'Love Tripped Into My Room: I Just Wanted Peace, Not Panties'-Chapter 26: The Poll Ended. And I Think I Just Broke Someone’s Heart.
Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The Poll Ended. And I Think I Just Broke Someone’s Heart.
The school buzzed louder than usual.
Whispers. Stares. Phones glowing.
Because today... Reina was posting the results.
At exactly 12:00 PM.
Lunch break.
Front of the class.
No mercy.
---
The Board
She walked in like a queen, slammed the paper on the board, and said two words:
> "It's time."
Everyone crowded around.
I stood at the back.
Heart racing.
Then I read the list.
> Final Poll Results:
1st – Riko Hanazawa (37%)
2nd – Akari Mizuno (31%)
3rd – Yuna Hoshigawa (18%)
4th – Airi Yukishiro (14%)
Silence.
Reina looked at me. "You know what happens next."
"I don't want to do this in public—"
"You don't get to choose peace anymore."
---
The Aftermath – Girl by Girl
Airi didn't say a word.
She simply walked up.
Handed me a flash drive.
> "It has every moment I saved."
Then she smiled.
Soft. Heartbreaking.
> "I guess the last thing I'll analyze... is how it feels to lose."
She turned and left.
---
Yuna found me by the vending machines.
She kicked one.
Hard.
Then looked at me, eyes watery but still teasing.
> "I thought if I made you laugh enough, I'd win."
I opened my mouth.
She shook her head.
> "No words. Just... be happy. Idiot."
She turned and walked away.
Whispering something under her breath I wasn't meant to hear.
> "If you ever regret it... I'll still be around."
---
Akari waited by the gates.
The wind caught her hair as I approached.
She wasn't smiling.
Just quiet.
> "So this is how it ends?"
I didn't answer.
She stepped forward.
> "Don't say sorry. I'll punch you."
She looked at me. Eyes glassy.
> "You wrote me that letter. You meant it. Even if you forgot."
She pulled me into a hug.
> "But I'll remember it for both of us."
Then she let go.
And walked off without turning back.
---
And Riko?
She found me on the rooftop.
Just like always.
No one else was there.
She leaned against the railing.
"...So?"
I nodded.
"I voted for you."
She didn't look at me.
"...Took you long enough."
Then, quietly—
> "So now what?"
I stood beside her.
Close enough to touch.
"...Now I catch up to everything I never said."
She looked at me.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.
Really looked.
Then, for the first time—
She smiled.
Genuinely.
"...Took you long enough."