Before My Memories With You Melt Away in Tears - Episode 21

The words the older girls said kept spinning in my head. I knew I couldn’t just sit here forever, but my body refused to move.

I really wanted to know the truth about why Kyoya had asked me to be his girlfriend. But, if what they said was true, that he was only keeping me around because I made him laugh, I knew I wouldn’t be able to recover from that.

As I was lost in thought, I heard a rustling sound behind me.

“Eh…”

I turned around in response to the noise, and there stood one of the older girls who had left earlier. Was she coming back to say something? I didn’t have the energy to hear anything more from her, but I couldn’t run away either.

She silently walked up to me and extended her hand.

“What…?”

“Can you stand?”

I hesitated, unsure of what to do, but seeing that there was no malice in her expression, unlike before, I took her hand without much thought.

She pulled me up and guided me to a nearby bench. I still had no idea what this girl’s intentions were. But…

“Thank you… for helping me up.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, for getting me on my feet.”

For a moment, she looked at me blankly, then let out a soft laugh.

“You’re strange!”

“Huh?”

“Well, it was us who made you sit down in the first place, right?”

“Ah, you’re right.”

It was true, but still, it felt weird not to thank her. Despite the awkwardness, I ended up giving her a polite smile. It was strange how easily a smile like that appeared when I was with someone I didn’t know, even though I’d gotten better at not doing it when I was with Kyoya.

But the older girl sitting next to me didn’t seem to notice my forced smile. She lowered her head and started talking.

“I’m sorry about earlier. The others, like Kanna, were…”

“Kanna?”

“Yeah, the girl who was saying all that stuff to you. Oh, wait. I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Fujina, a second-year. Kanna and another girl are in the same class as Kyoya-kun.”

“Ah, I’m Okamachi.”

It felt a bit strange to reintroduce myself, but I followed Fujina’s lead and introduced myself while bowing my head. Fujina, who was in Kyoya’s class, gave me an awkward smile.

“I know who you are, Okamachi-chan. Kanna talks about you a lot.”

“Uh… about Kanna-senpai…”

“Kanna used to date Kyoya-kun before you.”

I’d guessed as much after seeing how furious Kanna had been. She seemed strong-willed, but she was also beautiful—if a guy was told she liked him, I could see them having a hard time turning her down.

But hearing that she was Kyoya’s ex…

“We got along pretty well, but one day, out of the blue, he dumped her,” Fujina continued.

“Eh…”

“Not exactly dumped her… more like, ‘Eh? We were dating?’ He pretty much pretended it never happened. It was right before their one-month anniversary.”

“That’s… awful…”

If I had been in Kanna’s shoes, I’d be devastated. Just hearing about it made my chest tighten with the weight of her pain, even though it wasn’t happening to me.

“So, Kanna-senpai…”

“Well, obviously, she couldn’t just move on. She didn’t know what went wrong, or why he erased their relationship so suddenly.”

“That’s… understandable…”

“Yeah, but still, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to take it out on you. I’m sorry that we couldn’t stop her.”

I could only shake my head as Fujina apologized.

After a few moments of silence, I couldn’t hold it in any longer and finally asked the question that had been on my mind.

“Earlier, Kanna-senpai said that Kyoya-senpai asked me out just because I made him laugh. What did she mean by that?”

I knew asking this might be inappropriate, but I couldn’t stop myself. I just had to know.

“Ah… Sorry, I don’t know all the details either. Kanna wouldn’t really talk about it.”

“I see.”

“But I’ve heard that when the girl he was dating was crying, he was really cold to her. He didn’t comfort her or anything.”

“Really…?”

That didn’t match the Kyoya I knew at all. The Kyoya I knew would always comfort the person he was dating, stay by their side, and pat their back until they stopped crying. Was this really about him?

“You can’t believe it, can you?”

Fujina’s words, almost like she was reading my mind, caught me off guard. But I nodded softly in agreement.

“I get it. When I first heard about it, I was like, ‘Who are you talking about?’”

“So it really is about Kyoya-senpai?” I asked, still struggling to believe it.

The feelings of disbelief and the desire not to believe what I was hearing were clashing inside me. But Fujina didn’t seem to be lying, and I started to feel the weight of disbelief growing in me, little by little.

“Yeah, it’s true. And Okamachi-chan, I’m not saying this to be mean. I’m telling you because I’ve realized you’re a good person from talking to you like this.”

Fujina looked at me seriously. Her gaze was filled with concern, as though she was trying to protect me.

“If you keep dating Kyoya-kun, you’re going to get hurt.”

Fujina’s words, filled with concern for me, hit me hard. I couldn’t respond.