Not many people truly enjoy being lonely. Those who are lonely are usually forced onto that path by various circumstances until they learn to embrace it.
The warmth of yesterday's gathering hadn't dissipated yet. When Hachiman Hikigaya entered the classroom, male students greeted him from time to time. Having practiced at home how to respond—adjusting his smile so it wouldn't look so stiff—Hachiman looked much more composed today.
That was, until Ren walked into the classroom...
"Ren, morning."
Seeing Ren, Hachiman greeted him with a sincere smile.
Ren didn't pay him any attention. He walked past Hachiman with an air of complete indifference. The smile on Hachiman's face froze, and his raised hand hovered in the air, unsure of where to go.
The bad childhood memory of an ignored greeting resurfaced. Ren's behavior this time was even worse than that incident. Back then, it was just his own wishful thinking, but today... it was Hachiman who had actively reached out.
As expected... everything that happened yesterday was just a whim of his.
Hachiman gave a self-mocking laugh and was about to withdraw his hand to return to his lonely self when his palm felt heavy. Something was placed into his hand from behind.
Looking down, Hachiman saw a beautifully packaged bag of cookies. Judging by the wrapping, it was from the very dessert shop he had recommended to Ren yesterday.
"Hachiman, that dessert shop you recommended is actually pretty good."
"These cookies are a return gift for the recommendation."
Placing his shoulder bag on his desk, Ren brushed aside the hair covering his ear, revealing a glowing blue Bluetooth earphone that was clearly in use.
After taking off the earphone, Ren looked with confusion at the stunned Hachiman who had turned around. "Did you say something just now?"
"No... it's nothing... just saying hi."
Hachiman wanted nothing more than to bash his head against the desk until he passed out. After all that overthinking and spiraling, it turned out Ren just hadn't heard him because he was listening to music.
"Morning, Hachiman. Sorry about just now."
Ren kindly added a proper "good morning."
"Morning, Katsuragi. I'll just call you by your surname from now on. Calling you by your given name... feels a bit..."
"A bit gross, right? I get it."
"That's good then."
With that, the knot in Hachiman's heart vanished. Ren opened a bag of cookies, popped two into his mouth, and began chatting casually with Hachiman before class started.
"Hikigaya, I acknowledge your taste."
"Heh, Katsuragi... the shop you recommended... I acknowledge it too!"
Hachiman, who had spent last night dreaming of how he would criticize Ren's taste this morning, ultimately abandoned that plan. It wouldn't be right to lie against his conscience when the other party had accepted his recommendation and even brought a gift.
"You hesitated, Hikigaya. You were planning to insist that the place I recommended was bad, weren't you?"
Ren saw right through Hachiman's little scheme and exposed it mercilessly.
"Can't even cookies shut your mouth?"
Hachiman rolled his eyes and, following Ren's lead, grabbed a cookie and popped it into his mouth.
The feeling of having a friend... is actually pretty good.
"Morning, Megumi."
"Try this. It's from the shop Hikigaya recommended."
Without ignoring Megumi Kato, who had quietly approached him, Ren handed her a bag of cookies. Ren finally understood why, when they first met, Megumi had asked him if he could "see" her.
Although Megumi didn't occupy a top-tier "normie" position in the class like Yumiko Miura, she still had a decent level of popularity. Yet, from the moment she entered the classroom until she reached his side, not a single person had greeted her. Even Hachiman, who had been talking to Ren the whole time, hadn't noticed her arrival.
"Thank you, Katsuragi-kun. I won't be polite then."
More than the cookies Ren prepared for her, Megumi was happier that he could always notice her. Of course, the cookies were delicious too.
"Hikki, Ren-chan. Yahallo~!"
The energetic Yui Yuigahama was much more boisterous. She waved toward Hachiman and Ren the moment she stepped into the room.
"Yui, morning."
Ren waved back, then asked with confusion, "By the way, what kind of greeting is 'Yahallo'? A new meme?"
Strange memes always appeared online, and Ren was a bit behind when it came to that kind of knowledge.
"Ehehe~ So there are memes even Ren-chan doesn't know."
Finding out there was something Ren didn't understand energized Yui, and she began to explain it to him.
"Yuigahama-san... Ya... Yahallo?"
Hachiman scratched his head and awkwardly forced out the embarrassing greeting. This was his way of compensating for calling Yui's nickname for him "gross" the day before. Under Ren's influence, Hachiman's personality was beginning to change.
Yui, who was still explaining the meme, froze. She looked at Hachiman in disbelief and stammered, "Hikki... have you been possessed?"
"Shut up!"
Overwhelmed by embarrassment, Hachiman turned around and refused to look at the three of them anymore.
"Yui, I'm sorry for interrupting your request yesterday. This is an apology gift."
Another bag of cookies appeared.
[Just how many bags of cookies did this guy buy? Damn rich people.] Hachiman grumbled internally. Including the one Ren was eating, this was the fourth bag he had produced.
"You didn't interrupt at all! But thank you, Ren-chan."
"I have a gift for you too."
After accepting the apology, Yui rummaged through her shoulder bag and pulled out a snack bag. The packaging looked very thoughtful, but the cookies inside were slightly charred. She handed it to Ren. Perhaps knowing her handmade cookies were poorly baked, Yui scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Sorry, Ren-chan. My baking is still just average..."
"Not at all. Thank you for the cookies, Yui."
Without any sign of disgust, Ren opened the package in front of her, took out a cookie, and ate it.
"Hikki, yours too."
Seeing that Ren didn't mind, Yui breathed a sigh of relief and poked Hachiman's back. Hachiman didn't move or look back, intending to play dead. Just because Ren could stomach them didn't mean he could.
Get them away! Dammit, Yui, are you trying to poison me?!
Poke. Poke. Poke.
Yui looked as though she wouldn't stop until Hachiman accepted her kindness. Unable to take it anymore, Hachiman turned around helplessly and stiffly accepted Yui's handmade cookies.
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