I Hope You’re Still Alive When Tomorrow Comes - 32

Chapter 32: Confession

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“Good morning, Kiho.”

“…Huh?”

Upon finding Kiho on the train in the morning, I called out to her. She turned her head around to look at me. She was really surprised. She blinked silently for several times before she glanced around. Of course, there were many students from our high school boarding the same train as us. This was the commuting hours after all. 

“Tsu-Tsuchiya-kun.”

Realizing that, Kiho immediately looked flustered. I could see she was trying her hardest to keep her expression sharp. 

“I told you to not talk to me in front of other people.”

“No.”

“What?”

“I will talk to you. From now on and forever.”

I declared in a firm voice and Kiho furrowed her eyebrows together, looking genuinely bewildered. 

“Uummm…”

She muttered, seemingly uncertain on what to me. Ignoring her reaction, I stood next to without any hesitation. I glanced ahead nonchalantly and my eyes met with a girl who was wearing the same high school uniform as us. She was looking at our way. Our gazes met briefly before she quickly looked away. Her face looked familiar. She was probably in the same grade as us… Or maybe she was one of Kiho’s classmates. 

Deciding this was the perfect opportunity to execute my plan, I turned my attention back to Kiho. 

“Hey, Kiho. I will come to pick you up during lunch break today.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s have lunch together.”

“Wh-Why? So out of nowhere…”

“And then, after school..”

Kiho stammered. Ignoring how baffled Kiho was, I continued on. 

“I will pick you up too. Let’s go home together.”

“…Ju-Just what is going on, Tsuchiya-kun?”

Even though she was flustered, Kiho remained wary of our surroundings. Feeling stubborn, I pressed on, closing the gap between us again. 

“Just for your information, I will pick you up whether you like it or not. Everyday.”

“Huh….?”

I would come to her, just like how she always done to me.

Lunch break came and just as I promised, I went to Kiho’s classroom o pick her up. I called out to her, who was sitting at her desk. I could feel countless eyes fixated on us, mainly from the girls. Kiho seemed to notice the gaze too, since she looked somewhat troubled. I knew she was about to say something, but I chose to ignore it.

“Let’s go, Kiho.”

I cut her off firmly before she could say anything. I then swiftly led her out of the classroom.

“Just now, a classmate of mine asked me if I’m dating you, Tsuchiya-kun.”

Kiho sounded troubled, as if she didn’t know what to do when she said that to me. We were sitting together on the bench in the courtyard, just like that day. 

“This morning… It seems someone saw us walking to school together.”

“Hmm…”

I vaguely remembered the girl that I saw on the train.

“And what did you say?”

“Huh? Well, of course I said we’re not dating.”

“Just friends?”

“No, not really a friend. Just acquaintances.”

“…Acquaintances? Do you really need to go that far…?”

Wouldn’t that make me seem like a clingy guy who was sticking to Kiho against her own will? But then, I reconsidered my thinking. It didn’t really matter anyway. I didn’t mind even if people thought of me like that. In fact, it might be better this way. It wouldn’t do if people were to think of Kiho as an easy girl that switched sides easily from Hiawatari to me. The girls might resent her even more. Girls could be troublesome sometimes. 

“At this rate, people might realize that I’m connected to you, Tsuchiya-kun.”

Kiho said so with a serious expression on her face as she opened the bag she bought. As always, she bought cream bread too today. 

It’s actually amazing how she never gets tired of eating it.

I thought to myself as I opened the lid to my lunch box too.

“That’s fine. I don’t really care. You’re going to quit chasing after that plan anyway.”

“…Well, about that…”

“Huh? You’re not going to stop?”

I thought she was going to give me a positive response, but to my surprise, Kiho seemed hesitant instead. Confused, I asked for her confirmation and Kiho had a complicated look on her face as she answered. 

“I’m thinking of continuing it for a bit longer.”

“But why? There’s no point in continuing it.”

“No, it’s more because of a personal reason…”

“Huh??”

I asked again, still not understanding her reasoning. Kiho only looked troubled. She couldn’t give me a clear response. 

“…Huh? Don’t tell me…”

Suddenly, an unpleasant thought crossed my mind.

“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for Hiwatari?”

“No! That’s not it!”

Kiho immediately turned to look at me and exclaimed. She was quite loud, so much so that the nearby couple sitting on a bench next to us looked at us in surprise. Undeterred, Kiho leaned toward me a bit and continued on. 

“There’s no way I would fall for him… The one I like is you, Tsuchiya-kun. I like you.”

“…Ah, yeah.”

I didn’t quite know how to react when Kiho suddenly confessed her feelings to me so nonchalantly like that. Thinking back, despite her persistence in following me around, that was the first time I ever heard those words coming from her. Sure, she had told me to go on a date with her and go to a hotel with her, but she never said her feelings out loud like this before. 

“That’s why….”

Kiho said, her face looked genuine as she stared intently into my eyes. Seeing her large, dark eyes up close, I felt a bit flustered. 

“You don’t need to worry about strange things, Tsuchiya-kun. I’ve always been watching you and I will always continue to do so. I will never, ever betray you.”

“….Yeah.”

I nodded. 

“Me too.”

I said without thinking. The words came out so naturally that I was surprised at myself too. 

Five minutes before the bell rang, we headed back to the school building. I made plans to meet with Kiho after school in front of her classroom before we parted ways. I was turning on my heels to go back to my own classroom when…

“…Kan-chan.”

I stopped dead in my tracks upon hearing an unexpected voice. It felt like it had been a long time since I last heard that voice.

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T/N: Oooooh!!!