Chapter 7

The sky was a clear blue, not a single cloud in sight—classic autumn weather.  

Under the slanted rays of the morning sun, I was once again pushing my bike along.  

The school bike racks were inconveniently far from the front gate, almost as if on purpose.  

Getting caught in the rush of students meant being surrounded on all sides, unable to move freely.  

“Kyahaha, that’s so funny~!”  

I trudged along behind a noisy group of girls.  

If I were riding my bike, it would’ve been one thing, but weaving through the crowd while pushing it was a hassle. Not that I was in any hurry.  

“Ara? Arara~?”  

A voice called out nearby.  

I had been lost in thought, my focus elsewhere. When I looked up, I saw a familiar face peering at me from the side, bent forward with curiosity.  

Startled, I raised my head to greet her.  

“Yo… ah, morning?”  

“Eh? yeah.”  

She nodded, looking slightly puzzled.  

The thoughts that had been occupying my mind were about none other than her. But she seemed carefree, smiling at me without a hint of concern.  

“You’re surprisingly friendly. I thought you might hate me.”  

“Why’s that?”  

“Well, we exchanged Line, but you didn’t reach out or anything.”  

Her words left me momentarily at a loss. A question mark hovered in my head.  

Last night, she had sent me a “Thanks for today” message, and we’d exchanged two or three replies after that.  

I glanced at her expression, wondering if she was joking, but she seemed genuinely serious.  

An awkward pause settled between us.  

The morning light highlighted her milky-white complexion. Her long lashes blinked over slightly brown-tinted eyes, tilting with curiosity.  

Then, I noticed something was off.  

I stopped in my tracks and pointed toward her eyes.  

“Your… eyes…”  

“My eyes?”  

“Oh, no, it’s just…”  

I quickly withdrew my finger.  

I remembered how she had gotten annoyed last time I brought it up.  

Today, the bruise around her eye was completely gone, likely concealed with makeup or something else.  

Rather than being upset, she curled her lips into an amused smile.  

“Fufu.”  

“What’s so funny?”  

“That’s probably Yuki.”  

“Yuki?”  

I repeated her words in a dumbfounded tone, parroting back what she had said. Her smiling face was right in front of me, and my thoughts ground to a halt.  

I briefly averted my gaze upward, then brought it back to her. I pointed directly at her face.  

“Uh… so, you’re… Yuki?”  

“Nope. I’m Miki.”  

“Wait, then who’s Yuki?”  

“Technically, she’s my younger sister. We’re twins.”  

“…Twins? Seriously?”  

“Seriously.”  

Miki Tachibana covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.  

Her smile was identical to Yuki’s, but the way she laughed was entirely different.  

I looked her up and down, from head to toe.  

Their physiques were nearly identical. The length of their limbs and the tone of their skin were indistinguishable at a glance.  

But upon closer inspection, Miki’s hair was longer. Not just by a negligible margin—it was noticeable enough.  

For someone like me, who hadn’t paid much attention, the difference was easy to miss. But surely those who saw them every day wouldn’t mistake the two.  

My assumption that there couldn’t possibly be twins had clouded my judgment.  

People’s memories are inherently unreliable. I mean, I’m someone who nearly forgets what my dad looks like. Changing details like hair length wouldn’t be difficult for my mind.  

Either way, the vague sense of unease I’d felt until now had finally been resolved.  

Both Yuki and Miki existed.  

“So that’s how it is…”  

“Fufu, I thought something was weird too. Hmm… so that means you’re pretty close with Yuki, right?”  

“No, not really.”  

“But you mistook me for her earlier, didn’t you? And judging by how you acted just now… you’re at least closer to her than to me, aren’t you?”  

Her tone was slightly argumentative. This was another difference from Yuki.  

Whether I was close to Yuki or not was debatable, but in terms of physical proximity, Miki wasn’t entirely wrong.  

“So, what’s your relationship with Yuki? How’d you two meet?”  

“You’re asking a lot of questions.”  

“Well~I’m super curious.”  

I started pushing my bike again, moving forward.  

She seemed to be having fun, but I couldn’t tell how much she really knew about Yuki.  

Depending on what she knew, there were things I might not be able to say.  

One thing was clear—whatever mysterious gatherings Yuki was part of in that bathroom, Miki was probably unaware.  

It didn’t seem like Yuki had ever mentioned me to her sister, not even once.  

“Miki, good morning!”  

A high-pitched voice called out from the other side of Miki.  

A girl with short hair who looked full of energy came toward us.  

“Mooorniiiing~”  

Along with her was a skinny boy, trailing behind with a lazy attitude.  

By the way, I didn’t know these people at all. It seemed a little rude to interrupt a conversation between others, but I wasn’t sure.  

“Hey, Yuto, you should ask Miki about it!”  

“But… you know…”  

“Huh? What’s with the sudden embarrassment?”  

They started getting all excited, leaving me out of the conversation. There was this typical, youthful vibe in the air—sparkling, even a bit blinding to look at.  

“Tachibana-san, good morning!”  

Another boy approached, his voice loud and his build solid.  

“Shut up Hiroshi. And what, no greeting for us?”  

“You guys don’t need it, do you?” 

I thought about saying something like, “What, no greeting for me?” but decided against it.  

Hiroshi, who had wedged his way between Miki and me, glanced at me for just a second.  

He was taller and more built than I was. His gaze was one of looking down at me, as if saying, “Move, shorty.”  

In the past, I might’ve done something rash in response. But I’d learned better.  

I subtly adjusted the angle of my bike’s handlebars and quietly faded out. No one stopped me, and I made my way toward the bike rack.  

I parked my bike and noticed my phone vibrating in the basket.  

I took it out, and an app showed a notification of an incoming call. It was from Yuki.