Before My Memories With You Melt Away in Tears - Episode 49

It was a few minutes later when the tears finally stopped. Kyoya sat beside Ayaka, gently rubbing her back until she calmed down.

“I’m okay now.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Sorry for surprising you.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. I’m sorry for making you cry.”

Even though he said that, Kyoya’s voice still sounded somewhat happy.

“Um…?”

“Ah, sorry. I’m just happy that you’ve finally spoken your true feelings.”

It wasn’t that Ayaka hadn’t been speaking honestly until now. She had never forced a fake smile or said anything she didn’t mean around Kyoya.

But Ayaka realized that wasn’t really what Kyoya meant. She had been struggling with what to do, holding it all inside. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to him about it, yet she couldn’t find an answer on her own either.

Many times in her head, Ayaka had thought that she should distance herself from Kyoya, and when she remembered the things she had done to him, the other part of herself kept telling her that being with him was wrong.

But her feelings for Kyoya, her desire to be close to him, gave her an answer she couldn’t accept. She kept screaming that she didn’t want to leave him, that she wanted to be with him more.

She had decided to break up, to separate, but each time she had almost made that decision, she ended up changing her mind. A little more time, just a bit longer—each time she stretched it out, her feelings for Kyoya grew, and she found herself unable to pull away.

For the first time, she realized how uncontrollable her emotions were. She hadn’t truly understood what it meant to love someone, not until now.

That’s how deeply she had fallen for Kyoya, and how many emotions she had come to understand.

“Is it okay for me to keep liking you, Kyoya-kun?”

The words escaped Ayaka’s lips, and Kyoya looked straight into her eyes, nodding.

“Of course it’s okay. No one has the right to judge how someone else feels. Your feelings for someone are yours and yours alone.”

“My feelings for someone…?”

Kyoya’s words settled in Ayaka’s heart like a stone dropped in a lake, creating ripples that gradually grew bigger.

“So, if you like me, Ayaka, I’d be happy if you don’t let those feelings go.”

“…Okay.”

—Ayaka would never forget the words Kyoya had said to her.

As she nodded quietly, she felt the weight of his words deep inside her heart. For Ayaka, who had always centered her feelings around someone else, Kyoya’s words telling her that it was okay to value her own feelings pierced her deeply.

When times got tough, she promised herself she would remember those words. She felt like, with that, she could overcome anything.

Two hours later, a knock echoed from the door. Ayaka looked up from the notebook she had been working on, and her mother appeared in the doorway.

“Sorry to interrupt while you’re concentrating. I need to leave soon, Ayaka.”

Her mother looked back and forth between Ayaka and Kyoya. Ayaka suddenly remembered that her mom had said she had to leave. Glancing at the clock, Ayaka nodded at her mother.

“Oh, okay. Have a good—”

“Ah, in that case, I’ll head home now.”

Kyoya’s words overlapped with Ayaka’s, and she quickly tried to stop him.

“W-Wait, it’s still okay, right?”

As Kyoya started gathering his things, Ayaka hurriedly pulled him back, but Kyoya just shook his head calmly.

“If your mom’s leaving, then it’ll just be the two of us, right? We shouldn’t do anything that might worry her.”

“Worry? I… I’m not going to do anything like that.”

“I think she might worry.”

When Ayaka glanced at her mom, she saw a slightly troubled, but also somewhat relieved, expression on her face. That look made Ayaka feel embarrassed and irritated.

She wasn’t planning to do anything that would make her mom worry, and the very thought that Kyoya might think that was rude.

“Ugh, you’re the worst.”

Ayaka almost blurted it out, but her mother’s voice stopped her.

“Sorry about that.”

Her mother apologized to Kyoya, looking a bit guilty.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Kyoya-kun. You’re polite, and you’ve been considerate of Ayaka both yesterday and today. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. But…”

Her mother paused, and Ayaka felt her discomfort rise.

“I know I might sound overprotective, but Ayaka is my precious daughter.”

“But…”

Before Ayaka could snap back, her mom turned her gaze to her, and Ayaka felt a strange sense of discomfort from the directness of the look.

When Ayaka went silent, her mom returned her gaze to Kyoya.

“I want to avoid Ayaka getting hurt, and I don’t want anyone to find out that she was alone with a guy at the house. I don’t want her to be talked about in a weird way. Do you understand?”

“I understand. I won’t do anything to hurt Ayaka.”

After hearing this, Ayaka knew she couldn’t argue anymore. Both of them cared about her more than she had realized.

“…Alright. But it’s fine if I walk you to the door, right?”

“No, you’re not going anywhere. You had a fever yesterday, so you need to rest today.”

“But…”

“I’ll be waiting at the usual place tomorrow morning. Okay?”

“…Yeah.”

Ayaka couldn’t help but feel like she wanted more—more time, more moments like this. But hearing Kyoya speak so calmly made her feel like a child, unable to sulk.

“Alright, I’ll head home now.”

“Take care on your way home. Thank you for today.”

Her mother went downstairs first, and once they were alone in the room again, Ayaka thanked Kyoya, hiding the loneliness she felt.

Kyoya smiled gently at her.

“I wanted to be with you more too, you know.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t think you’re the only one who feels lonely. Understood?”

Ayaka nodded enthusiastically, and Kyoya softly whispered, “Good girl,” before his lips gently brushed against hers.

“…!”

“See you tomorrow.”

He waved lightly and left the room.

Sitting on the bed, Ayaka touched her lips with trembling fingers.

Her cheeks and lips felt so hot that she wondered if she had a fever again.