The alarm clock screamed at 7:30 a.m.
Haruto Kinoshita groaned into his pillow. Another day, another reminder that life hated him. His hair was a mess, his uniform shirt was wrinkled, and his right sock had mysteriously disappeared—again.
He stared at the ceiling, muttering, "Why can't I just respawn as a cool guy?"
No answer, of course. Just the sound of his mother shouting from downstairs, "Haruto! You'll be late for school again!"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm up!" he yelled back, even though he definitely wasn't.
After a chaotic ten minutes of scrambling, brushing his teeth with the wrong toothbrush, and stepping in cat food, Haruto finally managed to run out the door—toast hanging from his mouth like every cliché anime protagonist he'd ever seen.
Except those protagonists didn't usually trip over the mailbox on the way out.
Moriyama High School was buzzing with life when Haruto arrived. Groups of students laughed, gossiped, and greeted each other with energy that felt illegal this early in the morning.
Haruto, however, preferred to keep his head down, eyes on the floor, avoiding trouble. His life goal was simple: blend in.
That goal lasted exactly four minutes.
He was halfway down the hallway when his overstuffed backpack snagged on the corner of a locker. The zipper ripped open, and a blizzard of papers and books exploded outward.
"Ah, crap—!" Haruto lunged forward, trying to catch them.
Instead, he tripped over his own shoelaces.
Momentum carried him forward until—
BAM!
He collided with someone.
Books, notebooks, and what might've been a lunchbox flew in every direction. Haruto ended up on his back, staring dazedly at the ceiling.
"Ouch…" a soft voice groaned nearby.
Haruto turned his head and froze.
Sakura Moriyama. The most cheerful, popular girl in class. She was sitting on the floor beside him, hair perfectly messy from the crash, blinking in surprise.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Haruto stammered, scrambling to his knees. "I didn't see you, I swear—"
Sakura blinked at him, then smiled. "No, it's okay! Really! You're… kinda clumsy, huh?"
Her tone wasn't mocking—it was playful.
Haruto's face turned crimson. "I—I guess you could say that."
From behind them came a loud, dramatic shout:
"HARUTO! BRO, WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME?!"
Kenta Shimizu, Haruto's loudmouthed best friend, came barreling down the hallway, dragging two other guys along with him.
Ryo Takahashi adjusted his glasses with a sigh. "Unbelievable. We were gone for five minutes. How did he manage this already?"
"Maybe it's his natural skill," said Daichi Mori, deadpan as always. "Talent, even."
"Or maybe," Shun Aoki chimed in with a grin, "he's just cursed."
Haruto's three other best friends surrounded him, forming what they proudly called The Gamer Alliance—four self-proclaimed "legends of singlehood" who'd never dated anyone, spent weekends gaming together, and debated whether dating was harder than Dark Souls.
And right now, they were all staring at Haruto like he'd just committed social suicide.
Kenta pointed accusingly. "You crashed into Sakura Moriyama! Do you even understand what you've done? That's a popularity nuke!"
"I didn't mean to!" Haruto hissed back, mortified.
Sakura giggled. "You guys are… funny."
Shun froze. "She called us funny. That's… that's progress, right?"
Ryo facepalmed. "For who, exactly? None of us stand a chance."
Daichi simply muttered, "I'm going back to class before this turns into a police report."
"Wait, wait!" Kenta whispered urgently to Haruto. "You have to say something cool, man! Like—'Sorry, I fell for you!' or something!"
"What?! No! That's—"
Too late.
Sakura tilted her head, smiling. "You were saying something?"
"I—uh—" Haruto's brain short-circuited. "I—fell… for your books?"
An awkward silence filled the hallway.
Then Sakura laughed—bright, cheerful, and completely disarming. "You're pretty weird, Kinoshita-kun."
Haruto blinked. "Weird…?"
"But in a cute way," she added, standing up and dusting off her skirt.
"C-c-cute?" Haruto squeaked.
Shun elbowed Kenta hard. "Did she just call him cute?! Bro, this is like finding a shiny Pokémon!"
Kenta grabbed Haruto's shoulders and shook him. "Don't mess this up, man! You've entered the tutorial level of romance! Don't die here!"
"I'm not doing anything!" Haruto protested, but his face was still bright red.
Sakura leaned down, picking up one of his notebooks. "Here—you dropped this."
Their hands brushed. Haruto felt his brain melt into digital static.
"T-thanks…"
She smiled again and walked off toward class, leaving Haruto and his friends standing in stunned silence.
After a full ten seconds, Shun exhaled. "Well, boys… we just witnessed history. The first female smile directed at Haruto Kinoshita."
"Mark the date," Daichi said flatly. "This event will not repeat."
Ryo nodded seriously. "We'll need to analyze this encounter later. Maybe create a strategy guide."
Kenta threw an arm around Haruto's shoulders. "Haruto, my man! You're officially the protagonist of this group! From this day forward, we shall make you the ultimate boyfriend material!"
"What? No, please don't—"
Too late.
The bell rang, echoing through the hallway, and the group started heading to class—Haruto trailing behind, dazed.
His heart was still racing.
Maybe it was humiliation.
Maybe it was adrenaline.
Or maybe, just maybe… it was something else.
For the first time in his life, Haruto Kinoshita felt something beyond embarrassment.
He felt… curious.
Maybe this year wouldn't be as boring as he thought.
That morning, as Haruto took his seat in class—face still red, friends whispering like idiots—he caught a glimpse of Sakura a few rows away.
She smiled at him.
Haruto's stomach flipped.
Then his pencil slipped from his hand, bounced off the desk, and hit the teacher right in the forehead.
And just like that, the class burst into laughter.
"Classic Kinoshita," the teacher sighed.
Haruto wanted to disappear.
But even as the laughter filled the room, he couldn't help but smile a little.
Maybe, just maybe… this disaster of a day wasn't the worst start to high school life.
The morning after "The Hallway Disaster," Haruto Kinoshita became somewhat of a legend at Moriyama High.
No, not the good kind of legend.
By first period, the story had evolved into "that one dude who body-slammed Sakura Moriyama and made her laugh."
By second period, it became "that one loser who proposed to Sakura by accident."
And by lunch break, Haruto was officially known as 'The Clumsy Confessor.'
He wanted to die.
Actually, scratch that—he wanted to respawn somewhere else. Preferably in a different country.
"Hey, Haruto, smile for the camera!"
"Don't you dare, Shun!"
Haruto smacked Shun Aoki's phone away before the self-proclaimed 'content genius' could record him. Shun just grinned, brushing his messy hair aside. "Come on, bro. You're famous now. Viral material! Hashtag Hallway Love Story!"
"Shun, I swear I'll delete your Steam account," Haruto muttered.
"Try me. I have backups."
"Guys, focus," said Daichi Mori, who always spoke like he was the only functioning brain cell in the group. "We need to discuss important matters."
Kenta Shimizu leaned back in his chair, munching on a convenience store sandwich. "Like what? Haruto's impending public humiliation?"
"Exactly," Daichi said, dead serious. "We need a counterattack."
Ryo Takahashi nodded dramatically, his glasses flashing. "Operation: Image Rehabilitation."
Haruto blinked. "What are you all even talking about?!"
Shun tapped his chin. "Step one: We fix your reputation. Step two: You thank us. Step three: We all stop being single virgins."
"Hey!" Kenta shouted, mouth full. "Don't drag me into this! I'm single by choice!"
"You said last night, and I quote—'I'd sell my GPU for a girlfriend.'"
"That was a moment of weakness!"
Haruto groaned, face buried in his arms. "You guys are hopeless…"
But as usual, this loser-gamer squad wasn't just hopeless—they were dedicated. Within minutes, they had turned their lunch table into a "battle planning headquarters."
Ryo spread out a notebook titled "The Sakura Strategy."
Haruto stared in horror. "You actually wrote that down?"
"Of course," Ryo replied, flipping open a page filled with graphs, diagrams, and notes. "Statistical probability of her liking you: currently 2.7%. We can work with that."
"Two point seven?!"
"Correction—after yesterday, it might've gone up to 3%."
"Y-You're kidding, right?"
Daichi adjusted his tie. "Haruto, listen. You made her laugh. That's a win. Most girls don't even look at us. You have momentum."
Kenta slapped Haruto's back. "Yeah, man! You might be the first of us to escape virginity island!"
"Don't say that out loud!!"
A few nearby students turned to look at them, snickering. Haruto wanted to crawl under the table.
Shun whispered, "Dude, calm down! You're the hero of our people!"
"Whose people?! The socially awkward guild?!"
"Exactly."
Before Haruto could bury his head deeper, a soft voice called out—
"Um… Haruto?"
Every single one of his friends froze.
Standing right there, lunch tray in hand, was Sakura Moriyama herself.
"Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is kind of full."
Shun's jaw dropped. Ryo's glasses slid down his nose. Daichi blinked twice. Kenta nearly choked on his sandwich.
Haruto's brain crashed. "Wha—uh—y-yeah! Of course! Please!"
"Thanks!" Sakura smiled, sitting right across from him. "You're Haruto, right? We never really got to talk after… you know… the incident."
"Y-yeah… sorry about that," he stammered.
She laughed. "Don't apologize! It was funny! I actually told my friends you reminded me of a golden retriever—clumsy but kind of adorable."
Shun mouthed across the table, Golden retriever?! Bro, she's in love!
Haruto ignored him, trying not to melt. "Uh… thanks, I think?"
As Sakura ate, she started chatting casually. Haruto, against all odds, found himself relaxing.
They talked about classes, games (turns out she played a few!), and how boring their math teacher was.
But of course, his friends couldn't just let things be normal.
Kenta suddenly leaned forward. "So, Sakura, what do you think of guys who game?"
"Oh! I think it's cool!" she said cheerfully.
Shun nudged Haruto. "See? She's perfect for you!"
Sakura blinked. "For him?"
"Uh—ignore them!" Haruto panicked. "They're just—uh—idiots!"
Daichi sighed. "Confirmed."
Sakura giggled. "You guys are funny. I've never seen such a chaotic group before."
"Chaotic's our specialty," Shun said proudly. "We're like the Avengers of mediocrity."
Ryo added, "More like the Loser League."
Haruto kicked him under the table.
As the bell rang, Sakura stood up and smiled. "See you guys tomorrow?"
"Y-Yeah!" Haruto replied, voice cracking again.
"Great!" She waved and walked off, leaving Haruto and the squad frozen in awe.
Kenta was the first to speak. "Dude."
Shun nodded. "You didn't screw it up."
Ryo adjusted his glasses. "Statistical probability just jumped to 12.6%."
Daichi smirked. "Congratulations, Haruto. You're officially… progressing."
Haruto couldn't help but grin like an idiot. For the first time, being the clumsy loser didn't feel so bad.