“What else can I do!? If I don’t do this, Haruki will never look at me! He’ll never love only me! …Haruki was the only one who loved me. My parents, my childhood friends, everyone around me, none of them loved me!? They all treated me as just a gear to keep the Shirayuri Group going, as the Shirayuri Group’s daughter. No, that’s not what I wanted. I just wanted them to see me as the woman Koyuki Shirayuri, to praise me, to love me. But no one other than Haruki did that simple thing for me! So I have no choice! Haruki is the only one who will love me. For someone like me who can’t live without love, I have no path left but this!”
Now that Haruki had rejected her, this was the only idea Koyuki could think of.
So she couldn’t stop now.
If she stopped here, Koyuki would be all alone again.
“Aaaaahhhhh!”
Koyuki charged at Lily.
This was Koyuki’s answer.
Weighing the loss of someone who loved her against doing the right thing, she leaned towards the former.
That’s how much Koyuki feared loneliness and craved love.
Understanding this, Lily distorted her face and braced herself.
But she didn’t move.
Whether it was out of pity or guilt for taking Haruki from Koyuki,
Lily closed her eyes right before the stun gun hit.
“…What do you think you’re trying to do to my childhood friend? Shirayuri-senpai.”
Right before it hit, a low voice like crawling from underground reached her ears, grabbing her arm.
Fearfully looking up, she saw Saito, who always showed a friendly face, now glaring at her with contempt.
“No, I…”
The words of denial unconsciously left her mouth.
“Then what’s with that thing buzzing there? Not something to be joking around with, right?”
But that only made Saito’s look of contempt deepen further.
“Ah, ah…”
There was no escape.
Overwhelmed by the extraordinary weight of Saito’s anger, whether she wanted to or not, Koyuki understood and could only let out a voiceless cry.
“Shirayuri-senpai, how are you going to save face?”
“Hey Minazuki, this area is off limits! …Huh, what happened here!?”
In the end, the Student Council President Takumi himself appeared, and Koyuki collapsed right there.
After that, under Takumi’s authority, an investigation into the incident was conducted and Koyuki’s crime came to light.
“This utter fool!?”
Upon learning that Koyuki had tried to kidnap Haruki, Takumi erupted in rage.
He slapped her hard across the cheek.
“…I’m sorry.”
Unable to make any excuses, Koyuki apologized, and when she looked at Takumi, tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes for some reason.
“Um, what’s wrong?”
It was the first time she had ever seen Takumi cry.
But she didn’t understand why he looked like he was about to cry, so she tilted her head.
“Sorry.”
Then, with that single word, Takumi lowered his head in apology.
“No, there’s no need for the President to apologize for this much after what I’ve done.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Koyuki wore a self-deprecating look as she told Takumi not to worry about it, but he just shook his head vigorously.
“I noticed it. A long time ago. I knew you always looked lonely, but I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“…What do you mean?”
Takumi’s explanation was incoherent, and Koyuki let out a confused voice.
She didn’t understand why he was apologizing.
Because until recently, he had always disliked her as an immature person.
Especially lately, that sentiment had been particularly pronounced, so she couldn’t fathom why he would be concerned about her.
To the perplexed Koyuki, Takumi delivered a shocking statement.
“I like you.”
“Eh?”
“I’ve liked you for a very, very long time. Ever since I met you, Koyuki. But I’m awkward, so I could never be honest with you. Even though I knew you looked lonely. Still, I couldn’t face my own feelings or even console you. I’m sorry. It’s my fault too that I drove you this far, Koyuki. I’m sorry.”
“To suddenly say something like that…I don’t know how to respond.”
She had thought he was always annoyed with her for being incompetent, like her, someone who would eventually have to shoulder their group.
Koyuki sometimes cried at Takumi’s sharp words.
When suddenly told ‘I couldn’t be honest in front of the person I liked,’ there was no way Koyuki could accept it so easily without evidence.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Saito, you have photos, don’t you? Show them.”
“How did you know?”
“Saito, you didn’t use your towel until lunch break, right? At first, I thought it was because you didn’t have time to go back to the tent, but I gradually felt something was off. When I checked the towel, it was tucked in. You shouldn’t bring important things like this outside.”
“Scary, you should become a detective. Sigh… Here you go, Shirayuri-senpai.”
Saito hands a crumpled envelope to Koyuki, who couldn’t accept reality.
Koyuki nervously takes it, finding several photos inside.
The first and second show Takumi trembling as he carries the cardboard box Koyuki had given up on due to its weight, after she had left.
The third depicts Koyuki looking wistful in front of many water bottles, while Takumi points at her, talking with other student council members in the background.
The fourth shows Takumi checking his injury from stopping a fight between third-years, the hit area turning blue.
“Hic… ugh…”
At this point, Koyuki couldn’t hold back anymore.
Tears started falling from her eyes, and she couldn’t stop checking the photos.
With each new photo, she realized how much Takumi cared for her.
Her chest grew warm.
The hunger she had felt earlier was being satisfied.
She looked at each photo carefully, coming to the last one.
“Sniff… ugh… huh? This is…”
As Koyuki slowly looked at the photo, it was different from the others.
Until now, both Takumi and Koyuki had appeared in the photos, but this one showed only Takumi.
However, the moment Koyuki saw it, memories she thought she had forgotten came flooding back.
She remembered her childhood.
It was during a wedding of an acquaintance when they were bored.
[Do you have any idea what kind of man you’d like to propose to you?]
After hearing the newlyweds’ lovey-dovey talk, during a break, Takumi unusually asked how she’d like to be proposed to.
[A proposal? Hmm, I’m not sure about what kind of man, but for the situation… I’d like to be proposed to while surrounded by lots of flowers.]
[Hmph, there’s no place like that around here.]
[I know. That’s why I’m dreaming of it.]
Koyuki thought it was just small talk, and from Takumi’s mocking attitude, she believed he had forgotten it as something trivial.
But she was wrong.
Takumi had always remembered these words and had been maintaining that garden to confess to Koyuki someday.
Unable to bear it anymore, Koyuki turned towards Takumi. He looked away embarrassedly, muttering, “…Did something unnecessary,” which was the final blow.
“…I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Takumi-san. I never noticed all this time.”
Koyuki hugs Takumi and apologizes.
“Idiot, I’m telling you it’s my fault. You’re not to blame. I’m sorry.”
He smiles wryly at Koyuki, apologizes once more, and gently embraces her.
Koyuki leans into his warmth and turns to her juniors with an incredibly ugly face.
“I’m sorry. I caused you all so much trouble because of me.”
“We were surprised when you lashed out, but I’m fine since there were no injuries.”
“I’m okay too. The president slapped me, so it’s all good. But if you do it again, I’ll slap you back with all my might.”
“I’m fine too. It’s also my fault for not noticing Koyuki-senpai’s feelings.”
When Koyuki apologizes, the three smile gently and forgive her, causing large tears to flow again.
(Ah, I was blessed all along. I just didn’t notice.)
She had envied Lily, who was loved by many people.
She had wondered why she wasn’t loved, feeling dissatisfied.
But in reality, it was the same.
She just hadn’t noticed, but there were people around Koyuki who loved her too.
Koyuki hugged Takumi tightly, as if to ingrain this fact in her mind.
This changed the tragic future that was supposed to end with these childhood friends drifting apart.
Mission complete.
Seeing the couple’s affectionate behavior, the other pair of childhood friends happily high-fived each other.
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