I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 86

Chapter 86   Moonlight

After finishing her story, Reina let out a deep breath.

The tea inside her plastic bottle rippled slightly—a sign that she had finally pulled up what had been buried deep inside her.

“…So, you didn’t like me spending time with Ayaka,” I said, biting my lip at my own words.

—No, that’s not it.

What really hurt Reina was my careless remarks. I knew that, yet I had just tried to place some of the blame on Ayaka. Shaking my head, I corrected myself.

“I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to even bring Ayaka into our conversations in the first place.”

Until hearing everything from Reina’s perspective, I hadn’t realized how thoughtless my actions and words had been. If a friend had told me a similar story, I would’ve been furious on their behalf.

When we were together, Reina never brought up her male friends. Even though she’d attended co-ed schools before her current women’s university, she’d certainly had opportunities to hang out with guys. Looking at her social media since we broke up, it’s clear she’d been considerate of my feelings.

But I had never even questioned why Reina avoided talking about her male friends. I just went on every day telling her all about what I did, including my time with Ayaka. And although Reina said she tolerated it, I knew that was because of her kindness and her patience.

I wanted to share everything with my girlfriend—to have her relive my experiences with me. But each story, each mention of Ayaka, gradually wore her down.

Back then, I was elated—content with having Reina as my girlfriend and comforted by Ayaka’s steady presence. Cutting ties with Ayaka after starting to date Reina was unrealistic for me, just as Reina had said.

But if I hadn’t shared every little detail, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten this tangled. Yet there I was, hypocritically—

“I was never upset when you talked about other girls, Yuuta. When you seemed happy, it made me happy too,” Reina said, gripping her bottle tightly, a sharp crack breaking the silence.

“But, you know… that was all based on the assumption that I was the most important person in your life. When it came to Ayaka-san… I started to wonder if maybe your bond with her was deeper than mine. Once I thought that, it just became painful.”

When I used to tell her all those stories, I wonder what expression Reina had on her face. I can’t recall her exact expressions anymore, but probably, they looked a lot like now—

“She’s got so many things over me. She’s beautiful, smart, and well-liked by everyone, right? Meanwhile, I’m just a bit shy, going to an average university, and honestly, not that well-regarded…”

Reina kept speaking, her voice sounding more strained with every word.

“And as I listened to you talk about her, I started thinking the only thing I could offer you over Ayaka-san was our time together. But even that… what was that worth?”

She was hurting herself, tearing herself down.

This was what she’d been holding inside. The painful reality she had lived with while we were together.

I’m no longer Reina’s boyfriend, but it’s impossible to ignore the fact that she suffered like this because of me.

Just as I was about to respond, Reina suddenly smiled.

“Hah… I feel so much better now.”

“Eh?”

Surprised by her relieved smile, I fell silent. Her voice now sounded softer, more familiar, the tone that usually put me at ease.

“Just being able to tell you all this, Yuuta, makes me really happy.”

She added with a gentle smile, “Really.”

“When you got in that elevator to leave the party… I thought, if those doors close, I might never see you again. So, being here with you right now is enough to make me happy.”

I remember that moment, how I overreacted the moment I heard the word “pageant.” Hearing this now, I wish I could go back.

Maybe Reina was thinking of that time, too.

“You said that unless there was some special reason, Yuuta, you would go. I thought about it after going home and realized my reasons weren’t special at all. I mean, isn’t this just a common story?”

“A careless boyfriend, too close to a female friend. Even cheating isn’t all that rare once you’re in university—much more common than in high school.”

“So, I gave up on contacting you, Yuuta. I thought… maybe I’d never see you again.”

Reina fell silent.

I felt I understood the words left unsaid. Just before the elevator doors closed that day, she’d been crying.

“…And that’s the end of everything I had to say about the past, like you wanted. So now, I want to talk about my future.”

With that, Reina placed her bottle of tea next to me and stood up from the bench, turning to face me directly.

“Hey, Yuuta… do you dislike me?”

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.

Like or dislike? After hearing all of this, how could I possibly say I disliked her?

“It’s not like I have the right to decide that,” I replied.

“No, I want you to choose.”

For the first time today, Reina spoke firmly, placing both hands gently on my cheeks.

“Yuuta, you’re a kind person, so you might end up blaming yourself after this.”

“I’m not kind at all. The first thing I need to do is apologize to you—”

“Don’t apologize!”

Reina raised her voice to stop me, lifting her hands from my cheeks and placing them on my shoulders.

“If you apologize, I won’t forgive you.”

“W-What are you—”

“You might be a bit insensitive at times, Yuuta, but you’re a really good person. That’s why you want to apologize, right? You think that breaking up was your fault, and you want to do something to make up for it.”

But then, Reina continued.

“If you apologize now, what happens to our relationship? Does it get cleared up? Do all the good memories we’ve made together just fade away, and that’s it?”

Reina straddled my lap. The smooth lines of her legs gave off a sensual aura.

“No. I don’t want to end it,” she said.

Reina slowly took off her necklace, then slid the ring off her finger and put it in her pocket.

From her movements, I realized what she was about to do.

She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward her chest.

“Stop it!”

I pushed her arm away.

For a moment, Reina froze, but then she let out a sigh as if she had given up.

“You stopped me.”

“…Please, stop. I’m begging you.”

When I pleaded with her, Reina furrowed her brows in sadness.

“…If I make a move on you here, I’d be the bad person, right? Good people don’t do that. I know.”

Reina squeezed her hand on my shoulder tightly.

“So, Yuuta… right now, I want you to be the bad person. That’s what a good person is to me.”

I could feel a slight tremor in her hand.

I no longer doubted that Reina was lying.

Ever since I thought she had cheated on me, I had viewed everything she did through a dark, tainted lens.

Now, though, I chose to believe in the year we spent together.

But that didn’t mean I could respond to Reina’s feelings as she wanted.

“No.”

When I shook my head, Reina slowly blinked and let out a deep sigh.

“…I knew it. I knew that, to you, this is already over. You’ve already moved on from me.”

Reina slowly moved away from me, the soft scent she carried fading into the distance.

“We just missed each other. If we were lovers, it would be a common thing… I used to tell myself that,” she continued.

Perhaps, in a relationship, that kind of thing does happen.

But regardless of the circumstances, our relationship had definitely ended once.

That moment, when the spare key was dropped in the mailbox, signaled the end for us.

Reina, knowing that it was over, was in a rush, perhaps hoping to change things.

“Ah, I guess it’s too late after all.”

Reina stretched her body out and sighed.

I understood my own feelings. I felt sorry for Reina. But I also knew that the romantic feelings I once had for her were no longer there.

What I said to her at the Valentine’s party was everything.

Months had passed since we broke up, and trying to bring back those feelings was difficult. I had clearly told her that it was over for me.

That’s why I couldn’t find any words to say to her.

“I’m going to say something different from what I said earlier. I think the best thing for me is to try again, to make you love me properly,” Reina said.

She put the bottle of tea into her handbag.

“So maybe this was for the best. I want to work hard so that, in the future, I can look back and think, ‘That happened, and we were immature back then.’ I want to be able to laugh about it. I want to make the future a good one and turn the past into a good memory.”

Reina spoke with a steady gaze, then looked down.

“That’s why I want to keep trying… but of course, it’s only if you forgive me.”

She smiled sadly.

“After all, Yuuta, there’s no need for you to apologize.”

“…Why?”

In the end, it was my fault. I was the one who created the situation.

Reina looked up at the full moon as if it were blinding, then turned back to me.

“Cheating… when do you consider it cheating? The moment you start wondering that, it’s already too late. I knew that, but I still held his hand. So, without a doubt, that moment was cheating.”

“…I see.”

“I hurt you, didn’t I? Back then—”

“Don’t apologize.”

I interrupted, and Reina widened her eyes in surprise.

“My one year and your one day. We cancel each other out and pretend it never happened.”

For me, it’s a closed chapter.

But that doesn’t mean cutting ties with Reina. It’s simply putting an end to the time we spent together as a couple.

Because if there’s an end, there’s always a beginning.

Reina lowered her gaze for a moment and then quietly spoke.

“Is that okay?”

When I nodded, Reina smiled softly.

“I see… I thought it might end on a negative note, but it’s just a fresh start from zero, so maybe this is better than I expected. For now, I’ll keep my feelings locked in my chest.”

Saying this, Reina moved a little farther away from me.

“Then, can I contact you again?”

How long has it been?

How long has it been since Reina said goodbye with a smile?

How long has it been since I said those words to her?

“Yeah… see you.”

When she heard my response, Reina stood there for a moment, nodding deeply.

An ex-lover is always an ex-lover.

There are plenty of terms in the world that describe transforming that relationship—becoming friends, becoming best friends, etc.—but the essence never changes.

However, just because someone is an ex-lover doesn’t mean the relationship has to end completely. If both parties agree, there’s no reason why new paths can’t be formed beyond just being ex-lovers.

Reina said she would cancel it out.

This is our fresh start.

Reina walked away from the spot.

The moonlight filtered through her slender back.