencil case like it held the meaning of life.

Sensei entered five minutes late with sunglasses and a hangover made of regret.

"Everyone shut up. We're doing 'quiet introspection' period today."

"What subject is that?" someone asked.

"Romance," she muttered.

Homeroom.

Kokoro passed me a note.

"Don't look at me weird just because you saw me in a bath. That was your brain's fault. Again."

I wrote back.

"I didn't look weird. I looked traumatized. Totally different."

She scribbled furiously.

"You're the one who ran like it was a horror movie."

"I panicked!"

"You always panic."

"I didn't panic when I held your hand during sparklers."

There was no reply for a while.

Then, finally, one word.

"Idiot."

Lunch Break – Rooftop

Aya had already claimed the best spot. Blanket, bento, smug grin.

"You've been avoiding me," she said, mouth full of onigiri.

"No, I've been strategically retreating from awkwardness."

"That's the same thing."

She offered me a rice ball.

I took it.

We ate in silence for a moment.

Then she leaned in.

"Did you have a moment with her?"

"...Define 'moment.'"

"A spark. An awkward silence. Eye contact that lasted too long."

"...Maybe."

She clicked her tongue.

"I told you."

"Told me what?"

"That your brain would betray you again."

"Why does my brain want me to suffer?"

Aya didn't answer.

She just tapped my chest, over my heart.

"Maybe it doesn't want you to suffer.Maybe it wants you to stop lying to yourself."

After School – Hallway

I was about to pack up and head home when I noticed Kokoro lingering near the shoe lockers.

She wasn't changing shoes.

She was waiting.

I approached slowly.

"...Hey."

She glanced at me.

Then—without warning—handed me a folded piece of paper.

"I wrote this during the beach trip," she said. "I wasn't going to give it to you. I still might regret it."

Then she walked away.

Fast.

Like if she stayed a second longer, she'd shatter.

I stood alone.

Hallway empty.

Note in hand.

I unfolded it with shaking fingers.

Inside:

"You're not good at knowing what you feel.But I think I've known what I feel for a while.I just wanted to see if you'd catch up.I'm tired of waiting.But I'm still here.Idiot."—K

My heart made a weird, unfamiliar movement.

It almost felt like... clarity.

Naturally, I crushed it down immediately.

Can't have that.

That Night – Home

I walked into the apartment and found Aya asleep on the couch.

TV on. Blanket half-draped.

She was mumbling in her sleep.

I leaned closer.

She muttered:

"He's probably still thinking about her.But he'll come back here.He always does..."

I stood there.

Frozen.

Realizing I wasn't the only one suffering quietly.

I got a blanket and covered her properly.

Then whispered:

"...You're not just 'here.' You're the only thing keeping me from breaking."

She didn't respond.

But she smiled in her sleep.

Elsewhere – Kokoro's Room

She sat at her desk, staring at her ceiling.

No music. No light. Just thoughts.

And she whispered to herself:

"Maybe I wasn't meant to win.But at least I'll be the one who didn't lie."

She opened her drawer.

Pulled out a new note.

And began to write again.

Tuesday – Classroom

I walked in.

Both girls were already there.

Aya. Kokoro.

No tension. Just quiet expectation.

Like they were both waiting for me to finally say something real.

I didn't.

I sat at my desk.

Pulled out my notebook.

And began to write the truth in the only way I knew how. free𝑤ebnovel.com

Not to them.

But to me.

"Dear Brain,You win.Everything's real now.So tell me what I'm supposed to dowhen every girl I care aboutis getting hurt by my indecision.And I'm the only one who refuses to change."