14 – Cool, and at the same time, Cute

“Whew…”

The next day, I found myself nervously stepping off the train at the station closest to our meeting spot.

Okay, relax, relax. I took a deep breath and headed over to a vending machine inside the station, buying a bottle of water and taking a sip.

I quickly checked my outfit.

“Alright, nothing looks out of place.”

Then, I started walking towards the meeting spot.

Although it was still 30 minutes before the agreed time, and I thought it was too early to be nervous, I couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

“S-Sena?!”

To my surprise, Sena was already there, standing and staring intently at the station entrance.

“Oh, Eito-san, hello. You’re quite early, aren’t you?”

“That’s you, Sena… Sorry, have you been waiting long?”

“No, I just got here too. Actually, I hardly ever hang out with guys, so I was nervous and ended up coming way too early.”

“Seems like I did the same.”

“Hehe, maybe we’re a bit alike, after all.”

“Are we…?”

Honestly, it feels like there’s a huge difference between someone as strong and cute as her and me.

“Alright, like we talked about in our messages yesterday, let’s head to the café first.”

“O-Okay!”

I followed Sena as she started walking.

She moved with such confidence, as if she had been to our destination several times before. I had looked up the place too, but it felt like she was the one leading the way.

“Eito-san, Eito-san! Look, there’s a street performance happening over there!”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right.”

I looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a trio of women—a guitarist and vocalist, a drummer, and a bassist—performing on the side of the street.

“Some people don’t like street performances, but I really enjoy them. You get to hear songs you’ve never heard before, and you can feel the energy of a live show for free.”

“That’s true…”

Get it together, me!

I lightly slapped my cheeks with my hands to snap out of my nerves.

“Hey, Sena.”

“Yes?”

I took a deep breath and then…

“Your outfit today… it really suits you. It’s cool, and at the same time, cute.”

I looked at her in admiration as I said this. She was wearing a light green multi-striped shirt paired with a white skirt—it perfectly complemented her style and made her look incredibly cute.

“Wh-What…? Th-Thank you. But, why all of a sudden? It’s not like this is a date, so you don’t have to force yourself to compliment me, you know?”

Oh, right.

Come to think of it, yesterday, when I tried to compliment her, she suspected it was just something I picked up from my ex-girlfriend.

But today, I want to clear up that misunderstanding.

“No, it’s not like I’m forcing it or just saying it to be polite… I mean, you went to the trouble of dressing up, so it’s only right to compliment you. Plus, it really does look good on you.”

“Hearing it so directly like that is… kind of embarrassing…”

Phew, I’m glad she took it well this time.

Just as I was thinking that, she said something unexpected.

“But if that’s the case, I should compliment you too, Eito-san.”

“Wh-What?”

“Eito-san… you look really handsome too. It’s no wonder your childhood friend wanted to date you.”

“Th-Thank… you.”

Ugh—?!

This is so embarrassing!

My childhood friend used to comment on my clothes a lot, but she never actually complimented me. So, having someone other than family genuinely compliment me like this… it’s a first for me.

“We’re here!”  

“Y-Yeah, we are!”

Feeling a bit awkward, we both entered the café.

******

“Hey, check out that girl. She’s super cute, right?”

“Is the guy across from her her boyfriend? They don’t match at all.”

Ugh… The people at the surrounding tables are loud.

Sure, Sena is unbelievably cute. On top of that, she has a great personality… She’s the perfect S-tier beauty.

“This place is famous for its fluffy pancakes.”

“R-Really? I didn’t know that.”

“I’m thinking of ordering the pancake set with strawberries on top. What about you, Eito-san?”

“Then I’ll go with the one with bananas.”

After placing our orders…

“Before the pancakes arrive, there’s something I want to ask you.”

What is it?

I have a bad feeling about this…

“That cashier at the convenience store yesterday… She was your ex-girlfriend, wasn’t she?”

And just like that, my gut feeling was right.

15 – I don’t believe so

“The cashier at the convenience store yesterday… She was your ex-girlfriend, wasn’t she?”

“So, you figured it out, huh.”

I looked down a bit, feeling awkward.

“Actually, I was in the eat-in area of that convenience store. But when I saw you at the register, your behavior suddenly seemed off, so I thought maybe…”

“Haha… You’re sharp, Sena.”

Yeah, the cashier at that time was my ex-girlfriend and childhood friend. Her name is Mashiro Ichinose… I used to call her Ma-chan back in the day.

We hadn’t seen each other in a while since we went to different high schools, but unfortunately, we ran into each other yesterday.

“Your ex-girlfriend… She was really beautiful. I can understand why you might still have some lingering feelings for her.”

It’s true, Mashiro was incredibly beautiful. Back in middle school, people said she was the prettiest in our grade—no, in the whole school. And I also thought it was a miracle that someone like me could ever date someone as cute as Mashiro.

But…

“I don’t have any lingering feelings.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to lie. I won’t mind.”

“No!  it’s not a lie… I was lucky enough just to have dated someone like her. Besides, she cheated on me… There’s nothing left for me to feel. It’s just awkward to see her now.”

“I see… If you’re saying that much, then I believe you.”

“Thanks.”

Besides… I’ve already moved on. Though I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud, it felt a bit too harsh.

As we finished talking, the pancake sets were brought to our table.

“This looks… absolutely delicious!”

Sena gazed at the strawberry-topped pancake with sparkling eyes.

“Let’s dig in.”

She carefully cut a piece of the pancake with her knife and took a bite.

“Mmm! It’s really good, Eito-san!”

Mashiro was a stunning beauty, but Sena is just as beautiful in her own way. As I watched her enjoying the pancake with a relaxed expression, I couldn’t help but think about how lucky I was.

“Hey, Eito-san, you should try yours too.”

“O-Oh, right!”

I took a bite of my pancake, making sure to get some banana with it. Yeah, this is really good.

The pancake was soft and slightly sweet, and the chocolate sauce on top paired perfectly with the banana. No wonder this place is so famous.

“So, from the way you were talking earlier, did you really think you weren’t attractive enough or that you didn’t deserve to be with your ex-girlfriend?”

“Well, yeah, kind of. I mean, being with such a beautiful girl for so long, it’s hard not to lose confidence in yourself…”

“But maybe that wasn’t really the case, was it?”

“Huh?”

“Eito-san, how long were you and your ex-girlfriend together?”

“About two years, I guess.”

It was around the summer of our third year in middle school when I found out she was cheating, and we broke up. After that, we both focused on preparing for our entrance exams, and we barely talked after that.

“If you really had no charm at all, there’s no way you two would have lasted for two years. At most, it would have ended in about six months.”

“Well… maybe she just didn’t break up with me because our houses were close, and it was convenient…”

“Even if that were true, two years is still a long time. I understand that getting cheated on can shatter your confidence, but you should give yourself more credit. Even if others don’t see it, your ex must have seen something special in you to stay with you for that long.”

“Seen something special…? You can’t just say that without knowing for sure. Then why? Why did she cheat on me if I was so special to her?!”

Crap, I raised my voice, and now people around us are staring. And I just snapped at Sena, even though she was trying to comfort me… I’m such an idiot.

I immediately tried to apologize, but before I could…

“……..I wonder, why do people cheat?”

Sena’s unexpected response caught me off guard.