Before My Memories With You Melt Away in Tears - Episode 7

The moment the voice was heard, the classroom was filled with murmurs and whispers. This was the same for Shuri and Fujino, who had just been angry with Ayaka moments before.

“W-why is Ikeda-senpai here…?!”

“Wait, is he here to see Ayaka? He came all the way during such a short break?!”

They kept slapping Ayaka’s back, repeating “Why?!” But even Ayaka didn’t know the answer. She’d been told they were going to have lunch together, so she’d planned to leave the classroom before her senpai arrived. But she never expected him to show up during the first break.

“H-hurry up, Ayaka! Go!”

“Yeah, you can’t keep senpai waiting!”

“Eh, uh, wait a second…”

Under the pressure of their persistent shoves, Ayaka ended up heading towards Kyoya, who was standing at the classroom entrance.

“Sorry for coming out of the blue,” Kyoya said with a smile.

Ayaka hesitated and cautiously asked, “Um… isn’t lunchtime still a while away…?”

At her words, Kyoya —

“Pfft, haha… Ahahahaha!”

He laughed so hard that he was holding his stomach.

“Eh, uh, um…?” Ayaka stammered, unsure of what was going on.

“Oh, sorry. I couldn’t help it… Heh. Ayaka-chan, you’re so funny.”

“Funny…?”

Ayaka reacted a bit too strongly to those words. Whenever her friends said “Ayaka’s funny,” it was always meant to put her down and make fun of her.

Was Kyoya the same?

“Yeah, you’re funny. Actually, you’re like a healing type? Being with you makes me smile too.”

“Smile…?”

It was clear from Kyoya’s expression that he wasn’t mocking her. Yet, Ayaka still felt embarrassed for thinking he might have been. It was the first time anyone had said that being with her made them smile.

She always felt her smile was fake, not real. Compared to a genuine smile, hers felt ugly and not good at all. What really shone were smiles like Kyoya’s—kind and always sincere. Despite knowing this, his words made Ayaka’s heart feel warm.

“Ayaka-chan?”

“Nothing, really. I just… I’m really happy you said that. That you can smile when you’re with me. I’ve never been told something like that before.”

“Ohh… well, that…”

When Ayaka spoke with such genuine joy, Kyoya hid his mouth with his hand. Was something wrong?

“Kyoya-senpai…? Did I say something strange…?”

“Ah, no, that’s not it… I was wondering, is that just your natural personality…?”

“Eh…?”

Ayaka had no idea what he meant. She felt flustered and didn’t know what to do. Kyoya smiled gently at her reaction.

“It’s nothing. But you really shouldn’t say stuff like that to other guys, okay? They might misunderstand.”

“Other guys? I’d never say something like that to them. I only say it to you, Kyoya-senpai.”

Ayaka didn’t feel anything when she saw the smiles of other guys. She disliked how they would shout loudly or mess around by hitting each other. She wished all guys could be as calm and kind as Kyoya .

So—

“Wait, Kyoya-senpai…? Your face is all red?! Are you feeling hot? You should go to the nurse’s office…”

“Tch, this girl…”

As Ayaka worried, Kyoya gently patted her head a few times.

“I’m fine. No fever. Oh, and the bell’s about to ring. You should head back to class.”

“Eh, but… didn’t you come for something…?”

Ayaka quickly asked as Kyoya tried to send her back to class. She still had no idea why he had come in the first place.

“I just came to check on you, Ayaka-chan.”

“Check on me?”

“Yeah. I was worried someone might have said something to you. But—”

Looking back toward the classroom, Kyoya smiled at Shuri and Fujino, who were clearly paying attention to Ayaka.

“It looks like you have friends who will take care of you. They’re your friends, right? Make sure you look out for Ayaka-chan, okay?”

“Y-yeah!”

“Of course!”

Shuri and Fujino, now smiling with flushed cheeks, responded with voices higher than usual. It was a completely different side to them that Ayaka had never seen before.

“Well, I’ll head back to class now.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll see you at lunch.”

After Kyoya left, the classroom, which had been filled with screams when he arrived, was now quiet, with only sighs filling the space.

Ayaka was once again reminded of how popular Kyoya was.

When Ayaka returned to her seat, she couldn’t join the conversation of her two friends, who were still in a dreamy state.

“Ah, Ikeda-senpai really is so cool.”

“He’s handsome, but his smile is amazing! Prince of Smiles!”

“Ew, what’s with that cheesy nickname?”

“Is it? Then how about Smile Prince?”

“Same thing! Where’s your sense of humor?”

Fujino, holding her hands together, looked up at Shuri, who shook her head in disbelief. Normally, this would have sparked a quarrel, but today, it was just brushed off. Maybe it was because of how high up Kyoya was in their eyes.

Curious about Kyoya, Ayaka hesitantly asked the two girls about him.

“Kyoya-senpai is really popular, isn’t he?”

Without waiting for an answer, the two of them leaned in with bright, eager expressions.

“Not just ‘popular,’ he’s super popular! Even the third-years like him! Some first-years were crying because they were too scared to confess to him!”

“Wow, he’s that popular…”

“His ex-girlfriends are all so beautiful! I still don’t get why he’s dating Ayaka, though…”

At Fujino’s words, Ayaka’s chest tightened. Maybe Shuri noticed it, because she quietly nudged Fujino’s shoulder.

“W-wait, Fujino…”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? What do you mean?”

For a moment, Ayaka’s face twisted with embarrassment, but she quickly forced a smile, hiding her true feelings behind the mask of a fake smile.

“Geez, you’re being cruel. I’m not beautiful, but… you don’t have to say it like that.”

“No, no, when you see his ex-girlfriends, you’ll be shocked. Want to go see them sometime?”

“What world do you live in, where a girl would want to see her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriends? Come on, stop saying silly things. Let’s go back to our seats.”

Fujino seemed like she still wanted to say something, but Shuri dragged her back to their seats, whispering a quiet “Sorry” to Ayaka as she did.

Ayaka could only smile back and say, “It’s okay,” hoping to cover up her discomfort.