Before My Memories With You Melt Away in Tears - Episode 12

“Oh no.” By the time she thought that, it was already too late.

“Look, you’re smiling again. Hey, why are you laughing? Do you think if you laugh, you can just brush everything off and pretend it never happened?”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Then what are you thinking right now? Sometimes, I just can’t understand what’s going on in your head, Ayaka.”

Ayaka knew she should deny it, but she couldn’t find the words in the face of Fujino’s piercing gaze, as if she could see straight through her shallow heart. The truth was, Ayaka was indeed putting on a forced smile to hide everything, but she couldn’t admit it.

In an attempt to break the tension, Shuri stepped in. “Hey, Fujino, you’re being too harsh.”

“But!”

“No buts. What do you think you’re doing, cornering Ayaka like that?”

Ayaka could see Fujino glance at her out of the corner of her eye.

“Ugh… Fine,” Fujino said, sounding bothered.

After apologizing again, Ayaka heard Fujino mutter, “It’s fine,” but the tone in her voice was anything but reassuring. It wasn’t the usual “I don’t mind” tone; it was more like “I couldn’t care less.” Ayaka could tell, but she chose to pretend not to notice. What else could she do?

Lunch break arrived, but it was tense. On the surface, Shuri was doing her best to mediate, but Ayaka could feel the uncomfortable, prickling air around them. No matter how hard she tried to smile, Fujino’s mood only seemed to worsen. Ayaka didn’t know what to do anymore. In the end, she escaped without talking to Fujino and left the classroom in a rush.

The thought of returning to class after lunch made her feel heavy.

“You’re not looking so good today. Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, I-I’m sorry!” Ayaka snapped out of her daze when she heard Kyoya’s voice. After escaping the classroom, she had met up with him and was now having lunch in the courtyard.

Kyoya looked at her with concern, and Ayaka quickly forced a smile.

“I was just spacing out.”

“Did something happen?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

“Are you sure?”

Kyoya tilted his head and looked her straight in the eye. Ayaka felt herself instinctively look away. But if she looked away now, it would seem suspicious. She felt flustered, not knowing how to respond. Kyoya smiled gently and repeated his question.

“Something must have happened, right?”

“…”

He wasn’t being forceful, but there was clear concern in his words. Ayaka felt a tightness in her chest.

“I…”

Her mouth opened without thinking, and the words came out before she could stop them. She forced a smile, but she wasn’t confident it looked genuine.

“I made my friend angry.”

Kyoya nodded quietly, waiting for her to continue.

“It’s my fault, really. But… I don’t know what to do.”

“Do you know why your friend is upset?”

“Yes… It’s because I ran away from being honest with her. I tried to cover it up with a smile…”

She had tried to mask her feelings, avoiding the real issue. That was why Fujino was angry. Ayaka felt she deserved it.

But Kyoya’s response was different from what she had expected.

“I see… So maybe she’s not angry, but she’s sad.”

“Sad…? But Fujino was definitely angry…”

Kyoya smiled faintly, as though he understood.

“You know, when you just hear the words, it might sound like she’s angry. But what’s hidden beneath those words is probably something else.”

“Something hidden beneath?”

Ayaka looked at him, confused, but Kyoya didn’t look at her with any judgment. He just continued speaking.

“Fujino was upset because you didn’t tell her the truth, right?”

“Yes… I think so.”

“And that means what upset her wasn’t that you tried to cover it up, but that you didn’t open up to her. That’s probably what made her sad.”

“Wait…”

Ayaka blinked, surprised by his words. He was saying that her not being honest had hurt Fujino?

“Couldn’t it be… that she was angry?”

“Can you really say that?”

“Well, if you were in her shoes, what would you feel if you saw your friend trying to hide their feelings and saying ‘I’m fine’ when they weren’t?”

Aya’s thoughts went to when she had done the same, forcing herself to smile even when she wasn’t okay. What if she had hidden her true feelings from Shuri or Fujino?

“I wouldn’t like it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’d think they didn’t trust me enough to be honest.”

Ayaka suddenly stopped, realizing what she had just said.

Kyoya nodded gently, like he understood exactly how she felt.

“Yeah, I get it. That’s how you’d feel. But just because you did that, doesn’t mean I’m blaming you, Ayaka. I think you were just trying to protect your friend in your own way.”

“Senpai…”

“I think Fujino understands that too, probably even more than I do. But she might have felt lonely because of it.”

Now, Ayaka began to understand what Kyoya meant. Back then, she thought Fujino was angry, but she was wrong. Fujino had probably been hurt. Ayaka had caused that pain by hiding her true feelings.

“I have to apologize.”

“It seems like you’re not the only one who thinks that,” Kyoya said softly.

“Huh?”

Ayaka followed Kyoya’s gaze and saw—hidden behind Shuri—Fujino standing there.