[Miyabi PoV]
Click.
A warm light spread through the darkened room.
I glanced at my reflection in the window, seeing myself in pajamas.
Miyabi Amane, a second-year high school student.
People around me say I'm “kind-hearted, mature, and dependable,” but…
That's not the truth at all.
Even now, I'm feeling self-loathing over what happened.
Why did I say such harsh words to Hajime?
I came home, ate dinner, and even took a bath, but the thought won't leave my mind.
And the same thing happened when I gave my answer to Godai-senpai on the way home from school.
I was so distracted that I needlessly made him worry.
Still—.
Holding hands with a boy other than Hajime for the first time…
Just thinking about it made my chest ache.
Godai-senpai’s hand was large, a bit warm, and had a strong grip.
It was so different from Hajime's.
When he gently leaned closer while we were holding hands, I pulled back in surprise.
…I wonder if he thinks I'm a terrible girl.
What does Senpai see in someone as unremarkable as me?
Also, I… I don't really know how to be a girlfriend.
If it were Hajime, I wonder if I could be more natural, without overthinking everything.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
My phone on the desk vibrated.
I picked it up and held it to my ear.
“Hello, Miyabi?”
It was a cheerful, lively voice.
Aoi.
“Aoi? What's up calling at this time?”
Aoi is my childhood friend.
She's one of my few female friends, and her bright, straightforward personality has helped me many times.
“Ah, well, it's not a big deal. I just wanted to check in on you, see how you're doing.”
“Heh, that's not like you, Aoi. You've got something you want to ask, don't you?”
I chuckled softly and responded playfully.
“Fufu, you figured me out, huh?”
“Of course. How long have we been friends?”
“True. You, me, and…”
An awkward silence lingered for a moment.
“S-So, what is it you wanted to ask?”
I quickly steered the conversation back on track.
“Well, I heard something from Konatsu.”
“Something?”
Konatsu Sasahara, a first-year in high school.
I've known her since middle school, and now she's Aoi's junior in the basketball club.
She's cute, friendly, and popular with the seniors.
She's also very tuned into trends, often giving us clueless folks helpful advice.
But on the flip side, she also loves poking her nose into other people's love lives.
So probably—
“Yeah… So, I'll just ask directly—are you dating Godai-senpai?”
“What!?”
I jumped, startled.
“Well, there's been rumors for a while now that Godai-senpai confessed to you but got turned down, but today, Konatsu said she saw you two holding hands… So?”
…Busted.
Looks like Konatsu had seen us.
No use trying to dodge it now.
“Y-Yeah… I gave him my answer today.”
“Oh, I knew it! Wow, that's great!”
“…Yeah, thanks.”
Even though I should be happy, I couldn't feel it.
But I already knew why.
For now, though, all I could do was put a lid on that answer and tuck it away.
I had always believed in the promise we made that day, but Hajime never made any effort to keep that promise.
On top of that, even when I tried talking to him at school, he would always walk away as if he were hiding something.
It was like we were nothing but a nuisance to him.
Even when I tried to distance myself, Hajime didn't seem to care at all.
Still, I mustered the courage to invite him out along with Aoi.
But.
[I have something I need to do.]
That's all he said before turning me down so easily.
And little by little, my feelings began to wear down.
At times like that, it was Godai-senpai who was there for me.
It would be a lie to say I loved him like a boyfriend.
But when he confessed his feelings to me, he made a promise, and he kept that promise.
The fact that he kept it made me happier than anything else.
In the novel Senpai let me read, I was portrayed as the protagonist of the story.
The traits of the childhood friend character overlapped so much with Senpai that it made me feel a bit strange, but the story itself was so wonderful—more moving than anything I'd ever read before.
I got so engrossed in the book that I forgot to eat or sleep, and when I finished reading it, I was surprised to find myself in tears.
Senpai, who could write such an amazing story, was truly incredible…
“Oh, by the way!”
Suddenly, Aoi's voice rose, snapping me out of my thoughts as I pressed my phone to my ear.
“It looks like they've just announced the winner of the Hagi Prize! My parents are making a huge fuss about it.”
“That's right, your dad works at a publishing company, doesn't he?”
“Yeah, yeah. And guess what, this year's winner is the youngest ever! Someone our age!”
“What? That's amazing!”
“The title is ‘Two and One,’ and oh yeah, Miyabi, you like reading, right?”
“I do, but not as much lately.”
“If you want, I could ask my dad to lend it to you. It's already a bestseller, and it's hard to get a copy, but I'm sure he'd let you borrow it.”
“Really? Thank you, I'd love that.”
At that moment, my heart leapt.
“…’Two and One’…?”
Without thinking, I opened a search engine.
And the moment I saw the author's name displayed on the screen—I gasped.
—Hajime Rangaku
Thump.
My heart pounded loudly.
“…Hajime …”
There's no way it's the Hajime I know. It shouldn't be. But just seeing that name made me feel like crying…
I'm not nearly as strong as I pretend to be.