A Pretty Girl Has Her First Kiss Stolen By an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 1.1

“Every Friday. While you’re delivering the school printouts, check on Mizuhara too, will you?”

It was Friday after school when Kaede Wakamatsu was stopped by her homeroom teacher, Koichi Yamabe.

Wakamatsu arrived at the central entrance of the station, its distinctive wooden roof standing out. She climbed the stairs to street level and continued walking along her usual route to school. Across from a 24-hour drugstore stood a convenience store. Taking out her smartphone, she opened a map app.

I see. Shizuku Mizuhara’s house was indeed along her commute.

After crossing the street toward the convenience store, she took the third left turn. A black-and-white apartment building came into view—that was Mizuhara’s home.

Upon entering the building’s entrance, she was met with a large door blocking her way. Beyond it, a modern Japanese-style lobby was furnished with sleek tables and sofas.

She rang the intercom for Room 605, where Mizuhara was supposedly holed up, but there was no response.

According to Yamabe, the agreed time was “every Friday at 4:30 PM.”

“Excuse me!”

“I’m Kaede Wakamatsu, your classmate. I brought school printouts for you.”

She introduced herself and stated her purpose, but there was still no response. She rang the chime again—nothing. Pressing it multiple times felt excessive, so Wakamatsu hesitated and remained standing at the entrance.

There was no heating here. The cold air pricked her skin.

“This is a problem…”

Just as she resolved to wait a little longer, the entrance door to the building swung open, letting in a fresh gust of outside air.

Not wanting to be in the way of residents, she stepped aside with a quick “Excuse me,” lowering her head slightly.

“Huh? Wakamatsu?”

Hearing her name, she looked up in surprise.

It was Shizuku Mizuhara.

It had been about a month since Mizuhara stopped coming to school.

She looked… different.

Her once long hair, which had reached her back, was now cut to just below her collarbone, stopping above her chest. The new bangs framed her face, making her look even younger. Her well-defined double-lidded eyes were more visible than before, drawing Wakamatsu in for a moment.

She looks surprisingly fine.

Wakamatsu had assumed that students who skipped school rarely left their homes. But here was Mizuhara—her appearance well-kept, casually carrying a plastic bag from the convenience store. Clearly, she had just been out shopping.

“Sorry, I couldn’t make it by 4:30.”

Mizuhara bowed her head slightly as she spoke.

Wakamatsu only then realized that she had been staring.

Mizuhara handed her a drinkable yogurt, saying, “Take this as an apology,” and in return, Wakamatsu passed her the school documents.

Mizuhara’s fingers were long and slender, her hands pale and smooth-looking.

Wakamatsu’s gaze followed the delicate curve of her hand until she noticed a small mole on her wrist.

“Are you sure? I can have this?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I can just buy another one tomorrow.”

So, she does go out to shop.

Wakamatsu glanced at the yogurt in her hand, but Mizuhara’s voice soon brought her back.

“See you, Kaede Wakamatsu.”

Mizuhara nodded slightly before passing by her.

She didn’t seem particularly fazed by the presence of a classmate in her apartment building. Instead, she casually stopped in front of the mailbox, flipping through her letters at a relaxed pace.

Deciding it was time to leave, Wakamatsu turned on her heel—until Mizuhara called out.

“You can just leave the printouts in the mailbox if it’s too much trouble.”

“It’s not a hassle or anything.”

“I’m fine, really. You can tell Yamabe that too.”

Finding nothing interesting among her mail, Mizuhara crumpled the flyers in her hand.

Having lost her timing to leave, Wakamatsu blurted out:

“Your new haircut suits you.”

“Hearing that from you makes me happy.”

“Huh? Why’s that?”

Mizuhara continued browsing through the crumpled flyers as she spoke.

She didn’t ignore Wakamatsu, nor did she seem particularly down.

Yet, she didn’t show the warm, friendly smiles she used to have in class either.

“Because I’ve always thought you were cute, Wakamatsu.”

“Wha—?!”

“I mean, your face is basically perfect. It makes sense.”

…Oh.

So she was complimenting my hair after all.

Feeling embarrassed for overreacting, Wakamatsu let the conversation fade.

Mizuhara, now done with her flyers, reached for the intercom panel to unlock the entrance.

“You should come back to school. It’s fun, you know?”

A cold breeze swept through the entrance, making Mizuhara’s semi-long hair sway.

“Everyone’s nice. The people in our class are all good people.”

“That sounds exactly like something someone who fits in would say.”

Mizuhara stopped in her tracks and turned around.

Her expression was noticeably colder than before.

Even though their eyes met, Wakamatsu felt an odd sense of distance between them.

She hesitated for a moment, and in that brief silence, Mizuhara turned back around, unlocking the door to her apartment lobby.

Still, Wakamatsu wasn’t ready to give up.

“Why did you stop coming to school?”

“Hmm… because it doesn’t matter to me.”

“Don’t you miss your friends? Like Komazawa or Yamaguchi…?”

With a clunk, the door separating the entrance from the lobby unlocked.

Warm air from inside mixed with the cold outside.

Mizuhara didn’t move right away.

Just as Wakamatsu thought she would walk off, Mizuhara lingered until the door began to close again.

Then, in a quiet voice, she said:

“You wouldn’t understand, someone like you.”

She turned the key once more and, this time, disappeared inside.

Something about her words and demeanor stirred something inside Wakamatsu.

Before the door fully shut, before Mizuhara disappeared behind the elevator—
She called out.

“See you next week!”

Her voice echoed through the empty space.

Mizuhara never looked back.

The door, now completely closed, stood between them—like a metaphor for the distance between their hearts.