Yuzuki fell silent for a moment after saying that she also had a first love.
Kiyotaka looked at her calmly.
“You can tell me… when you’re ready,” he said softly.
Yuzuki took a deep breath before beginning her story.
The Past
“Back then… I was in my first year of middle school.”
“I fell in love with one of my classmates.”
She gave a faint smile, but her eyes looked distant.
“He was handsome… smart… and good at almost everything.”
Kiyotaka simply listened.
“At that time… I wasn’t the ‘Ice Princess’ I am now.”
“I still tried to get close to people… including him.”
Yuzuki stared ahead as if looking into an old memory.
“We talked a lot… and spent a lot of time together.”
“But… people started spreading rumors.”
“They said I was seeking attention… that I didn’t know my place… that I wasn’t good enough…”
Yuzuki clenched her hands together.
“But I didn’t care. I kept trying to get closer to him.”
Her voice began to tremble slightly.
“One day… I wanted to confess my feelings.”
“He told me… to meet him behind the school.”
Kiyotaka frowned, already sensing where the story was heading.
“But…”
“It was a trap.”
“It was a group of people… including someone I now know was connected to the stalkers.”
Yuzuki lowered her head.
“They harassed me… and made fun of me…”
She paused for a moment, trying to control her emotions.
“That’s when I realized… I had been betrayed by the very person I liked.”
Kiyotaka clenched his fists but remained silent.
“After that… I started losing trust.”
“Not just in other people…”
“But in myself too.”
Yuzuki continued in a quieter voice.
“My closest friend… the person who was supposed to stand by my side…”
“Ended up distancing herself from me.”
“And eventually… she started dating the person I liked.”
Tears began to fall from her eyes.
“That was the moment when I truly stopped trusting anyone.”
“Even… my own family.”
Back to the Present
Yuzuki closed her eyes.
“That was my first love…”
Without hesitation, Kiyotaka pulled her into an embrace.
“Thank you… for trusting me enough to tell me,” he said softly.
Yuzuki could no longer hold back her tears.
“That’s also why… I’m afraid of stalkers…”
“Because I was treated badly back then…”
“That’s why I always hate violence…”
Her crying grew stronger.
He wanted to be angry… he wanted to cry… but he held himself back.
He didn’t want to make the same mistakes again.
“I’m actually the same,” Kiyotaka said quietly.
“That’s why I always try to look perfect…”
“Because I never want to feel like a failure again.”
Gradually, Yuzuki’s tears began to calm.
Kiyotaka gently stroked her head.
“We can’t erase the past…”
“But we can face it.”
Yuzuki looked at Kiyotaka.
For the first time, her eyes seemed lighter, as if a burden had finally been lifted.
Without saying anything, she moved closer.
“I’ve never told anyone this before…”
“You’re the first.”
The atmosphere became warm and peaceful.
After a while, Yuzuki gave a small smile.
“Let’s go shopping tomorrow, okay?”
Kiyotaka smiled back.
“Yeah.”
The story of the two of them was slowly beginning to change.
From a painful past… toward a future they would build together.