Before My Memories With You Melt Away in Tears - Episode 28

Ayaka wasn’t sure how much of Kyoya’s story she could believe. It seemed impossible that Kyoya would lie about something like this. But the idea of losing all her memories was so absurd that it was hard to just accept it as the truth.

Noticing the uncertainty on her face, Kyoya gave a small, troubled smile.

“I know… You probably can’t believe it, right?”

“Uh… well…”

“I wouldn’t believe it either if I were in your shoes, so it’s okay.”

“That’s not it!”

It was hard to believe, for sure. But still…

“I don’t think Kyoya-senpai would lie about something like this.”

“Ayaka-chan…”

“That’s why… I can’t say I fully believe it, but I do want to.”

Kyoya looked surprised at Ayaka’s words, then smiled, as if relieved.

“Thank you.”

He smiled at her, a little more at ease.

“I knew about you… even before I confessed to you.”

Ayaka’s eyes widened in shock at his words.

“You knew? But I’m not exactly the type to stand out.”

Ayaka wasn’t trying to brag, but she knew her appearance was average, and her personality wasn’t anything special. She wasn’t exceptionally bright, nor did she have a lot of friends. In class, she always found herself in the quieter group.

So it was hard to believe that someone like Kyoya, who was popular at school, would even know who she was.

“The first time I saw you… hmm, when was it? Oh, right. You were putting away cleaning supplies and you slipped in the hallway.”

“Wait, was that when I had just started school?”

“Yeah, yeah. It was right after the rain, and the hallway was all wet. You were holding a mop when you slipped. Do you remember?”

“…I remember. I was so embarrassed.”

It had been just before the end of April, only a month into high school, when there was a heavy rain in the morning. After the sixth period ended, Ayaka was in a hurry to finish cleaning and go home since a new novel she had been following was released that day.

Her mother had always told her to be cautious when she was in a rush, but Ayaka had completely forgotten about that advice in the moment.

Before she realized it, she had slipped, crashing down onto her backside in the hallway.

“Ah, so you saw that?” she asked, a bit embarrassed.

“Yeah. I was on my way to the staff room, and I happened to be going down the stairs when it happened. I saw everything.”

“Ugh, so embarrassing… but I didn’t get hurt! I just sat down. If I had fallen forward, I would have hit the mop handle and probably hurt myself.”

She tried to explain, but the more she spoke, the more Kyoya chuckled under his breath.

“You said the same thing back then.”

“Huh?”

“When I asked if you were okay, you said, ‘I’m fine! It’s just my butt!’ I remember thinking, ‘Is that really the issue?’ But then you just stood up and started walking off like nothing happened. Your back looked like a penguin waddling, as if you were trying to protect your rear.”

He laughed, remembering the moment. Ayaka felt a little embarrassed by the way he was laughing so much.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing when you were in pain,” Kyoya said, trying to apologize, but his grin was still there.

“After that, I kept seeing you around. Looking back, I think I was subconsciously looking for you.”

“My… me?”

“Yeah. I wanted to see you again. I wanted to see you smile. But more than that, when I saw you always being considerate to others, even when you were smiling out of obligation or taking on things that others didn’t want to do, I thought you were such a good person. But at the same time, it made my chest ache.”

He took a sip from his can of coffee before continuing.

“Every time I saw you smile for others, I got upset. I hated seeing people take advantage of your kindness and hurt you.”

“Senpai…”

Ayaka had always hated her own smile, the forced, polite one she used to cover up her feelings. She hated that she could never express her true emotions, so she kept everything inside. She thought that if she just kept quiet, there would be no conflicts with anyone. But at the same time, she hated not being able to speak up when it mattered.

She never imagined that someone like Kyoya, who seemed so perfect, would ever care about her feelings.

“Kyoya-senpai, you’re such a kind person.”

“I’m not kind at all. I’m not kind in the slightest. If anything, I think I’m one of the coldest people you could ever meet.”

“That’s not true! Kyoya-senpai is someone who can put others before himself. You’re kind.”

“You think I’m kind? Me, who has forgotten the sadness of my girlfriends, hurt them, and made them cry? That’s not kindness!”

Kyoya raised his voice, a side of him Ayaka had never seen before. She had always known him to be kind, caring, and thoughtful.

But now she understood. Deep down, Kyoya had his own struggles—things he kept buried inside.

“You are kind, Kyoya-senpai. You care about others, and that’s why you don’t want to make them cry, because you don’t want to lose the memories with those important to you.”

“What… do you mean?”

“You’ve always been kind to me, so I wouldn’t be sad. You didn’t want to make me cry, to forget our memories together. Maybe that’s why you even started going out with me, right? You thought if I stayed happy, I wouldn’t lose those memories of you.”

“That’s… true, I guess.”

Kyoya stared at her, blinking in surprise, then gave her a soft, calm smile.

“I give up. I lost this one.”

He placed his can of coffee on the bench and turned to face Ayaka.

“There might be times in the future when I lose my memories again—small things, important promises, or even things that hurt you. I might hurt you because of it.”

“I understand. But even so…”

“Wait.”

Before Ayaka could continue, Kyoya placed his finger on her lips, gently shaking his head.

“I need to say this. Even though I know I’ll cause you pain, I still want to be by your side.”

Kyoya wrapped his arms around Ayaka, holding her close.

“Let me stay by your side.”

Ayaka’s tears streamed down her face, and when Kyoya noticed her shaking, he pulled back in surprise.

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

He was panicking, confused as to why she was crying, and Ayaka couldn’t help but think how cute he looked, fumbling over his words.

“Kyoya-senpai.”

Through her tears, she managed to smile at him.

“I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m crying because I’m happy.”

“Really? People cry when they’re happy too, huh?”

“Yes!”

Kyoya smiled at her, and Ayaka, overcome with emotion, hugged him tightly.

There might be tough times ahead, and there will surely be moments of sadness.

But even then, she wanted to stay with him.

During both the happy times and the sad times, she wanted to share those feelings with him.

Because if they shared them, the sadness would be halved, and the joy would be doubled.