A Story About a Handsome Girl Having Her First Kiss Stolen by an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 5

December 17th (Friday)

“Wakamatsu, can I talk to you for a second?”

After finishing the test, I was getting ready to go home when my homeroom teacher called me over.

When I went to the desk, wondering if it was class representative work, Mr. Yamabe was vague and said, “Not here.” Realizing that it was about Mizuhara Shizuku, I moved away with the teacher.

Come to think of it, Mizuhara should also be at school today to take a test.

I wonder what it was like and how it felt to be back at school after so long.

I unconsciously think of Mizuhara.

What was Professor Yamabe’s request? Did Shizuku Mizuhara tell him, “Please stop sending Wakamatsu-san over”?

Mr. Yamabe opened the door to the student guidance room next to the staff room and invited Wakamatsu in. There was a small private room with a desk, chair, and a small heater. Wakamatsu sat in the chair he was invited to, and Yamabe sat opposite him.

“Can you continue going to Mizuhara next week?”

“Well…I’m fine with it, but Mizuhara might not like it.”

“Yeah, I’ll take responsibility and look after you guys.”

Professor Yamabe asserts this. Even so, Wakamatsu doesn’t think their relationship is going well. He takes this opportunity to ask a question that has been bothering him for a long time.

“Why did you entrust Mizuhara to me, Sensei?”

Although Mizuhara Shizuku was a classmate, they had never had a friendly and fun conversation in the classroom and had almost no contact. The best people to ask for this favor would have been Komazawa-san or Yamaguchi-san, who were good friends with her.

“That’s because I think Wakamatsu is the right person for the job.”

“I always end up making Mizuhara angry…”

“Yeah, I heard about that. Mizuhara looked apologetic.”

Wakamatsu frowned at those words. He couldn’t imagine Mizuhara Shizuku looking so apologetic. Perhaps finding Wakamatsu’s face funny, Yamabe sensei laughed out loud.

“Wakamatsu is optimistic and doesn’t think about other people, does he?”

“Huh?” I asked. Was I just being insulted?

“That’s what’s good about you now,” he added. I didn’t understand what the teacher meant, but I didn’t interpret it as an insult.

Professor Yamabe turned on a small heater at our feet and pointed it towards us.

“There was a time when I thought about going into psychology,” he begins.

Wakamatsu thought that Professor Yamabe would be a good fit because he had a boyish face and looked kind, and he spoke calmly and easily.

“Listening is love.”

“Um, um,” Professor Yamabe said, chewing over his own words.

“Oh, what about that?”

“The act of listening is itself an affirmation of the other person.”

“Haa,” came a listless response.

“The attitude of listening is more important than words of love.”

“Oh really?”

“To love someone is to listen to them, and to be loved by someone is to have them listen to you.”

Is this an admonition to Wakamatsu to “listen to Mizuhara’s story?”

“There’s no need for things like ‘this is the best way to do it’ or ‘this is desirable.'”

“So what should we do?”

“You don’t have to do anything.”

It’s as if they are receiving one-on-one moral education lessons.

It took me some time to digest what Yamabe sensei said, but he got up and said, “Maybe it’s time to go.” The sensei told me to “listen attentively,” but Mizuhara himself wouldn’t even open his mouth. I was at a loss as to what to do.

“Mizuhara says there’s no way to know.”

Stepping out into the hallway, Wakamatsu muttered bluntly.

He wants to find out how Mizuhara feels, he wants to understand her. Mizuhara Shizuku finds Wakamatsu annoying and rejects him.

“It’s okay if you don’t understand.”

Professor Yamabe’s eyes wrinkled as he smiled. Though he spoke in a gentle tone, his words were clear and persuasive, as if to say, “That’s the right answer.”

Isn’t the only solution to this problem simply to understand the other person?

With Yamabe’s words rumbling in his head, Wakamatsu set off on his journey home.