I Broke Up With My Girlfriend Who Was Cheating On Me, But She Was So Deeply Sorry That I Couldn't Help But Forgive Her.

Ramen Friday.

Friday.

Three days of tests were finally over.

“Kuu—”

I raised my arms and stretched my shoulders.

And then Daichi came into the classroom.

“Sup, Daichi.”

“Yo, hope your test went well. I’m on break from club activities till today, but the gym is open, so let’s play basketball!”

“Hmm… Well, why not?”

And so Daichi and I went to the gymnasium.

It seemed that Daichi and I were the only ones who were crazy enough to go to the gym right after the test was over, and there was no one else in the gym.

While Daichi was spinning the basketball with his fingers, he said,

“How about a 30-point 1-on-1 round?”

“Yeah, sure. And what does the winner get?”

“Whoever wins gets a ramen treat.”

“All right!”

“Oh, Umi you… that instant three-point is not fair!”

“Changing sides with a feint from a leg through to a crossover, that’s the real work of the day. Good job me…”

“Uwaa, a book-reading club member shouldn’t be able to do that… tch…”

“Fade away… You were really rooting for this school inter-class ball-game competition huh.”

“Fuhaha…”

“Hahahaha.”

“Huh…huh…huh…”

Two people lie sprawled side by side in the gym.

“I talked to Ayaka the other day.”

“…And?”

“She apologized for many things.”

“Did you forgive her?”

“I still don’t have an answer regarding her unfaithfulness. I’ll tell her more about it next time, including what I’m going through.”

“I see.”

“You know… I probably always wanted to be with Ayaka.”

Last year’s fireworks.

Ayaka confessed her feelings to me first.

What made me decide to confess my feelings to her?

When we were walking together at the fireworks,

“Mom, where are you..ahhh!?”

There was a little kid crying.

The fireworks are about to start, so people are moving fast.

Everyone around me seemed to be interested in the fireworks, but we pretended to turn a blind eye to it.

I looked around to see if there were any women looking for the child.

But Ayaka walked up to the child without a second thought.

“Are you lost? Sis will help you find your mother.”

She patted him on the head with a kind face.

“Really…?”

Ayaka kneeled down on the ground without worrying about her yukata getting dirty and said,

“Yes, so don’t worry now.”

And she hugged him reassuringly.

Then, the child stopped crying as if he was just acting to be lost.

And the color of anxiety disappeared from his face.

I really thought she was a goddess.

She can do it naturally, without making people anxious.

I wanted to be by her side.

I thought to myself…

“I wanted to be like Ayaka.”

After a short pause, Daichi spoke up.

“Just my own opinion, but I can understand if your longing has changed to love or something, but umi, if your feelings are still longing, I guess it’s not the same as romantic love.”

Daichi continued.

“I think Umi, you are too optimistic because of what happened in junior high school. I bet you’re thinking that maybe there was something you did wrong this time.”

“But, if one of us wanted to fit in with the other, then things would have been different from the get-go.”

“If she’s the girl you like, you don’t need to match, you just naturally get along.”

While thinking about what Daichi said, I’m going to say just a few words back.

“Is yours a far-fetched match?”

“Heh, me and Miku are pretty well matched, you know. You know, we’re just like each other even though we’re both partial to our best friends, right?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not mad at Sorahashi for what happened the other day.”

“…I see…thanks for understanding her too.”

He then giggled, fuhaha

“What are you laughing at?”

No, I was just thinking that you will be a great boyfriend.”

Daichi spoke a little faster to hide his embarrassment.

“Next time, if you’re looking for a new girlfriend, I think a girl who only has her eyes on you would be a better fit, even if she doesn’t know you much. As for Hanashima… well, she’s a bit dangerous in both good and bad ways, so I think she’d be better suited to someone who is a bit more restrictive. That’s just my opinion.”

“…Ahh, I’ll have that as a reference.”

“Well, I’m going to respect whatever conclusion you come to.”

He’s really…

“Hey, Daichi.”

“What’s up?”

“Can I order ramen with all the toppings and side dishes?”

“I’ve been so busy with club activities all summer that I couldn’t even get a part-time job, so you should take a little extra care of my wallet.”

“Oh, well, I’ll just have extra chashu pork then.”

“Well, let’s go.”

We both stood up.

“Medium size only!”

and Daichi leaned over and squared his shoulders.