A Story About a Girl Who Took Life for Granted and Fell in Love With a Kind and Introverted Boy - Chapter 7.2

I crossed my legs, rested my elbow on my knee, and propped my chin up with my hand. As I watched other visitors pass by, I drifted into thought.

(…What am I supposed to do?)

In two weeks, this will all be over. Saito and I will break up.

I could feel how much Saito wanted to cherish me. And if I kept being around those feelings for another two weeks, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle it.

I was already feeling conflicted, and two more weeks of this? No way I could survive that.

(…Maybe I should talk to Mayu about this.)

As my mind wandered, a hand suddenly appeared in front of me.

In that hand was a small, light blue earring shaped like a moon. The owner of the hand was, of course, Saito.

“…? What’s this?”

When I asked, Saito blushed as usual and replied.

“Um…I’d like you to have this, if that’s okay.”

“…Earrings.”

“Y-Yes. I thought they would look good on you, Kana…So, I chose the same color as your nails.”

“!?”

“I-I mean, it’s better to match these things, right? Probably.”

“…”

I took the earrings from Saito. As I stared at them resting in my palm, Saito spoke again.

“Today…or rather, every day, thank you for being with me.”

“…”

“Oh, there I go being formal again. Um…I’d be happy if you’d accept them as a token of my gratitude.”

“…”

“I love you, Kana.”

…At that moment, I didn’t look at Saito’s face. I somehow knew that if I tried, my face would burn up.

—

After that day’s date, I was walking home, gazing absentmindedly at the shadow beneath my feet.

…Why does Saito like me so much?

Every time we go on a date, he keeps saying he loves me. He’s always concerned about me, to the point it’s almost annoying.

“…”

The more he says he loves me, the more this heavy feeling in my chest grows. It makes the lie I told him feel worse and worse.

It’s probably because I know I can’t return Saito’s feelings.

“…Haa.”

With a deep sigh, I finally reached home and slowly opened the front door.

“Kana.”

I looked up and saw my mom standing there with her arms crossed, glaring at me. She was giving off a tense vibe, which usually meant she was angry.

“…What?”

Annoyed, I replied, and Mom snapped back in a harsh tone.

“It’s not ‘what.’ You had summer school today, didn’t you?”

“Summer school?”

“Yes, because you keep failing, the teacher said you needed to attend makeup classes during the summer break.”

“…Oh, right.”

“Kana! Stop being so lazy!”

Mom suddenly shouted.

“The teacher called today! You were the only one who didn’t show up! They said if you don’t attend, you might have to repeat the year!”

“…”

“And yet you keep going out all the time! Slacking off and playing around! Do you really think that’s okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry.”

“Kana! Look at me when you’re talking!”

“Ugh, it’s my life, Mom. It’s not like it matters to you.”

“…! Do you even realize how much I worry about you?”

“You’re the one worrying. It has nothing to do with me.”

Without looking at her, I walked past Mom and headed up the stairs to my room.

“Kana! Wait, Kana!”

She called after me several times, but I ignored her. The last thing I heard as I walked away was her sighing and mumbling something to herself.

“Haa…You’re so different from Miyuki. I never planned for you to turn out like this.”

Bang

“…”

I entered my room and locked the door.

‘I never planned for you to turn out like this.’

Mom’s words echoed in my ears.

“…”

The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became, and I threw the bag I had over my shoulder onto the floor.

“…Fine, I’ll never be like Miyuki. Mom prefers kids like her anyway…She probably doesn’t even care about me…”

Feeling even more agitated, I scratched my head furiously.

“Argh! I’m so annoyed…Maybe I’ll vent to Mayu.”

I reached for my phone, which I had thrown with my bag, and pulled it out.

“…”

Just as I was about to call Mayu, Saito’s face popped into my mind.

‘I love you, Kana.’

“…”

I didn’t know why, but instead of calling Mayu, I found myself dialing Saito’s number.

“H-Hello? This is Saito.”

His voice came through the phone.

“K-Kana? Did something happen? Do you need something?”

“…”

“K-Kana?”

It was his first time receiving a call from me, so Saito was unusually nervous. And then, out of nowhere, I blurted out something strange.

“Hey, Saito. Tell me you love me.”

“…Huh?”

“Just say it. You love me, right?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Then say it. Right now.”

“K-Kana? What’s going on?”

“Hurry up and say it!”

“O-Okay…Um…I love you, Kana.”

“…Say it again.”

“Again?”

“Please. Say it more.”

“I…I love you, Kana.”

“…”

“I really love you.”

“…Okay.”

“Uh, should I keep going?”

“Yeah. Keep going.”

“O-Okay. Um…I love you, Kana.”

“…Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you love me? Tell me that, too.”

“Uh…well, I think you’re kind and really cute.”

“…”

“You don’t really show your kindness, but you paid me back that thousand yen and you’re always looking out for me. That’s when I thought you were really kind.”

“…”

“And today, you came with me to the museum. Even though you looked bored the whole time, you held back your yawns, and I realized you were being considerate.”

“!”

“I felt a little bad about it, but at the same time, I thought you were really sweet.”

…Sweet, huh.

What an idiot. Saito, I’ve been lying to you this whole time.

I don’t actually like you. I pretended to confess, but I don’t really feel that way. And yet, you think I’m sweet? You’re such an idiot.

“…Kana?”

“What?”

“Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Then…why are you crying? Your voice is shaking.”

“…”

I wiped my eyes and sniffed as I responded.

“I’m not crying.”