My Tsundere Childhood Friend, Who Was Always Haughty, Suddenly Showing a Sharp Increase in Affection and Directing Intense, Heavy Emotions Toward Me - Chapter 3.2: Interlude 1 - You Might Not Believe It, But That’s Reality

Chapter 3.2: Interlude 1 – You Might Not Believe It, But That’s Reality

“Wait, I was at the outlet with Haruto just a moment ago…”

For some reason, I was standing in a completely unfamiliar place. It definitely wasn’t inside the outlet—it looked like a street in some town, but where was this? As I was thinking that, a familiar face came walking from the other side of the road.

“…Haruto?”

For some reason, this Haruto looked clearly more grown-up than the one I knew. Just from a quick glance, he seemed older than me, maybe in his late twenties.

But what shocked me even more was that he was holding hands and walking happily with a woman I didn’t know at all. Seeing that made me feel obviously upset, so I walked up to Haruto to complain.

“Hey, Haruto! Who’s that woman next to you?”

But it was like he couldn’t hear me, or he ignored me. So, I tried to grab his hand to stop him, but for some reason, I couldn’t touch him and just passed right through.

“It’s no use. In this space, no one but me can notice or interact with you.”

Someone spoke to me from behind. The voice sounded familiar, but when I saw who it was, I gasped in shock.

“What!?”

The person standing behind me had the same face as me. To be more exact, she looked like what I might become in my late twenties.

“Who are you…?”

“Oh, I think you know exactly who I am.”

“…Could it be, me?”

“That’s right. I’m you at twenty-nine years old.”

The woman in front of me said that. I had no idea why I was here or why a twenty-nine-year-old version of me was standing in front of me—so many things didn’t make sense.

“Okay, but why… why does the future me look so worn out?”

“Why do you think?”

“Hmm, I can’t really imagine.”

If this person in front of me was really me at twenty-nine, I couldn’t understand why she had such a hopeless expression. Then, the twenty-nine-year-old me spoke with a sad look.

“It’s because I’m at the bottom of despair right now.”

“Even if you say that, I don’t get it.”

“By the way, do you like Haruto?”

“W-Well, yeah, I do.”

I answered, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. I’d always liked Haruto for a long time. I didn’t know when it started, but I wanted to end up with him. Then, the twenty-nine-year-old me spoke with a sad expression.

“Yeah, but too bad. I never ended up with Haruto.”

“…What?”

I didn’t quite understand what she was saying. Haruto’s supposed to like me too, so that can’t be possible, right?

“You might not believe it, but that’s reality.”

The moment the twenty-nine-year-old me said that, the scene changed like a 3D video. Now, I was standing in a wedding venue.

“Look at that.”

“That’s!?”

It seemed like a wedding was happening, but the bride standing next to Haruto, the groom, was definitely not me. As I stood there stunned, the wedding kept going, reaching the part where they exchanged the vow kiss.

I absolutely didn’t want to see Haruto kissing another woman. But when I tried to look away, the twenty-nine-year-old me stopped me.

“This is your future, so I won’t let you look away.”

Because of that, I was forced to stare at the scene of them happily exchanging the vow kiss. I absolutely didn’t want to believe this was my future. But the expression on the twenty-nine-year-old me’s face said it all.