The next day.
Even though I only had classes starting in the afternoon, I arrived at university in time for the first period.
To talk with Hiyori and Takuto.
Since Hiyori and I aren’t lovers or anything of the sort, if someone told me it’s none of my business, that would be the end of it, but I wanted to somehow clear up this unsettled feeling in my heart.
I waited in the cafeteria for either of them to show up.
As I waited, I gradually started to calm down, and the thought crossed my mind: am I being creepy?
Cross-examining the actions of someone I like, who isn’t even my partner, just makes me look like a creep. Like a stalker.
I recoiled at myself for thinking that, but then reasoned, I can’t help it, I was just too curious.
The first period ended, and a little after the second period started.
Just as I was starting to give up, thinking I wouldn’t see the two of them anymore, Takuto walked into the cafeteria alone.
I opened my eyes wide and drew in a breath.
Takuto didn’t seem to notice me, and with his study materials in hand, he sat down at a table a little away from me.
Takuto. Is it Takuto?
I actually wanted to ask Hiyori about the situation, but… right now, anyone is fine as long as I can get some answers.
I stood up abruptly and headed toward Takuto.
I slipped into the seat right in front of Takuto.
That made Takuto look surprised, and he gave me a suspicious look.
Maybe because I never, ever approach him first, Takuto was sizing me up.
“U-Um…”
Ignoring Takuto’s reaction, I forced the conversation to start.
“Were you out with Hiyori? Yesterday, just the two of you.”
At that, Takuto’s expression twitched.
After staring at me in silence for a moment, he let out a sigh and answered with an annoyed tone.
“We went out, so what about it?”
“Does that mean… was it a date…?”
I asked that hesitantly.
I want him to say no. I want him to say it was just an errand, it was nothing.
Then Takuto’s annoyed expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a huge smile.
And after glancing around his surroundings, he looked down at me and stated quietly and clearly.
“Yeah, it was a date. Hiyori-chan finally started going on dates with me.”
I felt like all the strength left my body.
I forgot how to breathe and could only stare at Takuto.
Without saying anything else after that, Takuto left the cafeteria with his study materials, wearing a smug, grinning smile.
My heart had already grown terribly calm.
Panic, anger—none of those things were left in my heart.
A feeling of “I knew it” and the thought “Hiyori, you liar” swirled inside my chest.
The back of my throat gave a sharp spasm.
She had said she never went on dates with anyone except the person she liked. As expected, she chose Takuto in the end after all.
I suppose so.
I clenched my fists tightly beneath the table.
My nails dug in, and it hurt. But I felt like I couldn’t stay here without that pain.
I see. I see.
I have to draw a clear line.
Hiyori will definitely want to hang out with me again. After all, she did say the other day, “Can I invite you out again?”
For my sake and for Hiyori’s sake, I need to keep my distance properly.
So that I don’t misunderstand anymore, and so that Hiyori isn’t misunderstood either.
How should I tell her?
As I was thinking about that, a voice called out from behind me.
“Koto-senpaaaai~~!!”
My shoulders trembled for just a fraction of a second.
A familiar voice. Bright, innocent, a voice that normally would have made my chest feel just a little lighter.
Yet today, it sent a dull pain straight through the depths of my heart, as if I had been struck directly.
I knew even before turning around.
That the owner of this voice was the person I wanted to see least, and the person I wanted to see most, right now.
“Thanks for your hard work! You’re early today.”
Hiyori smiled in her usual tone and sat down right next to me.
The same soft voice as always, unchanged from yesterday.
That complete lack of change somehow pierced right through my chest.
“Koto-senpai, I found another love hotel I want to visit! It’s this one~”
She offered her smartphone, and I blankly stared at the flashy interior displayed on the screen.
Before, I would have laughed half-jokingly and said it looked nice, but today the words got stuck in my throat.
Takuto’s face flashed across my mind uninvited.
That nonchalant voice of his saying it was a date.
I have to say it properly.
“Hey, Hiyori.”
“Yes? What is it?”
My voice was calmer than I expected myself.
I had thought it would tremble more, and that more emotion would seep through.
Hiyori tilted her head slightly and smiled innocently.
Seeing that expression made my chest ache a little, but I could no longer erase the suspicion that had once surfaced.
If I don’t speak up, I’ll just keep falling apart on my own. I hate this anymore—hurting Hiyori any further, or getting hurt myself.
Knowing that, I didn’t choose my next words; I just let them out.
“Why don’t you go with Takuto instead of me?”
“————… Huh?”
The moment I said it, the depths of my chest turned icy cold.
Hiyori seemed to need a little time to process my words, blinking once, twice, with her mouth half-open.
Just that alone made my chest tighten painfully.
I really did hurt her after all.
Even though I should have known, I despise myself for saying it anyway.
The atmosphere grew a little heavy.
The surrounding murmur suddenly felt far away.
It felt like an illusion that only Hiyori and I were in this place. There’s no escape route left, no turning back—my heart was screaming.
“You went on a date with Takuto, didn’t you? I heard about it. From Takuto.”
I said that without looking at Hiyori’s face.
Even as I spoke, my heart grew colder and colder, until it lost all feeling, as if numb.
Hiyori took a step closer.
That distance felt unusually close today, and I almost instinctively stepped back.
“W-Wait, Koto-senpai, hold on———…”
Hiyori’s fingers grabbed my sleeve.
Not too strong, a strength too unreliable to hold me back.
Yet the moment those fingertips touched me, my body gave a sharp start.
To avoid crossing that final line, I purposely put on a light tone.
“You shouldn’t~”
I smiled and gently slipped my wrist out of Hiyori’s grasp.
The touch lasted only an instant, but the spot where we parted felt terribly cold. A strength too unreliable to hold me back.
The moment those fingertips touched me, my body gave a sharp start.
Ah, still.
I still feel happy when she touches me like this.
“If there’s someone you like, going to a love hotel with someone like me…”
My own voice sounded somehow like a stranger’s.
Nobody knows better than myself that this isn’t my true feeling.
Even so, if I hadn’t said it like this, I couldn’t have held it together.
“Relationships between women aren’t that rare these days, either. People are going to misunderstand.”
That joking remark dropped into the air and sank without a sound.
It didn’t turn into a laugh, nor was it denied. Only a heavy silence remained.
Hiyori made a terribly lonely face.
I instinctively reached out, wanting to pat her head like I always did. But my hand was pulled back before it could touch Hiyori’s head.
Hiyori opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but I talked right over her to block it.
“Hiyori might just be doing this for fun, but lots of people will end up misunderstanding.”
It is definitely better for me to walk away than for Hiyori to reach a point where she can no longer smile because of this.
Pushing Hiyori away like this hurts my heart so, so much. Still, this is something that simply cannot be helped.
I stood up and left the cafeteria without looking at Hiyori.
“Koto-senpaiiiii !!”
I heard that cry from behind me, but I pretended not to hear it.
I closed the cafeteria door and started running blindly.
I had no idea where I should go, but I felt like I had to run somewhere, anywhere.
Ah, so my romance has ended.
And with this, Hiyori’s romance has begun.
This was for the best. This is how it should have been.
Something inside the depths of my chest quietly crumbled with a sound.
I knew very well that this was the sound of regret beginning.