Chapter 2: I Rejected Him, But… (Kanae’s Point of View)
I’ve had two childhood friends who’ve been with me ever since kindergarten.
Souta-kun and Yukiya-kun.
Both of them are precious childhood friends who’ve always been kind to me.
Souta-kun has always been known as the type who “doesn’t stand out much at first, but is actually amazing at both studying and sports,” and looks-wise, he’s famous for being “a boy who seems plain at a glance, but is actually handsome with idol-like features.”
He often came up as a quiet topic among the girls, and by the time we were in middle school, there were girls saying things like, “Introduce me to him,” and apparently, some even confessed to him.
Since I was Souta-kun’s childhood friend, people often came to me to ask favors or for advice.
“If you look closely, Souta-kun is really handsome.”
“Souta-kun is actually pretty popular, isn’t he?”
“Kanae, you’re Souta-kun’s childhood friend, right? Introduce me to him~”
“I’m thinking of confessing to Souta-kun. What do you think, Kanae?”
Things I’d never noticed when I was so close to him as a childhood friend started to stand out every time I heard comments like that, and before I realized it, I’d begun to follow Souta-kun with my eyes.
When I casually mentioned that to a friend, she said, “So you’re aiming for Souta-kun too, Kanae~” and I remember that being when I really started to pay attention to him.
Once I thought that I was in love, my heart started pounding more and more, and I felt embarrassed, happy, and like just that alone made every day more fun.
After that, even the same conversations and small acts of consideration from Souta-kun, which hadn’t changed at all, started to make me really happy, and I began to think that having those directed at me was something precious, that being closer to him than the other girls because we were childhood friends was something lucky.
“I’m in love with Souta-kun.”
That was how I understood myself.
Or at least, it should’ve been.
Even so, I was staring resentfully at Yuki-kun’s back as he walked several dozen meters ahead of me.
It’s because Yuki-kun confessed to me like that. To me. Confessed.
I couldn’t help remembering what had just happened.
All at once, my face grew hot, and my chest started to ache.
“Uu…”
It felt like something inside my body was about to burst, and as I tried to hold it back, I hugged my own shoulders and started trembling on my own.
Sneaking after Yuki-kun and trembling by myself in the shadows like this… there’s no way I’m not acting weird right now…
Thinking about what had happened between Yuki-kun and me just a moment ago, I should’ve put some time between us or taken a different way home, but when I saw Yuki-kun getting farther away, I naturally ended up following his back.
I don’t know why, but I did it without even realizing it.
I’m in love with Souta-kun, and because of that, I thought I’d properly told Yuki-kun so and given him a clear answer, and yet…
Like this, I’m starting to lose confidence in both my feelings and my actions.
While all that was going on, I ended up arriving in front of my house.
Yuki-kun’s house is a bit farther ahead, so of course, he was still walking.
“What should I do…”
My feelings churned as I watched Yuki-kun’s back grow more distant, and the words slipped out without me thinking.
I snapped back to my senses and ran into the house as if to shake everything off.
“Oh, welcome home.”
Right after stepping into the entryway, I ran straight into my mom.
“Uah… ah, I-I’m home.”
My head was such a mess that I let out a weird-sounding voice without thinking.
“What was that reaction? How rude~”
“Uh, um… sorry…”
Even I thought my behavior was way too meek. It was basically announcing that something had happened…
Sure enough, my mom narrowed her eyes suspiciously and peered at me.
I didn’t want her seeing through me, but the more I tried not to think about it, the more Yuki-kun came to mind.
M-my face is hot…
“Hmm~? Aha, I get it now.”
My mom grinned knowingly.
My throat let out a tiny, sharp gasp.
“Hehehe, I’d like to let it slide, but this looks fun, so I’ll point it out. Let me guess, it’s a boy.”
“Ah, uah… n-no, that’s not it.”
Hearing how stiff and broken my denial sounded, I felt despair toward myself.
“Hmm~ well then, the person must be~…”
“Enough, Mom!”
I raised my voice in protest as she tried to guess who it was.
I mean, there aren’t many boys my mom even knows, and this time especially, she’d get the right answer right away.
Laughing and saying, “Okay, okay,” my mom waved her hand lightly.
To avoid any more teasing, I decided to escape to my room on the second floor, slipping past my mom and hurrying up the stairs.
“But…”
The word my mom threw at my back made my heart lurch again.
…Bang.
I went into my room and shut the door.
My face was hot, my eyes felt damp, and my heart was pounding hard.
And in that state, what naturally came to mind was, of course, what had happened with Yuki-kun on the way home.
Today, Souta-kun, whom I usually walk home with, got called over by another girl, and at the same time, Yuki-kun’s club had the day off, so for once, it ended up being just the two of us walking home together.
And on that walk home, Yuki-kun confessed to me.
With his face bright red and his words catching in his throat, Yuki-kun still did his best to tell me how he felt.
“P-please… go out with me!”
The moment I heard that, my heart started racing like never before, and it hurt.
“Even with Souta-kun, I’d never felt my heart pound that hard…”
And back then, when Yuki-kun bowed his head after confessing, I found myself, without thinking, about to answer him like this while holding my breath.
“Ah…”
I was naturally trying to accept Yuki-kun’s confession.
By chance, my voice gave out partway through, so it didn’t turn into an answer, but why is that? I should be in love with Souta-kun, and yet…
Maybe I’m the kind of shallow, unfaithful girl who falls for people easily, and that thought made me anxious.
“Haa… n-no more. I’ve gotta stop thinking about Yuki-kun.”
But the more I thought that, the more I ended up thinking about him. No, even if I didn’t try to think about him, he naturally came to mind anyway.
“Ah, seriously… this is all Yuki-kun’s fault…”
A surprisingly sweet voice came out of me, and my face grew hot again.
Maybe for now, it can’t be helped that I keep thinking about Yuki-kun. After all, that much happened, and having a precious childhood friend tell me he liked me is something that still makes me honestly happy, even if I couldn’t give him the answer he wanted.
At the same time, I remembered the words my mom had thrown at me earlier.
“…But with that look on your face, it’s not like you hated it, or rather, you were really happy, weren’t you~”
“Fuhaa…”
I let out a sigh, like I was releasing heat from my flushed body, and casually turned my eyes toward the full-length mirror in my room.
Reflected there was me, my face red, my eyes moist, and my expression slack with a silly smile…