Unconditional Love, Conditional Romance

“Um… sorry, did my dad say anything weird?”

“Uh… well, it’s okay.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

In the end, Kiyohito didn’t show up. He said he had something to do, but I could guess the real reason.

“So, for this problem… when you calculate it, you use this formula…” Umi-chan explained, leaning in close, completely unaware of the proximity.

She smelled nice, like a fresh shampoo scent. Up close, her skin looked really smooth and beautiful. She was cute, with a great figure. She was always hardworking and earnest, shy yet with a hint of assertiveness.

If I hadn’t met Marin-chan, I might have ended up dating Umi-chan. It was a slightly regrettable thought.

“Then, you do this… Ah!!” She suddenly realized how close we were and quickly backed away, her face turning bright red.

“Sorry about that. Are you okay?” I asked.

She gave me a confident smile, saying, “I’m fine.”

That smile reminded me of her from that time. Looking back, even the slightly intimidating Shichiya-san had smiled like this.

Then, without warning, she pushed me down and kissed me.

“…..wait….what are you doing?”

Then, she started unbuttoning her top, one by one.

“So, creating a fait accompli is the quickest way. Love, romance, it’s all nonsense. In the end, these feelings are just driven by sexual desire or survival instincts. Why do humans always need a more ‘reasonable’ explanation to be satisfied?” 

“Wait, Shichiya-san…”

“You haven’t done anything like this with that girl yet, right? Then let me teach you. The most pleasurable thing in this world.”

“Hold on… wait…”

“I’m not waiting. Do you know how many years I’ve waited? Do you know how hard I’ve worked?” She grabbed my hand and forced it onto her chest.

“I’m not asking you to love me. Just do what you want.”

Marin-chan’s words echoed in my mind.

‘You said I was number one just to be polite. You really think Umi-chan is the best, right? She’s so cute, like a little animal. It makes you want to protect her right?’

That wasn’t entirely wrong. Sure, I thought Marin-chan was the cutest, but to me, she was an unattainable flower—like a magnificent blossom on Everest.

So, I ended up looking at Shichiya-san instead. A beautiful flower that seemed within my reach. But in reality, I was only admiring the surface of the flower. I was a terrible person.

That’s why it took me so long to realize.

“Who… are you?” I asked, pulling my hand away.

“Who knows? Does it matter if you find out?” she replied with a cryptic smile.

“…”

“You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?”

“Dissociative identity disorder…”

As I said that, she began reluctantly putting her clothes back on.

“Correct. But it’s not the kind where another personality takes over. It’s more like I’m aware of what’s happening, but it’s as if someone else is controlling my body. Think of it like being brainwashed or acting on spinal reflexes.”

“So… that means it’s still you, Shichiya-san.”

“Exactly. It’s not another personality, just different aspects of me. Let’s say there’s the rational Umi and the instinctual Umi. The one who’s been stalking you is the instinctual side. Judging by your reaction, you seem familiar with someone like me.”

“…”

“No comment, huh? Alright then. So, what now? I’d still like to make things official by… becoming one with you. Whether we date or not is beside the point.”

“You can’t separate the two.”

“Why not? If that were the case, legal grey-area brothels wouldn’t exist. No matter how much you try to control yourself with reason, you can’t defeat your instincts. Humans are animals, after all.”

“But… I’m married.”

“Haha, seems like there’s a misunderstanding here. Being married doesn’t mean you can’t go to such places. In fact, to prevent cheating, I think one should allow their partner to visit those places. The idea that marriage is a safeguard against infidelity is absurd. If true love exists, you wouldn’t need a contract to bind it. Hearing girls talk about how they want to get married soon makes me roll my eyes. It’s not marriage that brings happiness; it’s that happy people get married. The order shouldn’t be reversed.”

She continued to speak with unwavering conviction.

She really didn’t seem like the Shichiya-san I knew.

“Sure, Marin-chan’s methods might be forceful and wrong, but the truth is… I’m drawn to her.”

“Nope. What you feel for Marin isn’t romantic love; it’s familial love. Specifically, you’re projecting your deceased mother onto Marin. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, the truth is that the emotion that follows romantic love is familial love—unconditional love. In comparison, school-age romance is conditional. When a guy asks for his gifts back after a breakup, he’s not entirely wrong; he gave those gifts with conditions attached. Don’t mix up the order. If two people who can’t distinguish between love and infatuation date, it won’t end well.”

“…”

I couldn’t argue back. Perhaps what I had been seeking was unconditional love. But I knew that’s not what Marin was after. That’s why I could never come up with an answer.

“I can give you both. Someone who understands both, like me.”

“Even so… I…”

“Then reject me properly. Earlier, you could have just pushed me away and said I was disgusting. The reason you didn’t is because it felt good, didn’t it? Being desired by two people, being liked, being loved, being wanted romantically.”

“…”

(Tl/n: dem, good twist, makes more interesting)