10-nenkan Tomodachi dato Omotteta Otokonoko ni Kokuhaku Sareru Ohanashi

Rintarou has been a constant presence in her life since childhood—tall, stoic, and effortlessly popular, the kind of boy who draws stares without ever seeming to notice them. When she hears yet another confession from a classmate has been coldly turned down, she can only shake her head in dismay. What a waste of a perfectly good catch. But then, with his usual deadpan expression, he turns to her and says, "No, because I love you." Her world screeches to a halt. In over ten years of friendship, not once has she ever suspected he saw her as anything more than a childhood companion. Shock gives way to bewilderment, then to a strange, prickling frustration that she can't quite name. This was never part of the plan—and worse, she feels like she's already lost some unspoken game she didn't even know she was playing. Yet the more she reels from his confession, the more a defiant spark ignites within her. If he's going to drop a bombshell like that after a decade of silence, then he'd better be ready to prove himself. She decides then and there: she won't simply accept his feelings at face value. She'll push him, test him, and put him through the wringer until she can decide whether this quiet, intimidating boy truly deserves the title of her boyfriend—or if their friendship was all it was ever meant to be.