Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [129]

After pushing Marin Kitagawa off his lap, Kitahara Takeru took out his phone — only to see an incoming call from Eriri.

That genuinely surprised him.

He’d assumed she would never reach out again.

“Who is it?” Marin noticed his momentary daze and leaned over, curious.

“Back off.”

Takeru pushed her head to the side and stood, walking toward a quiet corner to take the call.

“What’s with the secrecy?” Marin pouted, dissatisfied.

Ōtani Shōta fanned himself with a paper bag. “Probably Kamikawa-san.”

“Yeah, probably calling to check in on him again,” Tanaka Kōta teased.

Marin frowned slightly at their words, then turned and asked, “Ōtani-kun, Tanaka-kun — who’s Kamikawa-san?”

...

Finding a corner where no one was paying attention, Takeru adjusted his tone slightly. He sifted through all the saddest memories from his previous life, then finally opened his mouth.

“...Hello?”

His voice was thick with sorrow — soft, raspy, and full of weight.

“Takeru…”

Originally, Takeru had planned to sound heartbroken in order to draw some sympathy out of Eriri — see if he could milk a few more gold coins from his former sponsor.

But the moment she spoke — her voice weak, strained, and laced with pain — the mood evaporated.

“Where are you?”

---

“Where are you?”

Just three simple words, but they brought a faint smile to Eriri’s lips.

Even the stabbing pain in her stomach — like a thousand needles pricking her insides — seemed to ease a little.

“Takeru… were you worried about me?”

To Eriri, this was proof. She hadn’t said a thing yet, but Watanabe Takeru had already sensed something was wrong.

Which could only mean one thing:

He still cared about her.

He still liked her.

---

Muscle memory. Can’t help it.

That’s what Takeru wanted to say.

It wasn’t love. It was just the reflex of a reformed simp.

And let’s be honest — after she’d thrown so many coins at him, wasn’t he obligated to check on the health of his gold sponsor?

Even banks send holiday greetings to loyal clients.

So him asking after her well-being — totally reasonable, right?

“Where are you? What’s wrong?”

He repeated the question.

Eriri’s doujin booth had already been packed up by the time he noticed she was missing. He hadn’t seen her anywhere else in the venue either, so he had no idea where she’d gone.

“I’m at—hnngh…”

Just two words in, and a sudden, violent wave of pain tore through Eriri’s gut. It felt like an invisible hand had seized her stomach in a crushing grip, leaving her gasping on the floor, unable to speak.

After what felt like forever, the pain finally dulled slightly. Pale and trembling, Eriri forced herself to say:

“Haaah… haah… I-I’m at… at Ikebukuro Station… outside the concert hall…”

She waited.

No reply.

“...Takeru?”

Still silence.

Puzzled, she looked at her phone — only to realize the screen had gone dark at some point.

Staring at the blank screen, a wave of loneliness swept over her. Her hands and feet turned ice-cold. It felt like all the warmth had been drained from her body.

---

This idiot definitely didn’t charge her phone last night.

Takeru stared at the “number you have dialed is unavailable” message and rubbed his temples, already knowing what happened.

He knew Eriri too well.

Unless her phone flashed a low-battery warning, she’d never think to plug it in.

He used to nag her every night before bed — charge your phone, charge your phone — and after all that, she still hadn’t picked up the habit.

He skipped just one night of reminders, and this was what happened.

If your phone’s about to die, at least say something important first!

Takeru felt like throwing hands.

He had no idea whether Eriri was still at the venue, or even exactly where the concert hall was.

How was he supposed to find her?

“Takeru, something wrong?” Ōtani asked.

“Need help?” Tanaka added.

They noticed the shift in his expression the moment he returned.

“A friend’s sick. I’m heading to the hospital to check on her. That’s it for today.”

He couldn’t risk wasting time — he didn’t know what condition Eriri was in.

“I’ll send you the edited photos once they’re done.”

“Oh, and Tanaka, Ōtani — return the borrowed gear for me. Let the senpai know I’m sorry, I can’t join him for dinner tonight.”

He grabbed his bag as he spoke.

“Got it.”

“Don’t worry about this — we’ll take care of it.”

Takeru patted their shoulders. “Thanks. I’ll treat you guys to a meal next time.”

With that, he turned and left without looking back.

“Takeru…”

Marin instinctively called after him.

But he never turned around.

From the moment he came back, he hadn’t looked at her even once.

Is that Kamikawa Rie really that important to you?

She stood there, staring at his retreating figure. Something clenched painfully in her chest.

As Marin watched Takeru, Gojo was watching her.

Tanaka glanced between the two, then snorted. She’s looking at him. He’s looking at her.
A classic composition straight out of a romantic tragedy.

He could already smell the white drama school energy in the air.

---

The sun dipped lower, slowly swallowed by the horizon. In the distance, white birds spiraled lazily in the sky.

Eriri sat on the ground, watching the sun vanish. Loneliness welled up in her chest like the retreating light — vanishing, swallowed by night.

Outside the concert hall, there was no one left.

Cold wind swept in from the sea, rustling Eriri’s golden hair like fine strands of sand, lifting the hem of her skirt and creeping under her collar and sleeves.

She shivered, curling in on herself, hugging her body tightly.

She didn’t care that the wind was lifting her skirt. She stood there like a lost child who’d gotten separated from her parents, silently waiting to be found.

Her sapphire-like eyes locked onto the path ahead, fixed in place — waiting for Watanabe Takeru to come for her.

Because in fairy tales, the one who comes to rescue the princess… is always the knight.

Even if she hadn’t told him where to find her — he would come.

A gust of wind scattered the fallen leaves, their rustle like whispers.

And in that moment, through her blurred vision, she saw a familiar black-haired boy, glasses slightly askew, panting as he ran toward her.

The wind swept his bangs aside.

He walked straight toward her, his face dark with frustration — probably wanting to yell at her.

But what came out instead was weary, helpless, real.

“Don’t scare me like that…”

Then he held out his hand.

At the same time, the streetlamps around them flickered on as if by silent agreement.

“I’m here to take you home. Let’s go.”

Eriri’s nose burned. Every emotion she’d been bottling up since yesterday exploded all at once.

“Takeru…”

She threw herself — no, crashed into his chest.

“I thought you didn’t want me anymore…”

Takeru looked down at the golden-haired girl sobbing in his arms.

His emotions were tangled and heavy.

At this point, it wasn’t even that she saw him as a stand-in for Aki Tomoya.

It was the opposite.

Aki Tomoya… had become his stand-in.

This is a complete reversal of roles.

---

This is a fan translation of 不是说只拿我当替身的吗？by 雪碧加冰. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!