A Pretty Girl Has Her First Kiss Stolen By an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 3.8

Mizuhara Shizuku brushed away Wakamatsu’s outstretched hand.

“So, what do you want?”

“I came to talk to you, Mizuhara.”

“I have nothing to say.”

Without looking at Wakamatsu, she started walking straight ahead.

Wakamatsu followed, walking slowly behind her. The road ran along the coast, enclosed by a seawall and a guardrail.

The weather was worsening. Dark clouds layered over each other, like the walls around Mizuhara Shizuku’s heart.

“No one can take your sister’s place but her.”

“The hole left in your heart by your sister can only be filled by her.”

“…Isn’t that right, Mizuhara?”

Mizuhara Shizuku didn’t react.

“You felt that way when you were with me, didn’t you?”

“…Yeah. That’s why it’s fine now.”

“Is that really true?”

Mizuhara stayed silent. Her expression was unreadable, but Wakamatsu caught the slight hesitation in her movements.

“Since you started spending time with me, haven’t you changed?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you scared?”

The raindrops grew larger, falling faster. This road near the sea was being battered by wind, making it hard to even hold up an umbrella.

The sound of the rain drowned everything out, and Wakamatsu felt afraid.

“You’re scared of accepting a life without your sister and moving forward, aren’t you?”

“…Shut up.”

“You can’t forgive yourself for moving forward, can you?”

They walked the same road as the day Mizuhara Shizuku had confessed.

And the same road where they had parted ways.

“Mizuhara Shizuku is a serious and kind person.”

“…Kind people don’t do things like this.”

Mizuhara kept walking, rejecting every word he spoke.

“Being with me… You started forgetting about your sister, didn’t you?”

“That’s why you came up with an excuse to leave me and return to your old life.”

“To the Mizuhara Shizuku who keeps waiting for her sister.”

The rain started pouring harder. Even speaking and hearing each other became difficult.

Wakamatsu gave up on his umbrella, closing it and stepping closer to Mizuhara.

Sensing his approach, she shut her umbrella and ran.

“Wait, Mizuhara! Are you that scared to talk to me?!”

“…Shut up!”

“Are you running because I hit the mark?!”

Wakamatsu clutched his closed umbrella in one hand and chased after her. He ran through puddles, splashing water everywhere, not caring how he looked.

“I’m not done talking, Mizuhara!”

“Be quiet! Why are you chasing me?!”

“Because I love you, Mizuhara!”

Mizuhara ran.

Ran from Wakamatsu’s words.

“I love you, Mizuhara!”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Her soaked clothes clung uncomfortably to her skin, heavy with rain.

But Wakamatsu didn’t stop chasing her.

He ran after the person he couldn’t bear to lose.

“Stop saying the same stupid thing over and over!”

“I’ll say it as many times as it takes! Until you understand!”

With no umbrella, soaking wet, he poured out his feelings like a fool.

These words were something Chisato Wakimura had taught him.

This feeling was something precious.

“It’s okay to slowly move on from your sister!”

“It’s okay if you start remembering her less!”

“You’ll never truly forget her!”

He reached out his hand.

Mizuhara Shizuku was just a few steps away.

“This is what it means to live!”

At last, he grabbed her arm.

Her skin felt cold. Was it the rain? Or something else?

Even in the middle of summer, the storm chilled their bodies.

“I can’t be Mizuhara Shizuku’s sister.”

“But I can stay by your side! At the very least, I can do that!”

“Why?!”

With a rain-soaked face, Wakamatsu shouted desperately.

Mizuhara struggled just as desperately to break free.

“Even my own family wouldn’t stay! So how can you say that?!”

“Because I love you!”

Wakamatsu refused to give up.

“This feeling is beautiful and strong! It’s real!”

“No matter what happens, I’ll stay by your side!”

“That’s not love.”

“It is love! I decided that myself, Mizuhara!”

Tears spilled from Wakamatsu’s eyes.

But they were lost in the rain.

The mix of cold rain and warm tears felt disgusting.

“You were my first confession. My first kiss.”

“You only think that because you don’t know any better, Wakamatsu.”

That wasn’t true.

Wakamatsu shouted.

“That’s impossible!”

“Why? How can you be so sure when it’s your first time?!”

“Because it’s my first time, I know it’s real!”

Rain poured over them.

Wakamatsu didn’t care how he looked anymore.

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before!”

He was running out of words.

Instead, he pulled her into an embrace.

Holding Mizuhara Shizuku tightly as she trembled.

“Maybe your world hasn’t changed. Maybe it’s still the same.”

“But something is changing, just by me being here.”

“So… Can I stay by your side?”

Wakamatsu wrapped his arms around her back.

She felt thinner than before.

“Maybe everything started with a lie.”

The downpour continued.

Their faces were drenched, unreadable.

“But what we built together wasn’t a lie.”

“Our relationship, my feelings… and yours too, Mizuhara.”

A sharp sting spread across Wakamatsu’s cheek.

It took him a few seconds to realize—Mizuhara Shizuku had slapped him.

The momentary shock gave her a chance to break free.

He thought she would walk away again.

But Mizuhara didn’t move.

She stood still, head lowered.

Then, she spoke.

“Please… wake up from this.”

His cheek throbbed.

Wakamatsu looked up at her.

She was crying too.

“I don’t love you, Wakamatsu.”

Wakamatsu reached out, pressing his hand to her chest—right where her heart was.

“Are you really going to erase me, Mizuhara?”

“…I’m not erasing you. You were never there to begin with.”

Mizuhara brushed his hand away.

“So forget me.”

“It’s not that easy, Mizuhara.”

“Time will make you forget. You said so yourself, didn’t you?”

Mizuhara gave a weak smile.

Seeing it crushed Wakamatsu’s heart.

She turned away and started walking.

Why wouldn’t his words reach her?

“I’ll always be waiting for you, Mizuhara Shizuku!”

“I’ll always wait for you!”

He shouted after her retreating figure.

The rain poured into his open mouth, blurring his vision.

Mizuhara Shizuku never looked back.

Wakamatsu Kaede kept shouting until she disappeared.

“I’ll always love you…”

Standing alone in the rain, drenched in water and tears,
He no longer cared about his soaked clothes.