The Miserable Reality of a Defeated Girl

What if behind Himiya Karen’s pure and innocent face, there hid a scheming, dark-hearted soul?

A sweet-on-the-outside, black-on-the-inside type — a classic character trope…

Imaizumi Keita could almost picture the scene.

On some quiet afternoon after school,

Himiya Karen would deliberately grab Yanaimi Anna’s hand, speaking in a troubled yet sweet tone as she sought advice from her “best friend.”

“Um… Anna, I have something I’m kind of embarrassed about… can I talk to you?”

“What is it, Karen?”

“It’s just… Sosuke, you know… at night, when we’re sleeping, he always likes to do some… um, really naughty things… I get sooo tired… Anna, you’ve known him the longest, right? Do you know why he’s like that? What should I do?”

What kind of expression would Yanaimi Anna have at that moment?

Shock?

Humiliation?

Or would she simply go blank — before her last hope shattered completely?

The corner of Imaizumi’s mouth lifted uncontrollably…

Ahh, honestly.

His personality really was twisted to an impressive degree.

But it was just imagination.

He couldn’t be accused of a crime just for thinking something bad because he feared losing control of his ability…

Wait — no.
Best not to let his imagination slide any further downhill…

While enjoying the dark amusement, he still evaluated himself rationally.

After all, mere thoughts didn’t harm anyone.
A little cheap entertainment never hurt.

No one stepped forward to rescue Yanaimi Anna.

In their social circle, Hakumada Sosuke and Himiya Karen had naturally become the center of attention after they began dating, and most people had already given their blessings.

Because of that, Yanaimi Anna, the childhood friend, was suddenly pushed into an awkward, delicate position.

Her friends probably felt sorry for her…
But Anna hadn’t shown her suffering openly.

Approaching her to comfort her out of misplaced sympathy might offend both sides…

And so—

Yanaimi Anna became isolated, trapped in a social cage built from her love rival’s kindness and her childhood friend’s obliviousness.

“So, Anna! Let’s go eat in the cafeteria together during lunch, okay?”

Himiya Karen shook Anna’s arm gently, speaking with natural, unquestioned intimacy.

The invitation itself might have been sincere,
but to a defeated girl, it was nothing short of a cruelty.

Come eat with us.

Look at how happy we are.

Thank you, my dear friend,
our witness.

A victor’s casual kindness often inflicted the deepest wounds upon the loser.

Imaizumi shook his head inwardly in bitter amusement.
Anna was truly in a pitiful state…

Her posture stiffened even more.

She didn’t dare refuse.

Because if she refused, it would be as good as admitting to everyone:
she was jealous, bitter, unable to sincerely bless them.

So she could only force out a flawless smile, then throw a pleading look at the boy she had known half her life.

“I’ll pass… Sosuke, you should really take better care of Karen, okay?”

Her words were filled with her fragile hope and quiet desperation.

The hidden message was:
Please, Sosuke. Look at me.
You must notice how uncomfortable I am — take Karen somewhere else so I can be alone.

But Hakumada Sosuke didn’t notice anything.

Or rather, bathed in happiness, he no longer had the capacity to decipher the complicated emotions of his former childhood companion.

He simply replied naturally,
“Don’t worry, Anna. Of course I’ll take good care of Karen. Right, Karen?”

“Mm!”

Himiya Karen nodded vigorously, resting her head blissfully on Sosuke’s shoulder.

A flawless combo attack.

The last spark in Yanaimi Anna’s eyes died.

She stopped struggling.

Letting their sweet atmosphere swallow her whole,
she mechanically chimed in about lunch plans.

Imaizumi withdrew his gaze.
To him, the scene had entered garbage time.

Once the defeated side lost all will to resist, nothing remained but one-sided displays of affection — no longer interesting to observe.

Just then, the warning bell rang, yet the teacher didn’t show up.

On the blackboard, in a corner, a small line of chalk writing read:
“Class delayed by ten minutes.”

Meaning Yanaimi’s suffering would continue for ten more minutes.

She was forced to stand in the center of their happy whirlpool, listening to the couple discuss future dates, weekend plans, places they wanted to go together.

Topics she once imagined as her own future with Sosuke.

Time crawled painfully.
Those ten minutes felt like a century.

When the teacher still didn’t appear, Sosuke finally noticed something was wrong.

“Anna? Are you feeling okay? You’ve been out of it for a while.”

But such belated concern held no meaning for Yanaimi Anna anymore.

Her mind snapped awake — remembering a lifeline: her class duty.

Today was her day for classroom prep.

“Ah! I remember now! I’m on duty today!”

She exclaimed dramatically, joy bursting through her voice like salvation.

“The teacher might’ve run into trouble; I should go check!”

She spun around and hurried toward the back door.

Her escape route naturally led right past Imaizumi Keita’s seat.

As she passed him, Anna’s heart tightened involuntarily.

Two days ago, in front of this very boy, every one of her facades had been stripped away.

His cold, dismissive stare — the look he gave troublesome people — was still etched in her memory.

She must look even more pathetic now.

She bit her lip and lowered her head, trying to rush past without being seen.

Yet… curiosity compelled her to sneak a glance at him from the corner of her eye.

The ridicule she expected… never came.

Imaizumi wasn’t looking at her at all.

He sat quietly, reading a history textbook, seriously reviewing before class.

His side profile, lit by the morning sunlight, looked calm and focused — as if the world around him had nothing to do with him.

Anna froze for a heartbeat, overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling.

Was it relief that he didn’t witness her embarrassment?

Or… disappointment that this cruel man couldn’t even spare her a glance?

She had no time to think. She rushed out of the classroom.

And at the very moment her figure disappeared through the doorway,
Imaizumi slowly lifted his head.

He rubbed his temple.

Just now — that faint, persistent pain had eased again.

Not as completely as outside the restaurant two days ago,
but the soothing sensation was unmistakably real.

The timing was perfect:
right when Anna passed by and secretly looked at him.

Imaizumi lowered his textbook.

Two days ago, he provoked Anna with harsh words.

Just now, she felt some emotion directed at him when she stole that glance.

Both emotions pointed squarely at him.

This discovery made Imaizumi’s plan to “攻略” Yanaimi Anna — to use her to stabilize his ability — even clearer and more urgent.

He had to make sure that in Yanaimi Anna’s world,
there would no longer be room for Hakumada Sosuke’s shadow.

Her emotional highs and lows must be tied increasingly to him instead.

If only he were a little more wicked… this would be much easier.

In the hallway, the cold air filled Anna’s lungs, cooling her feverish mind.

She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.

Finally… she had escaped.

After a moment of daze, she remembered her mission and ran toward the teachers’ office.

But the office was empty.

She ran downstairs to the second-year floor and finally found Amanatsu-sensei standing on a stairway landing, holding a thick stack of lesson plans.

“Sensei!”

“Oh, Anna? Strange… I thought I had first period with your class today. Why isn’t a single second-year student here yet?”

Seeing that the lesson plans were clearly for the second years, Anna immediately understood.

She could only smile bitterly as she dragged the teacher back upstairs, preventing him from wandering off to lecture about Byzantine history.

When Anna returned to the classroom, her expression had already regained its usual calm.

Imaizumi lifted his gaze from his textbook, looking at her as she resumed her seat.

He studied her composed facade, yet a faint… pity surfaced in his mind.

A “sunshine girl” like Yanaimi Anna — someone always at the center of attention, basking in the admiration of others — had she ever wished, even for a moment, to become invisible?

Probably never in the past.

For someone accustomed to applause and smiles, the spotlight was nourishment.

But now?

Now that every time she stood beside the couple, she endured the class’s sympathetic stares…

Now that she was forced to act cheerful, to pretend she was happy for them…

Perhaps the desire to disappear would grow stronger each day.