Interlude: Hunger
Just before 6 PM, as the sun began to set.
“Vice President, where should I take this?”
“Please take that over there.”
“Vice President, I’m missing some parts here. Do we have any more in the storage room?”
“Yes, we do. There are a few spare ones just in case. I’ll go get them.”
“No, it’s fine. As long as we have them, we’ll handle it. Just make sure no one slacks off. At this pace, we might barely make it, but if anyone slacks off, we won’t.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
Koyuki was in charge of directing the tent setup.
Initially, the plan was to do it over two days, but due to the forecast of rain tomorrow, they had to finish it all in one day, causing quite a bit of chaos.
One of the seniors who had come to help said they should make it in time, but at this pace, they would definitely miss curfew.
She needed to figure something out, but couldn’t expect any more people to join in.
At this time of day, most students were already gone, and the ones who were still around were either tired from club activities or relay practice.
It felt wrong to ask those tired students to help with setting up tents.
“This is really a problem.”
“Koyuki-senpai, are you okay?”
Just as she was at her wit’s end, she heard the voice she most wanted to hear.
“Haruki-kun! And Mizuki-san. What are you two doing here?”
She turned around to see her crush and her rival standing there.
“We happened to stay late helping a teacher, and noticed people still working at this hour.”
“So we decided to come and help.”
Usually, these two would go home immediately after school,
but today, by some twist of fate, they had stayed late.
Koyuki’s heart soared at their thoughtfulness, and she ran over to them and hugged them.
“Thank you so much!”
“Whoa!”
“Too close!”
Feeling the warmth of their bodies on either side of her, she felt her cooled heart begin to warm.
These two were truly kind.
Mizuki, who’s usually a rival in love and at odds with her, still helps when she’s really in trouble.
[I think Senpai would be fine on her own. But working alone for hours would be lonely, wouldn’t it?]
Haruki, who always kindly lends a hand, noticing Koyuki’s true feelings that no one else picked up on.
[I’m busy with work right now. Can we talk later?]
[If you have time to make things like this, you should be doing something else.]
[Sigh, don’t bring gifts made from such roadside flowers. It could affect the Shirayuri Group’s reputation.]
They are different from parents and Takumi Takumi who do not give warmth and just throw coldness at her.
Koyuki likes them because they are full of humanity.
(I won’t let you go.)
“This is suffocating.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Sorry, nothing’s wrong. I’m just really happy you two came.”
Apparently, she had unconsciously tightened her hug.
She quickly let go and tried to compose herself,
hiding her slightly trembling arms behind her back.
“Well then, since you’re here, could I ask you two to help those two over there? With just two people, they can carry things but not set up the tents.”
But if she kept talking, they might notice.
Haruki was oddly perceptive in strange ways, despite being clueless about romance.
Before they could figure it out, she gave them instructions. They responded with “Got it” and “Leave it to us,” and joined the students setting up tents.
“Phew.”
“Tired, Senpai?”
“Yikes! Minazuki-kun, what are you doing here?”
Just as she thought she could gather her thoughts, a junior suddenly appeared behind her, causing her to scream.
“Well, practice ended and I saw you all still working, so I thought you might need more help. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Sorry if my childhood friend caused any trouble. I’ll make sure he works hard to make up for it.”
Turning around, she saw Saito, looking slightly guilty, and Machigane Lily holding his head down.
“Oh, no, it’s not that. I really appreciate the thought. But aren’t you two tired from practice? You don’t have to stay and help us.”
Koyuki was caught off guard by the unexpected intrusion.
She politely declined their offer, partly out of concern for their well-being and partly because she didn’t want to burden them.
“I’m fine. We run every morning, so today’s practice wasn’t that tiring.”
The junior boy, oblivious to her intentions, grinned and said he could still keep going, making Koyuki’s smile twitch slightly.
“We only practiced baton passing today, so I’m not too tired either. But if we’re in the way, I’ll take responsibility and make sure he leaves.”
“Hey, Lily. Don’t say I’m in the way. I’ve set up tents every year in elementary and middle school. I can do it.”
“Don’t lie. You forgot to tie down the cover during camping, causing a disaster.”
“That was a one-time thing! I usually don’t mess up like that.”
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Contrary to him, Lily seemed to understand Koyuki’s reluctance and tried to get Saito to leave, but he was fully determined to help.
“Is it okay if we help you?”
Lily, realizing it was a lost cause, timidly asked for Koyuki’s approval.
At this point, it was hard to say no.
“It’s fine. Actually, it’s embarrassing to admit, but we really need all the help we can get. Can you two help those seniors over there by the entrance with setting up the tents?”
“Okay. Let’s do this, Lily. Let’s finish this quickly.”
“Alright. Excuse us.”
With Saito energetically leading the way and Lily bowing apologetically, they headed off in the opposite direction of Haruki and Mizuki.
(…I’m the worst.)
Left alone, Koyuki watched the first-year students walk away and felt a pang of self-loathing.
Saito and Haruki were friends from the same class and got along well.
They would probably prefer to work together.
But Koyuki had deliberately sent them to separate areas
The reason is completely selfish.
She didn’t want Haruki and Lily to interact.
That was her only reason for splitting them up.
(But if the two of them become close, I will be alone again.)
Memories of the world before time rewound flash through my mind.
When they were in our third year and graduation was approaching, Koyuki was rejected by Haruki.
Later, Haruki started dating Lily, who had feelings for him just like she did.
A significant change in relationships.
The physical distance and change in environment that came with going to university.
Mainly due to these two factors, Haruki and Koyuki’s relationship gradually faded, and by the time they were second-year university students, they were completely estranged.
I think it was inevitable.
Haruki was busy with university entrance exams and life at university, and it wouldn’t feel right for Lily if he frequently met up with Koyuki.
Especially if she had a past of being hurt by many people and betrayed by friends.
Wanting to avoid making her junior uneasy, Koyuki bottled up her remaining feelings.
However, that inevitably brought her back to a loveless and cold daily life from before she met Haruki.
Before meeting Haruki, she could live without thinking about it.
She could accept everything as her fate.
But now she knew.
The joy of being loved.
The warmth of another’s hand.
The comfort of having someone by your side when you were weak.
Once you’ve experienced such luxury, you can never go back.
In quiet moments, she would be overwhelmed by an unbearable sense of loneliness and hunger.
──I want someone to see through my true feelings again.
──I want to be held tightly.
──I want someone by my side.
──I want gentle kisses.
──I want to be loved.
I am hungry.
Hungry, hungry.
Hungry, hungry, hungry.
Hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry.
The more time passed, the greater the sense of hunger became.
During her third year at university, she almost went mad.
Unable to endure it, she sent a message to Haruki, but it took a long time for him to reply, and she felt hurt.
Relieved by his kind words when they arrived after a day had passed, she soon realized she was not special to Haruki and felt hurt again.
It was the worst period of my life.
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