Chapter 22: Loneliness

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Translator: Soafp

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“Haruki”

The woman in a suit called out Haruki's name and walked up to us.

She looked at me, standing next to Haruki, with a puzzled expression.

“…Good work, Seina.”

Seina. That's what Haruki called the woman in front of us.

Haruki calling someone other than me by name…It was unimaginable from the Haruki I knew.

“Haruki… who's this woman?”

The woman looked at me again—or rather, glared at me—and said that.

“Shiho Fukase. You remember her, don't you?”

“Fukase…”

(This person… could she be…)

“Shiho, you remember her too, right? Seina Endo—she was in our class in middle school.”

“Ah… yeah.”

Of course I remember.

She knows about my past mistake… and I also remember we had a brief argument at that park just before Haruki cut ties with me.

And now… she's Haruki's girlfriend.

“Ah… I'm Shiho Fukase. It's been a while…”

From Endo-san's point of view, her impression of me must be terrible.

She shot a sharp look at me… and said nothing.

“Hey, Seina. What's wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, it's nothing…”

When Haruki addressed the silent Endo-san, she let out a deep breath and finally spoke.

“Hello, I'm Seina Endo. I go to Koo University with Haruki. And also…”

She softened her sharp gaze and introduced herself with a kind smile.

But then, pausing at the end, she glanced at Haruki's face, and wrapped her arm around his as if clinging to him.

“I'm Haruki's girlfriend. Nice to meet you.”

With a beaming smile, she said it.

“Ah… yes. Nice to meet you…”

My heart trembled.

This woman… is Haruki's girlfriend…

“Seina, you're back early. Are you done for the day?”

“Yeah. It's my first day, so they let me off early.”

Endo-san seemed to flaunt her good relationship with Haruki as if to show it off to me.

No… maybe I'm just perceiving her actions that way.

Just moments ago, I was the one standing next to Haruki…

Now, the one beside him is her—Endo-san.

An overwhelming jealousy swirled inside me.

If only that incident in middle school hadn't happened…

If only I'd been honest about my feelings…

Then maybe… I could've been the one by his side.

(No… this is all my own fault…)

Seeing Haruki and Endo-san chatting so happily in front of me made negative emotions bubble up… but I took a deep breath and reined myself in.

I should be thankful…

Even being able to speak with Haruki again like this is something I should appreciate.

But still… seeing Haruki and Endo-san so close like that…

It hurts. I didn't want to see it.

“Um… I'm heading home now.”

I said to Haruki, then turned and quickly walked off toward my house.

“Hey? Wait up. Shiho!”

I heard Haruki's voice, but I didn't stop—I broke into a run.

The wind hit my tearful eyes as I ran.

Frustrated, sad, ashamed, unwilling to accept reality… tears streamed down my face.

The image of Haruki and Endo-san, so happy together, was burned into my memory and wouldn't go away.

To get away from the two of them, I ran desperately.

---

[Haruki PoV]

“Wait up, Shiho.”

Did she not hear me?

Shiho ran off alone without saying another word.

“Shiho… huh.”

Seina, still clinging to me, muttered quietly.

“Seina, what are you doing here? Your house is in the opposite direction, right?”

Seina had been doing her teaching practicum at our old middle school.

In her suit, she looked more like a mature woman than usual.

“You said you were going back to your father’s house today… I thought I'd surprise you.”

“I see…”

“Well, I was the one who got surprised.”

She tightened her grip on my arm, holding me even closer.

“Hey, wanna come over to my place?”

“Eh? Ah, well, I was going to pack some of my dad's stuff and send it to him…”

Today, my dad—who lives in Osaka—had asked me to send him some clothes from our family home.
I was planning to go sort them out.

I'd suggested he just buy new ones, but he was always stingy.

Even though it costs money to ship them, he insisted it was cheaper than buying new clothes.

“Do you really have to do it today?”

“No, well… it just needs to be sent sometime this week.”

“Then come over today. Let's eat dinner together. My father's home too. He's been wanting to see you.”

At first, I was surprised that Seina—usually so rough in speech—called her father “Father” so politely.

Maybe that's just how it is in wealthy families.

Her dad was the president of a large company, always busy, but apparently home today.

“Still, I feel kind of bad just showing up suddenly…”

“Don't worry about it. Come on, let's go.”

Seina grabbed my hand firmly and began to walk.

“Man, going back to that middle school after so long was rough. Remember Hashimoto?”

“Ah, yeah. Our homeroom and math teacher.”

“He still works there. Since I'm assigned to teach math too, I have to follow his policies.”

Hand in hand, we walked toward Seina's house, chatting like always.

“Hey, you listening, Haruki?”

“…Yeah. Sounds tough.”

“There are a lot of students who don't listen either.”

Her hand felt really warm.

Listening to her talk, I gently squeezed her hand in return.

---

“I'm home!”

“Thanks for having me.”

“Welcome back, Seina. Oh, Haruki! Long time no see.”

“Ah, yes. Thanks for having me.

When we arrived at Seina's house and entered through the entrance, the one who greeted us was Seiya Endo — Seina's father and the head of the household.

“You don't have to be so formal. Come on in.”

I took off my shoes, and the housekeeper promptly appeared to offer me a pair of slippers.

“Here you are, Asano-san.”

“Thank you very much.”

I don't come here frequently, but I've visited Seina's home several times before.

By now, I'm familiar with most of the housekeepers.

Several of them welcomed me with polite smiles and bows.

“Haruki-kun, could I talk to you for a moment? Would you come to my study?”

“Ah, sure.”

“Wait just a minute, Father! Don't steal my Haruki!”

As Seiya-san and I were speaking, Seina puffed out her cheeks and protested in polite language to her father.

Maybe it's her upbringing, but her demeanor at home is quite different from how she acts in public.

“Haha, Seina really does like you, Haruki-kun. Dinner will be ready soon, so I just want you to keep me company until then. Seina, go change your clothes.”

“…Fine. I'll go change right away.”

Seina left for her room to change out of her suit into something more casual.

As her boyfriend, I have to admit, seeing her express her feelings so openly makes me really happy.

---

“Thank you for always looking out for Seina, Haruki-kun.”

“No… I haven't really done anything.”

Seiya-san and I were seated across from each other on the sofa in his study.

“Thank you.”

I took a sip of the tea the housekeeper had brought.

It had a rich flavor, quite unlike anything you'd find at an ordinary supermarket.

Even the teacup looked expensive — it was clear everything here was high-end.

“There's no need to be modest.”

“It's really the other way around. I should be thanking you — I've been the one relying on Seina.”

Seiya-san was in a cheerful mood as he sipped his tea, his expression soft.

“I might've mentioned this before, but Seina's always been very capable. But there was a time when she wasn't honest with herself. She became especially unstable after her mother and I divorced. Probably around elementary or middle school.”

(Yeah, Seina was kind of notorious as a delinquent back in middle school.)

I had heard a little about her parents' divorce from Seina herself.

She'd claimed it didn't really bother her, but…

“Then one day, she started to settle down. She stopped dressing so flashy and began taking her classes seriously. I was overjoyed. So I asked her, ‘Did something happen to change your mindset?' That's when she mentioned you.”

Seiya-san looked at me with a full smile — he seemed genuinely happy.

He must really care about his daughter.

“She told me there was a classmate who was doing his best despite being treated unfairly and left out at school.”

Back in middle school, because of my hair color and sharp eyes, people avoided me.

Apparently, Seina had talked about me — the guy who kept pushing forward despite being ostracized by classmates and even teachers.

But… back then, I wasn't alone.

I had Shiho — my childhood friend.

It was because I believed in her that I could keep going.

“It's really nothing special. Honestly, I think Seina was the one who was trying harder, all on her own.”

“I see…”

I had Shiho.

Even though that ended in betrayal…

Seina had no one.

She was truly alone… all that time.

“Well, anyway, that's the preamble… I actually have a proposal for you, Haruki-kun.”

“What is it?”

“After you graduate from university, would you consider joining my company?”

The suddenness of the offer caught me off guard.

“You mean… you're offering me a job through connections? Isn't that kind of… questionable?”

“No, you'll still have to take the normal interview and company exam. But I'll put in a good word with HR. You'll pass easily.”

Seiya-san said this with a confident smirk.

(That's still totally a nepotism hire…)

Technically, using personal connections isn't illegal, so maybe it's not a big deal…

“You want your daughter to join your company that badly?”

“Ha, you see right through me.”

Seiya-san seemed intent on drawing me into the company as a way to persuade Seina to join as well.
As a father and CEO of a major company, he probably wants his daughter to learn proper work skills in a secure environment — but it does come off as a bit overprotective.

But Seina herself is opposed to joining her father’s company — that's why she's gone so far as to become a student teacher, in protest.

“Don't you think you should just let her make her own choices?”

“Ah… yeah. I don't want to trample on her feelings, of course…”

Even so, he clearly worries for his daughter.

We continued chatting casually, and after a while, Seina returned in her loungewear, and the three of us enjoyed dinner together.

---

“So, which game should we play?”

“Hey, don't you have class tomorrow? Are you sure you should be messing around like this?”

After dinner, Seina and I were alone in her room.

She begged me to play a game with her, so I agreed.

“Hey, Seina…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I wanted to talk about earlier this evening.”

“This evening?”

She didn't seem to understand what I meant.

“About… Shiho Fukase.”

“Ah? Oh…”

Her expression clearly darkened.

Still, I pressed on.

“Doesn't it bother you? That I was with her?”

“Huh? What — are you trying to make me jealous or something?”

“No, that's not it. It's just… you haven't said anything, so I wondered.”

“It's not a big deal… As long as you didn't do anything shady, right?”

“Of course not.”

I answered immediately.

Then I decided to ask something that had been bugging me too.

“You wouldn't be suspicious even if I spent time with someone else?”

“Nope. I trust you, Haruki… But…”

Seina suddenly fell silent.

Only the sound of game music from the TV filled the room.

“But what?”

“…I do worry.”

In that moment, I felt like Seina had finally opened up to me — and that made me genuinely happy.

“Then ask. Don't hold back.”

“Okay… Did you run into Fukase again?”

“Yeah. We met by chance at that mixer you encouraged me to attend. Then today, I went out to eat with Shiraki, and Shiho just happened to be there.”

I explained how I had run into Shiho unexpectedly both times — and that we'd walked home together only because we were headed in the same direction.

“Then… why do you call her by her first name?”

“That's… my way of settling things.”

“Settling things…?”

“Those days in middle school — they're in the past. I don't want to cling to that stuff anymore. I don't hold any grudge or lingering feelings toward Shiho.”

“But…”

Her expression was troubled — her voice lacked the confidence she usually had.

“…Are you really okay with that, Haruki?”

“Yeah. Like I said — it's already in the past. I'm fine now.”

I meant it.

No matter what anyone else says, I've come to terms with it.

“Seina…”

As she turned to face me in response to my voice, I kissed her on the lips.

Surprised, her eyes went wide — but I didn't stop.

She soon returned the kiss, deeply.

It felt like a ritual to confirm our feelings for each other.

And when I saw Seina's face afterward — red with embarrassment — I found her more precious than ever.

“I love you, Seina.”

“…Yeah.”

In her spacious room, just the two of us leaned against each other, sharing warmth.

So we wouldn't be alone again.

So we wouldn't feel lonely anymore.