A Pretty Girl Has Her First Kiss Stolen By an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 4.18

Friday, November 12

“Can I take back the matching rings?”

That’s what Kaede Wakamatsu suddenly said at the café near the station.

Shizuku Mizuhara, who was sipping her matcha latte, stopped in surprise. Her heart sank, thinking it might be a breakup.

“Wait, why?”

“Um… It’s a secret!”

Seeing her classmate blush and look away, Shizuku realized it wasn’t a breakup. Feeling relieved, she took another sip of her matcha latte.

“You want to go on a date during break time, right?”

“Well, yeah…”

She checked the schedule for the two-day culture festival.

Shizuku didn’t have much to do besides her committee duties, but Kaede’s schedule was packed. The Miss Contest had time slots over both days. Knowing her, she would probably make it past the preliminaries and into the finals.

“As you can see, you’re hardly free, Wakamatsu.”

“Seriously? What about after the contest?”

“Well, that part is open.”

Kaede took a big bite of her burger.

Shizuku wiped some teriyaki sauce from the corner of her mouth with her finger. Kaede smiled happily. Lately, just a small touch from Shizuku made Kaede so happy.

Monday, November 14

After a meeting with the culture festival committee, Shizuku was walking in the hallway when she saw a familiar figure ahead. He noticed her too and waved kindly.

“How have you been, Mizuhara?”

It was her former homeroom teacher, Mr. Koichi Yamabe. He smiled gently as always, his voice calm and warm.

“I’ve been… doing okay.”

“That’s good to hear. Are things going well with Wakamatsu?”

“…Yes.”

She wondered how much he knew about what happened with Kaede. His warm, gentle smile didn’t give anything away.

“If you have time, would you like to talk with me?”

His eyes turned serious, and Shizuku nodded.

As usual, he guided her to the counseling room and they sat across from each other. The room was cooler than a classroom, with a slight chill in the air.

“Can I ask how you’ve been lately?”

“How I’ve been…?”

“Would it be okay if I bring up what used to hurt you?”

He was asking if it was okay to talk about her sister.

Since the school trip, she hadn’t talked about it much, but she didn’t feel as strongly against the topic anymore. So she agreed.

“Have you heard anything from your sister?”

“No… nothing yet.”

Mr. Yamabe looked down, thinking carefully about what to say next.

“Well, even so… I think I’m okay about my sister now.”

He looked up when she said that. She was tired of seeing his messy, bedhead hair from that angle.

“I have friends I can talk to now.”

“You mean Wakamatsu?”

“Kaede, yes. And also Masuda and Ariyoshi.”

Masuda and Ariyoshi had been in her class since first year, so she mentioned them too. Mr. Yamabe smiled, his eyes crinkling warmly.

“That’s really good to hear. I’m glad you have a safe place now.”

“It’s probably… thanks to you.”

He was the one who had sent Kaede to her apartment. There was no denying that.

“I didn’t do anything. You two found that answer yourselves.”

“An answer, huh…”

“Being with someone you can trust—that’s one way to overcome sadness.”

Mr. Yamabe gave a big, cheerful smile.

“When it hurts, say it hurts. When you’re sad, say you’re sad.”

“Share the fun, the happy, and even the silly things.”

“Find someone who will stay by your side.”

It sounded a lot like something Ariyoshi had said before. Maybe she, too, had struggled with something and found her answer the same way.

“Find someone to take your sister’s place.”

“Become the special one for someone special.”

Shizuku realized once again how wrong her past choices had been. She felt guilty toward Kaede again—but quickly pushed that feeling away.

“I think the hard days won’t end until my sister comes back, or until I at least know where she is.”

Where was her sister now? What was she doing?

Until her sister made some move, this “unusual time” in her life probably wouldn’t end.

That’s what Shizuku quietly felt deep down.

“From now on, talk to someone you trust, okay?”

“Yes, I will.”

“And of course, you can always talk to me too.”

He playfully tilted his head and pointed to himself.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

Shizuku reached for the heavy door.

In the past year, she had never walked out of the counseling room feeling this clear-headed.