I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 35

Chapter 35   Drops

As we left the venue, Reina pressed the elevator button.

The elevator arrived shortly, and the two of us got in.

In the confined space after the doors closed, Reina didn’t say a word.

“Hey, there’s no need to leave the building, is there?”

I finally asked, and after a brief pause, Reina answered.

“Don’t you think? I don’t really want anyone to overhear. I figure no one will be around in the underground parking lot.”

I looked at the button that was lit up. It said “B1.”

—But won’t the parking lot be the kind of place where people gather?

Just as I was about to say that, the elevator dinged, signaling our arrival.

With no other choice, I followed her, and sure enough, there was no one in the lobby leading to the parking lot. As I wondered why, Reina spoke up.

“This parking lot is only for people connected to the building. Since it’s a holiday, I don’t think anyone will be around.”

“I see…”

Looking around, the place felt like a spacious waiting area.

The door led out to the parking lot.

“Let’s talk here,” Reina said, sitting down on a bench.

The space only had two benches and a neat-looking vending machine.

I bought a café au lait from the machine and sat next to her.

“You still love café au lait, huh?”

“Yeah. If I don’t drink it at least three times a week, I can’t relax.”

Reina slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

“You haven’t changed. You used to say the same thing before.”

By “before,” Reina was almost certainly referring to when we were dating.

I didn’t come here for casual conversation. Remembering that, I returned to my blank expression.

“You’re scary, Yuuta.”

“I’ve always looked like this.”

“Liar. I’ve never seen you look like that before.”

Reina chuckled softly as she spoke.

That familiar gesture, unchanged from when we were dating, made me turn my face away.

“How many chocolates did you get?”

“…One.”

“Then this will be your second.”

Feeling a slight touch on my shoulder, I turned to see a neatly wrapped chocolate being offered to me.

“I thought I couldn’t give it to you unless we were alone.”

“Did you make this yourself?”

“Yes, of course.”

When we were dating, Reina didn’t cook much. I didn’t even remember her making sweets.

“Even if you say you don’t want it, I’m forcing you to take it.”

“…Alright, I’ll take it.”

—Would it have been better if I refused?

Accepting chocolate from an ex felt like a careless decision, but I didn’t have it in me to reject it.

I glanced briefly at the package placed in my hand, then set it down on the bench.

The time I spent with Reina felt much more calm than I had expected.

This was the first time we were alone since we broke up, so I thought it would be more tense or uncomfortable.

But standing before Reina, those feelings didn’t arise, which surprised me.

Then, the real issue—her explanation about the cheating.

Reina didn’t bring it up right away, instead making small talk. I responded in kind, chatting as if it were a normal day.

It had been months since we broke up.

Talking like this, just the two of us, I felt a small, fleeting sense of being back to how things were when we were dating.

A year in a student’s life feels so long.

However, I knew Ayaka must be worried back at the venue. No matter what happened to me after I followed Reina instead of listening to Ayaka’s advice, it was my own fault.

Even so, I knew Ayaka would be worried—that’s just how she was. I didn’t want to drag this out longer than necessary.

“What are you thinking about right now?”

“Huh?”

Her sudden question made me respond awkwardly.

Seeing me like that, Reina sighed.

“You haven’t changed.”

…What exactly hasn’t changed?

As I was pondering the answer, Reina spoke again.

“I didn’t cheat.”

“…Yeah. I came to hear your explanation.”

The calm, deceptive moment had come to an end.

That was enough.

Both Reina and I probably had different expressions now from a moment ago.

“While we were dating, there was a time when I actually ran for my university’s beauty contest,” she said.

I tilted my head in surprise, hearing this for the first time.

“A beauty contest? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“I withdrew right away. We didn’t have any mutual friends, so you wouldn’t have heard.”

Most beauty contests start gathering votes through social media as soon as someone enters. Since I didn’t know, she must have withdrawn before the promotions began.

“And I entered right before we broke up, so it’s only natural that you didn’t know about it.”

“…And how does this prove you didn’t cheat?”

Reina gave a wry smile.

“You saw it, didn’t you? Me holding hands with that man.”

The image of that scene flashed in my mind.

On the day of our anniversary—Reina, hand in hand with someone else.

“…So what?”

Even now, my chest still aches when I think about it.

The more I try to forget, the more it gets etched into my brain, even appearing in my dreams.

It probably still shows up in my dreams, even if I can’t remember them.

I had hoped that Reina’s explanation would somehow clear that painful memory.

Maybe that’s why I followed her down here from the party—out of that small bit of hope.

But—

“…That guy was just someone from the beauty contest committee. I didn’t reach out to hold his hand or anything—”

Sparks went off in my head, then quickly fizzled out.

In that moment of mental coolness, I felt disappointment.

I’d suspected it would end up being something like this.

There was no proof either way. All we had were our memories.

Arguing about the truth of it would be meaningless.

And since her explanation hadn’t exceeded what I had predicted, I wasn’t patient enough to want to hear every detail.

“I see. Got it.”

I finished my café au lait and threw the can into the trash.

It was already overflowing with cans, but I shoved mine in anyway.

“Wait, hold on.”

Seeing me press the elevator button, Reina stood up in a hurry.

“You said earlier at the venue that I was the one misunderstanding things. I’ll say those exact words right back to you.”

Reina, who had been trying to follow me, stopped in her tracks.

“I don’t care anymore who you were with or what happened after that. I thought about it over and over after we broke up, and I’ve finally moved on.”

“But I didn’t cheat—”

“Back then, I decided it was cheating. That was my answer. Even if it was just holding hands for fun or a moment of weakness, the fact remains—you held hands with another guy. I judged that as cheating back then, and that’s when it ended for us.”

Where one draws the line for cheating differs for everyone.

For some, it’s only cheating when it becomes physical. For others, even going out for a meal with someone else is cheating.

The one who sets that ambiguous boundary is none other than oneself.

Back then, I saw her holding hands with another guy and decided it was cheating.

Isn’t that all there is to it?

“…Hey, say something.”

I urged Reina, who remained silent, to respond.

The elevator arrived in the basement, and the doors opened.

“Yeah, I see. It’s over. You’ve already decided it’s over in your mind, so no matter what I say, it’s just a bother to you.”

“…If there was some special reason, that would be different. That’s why I came here, to hear if there was any exception to the story.”

“Even if there was, I don’t think it would change anything about how you’d act.”

For the first time, Reina’s tone grew forceful.

“Because you’ve already made up your mind. Even if your feelings shift, our relationship won’t change.”

—A change in our relationship?

I felt a slight unease at her choice of words.

Had she been hoping to change our relationship through this encounter?

Was she trying to restart something that had already ended, in some form?

“You told Ayaka earlier at the venue that you came with me because you wanted closure… That’s really all there is to it, right? I was the one who was wrong.”

As Reina murmured those words behind me, I stepped into the elevator.

“…Hey. Why did you bother to come see me?”

To what would likely be my last question, Reina gave a sad smile.

I was taken aback by the expression, one I’d never seen from her before.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

The door slowly began to close.

“—Because I wanted to see you.”

With those final words, Reina’s figure disappeared behind the cold, metallic doors.

The only sound now was the elevator rising.

In the enclosed space, I found myself recalling the last glimpse I had of Reina.

I thought I saw a transparent tear sliding down her cheek.