My Beautiful Childhood Friend Is Working in a Maid Cafe For Some Reason - Chapter 73

Yukina confessed to me.

But it wasn’t the typical “I like you” kind of confession. She admitted that because she liked me, she did everything she could to create this situation.

“So… in other words, Yukina likes me… is that it?”

Asking such a question myself made me feel like an idiot. Yukina nodded slightly as she looked at me.

I felt my cheeks getting warm.

Knowing that Yukina had liked me all this time made me happy.

But I couldn’t feel entirely pleased about it.

“So, Yukina, you stole my future just to get close to me again?”

“Th-That wasn’t my intention…”

Yukina tried to explain in a panic, but I didn’t allow her to.

“What do you mean it wasn’t your intention?”

I didn’t even understand why I was getting so frustrated. If I just said I liked Yukina too, maybe we could have had a happy ending.

But the feelings I once had were no longer there.

“Yukina… you, you stole all kinds of possibilities from a person just because of your own selfish reasons.”

“…!”

“Listen. I don’t regret coming to this high school, living in this apartment, or even talking to you like this.”

“Then…”

“But, there might have been another future for me. If Yukina hadn’t left me back then, we might have had a different relationship by now. Maybe I would’ve attended a better high school instead of here. Once you start thinking like that, it never ends.”

“I don’t need that kind of future…”

“Maybe you don’t, but I do!”

I raised my voice, which wasn’t like me. Yukina flinched and curled up in fear.

“I destroyed your future, Yukina.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Yukina. You could’ve gone to a better high school, couldn’t you?”

Yukina didn’t answer. But her silence was an answer in itself.

“Nowadays, people say that what matters most isn’t where you graduated from, but who you are as a person. But there are still many companies that judge you based on appearances.”

“Wh-Why are you suddenly talking about work…?”

“Because you don’t understand, Yukina. What if in the future, there’s something you really want to do, but you’re turned down because you didn’t graduate from a better high school? Would you give up?”

“I would give up…”

“I don’t want you to give up. In the end, no one knows what kind of path we’ll walk or what conclusion we’ll reach. But with all the possibilities out there, I don’t want you to be the one to destroy them yourself.”

Maybe I was just like Yukina. Just as she had forced her feelings on me without considering mine, I was forcing my own emotions on her, making her afraid with my anger. It was a despicable act, ignoring her feelings.

And what I was saying was off the mark. If I kept bringing up “what if” scenarios, I’d never be able to do anything.

But I had to say it. I had my own feelings too.

When Yukina started avoiding me and ignoring me, it hurt. I thought I had done something to upset her without realizing it, so I went to apologize, but she always pretended she wasn’t home.

I cursed myself, thinking I must have done something to make her that angry without even knowing it.

And then, I decided that if Yukina could be happy without me, I had no choice but to accept it. I had already given up.

Since we were always in the same class, I tried to avoid standing out. I didn’t want to make Yukina uncomfortable by drawing attention to myself. I acted as if I wanted to completely erase myself from her life.

Yes… I was ready to end our bond back then…

And yet, Yukina did something so reckless, all for my sake, without knowing how I felt. I couldn’t forgive that.

But most of all, I couldn’t forgive myself for not noticing Yukina’s feelings. If I had sensed something was wrong back then, if I had taken her hand even if it was reckless, things might not have turned out this way. Waves of regret overwhelmed me.

“…It couldn’t be helped. If I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to you now, Yusuke-kun.”

Yukina was crying, her tears falling steadily. I had said I wouldn’t forgive anyone who made her cry, yet here I was, the one making her cry. I was the worst.

Even so, I couldn’t stop myself anymore.

“You could have called out to me at any time.”

“How? How was I supposed to talk to you? After I was the one who distanced myself, how could I have spoken to you again? Tell me with that thick-headed mind of yours…”

I didn’t even know the answer. If I had, I wouldn’t have given up, no matter how much she avoided me.

“…Hey, Yusuke-kun. Let’s do something naughty.”

“…Huh?”

“Let’s do something naughty and forget about everything. Then, we can make up.”

“What are you saying…?”

Without a word, Yukina began trying to take off her clothes. She raised her arms and pulled at her clothes with her other hand. I caught a glimpse of her pale, white abdomen.

At that moment, I unconsciously yelled out.

“Yukina!”

But she didn’t stop, exposing more of her upper body. I looked away to avoid seeing it.

“Look, Yusuke-kun. Just a little more. I’m going to take off my bottoms next. After that, you can do whatever you want.”

Hearing that made me unbearably sad. Yukina had changed so much…

“Please, Yukina…”

“Can’t hold back anymore? Just wait. I’ll be—”

“No! Please… don’t do this.”

“Yusuke-kun… look at me when you’re talking to me…”

“I’m sorry. I can’t talk to you right now, Yukina. I’m leaving.”

I tried to leave the room. Yukina reached out as if to stop me, but I didn’t even want to see that.

“Wait…”

“Yukina… you’re scaring me right now. And you’re disgusting. Don’t come near me.”

I left, leaving those words behind.

Even when I returned to my own room, I was filled with unbearable feelings.

Calling a girl “disgusting” is something you should never say. And yet, I said it.

Yukina likes me.

That in itself made me really happy.

If I hadn’t seen that side of her, I might have told her I liked her too.

But I had seen it.

Once you’ve seen something, you can’t easily forget it.

“Why did it have to come to this…”

I felt like I was about to cry too.

With everything that happened, my mind was a mess, and I couldn’t sort through my thoughts.

I didn’t know how I would face Yukina tomorrow. I wasn’t even sure if I could face her at all. I might just run away.

Thinking about all of this exhausted me, and I fell asleep.

The next day, I dragged my heavy body to school.

I decided that if Yukina came near me, I would avoid her for the time being.

But that never happened.

Yukina didn’t come to school.