A Pretty Girl Has Her First Kiss Stolen By an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 3.7

August 31 (Wednesday)

Kaede Wakamatsu closed his eyes.

The scorching sun beat down as he sat heavily on the bench under the eaves.

The sound of cicadas and waves. The cheerful laughter of children playing. Listening to those sounds, he took a bite of the ice cream he bought from the convenience store.

That day by the sea—it was in February.

The day Shizuku Mizuhara confessed. His mind had gone blank, and he barely remembered anything from that day. Before he knew it, he had accepted her confession, grown closer to her, and spent more and more time together, completely drawn in.

“Wakamatsu, you were just right for me, and I was being selfish.”

“I thought it would be enough to become special to someone special.”

“I wanted to find someone to fill the hole in my heart.”

Those words. Her reason was probably true.

She wouldn’t want someone as oblivious as Wakamatsu to point it out, but back when she first started bringing him handouts, he hadn’t felt any particular affection from her.

She was searching for something, for someone, to fill the emptiness left by her sister.

That much was certain.

“If love starts from a lie, does that make the feelings a lie too?”

No, it wasn’t a lie.

The time they had spent together didn’t just disappear. That was impossible.

Before he realized it, a drop of melted ice cream ran down his fingers and fell.

Wakamatsu watched the droplet quietly. Under the sunlight, it dried up and vanished in an instant.

But the days they had built together—
They couldn’t just disappear so easily.

The time they spent, the things they shared—it wasn’t a lie.

And Mizuhara must have felt the same way.

“Shizuku-chan is a serious and kind person, isn’t she?”

Wakamatsu understood that, too.

Shizuku Mizuhara was a serious and kind person.

She was always apologizing to someone for something. But who was she apologizing to? And for what?

He took a sip of cold water.

Even then, his body still burned, and sweat poured from every pore. The hair sticking to his forehead became annoying, so he roughly ran his fingers through his hair.

“Shizuku-chan is sensitive to people’s feelings.”

When had Mizuhara’s attitude started to change?

Wasn’t it the day of their first weekend date, when she said, “I’m sorry”?

Mizuhara was sensitive to emotions. It wouldn’t be surprising if she had realized Wakamatsu’s feelings before he did.

“…Am I really the right person for you?”

“People with kind hearts sometimes feel guilty about things like that.”

Guilt.

Maybe those words were proof of her guilt toward Wakamatsu.

But it couldn’t have been just that.

“If reality doesn’t change, you’d have to keep worrying about it forever.”

“Of course, it’s normal to forget things a little bit. After all, we’re living every day.”

“No matter how painful something is, as long as we keep living, we eventually forget.”

Had Shizuku Mizuhara finally started to fill the hole in her heart?

Of course, no one could replace her sister. Wakamatsu could never become her sister.

Still, by spending time together and deepening their bond, something inside her must have changed.

“…I forgot. This is the kind of person I am.”

“It doesn’t matter… If I can forget this easily, then…”

“Maybe my feelings weren’t that important after all…”

The more time she spent with Wakamatsu, the more time she spent forgetting about her sister’s disappearance.

That made her feel guilty. It felt wrong.

She started seeing herself as a heartless person.

And those emotions built up inside her.

“…I know the truth. I know I have to stop.”

“But… it felt so nice… I…”

That’s right.

Shizuku Mizuhara must have found comfort in the time she spent with Wakamatsu.

The vague, uncertain relationship they had dragged on for months.

She knew she had to end it, but she couldn’t let go.

Maybe that’s why she finally found the words for their breakup that day.

The easiest way to distance herself from Wakamatsu—was to make him hate her.

A mere guess. Wishful thinking.

Even so, Wakamatsu had found his own way to make sense of it.

“…It’s okay, Mizuhara.”

He looked up.

“No matter how it started, what we built wasn’t a lie.”

“Even your sister… it’s okay to forget sometimes, even just a little.”

When he looked up at the sky, thick, dark clouds stretched across it.

The weather reporter had said it would rain today.

It looked like they were right.

Wakamatsu Kaede began walking along the seawall.

The last day of summer vacation.

At Sakugaoka High School, the sports festival was just around the corner.

Whether the second semester started or not, nothing would change in Wakamatsu’s life.

The only difference was that regular classes would resume—
And he would have to see Shizuku Mizuhara again.

With the second semester approaching,
Mizuhara would have to face Wakamatsu, whether she liked it or not.

She must have a lot on her mind.

She must be struggling.

And if that was the case—
Near the stairs, he saw a familiar figure.

“I knew you’d be here.”

He steadied his breath and called out.

Hearing his voice, she must have recognized him.

Without turning around, she spoke.

“…Why are you here?”

“The student council meeting ended this morning, right?”

“…So what?”

“I figured you’d come here after school. I just… thought so.”

Wakamatsu reached out his hand to the girl sitting there.