Chapter 4 – Once the Brain Is Destroyed, There's No Coming Back From That.

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With a gloomy mood further clouded by more confusion, I unintentionally kicked the door open, its creaking hinges echoing through the empty hallway.

Immediately, I was met with a resounding bang from the next room, but at that moment, I couldn’t care less. Dropping out of university seemed inevitable, and with it, I would leave this cramped apartment behind.

In fact, my neighbor had no right to bang on the walls, considering the constant sounds of intimacy I’ve endured since they moved in. Thanks to that, I even got unnecessary info about the neighbor being named “Koichi,” which I don’t need right now.

Well, setting that aside…

What’s up with that attitude of Kurebayashi-san? It’s been over five years; why bring it up now? In my junior high school days, she definitely cried and apologized, but in reality, there was this attitude of “I’m sorry, but we’ll be happy together,” which made me want to unleash my frustration on the pavement with a Northern Light Bomb rather than just a simple piledriver.

And then, didn’t they start getting frisky in the old music room with our childhood friend? What is this—some kind of erotic game scenario? I still regret not having a smartphone back then.

I didn’t have to accept that kind of apology. But for some reason, I felt like there was something she wanted forgiveness for—something to ease her own conscience. I couldn’t fathom why she would feel that way.

I don’t know why she would feel that way.

In the midst of such indignation, as soon as I returned to my room, my phone suddenly vibrated. Startled, I glanced at the screen, only to find an unknown number staring back at me. I wonder who it is.

With a hesitant tap, I answered the call.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“…Your number… hasn’t changed.”

“!”

My heart skipped a beat as I immediately recognized the voice of the caller. This time, it was NTR No. 2, Aki-chan! Click.

“Ah.”

I accidentally hung up out of reflex.

Oh well, talking to Aki-chan—no, to Kojima-san—whether it’s about dinner side dishes, the weather, TV, radio, or even the fact that police officers are patrolling, there’s really nothing left to talk about. I’m so over this university life. Or rather…

Wasn’t Kojima-san supposed to attend a local university? Just like her stepbrother. Well, that was only natural. If she wanted to distance herself from her stepbrother for the sake of her studies, the only means of communication left was through telephone sex. Or perhaps an array of simultaneous online solo escapades.

Lustful, frenzied, and climaxing in a haze of eroticism! It perfectly matched the rhythm of some masked wrestler kid’s catchphrase, but such pseudo-acts were impossible to sustain in this academic environment. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Kojima-san had chosen to be here.

It’s hard to imagine her not getting into her desired university based on the level of this university. Huh? Come to think of it…

“I… wanted to run away.”

Kojima-san, that’s what you said earlier about your motivation for going to higher education. What is it that makes you run away? I don’t know.

Well, it can’t be helped. My brain has already been fried by the past. If I were to drop out of college, maybe changing my phone number would be a wise decision as well. It wouldn’t do if I could change my number so easily now, even if I rejected calls.

And so, before reaching a conclusion after much deliberation, a call comes from a different number this time. But this caller was already saved in the contacts.

“Hello?”

“Yuuta! I’ve been spamming you with messages, and you just leave me on read! Seriously, do you even have a heart??”

“Ah, sorry, Mitsuhide. I’ve been dancing with misfortune a bit.”

The caller on the phone was one of my few male friends from high school, Akai Mitsuhide. By the way, the reason we became close was due to our shared experiences of betrayal by our respective girlfriends. You could say we were kindred spirits.

Well, thanks to that, I can talk to this guy without any reservations.

“By the way, Mitsuhide, about Kojima-san…”

“Ha?… Kojima-san? Oh, are you talking about Aki-chan, your ex? Why are you bringing her up all of a sudden?”

“Well, actually, we ended up at the same university, in the same department.”

“Wait, what!? What’s that supposed to mean!?”

So, I explained briefly.

“What rotten luck! Alright, I’ll let the ‘read and ignore’ incident slide.”

“Sorry.”

“But seriously, filling out a withdrawal form right away is so typical of you.”

“Let’s not dwell on it.”

“Well, Aki-ch—Kojima-san has been through a lot too. She managed to survive an attempted suicide, which is at least something.”

“Huh!? That’s news to me!!”

Whoa, that’s some crazy information that just came out.

I mean, I guess I really didn’t care much about my ex-girlfriend, who left me for another guy, even if she had tried to commit suicide or anything like that. It’s not really my business, you know?

Still, I just couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Not many people knew about it. Things were rough behind the scenes, with rumors of bullying, and even the Board of Education getting involved.”

“Oh, I see. So that’s how you knew.”

By the way, Mitsuhide’s old man was a big shot in the local community.

“That’s right. In the end, we never figured out the exact reason. It wasn’t because of bullying. It was probably related to her family situation.”

The circumstances that led Kojima-san to attempt suicide… Well, she chose her stepbrother over me, and while I can’t say it was entirely her fault, it’s hard to sympathize. I mean, I even felt like dying when she left me.

Still, I can’t deny that this new information has left me a little unsettled.

Anyway, before I leave, maybe I should at least hear her out. She probably called because there’s something she wants to say, and I have a pretty good guess what it might be.