I Planned My Escape Because I Knew Her Secret - Episode 0

Holding your hand and walking together was my happiness, and I thought this happiness would last a lifetime.
But I chose to let go of that hand myself.
Why did it come to this?

***
On the 25th of this month, we have a wedding planned on a lucky Sunday.

The venue is the Welfare Pension Hall located in the city.

Given the current circumstances, we discussed with her to invite only close family and a few friends, not involving work-related people, and to have a modest ceremony without making it extravagant. We have been preparing for about a year.

And as May approached, with less than a month until the ceremony, I was extremely busy at work, handing over tasks to my successor, making arrangements to ensure they wouldn’t have any trouble, and guiding and applying for part-time and temporary workers to improve their skills and hourly wages.

Just a little more patience.

I’m almost free.

From her and from marriage.

I will take my remaining paid leave starting on the 23rd and leave my current company by the end of this month.

I had to resign suddenly, which caused trouble for the company, but I decided to do it nearly three months ago.

And then, in the middle of the night on the 23rd, I will leave my hometown, where I have lived for many years, all alone.

The smartphone I’m using now will also be canceled by the end of this month.

I haven’t told my fiancée about quitting my job or leaving this town.

With this, I can say goodbye to her too.

***

My encounter with her was just before graduating from junior high school.

The place where we met was the classroom of the desired high school, which was the venue for the public high school entrance exam.

In a classroom filled with examinees wearing uniforms from other schools, amidst everyone’s tense expressions, there was a particularly eye-catching beautiful girl.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her profile, which I could occasionally see from the seat diagonally in front of me.

I barely figured out which junior high school it was, but the two-day exam ended without knowing the name. With a faint hope that “it would be nice if both of us could pass this high school,” I went home.

The day of the results announcement.

I ride my bike alone to the exam venue, which is the school I applied to, park it in the bicycle parking area, and then wait in front of the temporary bulletin board where the successful candidates’ names will be posted.

As the scheduled presentation time approached, people began to gather.

I was so nervous that I couldn’t think of the beautiful girl I saw during the exam.

And when the time comes, the staff members will post the B1-sized white papers one by one.

Taking out the exam ticket, repeatedly chanting the exam number in my mind, and then looking through the list of successful candidates’ exam numbers from the beginning.

There was.

Unconsciously, a small fist pump.

I will check my exam number on the bulletin board after looking at my exam ticket once more.

No doubt about it. I passed.

After taking a deep breath and exhaling, I turned around to move so as not to disturb others, and there she was, that beautiful girl, right in front of me. She was holding her exam ticket to her chest with both hands, exhaling with a relieved expression, just like I had a moment ago.

Wow, she’s still so cute.

This kid also passed.

And, for a few seconds, I stood frozen, captivated, when our eyes met.

The moment our eyes met, I felt embarrassed and gave a slight bow, and the girl also bowed with a bright red face.

At that moment, she recognized my existence for the first time.