A Story About a Handsome Girl Having Her First Kiss Stolen by an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 7

January 7 (Friday)

“Wakamatsu, can I ask you again today?”

I was stopped in the middle of packing.

“Well, that’s fine by me.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll just go get some printouts.”

I wait for the teacher in the hallway in front of the staff room.

Unlike the staff room, the hallway is cold, and my toes are cold. This coldness reminds me of the entrance to Shizuku Mizuhara’s house.

Last year on Christmas Eve, I still couldn’t understand Shizuku Mizuhara.

Wakamatsu himself can’t decide whether it is okay to go and see her in this condition.

“What about Mizuhara?”

That’s the question Professor Yamabe asked me.

After a moment of hesitation, Wakamatsu began to talk bit by bit about what had happened the previous week. Professor Yamabe responded with lots of empathetic responses, such as “Uh huh,” “That’s right,” and “That’s true,” and continued to listen to Wakamatsu’s story.

He didn’t offer any specific solutions, but as I was talking to him, I felt my heart lighten. I’ve never received counseling, but I’m sure this is what it feels like. “Listening is love,” the teacher said. After listening to Wakamatsu’s story, the teacher walked him to the front entrance.

“You asked me the other day why Wakamatsu asked you about Mizuhara, right?”

Yamabe stopped at the entrance and looked Wakamatsu in the eyes. His gaze was unusually passionate, and he tensed up, knowing he had to listen carefully to what he was about to say next.

“It’s because Wakamatsu is a person who is filled with love.”

Am I a person full of love?

Although I wanted to deny that this was the case, Professor Yamabe’s words were definitive and strangely persuasive.

Go outside and let the cold winter air fill your lungs.

I thought again about Mizuhara Shizuku and what “love” Professor Yamabe meant by it.

When I think about it, Professor Yamabe presented many answers.

He describes Wakamatsu as a “man full of love,” and his definition of “love” must have been “listening attentively.” In short, he must have wanted Wakamatsu to “listen attentively.”

So what should we do? The answer comes directly from his mouth.

“You don’t have to understand,” “You don’t have to do anything.” Just listen to what Shizuku Mizuhara has to say. That was all it took.

So, what is Mizuhara Shizuku looking for? Wakamatsu Kaede ponders.

There is very little information to make a judgment on this matter. She rejects any inquiries into the reasons for her absence from school or her current situation, and avoids interactions with friends with whom she was supposed to be close.

However, he doesn’t seem to want to completely cut off contact with people, and if it’s just a casual conversation, he’ll stay with you until the end. He knew he’d stepped on a landmine, but Mizuhara certainly didn’t dislike Wakamatsu coming here.

Professor Yamabe, who predicted that Wakamatsu and Mizuhara would get along well, described Wakamatsu as “optimistic” and “not thinking about others.” How can these traits be utilized?

I popped my head in through the central exit of the station and crossed the street to the other side of the convenience store. I walked with familiar steps to Mizuhara’s apartment, where I found Mizuhara Shizuku standing at the entrance.

Confused, Wakamatsu ran over to him.

“Mizuhara!”

“Oh, it’s Wakamatsu-san. I thought you hadn’t come yet.”

“Here I come, did you hate it?”

Wakamatsu laughed, breathing out a white cloud of breath.

Feeling relieved when Mizuhara replies, “I don’t mind,” I hand her the printout.

After a moment of silence, Wakamatsu spoke: This is the only thing I came to ask today.

“Mizuhara, are you tired of being with me?”

Afraid to look at Mizuhara’s condition, Wakamatsu looks at his feet instead.

“…It was practically the first time I’d ever spoken to Wakamatsu-san.”

“Yeah”

“I’ve been coldly speaking to you from the beginning, haven’t I?”

“Yes, he was cold.” Wakamatsu was not sure how to respond, so he went quiet. Mizuhara Shizuku seemed to take his silence as an affirmation and continued speaking.

“I was not dressed very well, but I was glad that Wakamatsu-san came without any worries.”

“going out…”

“At school, I was more talkative, more in the company of others, and seemed more energetic.”

“Yes,” I replied.

Wakamatsu remembers Mizuhara Shizuku in the classroom.

Certainly, Mizuhara was always with someone at school, walking down the hallway,y playing with her friends. I never saw her look worried, and I always thought of her as a smiling, cheerful person. Was that the “outgoing appearance” she spoke of?

“I truly believe that Wakamatsu-san and I are different.”

“…That’s true.”

“But ever since Wakamatsu-san started coming…”

Mizuhara Shizuku’s voice tone rose. Sensing the change, Wakamatsu raised his head.

“Every Friday doesn’t have to be boring.”

Mizuhara Shizuku chuckled. Mizuhara’s cheeks were flushed from the cold. With her eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth turned up, she looked incredibly cute to Wakamatsu.

“…Then I guess that’s okay,” Wakamatsu muttered to himself, taking Mizuhara’s silence as an affirmation.

What Mizuhara Shizuku wants from Wakamatsu is not solutions or common sense.

He was someone who Mizuhara could be by her side without having to put on an extroverted appearance, someone who quietly accepted the changes in her and treated her the same.

It can’t be Komazawa-san or Yamaguchi-san. If they’re existing friends, Mizuhara Shizuku will feel uncomfortable.

Indeed, Wakamatsu is “optimistic” and rarely gets depressed even when people say something to him. He recovers his mood within a day and generally does not fall into negative thinking.

In addition, due to his “not thinking about others” personality, although he may have doubts, he does not pursue other people too deeply.

The reason why Professor Yamabe entrusted Mizuhara to him and the attitude he should have when dealing with Mizuhara.

Both sides came to their entirely convincing conclusions.

“See you next week!”

With those words, she and Mizuhara parted ways. On her way home, Wakamatsu Hanae’s mind felt refreshed and clear.