Every Woman Is An Actress

That night, I called Karen as I always did. It was around 11:00 PM.

Truth be told, I didn’t even want to hear her voice for a while, but I told myself it was a necessary step for the execution of the plan. Even so, I hesitated for over fifteen minutes before pressing her number. Finally, I mustered up my courage by recalling Toko-senpai’s face and hit the call button.

“Hellooo!”

Karen answered the phone with her usual cheerful voice.

“Karen? Hey, sorry I couldn’t get in touch yesterday.”

I started with an apology. It was irritating to bow my head to a cheating bitch, but I remembered Toko-senpai’s words and managed to act the part, at least superficially.

“Oh my gosh, Yu-kun! I haven’t heard from you since Monday night! I was so worried about what happened!”

She sounded exactly like a girl who was devoted only to me, without a trace of infidelity.

“Sorry. A lot of things happened.”

“What do you mean ‘a lot’? Important enough to leave me, your Karen alone at the hotel and go home?”

She spoke with a bit of a pout. Normally, I would have thought this was “cute,” but knowing she cheated, I could only see it as “calculated.” She was likely fishing, in a roundabout way, to see if her affair had been discovered.

“A friend from my hometown got into a car accident on Monday. I got the call and had to go in a hurry.”

This was an excuse I had prepared in advance.

“Hmm… were you alone?”

“No, I was with Ishida. I called him.”

I actually was with Ishida on Monday night. I had to incorporate a little bit of truth, otherwise, I wouldn’t know where I might trip up later.

Oh, crap. I hadn’t told Ishida the story about the “friend’s accident.” I’ll have to contact him immediately after this call to coordinate our stories. Man, it feels like I’m the one having an affair here.

“What about yesterday?”

“Monday night ran late. I fell asleep while doing my report. When I woke up it was 3:00 AM, so I figured you’d be asleep and didn’t call.”

“Oh, well that’s a relief. I was worried you might be cheating on me or something!”

For a split second, I nearly threw my phone against the wall. This woman… how can she say that with such a straight face? How can she say such things when she’s the one cheating?

…Wait, calm down. Remember what Toko-senpai said…

“It’s okay. I would never do something like that.”

Unlike you!

“You’d better not! Because Karen only has eyes for Yu-kun and loves you so much!”

I was hit by a wave of rage and exasperation at the same time. I’m sure it was written all over my face. It was a blessing in disguise that we weren’t talking face-to-face.

She really has a nerve. To lie as easily as she breathes. I couldn’t help but think once again: Women are terrifying.

“I only have eyes for you too, Karen. I love you.”

The words got a bit stuck in the back of my throat, but I managed to say the line.

“Karen too! I love you!”

Hearing Karen say this, it almost felt like those messages with Kamokura-senpai were the lie.

I decided to try one bluff.

“So, can we meet tomorrow? Let’s grab dinner somewhere after class. I haven’t seen you in two days, and I really want to see your face.”

A momentary pause…

“Mmm, tomorrow is a bit inconvenient. I promised to go grab dinner with some friends from my hometown.”

Just as I thought. There it is.

“I see. If you have plans already, it can’t be helped. Next time, then.”

“Yeah, see you later!”

And with that, the Wednesday night call with Karen ended. I immediately sent a message to Toko-senpai.

(Yu): I just called Karen. She said she’s “going to dinner with friends from home” tomorrow night.

Toko-senpai’s reply came instantly.

(Toko): Just as I suspected. I was messaging Tetsuya a little while ago and he said he “has a drinking party with people from his part-time job” tomorrow.

(Yu): So they plan to meet tomorrow.

(Toko): The possibility is high.

(Yu): What should we do?

(Toko): What do you mean?

(Yu): Should we tail them?

(Toko): Yes. Since we know the day they’re meeting, shall we investigate just a little?

(Yu): Should I follow Karen?

(Toko): That’s too risky. A woman can identify her boyfriend even from a split-second glimpse of his silhouette. I’ll follow her.

(Yu): Then I’ll tail Kamokura-senpai?

(Toko): Yes. But absolutely do not overdo it. Stay at least 10 meters away at all times. If you lose him, you lose him—that’s fine. Just knowing which train he gets on is enough. We don’t need to push it too hard tomorrow. We need to let them play a bit longer so we can catch them perfectly.

And so, Toko-senpai and I began our “Operation: Cheating Scene Paparazzi.”