Before My Memories With You Melt Away in Tears - Episode 14

“Well, it looks like you made up with your friend,”

After school, as the two walked toward the station, they continued talking about lunch break. Kyoya smiled, clearly relieved.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for causing any trouble,”

“You didn’t cause any trouble. Of course, I was worried, but I knew you’d be fine, Ayaka-chan.”

“I’d be fine?”

Ayaka didn’t expect him to say that, and she couldn’t help but ask again. She didn’t think Kyoya knew her well enough to say something like “Ayaka-chan will be fine.”

But Kyoya nodded, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Yeah. You’re kind, and you really pay attention to the people around you, but you also have a strong core. You might sometimes swallow your true feelings, but you never run away. That’s why I thought you’d be fine.”

“I’m not as good as you think, you know,”

“Is that so? I’d like to think I’m good at reading people,”

Kyoya said with a playful smile, and Ayaka couldn’t help but grin back.

When she was with him, she found herself smiling, naturally.

“Hey, do you want to stop by somewhere on the way? There’s something I’d like to pick up,”

“Oh, sure. Is it at Emerald Mall?”

Just as they were about to board the train, Kyoya mentioned it. There was a large shopping mall connected to a station three stops away from the direction they were going. It was easy to get to from their school, and Ayaka often went there with Fujino and Shuri when their schedules lined up.

“Yeah, that’s the one. I need to stop by a bookstore and a stationery shop,”

They turned toward a different platform, heading to a place Ayaka wasn’t used to. She felt a little nervous, and her expression and words became slightly stiffer.

“I see… I was actually thinking of stopping by a bookstore too.”

As she nodded with a faint smile, Kyoya turned to face her, staring into her eyes.

“Se-sempai?”

It was embarrassing to be stared at like that in silence. Ayaka tried to look away, but Kyoya’s face softened into a gentle smile.

“You look cuter when you make that face.”

“H-huh…”

With that kind smile, especially so close, Ayaka’s heart raced at an unbelievable speed. She let out a strange sound, and Kyoya laughed, unable to contain himself.

“Don’t laugh!”

“Sorry, sorry,”

At first, Ayaka puffed her cheeks in frustration, but before long, she found herself laughing along with him.

Kyoya had a way of turning Ayaka’s forced smile into a real one.

“Well, let’s go,”

“Yeah,”

They boarded the train that arrived just then and sat together, taking their time.

If she was with Kyoya, maybe she could spend every day like this, full of smiles. When she thought about it, a small beat in her chest began to echo.

In the bustling store, they looked at books side by side.

“What kind of books do you like to read, Ayaka-chan?”

Kyoya’s question made Ayaka hesitate for a moment. Normally, she would pick up a fashion magazine or a book about pets. After a brief pause, she picked up a coloring book that was nearby.

“Hmm…”

Kyoya said only that one word, and Ayaka immediately regretted her choice, her hand trembling slightly as she held the book.

Should she put it back and pretend it was a mistake? She still had time, and—

“A coloring book, huh? That’s nice.”

“Eh…?”

Kyoya took the book from Ayaka’s hand and began flipping through the pages. His face lit up with surprise and admiration as he looked at it.

“Really, Ayaka-chan?”

When Ayaka didn’t answer right away, Kyoya called out to her in confusion. Ayaka quickly waved her hand, dismissing it.

“No, no. I didn’t expect you to be interested in it.”

“Why not?”

“Well… I thought it might be a little childish. For a high schooler to like a coloring book, it might seem weird.”

As she said this, a sharp pain shot through her chest. It was sad to deny something she liked. Trying not to let that show, Ayaka forced another smile.

“Though I guess that would make me the strange one, huh?”

“That’s not strange at all.”

“Really…?”

Kyoya’s words were so sincere that Ayaka couldn’t bring herself to argue any further.

“Of course not. And if you’re going to smile, don’t use words that deny things. Fill that smile with things you love instead. I think that would be way more wonderful.”

“Fill it with things I love…”

Ayaka repeated his words quietly, and Kyoya nodded gently.

“For example, what do you like about coloring books, Ayaka-chan?”

“Well… there’s no right answer. You can color however you want. The pressure you put on the colored pencils, the way it changes, good or bad, is what I like.”

“Anything else?”

“When I color, I feel like I’m facing myself. I can see what colors I like and which ones I don’t. Like, when I color pink for flowers and blue for the sky, I realize how much I’m trapped in these fixed ideas.”

As Ayaka answered, she began to think about what it was that she truly liked about coloring books. Of course, she didn’t want to admit it to Kyoya, but more than anything, she realized that she loved “creating her own world.” The world she made with colorful pencils on a small piece of paper was unique to her—her own world.

And so…

“That’s why I like coloring books.”

Finally, she managed to express her feelings, and deep inside, she felt warmth. At the same time, though, she couldn’t help but feel nervous about how Kyoya would react. She thought he would be kind about it, but she couldn’t shake the slight fear that maybe he wouldn’t be.

“Um…”

But Ayaka quickly realized that her worries were unfounded. Kyoya, standing next to her, was looking at the coloring book with sparkling eyes as he listened to her.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Oh, no… did you like it?”

“Yeah, I like it. I might buy it, but I’m a little worried I won’t be able to finish it.”

He said with a frown, and Ayaka hesitated before speaking again.

“It’s the same as the one I have.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, so… if you buy it, I’d love to show it to you sometime…”

Ayaka gathered her courage and said it desperately. Was he going to understand? She looked down, unsure.

Then she heard a soft laugh above her.

“Of course, I’d love to. Let’s do it.”

When she looked up, Kyoya was smiling brightly, holding the coloring book in his hand.

“I’ll go buy it now,” he said, and walked toward the register. Ayaka let out a sigh and sat down on the nearby bench.

In front of her were the fashion magazines she occasionally bought. As she flipped through the pages, she came across the horoscope section.

Ayaka’s sign was Virgo. The prediction was—

“You might meet someone special.”

At that moment, Kyoya’s face appeared in her mind. She didn’t immediately dismiss the idea, because, deep down, she thought maybe that was true.

With one month left in this trial period, Ayaka still didn’t know where her feelings were headed.